Earlier today, I found my self being unrealistically frustrated by the fact that I couldn’t get a copy of The Elder Scrolls III (Morrowind) on my Xbox 360. A brownie and an episode of Futurama later, it turned out that I would live through the disappointment, but it got me thinking. Why am I driven to play a RPG released almost a decade ago? Beyond that, why is this a common occurrence in my life? Since the problem can’t possibly be my fault, I decided that there must be something wrong with the state of RPG development in general.
Here’s the issue, as I see it: RPGs are being dumbed down. I see new RPGs trending toward linear play, and fewer real player options. Take the third installment of Fable for example –gone is any real sense of player-directed development. Fable III barely even bothers to hide the fact that both the story and the growth of the protagonist are completely linear. Furthermore, this isn’t an isolated incident. The new Gothic is another example (though I’m not sure if anyone but me ever played the series to begin with). Previous incarnations of Gothic involved real choices about political allegiances and character development. Yet, the latest version is little more than a hack and slash.
Listen RPG developers, the last thing I want to do is tell you that you can only make one kind of game, but let’s just think for a moment about the niche you occupy. I love first person shooters. They are linear and you don’t really need/want to bother with altering your character very much (beyond equipment). When I play a RPG, however, I want more than just a first person shooter with a choice of fanciful hats. I want real choices and real customization –customization that doesn’t attempt to save me from my own poor decisions. If I want to put all my experience points into stealth and bartering, let me!
For me, the fun of RPGs is rooted in two things: the sense of ownership I get from the full freedom of character customization (down to the tiniest detail) and the sense of accomplishment that comes from developing that character and overcoming obstacles –obstacles that sometimes arise out of my poor character development choices. The key there is choice, and choice relies on non-linear everything.
Obviously, there are exceptions to my complaints here. I can’t tell you how excited I am for Skyrim. But, I don’t understand why a genre that seems to sell, feels so stagnant. KOTOR sold. Morrowind sold. Fallout 3 sold. New Vegas sold. Oblivion sold. So, RPG developers, take a page from their playbooks and get on the ball. Until then, I guess I’ll just have to survive on one or two solid RPGs a year. Sigh. If you need me, I’ll be in the corner playing Planescape Torment and dreaming of a better tomorrow.
Have you had a chance to play the Mass Effect games? Also, you might be interested in Deus Ex. You can’t really customize your character’s appearance… but the level of control over your characters progression and how you play is pretty incredible.
I have played Mass Effect. I was a little bummed out by the linear missions thing (but, I didn’t really play that long) and I found the combat system to be a little weird. I own it. I’ll give it another chance.
Mass Effect 1 does feel really rough around the edges. But 2 is much more polished. The missions themselves are pretty linear, but you can access them in any order (except the main story missions, which have to be done in order for obvious reasons). The biggest selling point for me is that your decisions have real impact. Decisions made in the first game carry through into both 2 and 3.
Yeah, Morrowind and Oblivion were great RPGFPSs. I must have made at least three lvl 40s on Oblivion. However, I’ve gone towards MMOFPSs nowadays, and especially since Planetside 2 is coming out. It’s the only game that features massive FPS battles in an open world with real time.
I do like MMOs, I just want there to be good open format games for consoles too. I don’t always want real people involved; I sometimes like to feel like the game world is all mine. I just want more games with giant, cool, interactive worlds where you can work on the main quest or not. I don’t know anything about Planeside 2. Sounds cool. I’ll check it out.
I’ve always found that I prefer linear RPG’s over non-linear for some reason. I imagine that is because what we look for in a RPG is different. You want to become the character and live those choices whereas I am looking more for a story to “play-through”. Interesting because I’m an actor looking for story and you’re a writer looking for character creation.
A problem I have with non-linear RPG’s as well as Sandbox (GTA, Infamous) games is the paradox of choice. The fact that I have so many choices prevents me from making any choice at all because I fear that I’ll either make the wrong one or miss out on something. It’s like reading a “choose your own adventure” book but when I get to the first option of turning to page 34 or 85 I just stop. I become paralyzed by number the choices in games. If I do somehow manage to make a choice, chances are, I’ll be disappointed with it because the grass is always greener on the other quest.
It’s such a change from my real life. I have no problem making decisions and choices in my non-linear life. Maybe it’s because so much of my life relies on independent creativity that I don’t mind being told what to do when I’m playing a game.
Anyway! I don’t really play games by myself anymore, but this used to apply!
I know what you mean about “the grass is always greener” aspect of in-game choices. That feeling often drives me to start over again and again. Weirdly, that’s still fun for me. I like to really get to know a complex, multifaceted game.
You know, the more I talk about this, the more I understand why there aren’t more of these games. I’m getting the feeling that I’m the weird outlier here.
Maybe it’s for the best. Games like Oblivion eat up my days at a near supernatural rate.
This aritlce keeps it real, no doubt.