What makes RPGs hard ... And is there anything we SHOULD do - ID: 641

FORUM: Feature Requests

This topic was started by carbon_dragon on 08/05/2012, 03:44:41

Post by carbon_dragon on 08/05/2012, 03:44:41

What makes RPGs hard to play, and are these things inevitable, or even desirable? This is all my opinion and I don’t represent it as RIGHT with blazing letters of fire 30 feet high. I am probably in the minority in most of these, but this is what I think.

Very low initial strength of the party. Inevitable? No but desirable I think. Fun to be excited by something as simple as decent armor ;-)

Poor graphics? No, really just a symptom of the age. Later party RPGs were much better. Silversword on the IOS computers is once again somewhat CPU limited, but the iPad 3 certainly has the means to overcome this.
Lack of control over leveling? Not inevitable nor desirable IMHO. Silversword would benefit from more control over leveling characteristic bonuses at least.

Sketchy information about how to play the game, leading to poor character generation choices or equipment selection? Neither inevitable nor desirable IMHO. I like a game with a GOOD book. I know lots of people don’t, but I’m an old duffer and have a low frustration threshold.

Restrictions on when you can camp and recover spells? Neither I think. This is my biggest peeve with Silversword. If this must be restricted, make it in IRONMAN mode and let the rest of the players camp when reasonable.

Lack of fast travel? No and no, but I know lots of people disagree. It’s one thing to make the player find the places where he will fast travel to, but endless boring travel with endless meaningless slogging fights isn’t my idea of fun. And if you’re going to have wandering monsters, make them fit the surroundings and the world.

Limited carrying capacity? Probably inevitable and probably good as it makes the player decide what to carry. However, it can be taken TOO far. Silversword has a VERY limited capacity relative to lots of other games. I find it pretty restrictive, especially when multiple sets of lock-picks have their own slots.

Wildly varying challenges such that the party often gets slaughtered? Not inevitable as Skyrim and Oblivion show, but levelling the monsters has it’s own downsides. Not a major problem as long as saves aren’t restricted.

Situations where the player has no idea what to do next? No. It can get to somewhat extreme reversals such as Skyrim where you ALWAYS know where to go. Or you can puzzle frustratingly for days in some games (Silversword comes to mind but it’s not the only one). Some people love this. I don’t. Hence the need for a good guide book (Skyrim has the best I’ve ever seen). People who like to puzzle it out just don’t buy the book. And it has good profit potential for the game maker too.

Bad User interfaces? No and No. Wizardry 1 --- Whew! Actually Silversword is just a little too similar, but has it’s own special characteristics. I can’t hit the arrows on the screen without hitting the wrong thing half the time because they’re so close together (on the iPad). Trading items is kind of awkward (as is selling and buying). Hopefully this will improve with time. A lot of silversword’s problems could be solved just by spreading out the darned buttons.

Overall, Silversword is the king among games on IOS, but there are really few competitors. I am confident it will improve with time ... hopefully.

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Post by icetear on 08/05/2012, 09:38:14

Thank you very much for stating your opinion.

I know that this game could be improved in many many different ways.
But as you might have noticed: Silversword was created because I wanted to have a game that plays like the original "The Bard's Tale". Why? Because some players might have fond memories of a time back in the 80s, and want to bring back those memories and emotions once again. This is the only reason this game exists. The improvements that are already in are haunting me to a degree because I am afraid to lose the Bard's Tale spirit upon bringing more modern concepts in.

It is a compliment for me that the game is constantly compared to Skyrim, but this game isn't Skyrim. And it won't be like Skyrim in the future. It will be like Silversword, hopefully.

Nonetheless, I am watching all your suggestions very closely and I try to make the game more enjoyable along the way.

Best regards
Mario

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Post by carbon_dragon on 08/05/2012, 12:49:44

Yes, I understand that. For you this game is a labor of love and your audience seems to like it.

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