Editorial Skyrim: The RPG for the Rest of Us

[King Crispy]

I'm glad you're happy in your simple little Mario world, then.

 

[Serious_Business]

I'm glad you're happy in your simple little Mario world, then.

Fucking lame, man. There's no burn to it. You actually meant that, too. Put some rage in it! You should start by looking really hard at the screen, like you'd want to intimidate it. Frown a lot. Keep that stare as long as you can. Start hitting the walls. This part is very important. Hit those goddamn walls. Make a hole if you have to. Next up is yelling. You need to yell "you goddamn little faggot". This is the mantra you need to pick up, keep it in mind at all times. Then you post your witty reply. Only then. Shape up, man. You're putting me asleep. To death, bro.

 

[shihonage]

IMO this argument can be summed up by "easy to learn, hard to master".

Something that you can control on "gross" level, and even enjoy, but should you choose to let it unravel on you, you can access more subtleties and customizations, and discover that the game was always subtly reacting to things you weren't even aware of before now.

The most primitive example of this would be choosing Max Stone in Fallout 1 vs. actually examining and picking attributes by hand.

Going around the world slaying Diablo-style vs. smelling the flowers, actually looking for alternative solutions, reading descriptions, finding drug interactions and weird-ass combat tricks, trying to stretch the fabric of the game by leading it onto a specific tangent as far as it can budge...

Bioware games are not like this. They're fake-complicated. Their stats are largely the same as the insane facial customization options of Mass Effect - they're there to be shown. Shown, but otherwise mostly ignored.

Skyrim is not going to stray from this formula. With their current "creative direction", it's just not possible.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

Bioware games are not like this. They're fake-complicated. Their stats are largely the same as the insane facial customization options of Mass Effect - they're there to be shown. Shown, but otherwise mostly ignored.

oh yeah. stats should be used because the various designs of your game requires them to be expressed or interacted with properly in gameplay terms, i.e. realising actual expansion potential of delivering more mechanics and intersecting factors and not because of one narrow selfcontained facet like killing things better (see: Dragon Age 2 stats)

PERHAPS AN UNDERTAKING LIKE SHELTER IS BUILT ON SUCH IDEALS

 

[Mastermind]

oh yeah. stats should be used because the various designs of your game requires them to be expressed or interacted with properly in gameplay terms, i.e. realising actual expansion potential of delivering more mechanics and intersecting factors and not because of one narrow selfcontained facet like killing things better

Why? Which divine commandment states an RPG's scope must be broad? It's funny how this stuff is bad in DA2 but never comes up for M&M or Wizardry or any other dungeon crawler out there. DA2 is a shit game, but the stat system really is the last thing I'd change.

 

[waywardOne]

tes5:skyrim - a festivus for the restofus

commence the feats of strength!

The airing of grievances is right up the Codex's alley.

 

[St. Toxic]

Why? Which divine commandment states an RPG's scope must be broad?

I'm not sure it would fit as part of the definition of what makes an RPG, but it's a good criteria for how one can actually push the genre forward.