Alex
Arcane
Greetings people. I have just joined the forums and thought of joining in order to see the view point of the members on some issues. So, I will start with this post. As far as I understand, Morrowind is throughly disliked rpg around here. I would like very much if you people could describe what you didn't like in it, and possibly comment possibe ways to repair the problem. I will start with what was my one of my first experiences in the game.
One of the first things I did in the game was to join the cult of nine. I had read somewhere that the quests for the cult were interesting, like the collection of components for medicine or collecting alms for the poor. I was pretty excited about these possibilities, as I believed they indicated that playing as a priest would both feel like being a priest and would be fun. In the end however, it was neither.
Some of you may think that given the nature of the quests, this would be the case no matter what, but I think this is not the case. Let's see what these quests entailed:
Collecting Reagents: You had to go somewhere a certain reagent grew and had to collect it. If you didn't feel like it, you could even just buy the reagents at the store.
Why was it boring: There was no challenge besides random monsters. The location was given to you, and all you had to do was menial tasks, like clicking containers or shopkeepers. The element of exploration this quest could bring (finding out where to best gather a certain reagent) wasn't that great because the potion making aspect of the game wasn't very fun and making a big backtrack just to collect reagents was more like work than play.
What could be done to change it?: First, I think that if the places the character was sent weren't appropriate. They lacked any sense of wonder. Even something small that identified the places we were sent would be nice. For example, in Ultima 7, you could find a small location full of spider silk. It was in the middle of a forest, in a dead area full of spiders. The place felt nice, for even without a story or any other traits that set it apart, it was a nice area that you could discover while exploring. I think that if morrowind tried to make the reagent groves more unique, like the spider's lair or the bee's lair in ultima 7, the quests would have been better.
Another thing is that you always knew where to look. Maybe if they just gave general directions and you had to find your way by puzzling out the geography and story of the place, the quests would have been more interesting. For example, the quest giver might tell you to take a certain fungus that was known to grow near a city. A certain book might mention that the fungus only grows on swamps and another might mention the secret swamp the founders of the city went through in order o colonize the are. In other words, make the character hunt for information pieces in order to get where he needs.
Another idea would be to change the money system. Thanks to the way things work, you never needed to really go after reagents when it was easier to just buy them. Heck, it was usually easier just to buy the ready potions instead of making your own. I might be wrong, but I think the system in Gothic 2 actually worked nice in this aspect.
Also, note that collecting reagents was a boring process. Just pick it up. So was potion making. If some sort of game was involved, I the experience might not feel empty. No, I am not asking for a silly game like oblivion's pick lock. I am saying that if collecting reagents and making potions was somehow fun like combat (yes, I know morrowind's combat isn't much fun), then people wouldn't see it like just a lengthier way to buy potions.
Also, if coming back wasn't a pain, maybe reagent gathering wouldn't be so bad.
Finally, you never felt like a healer doing these quests. Maybe if they just allowed you to interact (or better yet, have a meaningful dialogue) with the sick people these reagents were supposed to help, I would have been happier. As it is, I felt more like a delivery boy than a healer.
Collecting Alms: You had to go somewhere and beg until people got you enough money. I don't remember very well, but I think you could use your own money and avoid a silly travel altogether.
Why was it boring: You went in dialogue with people and begged. Basically it was just a check to see if they liked you enough. If that was not the case, all you had to do was charm them.
What could be done to change it?: If Morrowind had meaningful dialogue in it, maybe it could be nice to try to convince people to donate. Aside from that, there is little to that could be done with this. However, in a game with meaningful dialogue and character interactions, this could have been really nice. Imagine a game where rhetoric was not only a worthwhile skill, but also a game in itself. Also, some depth might be given to quests like this. For example, if you pry around, you might discover the donations never got to the poor and start a whole new series of quests investigating the church.
Well, that is it, If people here are interested in discussing design flaws (and maybe even the good points) of Oblivion, I will gladly join in.
One of the first things I did in the game was to join the cult of nine. I had read somewhere that the quests for the cult were interesting, like the collection of components for medicine or collecting alms for the poor. I was pretty excited about these possibilities, as I believed they indicated that playing as a priest would both feel like being a priest and would be fun. In the end however, it was neither.
Some of you may think that given the nature of the quests, this would be the case no matter what, but I think this is not the case. Let's see what these quests entailed:
Collecting Reagents: You had to go somewhere a certain reagent grew and had to collect it. If you didn't feel like it, you could even just buy the reagents at the store.
Why was it boring: There was no challenge besides random monsters. The location was given to you, and all you had to do was menial tasks, like clicking containers or shopkeepers. The element of exploration this quest could bring (finding out where to best gather a certain reagent) wasn't that great because the potion making aspect of the game wasn't very fun and making a big backtrack just to collect reagents was more like work than play.
What could be done to change it?: First, I think that if the places the character was sent weren't appropriate. They lacked any sense of wonder. Even something small that identified the places we were sent would be nice. For example, in Ultima 7, you could find a small location full of spider silk. It was in the middle of a forest, in a dead area full of spiders. The place felt nice, for even without a story or any other traits that set it apart, it was a nice area that you could discover while exploring. I think that if morrowind tried to make the reagent groves more unique, like the spider's lair or the bee's lair in ultima 7, the quests would have been better.
Another thing is that you always knew where to look. Maybe if they just gave general directions and you had to find your way by puzzling out the geography and story of the place, the quests would have been more interesting. For example, the quest giver might tell you to take a certain fungus that was known to grow near a city. A certain book might mention that the fungus only grows on swamps and another might mention the secret swamp the founders of the city went through in order o colonize the are. In other words, make the character hunt for information pieces in order to get where he needs.
Another idea would be to change the money system. Thanks to the way things work, you never needed to really go after reagents when it was easier to just buy them. Heck, it was usually easier just to buy the ready potions instead of making your own. I might be wrong, but I think the system in Gothic 2 actually worked nice in this aspect.
Also, note that collecting reagents was a boring process. Just pick it up. So was potion making. If some sort of game was involved, I the experience might not feel empty. No, I am not asking for a silly game like oblivion's pick lock. I am saying that if collecting reagents and making potions was somehow fun like combat (yes, I know morrowind's combat isn't much fun), then people wouldn't see it like just a lengthier way to buy potions.
Also, if coming back wasn't a pain, maybe reagent gathering wouldn't be so bad.
Finally, you never felt like a healer doing these quests. Maybe if they just allowed you to interact (or better yet, have a meaningful dialogue) with the sick people these reagents were supposed to help, I would have been happier. As it is, I felt more like a delivery boy than a healer.
Collecting Alms: You had to go somewhere and beg until people got you enough money. I don't remember very well, but I think you could use your own money and avoid a silly travel altogether.
Why was it boring: You went in dialogue with people and begged. Basically it was just a check to see if they liked you enough. If that was not the case, all you had to do was charm them.
What could be done to change it?: If Morrowind had meaningful dialogue in it, maybe it could be nice to try to convince people to donate. Aside from that, there is little to that could be done with this. However, in a game with meaningful dialogue and character interactions, this could have been really nice. Imagine a game where rhetoric was not only a worthwhile skill, but also a game in itself. Also, some depth might be given to quests like this. For example, if you pry around, you might discover the donations never got to the poor and start a whole new series of quests investigating the church.
Well, that is it, If people here are interested in discussing design flaws (and maybe even the good points) of Oblivion, I will gladly join in.