Core Game-play Features You Look for In RPGs

[MarathonGuy1337]

I been working on core game-play features and mechanics for a project I was working on, I however wanted to compile a hit list of genre specific core game-play features and systems mechanics that fans of RPGs, be them JRPGs, CRPGs or ARPGs, look for in games they enjoy.

As for details of the game project itself...

Well that is a secret.

If anyone gets that reference then hats off to you.

 

[Pfhyk]

>tranime reference

Jokes aside. What I really would like to see in RPGs is... an actually good combat system. Not the "choose firaba 30 times" JRPG fare and not the "lol time to cast the same broken spell and exploit the ai" WRPG fare. Just a system where you really gotta think of your choices and use different actions everytime. Not even r*guelikes have ever achieved that.

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

>tranime reference

Jokes aside. What I really would like to see in RPGs is... an actually good combat system. Not the "choose firaba 30 times" JRPG fare and not the "lol time to cast the same broken spell and exploit the ai" WRPG fare. Just a system where you really gotta think of your choices and use different actions everytime. Not even r*guelikes have ever achieved that.

Yeah I defiantly agree that a fleshed out combat system that requires more strategy and tactics is a must, something a bit more like XCOM in away with careful unit micromanagement and positioning would be ideal and would feel like a set up from Fallout. So I guess a T-CRPG

 

[Fink]

if you are a solo/indie developer you should make the game you wanna play instead of trying to please other people

also what I look for in a game depends entirely on (sub)genre for the most part.

 

[JB_0x0003]

Things I look for:
Is it COOL

Mechanics are less important and should flow from the scenario

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

look for in games they enjoy

Leave trying to please others to AAA games and focus on what you want to make.

 

[Eisen]

villages(and cities) that changes and react according to your actions

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

if you are a solo/indie developer you should make the game you wanna play instead of trying to please other people

also what I look for in a game depends entirely on (sub)genre for the most part.

Subgenre is that like setting and narrative as appose to game genre that distinguishes genre cliches of games such as ARPG from CRPGs

look for in games they enjoy

Leave trying to please others to AAA games and focus on what you want to make.

Yeah that probably true, I have ideas to make the core gameplay loop fun and interesting however at the same time I always approach games as like consumer first mentality so I figured that users of this sight would provided some good core features that they enjoy as well... You guys and gals are probably the hard core demographic of a CRPG title.

Things I look for:
Is it COOL

Mechanics are less important and should flow from the scenario

Good feedback games should always be cool first, oddly the idea of mechanics flowing from the scenario is something Tim Cain mentioned on his YouTube Channel

villages(and cities) that changes and react according to your actions

Yeah a dynamic world that reflects the current plays actions is sought of a must have for a CRPG I think however I think even more important is characters that reflect player actions. Maybe that because I'm more character focused in story and design. Probably important not to forget to how the world also should reflect on player actions.

 

[JB_0x0003]

Tim Cain

I would not personally recommend treating Tim Cain as gospel! He's very into formalisms, and those only exist in his head, despite what he might try to tell you! Of course, I can't mention the rest in polite company.

 

[Falksi]

Over recent years I've noticed that I much prefer games which can move at a fast pace to those which move slowly, mainly with UI and menu selections.

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

Tim Cain

I would not personally recommend treating Tim Cain as gospel! He's very into formalisms, and those only exist in his head, despite what he might try to tell you! Of course, I can't mention the rest in polite company.

Well Tim Cain is one of the GOAT dev's for classic CRPGs and is one of my personal industry heroes along with the likes of Fumito Ueda, Warren Spector, Greg Kirkpatrick and Tetsuya Takahashi and a bunch of others

Over recent years I've noticed that I much prefer games which can move at a fast pace to those which move slowly, mainly with UI and menu selections.

Yeah I don't like spending my time in UI screens ideally want to be playing the game.

 

[Reinhardt]

villages(and cities) that changes and react according to your actions

you mean disabling "temple" or "blacksmith" menu options? that's cruel, man.

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

villages(and cities) that changes and react according to your actions

you mean disabling "temple" or "blacksmith" menu options? that's cruel, man.

I know right like I have to make code that adjusts NPC's shop menu because outcome B happened in the Side Quest "The Man, The Women and the Muffin Shop"

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I'd say my favorite two CRPGs of the last decade or so would be Kenshi and Mount & Blade. Mainly because they're both reactive sandboxes with tons of mechanics that spur on divergent gameplay with no two games being the same.

 

[ind33d]

I been working on core game-play features and mechanics for a project I was working on, I however wanted to compile a hit list of genre specific core game-play features and systems mechanics that fans of RPGs, be them JRPGs, CRPGs or ARPGs, look for in games they enjoy.

As for details of the game project itself...

Well that is a secret.

If anyone gets that reference then hats off to you.

the only thing that matters in a video game is the soundtrack

cyberpunk 2077 is barely interactive but the OST is bangin' so nobody cares

 

[Risewild]

One of the core gameplay features I look for in RPGs is that character skills, attributes and abilities should be used for things that the character is doing or saying. So no stupid lockpicking and hacking minigames (for example) that use player skill to succeed or the player having to aim their character attacks (no matter how easy or hard those are) even when the character has maxed the relevant skills.

Also, no QTEs of any kind. QTEs shouldn't be used in any gaming genre unless it's a QTE game (if those can even be called games).

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

I been working on core game-play features and mechanics for a project I was working on, I however wanted to compile a hit list of genre specific core game-play features and systems mechanics that fans of RPGs, be them JRPGs, CRPGs or ARPGs, look for in games they enjoy.

As for details of the game project itself...

Well that is a secret.

If anyone gets that reference then hats off to you.

the only thing that matters in a video game is the soundtrack

cyberpunk 2077 is barely interactive but the OST is bangin' so nobody cares

Weirdly enough a old lecture of mine in media said something similar, word to the effect off "I can stand watching a poorly shot film but I can't stand a film with poor audio" so maybe theirs truth to this.

One of the core gameplay features I look for in RPGs is that character skills, attributes and abilities should be used for things that the character is doing or saying. So no stupid lockpicking and hacking minigames (for example) that use player skill to succeed or the player having to aim their character attacks (no matter how easy or hard those are) even when the character has maxed the relevant skills.

Also, no QTEs of any kind. QTEs shouldn't be used in any gaming genre unless it's a QTE game (if those can even be called games).

I remember the speech mini-game they developed for The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, not a winning move by Bethesda.

 

[Butter]

I want the designer to show me something I haven't seen before. It doesn't need to be revolutionary, just something that says "I'm not merely cargo culting Fallout/D&D/XCOM". Stuff like Underrail's Oddity system, Tyranny's Conquest system, or Legends of Amberland's encumbrance system.

 

[gurugeorge]

I been working on core game-play features and mechanics for a project I was working on, I however wanted to compile a hit list of genre specific core game-play features and systems mechanics that fans of RPGs, be them JRPGs, CRPGs or ARPGs, look for in games they enjoy.

As for details of the game project itself...

Well that is a secret.

If anyone gets that reference then hats off to you.

For me, it's the holy quaternity of: engaging tactical combat (preferably turn-based, but RTwP can be good too if the system is built around it), virtual world reactivity (or an immersive-sim-like quality), deep, far-reaching C&C (via dialogue choices) and a deep build system with no fake levers.

At the most abstract level: as good a virtual world adventure simulation as possible, given whatever time/technical limitations there may be, and trimmed as necessary by gameplay convenience and flow.

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

I want the designer to show me something I haven't seen before. It doesn't need to be revolutionary, just something that says "I'm not merely cargo culting Fallout/D&D/XCOM". Stuff like Underrail's Oddity system, Tyranny's Conquest system, or Legends of Amberland's encumbrance system.

Okay so originality is important in core game-play systems that makes a lot of sense as we play games to have unique experiences both ludic and narrative. I have some ideas for that sought of combing different aspects of turn based strategy games with aspects of old school CRPGs in which character base attributes will still be important in the unit micromanagement hopefully rewarding smart player decision making.

I been working on core game-play features and mechanics for a project I was working on, I however wanted to compile a hit list of genre specific core game-play features and systems mechanics that fans of RPGs, be them JRPGs, CRPGs or ARPGs, look for in games they enjoy.

As for details of the game project itself...

Well that is a secret.

If anyone gets that reference then hats off to you.

For me, it's the holy quaternity of: engaging tactical combat (preferably turn-based, but RTwP can be good too if the system is built around it), virtual world reactivity (or an immersive-sim-like quality), deep, far-reaching C&C (via dialogue choices) and a deep build system with no fake levers.

At the most abstract level: as good a virtual world adventure simulation as possible, given whatever time/technical limitations there may be, and trimmed as necessary by gameplay convenience and flow.

So a blend of immersive-simulator and CRPG, probably outside the scope of any project I work on, but won't lie it is a super cool idea maybe thats what Ubisoft should have aimed for with the AAAA title?

 

[FA7]

Stuff like Underrail's Oddity system

Eh reminds me how Underrail had also managed to get away from vancian magic which was fresh air and a big & fun thing for me, but Styg let his inner balance autist take over and is now back to generic defaults with magic slots ;//

As for topic I'll say that if game has any sort of combat animations that will be repeated thousand times there needs to be an option to speed them up and/or even making them near instant.

 

[Baron Tahn]

Hits:
- paper dolls (so I can see all the armour slots and equipment etc)
- maps, complex dungeon layouts and secret doors etc
- Im a sucker for sci/fantasy (like having a traditional barbarian in the same party as a psionic with a pistol or a 'magic' amulet that is actually a keycard to a buried spaceship 'dungeon')
- clearly identifiable 'roles' - no pandering to 'everyone can do everything' mentality
- clear, minimalist writing that shows character of companion NPCs without overshadowing the quest or protag.
- good music. When its good, it is vastly important and when its bad, the game is missing something that can never be replaced.

Misses:
- chasing fads
- stripped down ability trees
- grinding levels to make number go up
- 'we are writing more words than the bible' especially when it is all so shit id rather bathe in acid.
- too much voice acting, especially when its so shit id rather bathe in acid.
- generic ideas (although done well a good straight fantasy game can become a cornerstone)
- a focus on graphics rather than the game

Er..probs more, maybe think more about it later.

 

[pOcHa]

just simply copy gothic 2 (with better controls and inventory ui)

 

[ZACKIE]

If the story and characters are good and there's a sense of adventure in the game, then a basic jrpg combat system would not matter, you have to focus on making it unique though, from the characters, story, world, enemy design, and of course you need a catchy soundtrack with memorable melodies.

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

Stuff like Underrail's Oddity system

Eh reminds me how Underrail had also managed to get away from vancian magic which was fresh air and a big & fun thing for me, but Styg let his inner balance autist take over and is now back to generic defaults with magic slots ;//

As for topic I'll say that if game has any sort of combat animations that will be repeated thousand times there needs to be an option to speed them up and/or even making them near instant.

Speed up the animations, you realise animators get made when coders want to speed up their animations (theirs a fun quote in the making of Halo 2 or Halo 3 about that)

Hits:
- paper dolls (so I can see all the armour slots and equipment etc)
- maps, complex dungeon layouts and secret doors etc
- Im a sucker for sci/fantasy (like having a traditional barbarian in the same party as a psionic with a pistol or a 'magic' amulet that is actually a keycard to a buried spaceship 'dungeon')
- clearly identifiable 'roles' - no pandering to 'everyone can do everything' mentality
- clear, minimalist writing that shows character of companion NPCs without overshadowing the quest or protag.
- good music. When its good, it is vastly important and when its bad, the game is missing something that can never be replaced.

Misses:
- chasing fads
- stripped down ability trees
- grinding levels to make number go up
- 'we are writing more words than the bible' especially when it is all so shit id rather bathe in acid.
- too much voice acting, especially when its so shit id rather bathe in acid.
- generic ideas (although done well a good straight fantasy game can become a cornerstone)
- a focus on graphics rather than the game

Er..probs more, maybe think more about it later.

Yeah the game is not gonna be heavy on the grinding, it one of the more annoying parts of modern games (IMO), I mean chasing fads is out unless theirs a fad for TCRPGS out their?, Graphics aren't a big focus (I mean I want the game to be artistically nice but I not a it needs to be photorealistic kind of guy), the game is currently probably a Sci-Fi as I think they are rarer in CRPG circles than a straight fantasy, music probably the biggest worry, I have like two friends though that are quiet good so maybe once the game is in a more near-complete state I reach out to them failing that find someone more talented in the music/audio design department.

So yeah sorry no direct Sci-Fi/Fantasy...

just simply copy gothic 2 (with better controls and inventory ui)

Blast its already an Isometric Turn Based Game!

If the story and characters are good and there's a sense of adventure in the game, then a basic jrpg combat system would not matter, you have to focus on making it unique though, from the characters, story, world, enemy design, and of course you need a catchy soundtrack with memorable melodies.

I mean I hope the story and characters are enjoyable, I'm currently tacking the story bible for the game, goal is to finish it before my birthday. So far I think its sound interesting as a world and the technology and characters seem unique for a sci-fi leaning setting/universe.

The story itself is pretty inspired by the works of Yoshiki Tanaka writer of LOTGH, Leiji Matsumoto aka the Leijiverse; so Captian Harlock, Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express, Ryosuke Takahashi director of Blue Comet SPT Layzner, VOTOMS and Fang of the Sun Dougram and of cause the legendary Yoshiyuki Tomino creator of the Mobile Suit Gundam series.

Probably very inspired by Yoshiyuki Tomino... He's probably my favourite director