Corvus’s recent post this week on the side quests in Ultima has jump started my brain on my RPG idea. For once I have more of the story figured out and less of the actual game play. At this point I don’t know if this will be a RPG enjoyed by fans, or just by me.
The story follows one of two sons of the most famous and powerful knight in the land. A year before the game takes place the other son, who has always been the stronger of the two left the land to fight a war overseas and has left the player with his mother. After a few major plot events (that I can’t say if the game ever gets made), the player decides to find and drag his brother back home with the help of his three friends. Along the way he’ll see what the world is like outside of his village and deal with a lot of bad blood in his family. Corvus’s post on sidequests touches on an issue I have with them in most rpgs.
Having never played any of the Ultima games I can’t speak with first hand knowledge about them, but their ideas of side quests is something I want to (and should have) seen in more RPGS. I believe you know what’s coming up next … I blame Bioware, in the rpgs I’ve played from Bioware side quests are nothing more then more errands for the player. A good side quest should show more of the world behind the grand epic plot the designers have created, not just be more about the plot or provide the player with a few more trinkets for their inventory. An example of having good side quests in my opinion would be from the game Chrono Trigger, which expanded the world and locales allowing the player to see more of the various eras. In the RPG I have in mind, the main quest itself is a set path, but for players who like the main character want to explore the land there will be plenty of things to do. One underlining concept of the story is the character seeing the world for the first time and the effects his father and brother have had on it. He knows as much about the various cultures of the land as the player does (without the blurbs on the locales in the manual).
Combat is another issue that will be polarizing the gamers, as it will be different from anything out there. The first change is that unlike just about every RPG ever made in the last 15 years, each character starts out the same skill wise with everyone else. Each character can follow certain disciplines and basically create their own custom class . Combat will be real time and all four characters will fight at the same time, the AI will have to be intelligent to understand and use all the skills the player has given to each member. I would love to have opt in co-op with other players. Interaction between the characters and the environment is another big deal. Since each character starts out with roughly the same abilities, they can each interact with the environments and each other the same way. Such as using a party member as a stepping stone to leap into the air to attack a large enemy. Or pushing a boulder down a hill at a horde of foes . One problem with RPGS is that they advertise the ability to create a unique party, but if you dare build one without a medic or healer you will never win, and it’s more of a way of allowing the player to handicap themselves.
The reason why players will create their own classes for the characters fits into my philosophy on what RPGS should be like (in my opinion of course). The characters should not be defined by their skills, but instead by their personality. Each character will be different compared to the other 3 and will set up their group dynamic. I want to develop moments where the group comes together or splits apart and that can’t happen in RPGS where one person is set up from the start by the game as the only healer. One problem I have with rpgs that let the player make all the choices is that it dilutes the impact of the story. In the way that it’s hard to tell an emotional thought provoking tale if the player will just make choices that avoid those topics. To me, the player’s effect on the story should be learning more about the world, not telling the story. Not to say that all RPGS should be like that, but we need to see more diversity in storytelling. The player will not be able to change the outcome of the story, but instead will have leeway on how side quests will be handled. The big lesson to take from this entry is that not every RPG should be designed the same way either in story telling or general game play. I think CRPGS need to break away from their DnD roots, and JRPGS have to stop trying to imitate Final Fantasy (emo kids and all).
As a point of reference, my favorite Rpgs are those that have their own way of doing things, such as the Shin Megami Nocturne series. The only CRPG series that I can remember off the top of my head that deal with mature issues and forces the player to choose their opinion on them would be the GeneForge series.
Josh , level 2 game designer, chaotic lawful (because an entry on RPGs wouldn’t be complete without a little satire on Dnd)