The Witcher Distinguishing features of Eastern European RPGs.

[Robotigan]

Stumbled upon an interesting reddit thread. It aligned with some thoughts I've had about Eastern European RPGs for a while. Namely Eastern European RPGs place special emphasis on the storytelling especially 'grimdark' storytelling. They also appreciate brutal or punishing design; there are wrong choices and you will pay dearly for making them. But it also touched something that could be construed as a drawback: there doesn't seem to be as much interest in the game systems themselves. And I must admit I have noticed that most Eastern European RPGs tend to be weaker when it comes to raw game design. They often feel clunky to play, the UI can feel messy and unintuitive, and subtle design cues like signposting seem absent.

 

[KateMicucci]

Stumbled upon an interesting reddit thread.

 

[Delterius]

Excess of vapor maybe.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Less pozz, more jank. And in the future it'll be equal pozz, more jank.

 

[Storyfag]

But it also touched something that could be construed as a drawback: there doesn't seem to be as much interest in the game systems themselves.

This sadly seems to be a global trend, not limited to EE.

 

[RRRrrr]

I read the title as "Disgusting features of Eastern European RPGs". I was disappointed that wasn't it.

 

[mondblut]

Stumbled upon an interesting reddit thread. It aligned with some thoughts I've had about Eastern European RPGs for a while. Namely Eastern European RPGs place special emphasis on the storytelling especially 'grimdark' storytelling. They also appreciate brutal or punishing design; there are wrong choices and you will pay dearly for making them. But it also touched something that could be construed as a drawback: there doesn't seem to be as much interest in the game systems themselves. And I must admit I have noticed that most Eastern European RPGs tend to be weaker when it comes to raw game design. They often feel clunky to play, the UI can feel messy and unintuitive, and subtle design cues like signposting seem absent.

Every eastern european RPG is a bastard stepchild of Fallout, bred in negligence and suffering from arrested development. The honest explanation of any peculiarity in their setting, story or gameplay would basically be "but but I think that's what Fallout would do if it were an [over the shoulder RTWP ARPG set in space with magic]" (change the subgenre to whichever is applicable).

 

[Robotigan]

This sadly seems to be a global trend, not limited to EE.

Well, no. If you watch a GDC from a Western or Japanese developer, they spend a lot of time thinking about how they can make their world and game systems intuitive and engaging for the player. Nintendo in particular are absolute masters at this which is why they've stayed on top of the industry for so long. For a more indie example, check out Hollow Knight, Untitled Goose Game, or anything by Supergiant. These games just feel good to play. Unfortunately, a lot of this evolved on console games (the biggest industry in the West/Japan) and consoles weren't very obtainable in Soviet bloc for a long time so a lot of those ideas didn't really make their way to Eastern Europe. And to this day you can see most gaming influences to that area are primarily PC genres like CRPGs and FPS.

 

[Humanophage]

Posting in a troll thread.

OP in a nutshell:

Speaking of piracy, wish you slavs would emulate console games you missed out on so you're not completely blind to like 2/3rds of the industry.

Nintendo in particular are absolute masters at this which is why they've stayed on top of the industry for so long.

 

[Robotigan]

Posting in a troll thread.

OP in a nutshell:

Speaking of piracy, wish you slavs would emulate console games you missed out on so you're not completely blind to like 2/3rds of the industry.

Nintendo in particular are absolute masters at this which is why they've stayed on top of the industry for so long.

Shouldn't be controversial to say Nintendo makes great video games. Not RPGs (well I think they've made some but I haven't played them), but there's a reason they're so well-known within the industry. If your preferences are more towards story or strategy they might not offer what you're looking for (unless you're a weeb, but again haven't played Fire Emblem). But in terms exceptionally interesting gameplay, level design, and polish? They're arguably without peer. And as a testament to how beloved their games are, Dolphin is probably the best supported and easiest to use emulator out there. Even without a console, it's possible for anyone to visit their landmark titles. Good exposure to try out other genres.

 

[Reinhardt]

I bet every slav developer has poster on the wall




Whatever you do, remember - games are serious business, don't you dare make them fun!