To the ones who read the entire post, no matter if you fuond it boring, pointless or \"The best post on the forum ever\" (Heh...that tickled me :]), consider yourself hugged!
Now, to the long yawn-inspiring rambling...The game is a \"RolePlaying Game\", as it is explicitly stated in the site. The game is not the set of skills, nor the monster bashing, nor the levelling, nor the pretty graphics. Those are, granted, a big part of it. But they are the most superficial layers! By themselves, they make a ludicrously dull game. What are they true function? They serve as tools for the players. Tools for what? RolePlaying.
The core of an RPG, is the player base. The unanswered question is, how do we get to the player base, so that they understand that this game is not about the eternal struggle against PCs and NPCs alike to be the one with the most amazing skills.
RolePlaying Game = Players assuming a role.
Not complicated, eh? Quite complex, in reality. How come games like Everquest, Ultima Online, Dark Ages of Camelot...all failed to provide that RolePlaying experience that they have advertised so much?
They are, yes, in a technical aspect, great games. Lots of features, a staff that permanently performs updates, a stable company taking care of servers, technical support, and so on...
But they fail in the most important area. They do not convey a believable, enrapturing world. Sure, some people get addicted to it, but such addiction is mainly provoked by the player\'s ambition to be the highest possible level, that soon becomes an obsession.
I have been addicted to a game or two, but not because I wanted to be the most powerful fighter (Yes, I almost always RolePlay a melee combat warrior, it gives more possibilities if you consider the idea deeply than it appears at a first glance), but because I was thrilled by the way a story, a huge plot was taking place and my character was forming a part of it!
The combat system, the dynamic economy, the crafting code...those should be a trampoline for the player to say \"Look, my character is a fighter/a mage/a merchant/a weaponsmith\".
If you are only going to put together a program, add some features like battles, magic, item creation, and experience, but as a staff you do not control the flow of plots, you do not create characters that tell a story...then do not call it a RolePlaying Game. Name it whatever you want, but claiming it is an RPG when no RPing takes place...is that not false advertising?
In theory, there are very simple ways of encouraging the players to empathise with their characters. One of them is not diminishing the usage of skills. But it has indeed to do with them: Diminish the relative importance of skills.
Underline the word \"relative\", and think of it for a moment. What is more important in a character, I ask? His personality, thoughts, loyalties, and emotions? Or his skills? Both are important, yes! Who needs a cook that cannot bake a cake? But which is the one that adds depth to a character? Which one makes it interesting? Which one makes it loved or hated?
The personality, the esence of a character. Otherwise, it is just a set of number, percentages, and statistics.
There is one main skill that is often forgotten. The player\'s skill to control his or her character. It engulfs everything, from the ability to master the basic movements, to the more difficult task of being able to make the right decision for the character, from an IC perspective. (What did he just say??? That makes no sense!), some of you will croak. Let me, once again, use an example.
Suppose that Merlassia (I know, my names are awfully odd) is an average inhabitant of Yliakum. Nothing extraordinary about her, she is neither very skilled at the blade, neither is she defenseless. The player, however, claims that she has a flawless sense of honour, and clearly differenciates between right and wrong. She is, in fact, alligned with \"Good\", and remains always on the good side of the law. You get the picture, your basic \"Goody-two-shoes\".
One day, walking down the street, she sees a warrior carrying a heavy bag with all his spare armor and weapons. He is too encumbered, and unfortunately a finely crafted silver long sword falls from his backpack. Now, Merlassia and her player have two choices:
a) Do what the player would do. \"That sword will boost my skills, I will be able to cut and slash and deliver more damage with it. I will pick it, and keep it.\"
b) Do what Merlassia would do. \"Oh boy! That poor man dropped his sword! I should help him and carry some of his weight for him!\"
Call me weird, call me idealistic. But as an avid RolePlayer, I consider the second one to be more fun! If Merlassia was a heartless cuthroat, and I were her player, you can bet that I would make her keep that blade. But the IC actions depend from my character!
I confess one thing, I never played a session of table top D&D (None of my acquaintances liked those games, neither it is popular in my country). But I know what they are like, I have read the rules, I love the idea! But -those- are the true and hardcore RolePlaying Games.
The players must commit themselves and realise that giving the priority in the game to the skill advancement is what ultimately makes it dull and a bore. It becomes nothing more than a bunch of pixels running around wildly and mindlessly wiping out hordes of incessantly re-spawning monsters.
My point is this:
PlaneShift has an unlimited potential, but it also the possibility of becoming \"Just one more of a kind\". After the game is released, two major things will happen.
1) PlaneShift will be another product in an already saturated market. Games of this kind are popping out of nowhere and the concept is no longer original, nor even close to being as attractive as it was five years ago. It will not receive a remarkable critical acclaim, and albeit it may have a large player base due to the fact that it is free, it will still be \"That free MMORPG\".
2) PlaneShift will deliver a completely new and innovative experience that will utterly re-shape the RPG genre. The standard of the MMORPG will be higher, players will expect better and deeper RolePlaying games. Which is a necessity, the genre is fading from what I can gather.
Remember those point and click adventure games? Monkey Island, Indiana Jones, Leisure Suit Larry...LucasArts and Sierra being seen almost like \"gods\" in that genre. No one can argue that genre has died. I am not claiming or yelling \"I am a prophet, hear me!\", but what I see is a series of games that are so alike, that their similarities will simply drive them towards extinction just because no new features are added. There is no \"Wow factor\".
As I said once before at Kada\'s Tavern:
Powerlevelling? No thanks, I prefer reading a book.
- Golbez
