"Down time" in RPG's

[Sensuki]

downtime is important in ARPGs too - Diablos (1 & 2 ofc), TQ etc

 

[poetic codex]

I wouldn't even call it down time. For me, this is the bread and butter of why I play games. It's not just extra gravy on the side. Soaking in a game's world, immersing yourself in its atmosphere, letting it seep deep into your subconscious...these are a must in any game I play. Icewind Dale as mentioned above was absolutely perfect in this regard. VTM:Bloodlines whisked me away to another world,and I loved every second of it.

Why are you so afraid that it would get confused with LARP'ing? Why are you so afraid that its sounds eerily similar to "sperging out"? Fuck that ! We're all nerds and we love games. If that makes us LARP'ing aspies then so be it. Wear it like a badge,dammit.

 

[oldschool]

Not an RPG, but the Bladerunner game from Westwood had a cool atmosphere. I would usually hang out on the apartment balcony while I figured out where to go next.

 

[Nutmeg]

What the hell are you talking about?

I was saying that mucking around in Ultima VII has nothing to do with the sort of thing described in e.g.

Soaking in a game's world, immersing yourself in its atmosphere, letting it seep deep into your subconscious...these are a must in any game I play. Icewind Dale as mentioned above was absolutely perfect in this regard. VTM:Bloodlines whisked me away to another world,and I loved every second of it.

Why are you so afraid that it would get confused with LARP'ing? Why are you so afraid that its sounds eerily similar to "sperging out"? Fuck that ! We're all nerds and we love games. If that makes us LARP'ing aspies then so be it. Wear it like a badge,dammit.

Which to me is uninteresting (although I understand the appeal to some).

So this is what I was talking about.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Downtime was easily the best thing about Skyrim IMO. There were some breathtaking vistas in that game with texture upgrades installed. I enjoyed having screenshot competitions with my boys. This made me a little sad because holy fuck a deeper experience in this world would be moving.

 

[Invictus]

I love downtime in the Stalker games; getting back from a mission or quest to base, checking out the gear and items I got to see what I might sell, keep or repair for immediate use. Balancing out which weapon should I take for my next trip; should I carry jusy small guns in a stealth based run or pack a shotgun in case I run into trouble?
Should I take the gun with the best ammo or just wing it with my silencer to see what weapons I can get in the way...chhgecking with the other stalker or if its worth it to fix up my new gun if there is not much ammo available.
Sometimes I might spend 35 mins sorting out my gear and checking up on the quests that are available.

The TES games are good for downtime too but for more shallow reasons; making a few items with the stuff I found, trying out a new clothing or armor mod, upgrading my gear and weapons and that of my companions after I reach another smithing level, checking up on which new enchantments I cab get from the items I might have found...or my favorite guilty pleasure dresssing and undressing my companions to fit our next particular mission, only to run into this beautiful brook illuminated by the morning sun, which leads me strip my companion nekkid for an impromptu photos session :D

"Nobody does it better, makes me feel sad for the rest"
"Nobody does it half as good as you, Hiver you're the best"

 

[Echo Mirage]

I always enjoyed downtime and find it integral, especially in rpg's with a good hub with great music. I spent may hours in Baldurs gate and planescape torment wandering around visiting places and preparing for whatever was coming next. And of course looking forward coming back later and seeing how my favorite places change overtime. Downtime is absolutely essential for me to make a world believable.

 

[DreadMessiah]

Nope I got better things to do. If I want that I just go outside and look at crap. I don't though since it is boring and banal. Seriously sounds silly and dumb. Just sayin.

 

[deuxhero]

I really liked the downtime in Mask of the Betrayer because you couldn't just go "screw it, I'm crafting/resting" due to your hunger. It didn't work out as well as it should due to how nearby spirits INCLUDING SUMMONED ONES (which 2 of your allies can call up for you) give you a bonus to suppress that stacks (quickly reducing the hunger more than resting fills it and lowers your "addiction" level), which combined with your "free" first meal a day, makes the meter piss easy to abuse, and the only time you have to worry about your craving going up is if you want to grab all the unique souls. That's a problem with the mechanic and not the downtime though.


Not an RPG, but I loved how Custom Robo updated NPC dialog every time the story progressed and everyone in game eventually had a unique backstory or personality (even though no one who isn't part of the main plot, and a few that are, are ever given a name...). My favorite is how an increasing group of NPCs try to figure out what the "Z" in Z Syndicate stands for, before they, after a few days, finally exhaust all words that start with "z" and they start to dwindle down to just the first "members", who soon lose interest too. It could work pretty well in a non-linear game too, just update the NPCs when some events have occured (like progressing the main quest), though may not be the most efficient use of resources (According to the in-game developer's room, one person, in a company with less than 30 employees, had making all these NPCs as thier primary job), but it makes the game pretty full of life.

 

[Delterius]

Downtime was easily the best thing about Skyrim IMO. There were some breathtaking vistas in that game with texture upgrades installed. I enjoyed having screenshot competitions with my boys. This made me a little sad because holy fuck a deeper experience in this world would be moving.

The Elder Scrolls series are games based almost entirely around downtime.

'Downtime' defines some of my best experiences with the handcrafted sandbox worlds of Olde MMORPGs. Where merely stopping for a second to admire the area might, by completely random and divine inspiration, render a new hidden cave that no one else ever discovered. Perhaps even a new quest.

Nonetheless, I think this is really big on games with environmental storytelling. Where you look around the place, realize its elements and try to deduce a story out of them.

But not fucking 'drunk-guy-Hell' Hommlet.

Also

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Surely 6 weeks isn't too bad?

 

[Delterius]

Oh, I misread that. Thought it was a year.

 

[Linden]

I also think Icewind Dale 1 and 2 are some of the best games for 'downtime'. I think it's a combination of the evocative music and the sheer amount of lore in Forgotten Realms. You can open a book, read about some place you will never visit, and let your mind wander. Or walk down the streets of Targos, admire the little details and just think about how it all fits together, your adventure and the history of Ten Towns and Icewind Dale.

I must also stress how good the intro to Icewind Dale 2 is. It's not your usual "this is you, this is the bad guy, this is your mission", yet it sets the stage perfectly. It hints at many things (by dropping the names of places and characters) thus arousing your curiosity. The interplay between the narrator (Kath Soucie as Maralie Fiddlebender) and the music is perfect. It's an intro you can appreciate even more on your second and third playthrough, when you have a better understanding of who the narrator is and what she is really talking about. It's the very opposite of the intros in popamolish modern "RPGs".



I guess what I'm trying to say is that the Icewind Dale games are packed with atmosphere, much like Morrowind. There is always the feeling that you still haven't discovered everything, that the world extends beyond the scope of the game and you are just a small part of some greater story. This makes them great for 'downtime'.


edit: Oh shit, I just noticed something. Is that "black hound" on the last page of the book what I think it is??

 

[Johannes]

Huh, there was barely anything to do in Kuldahar, you visit shops, talk to a questgiver and off you go to the next dungeon on the railroad plot. I never ever got the feeling in IWD that I haven't discovered everything, the game is so linear that I constantly knew with almost certainty that I'm doing about everything there simply is to do at all in the game.

 

[laclongquan]

Yeah, in IWD series there's no downtime.

 

[DraQ]

Downtime is as important in balancing the action as mundane is in balancing the awesome.
Without mundane, the awesome has no meaning, neither has action without downtime.

 

[Johannes]

Downtime is as important in balancing the action as mundane is in balancing the awesome.
Without mundane, the awesome has no meaning, neither has action without downtime.

So you're saying any action game ever would be better off if you'd force downtime to them?

 

[Silva]

Darklands allowed you to settle down in a Inn and find actual work in a city, computing your skills and stamina for the kind of work you found and how much money it gave. And it also improved your skills sometimes.

The game allowes you to forget its main story/quests and have a little Medieval-Sim with some honest work, some booze and gossips on the local tavern, some market shopping, going to the church for praying (and learning new miracles), etc. Really cool.

 

[DraQ]

Downtime is as important in balancing the action as mundane is in balancing the awesome.
Without mundane, the awesome has no meaning, neither has action without downtime.

So you're saying any action game ever would be better off if you'd force downtime to them?

Other than arena shooters which are played in short bursts?

 

[Invictus]

By definition downtime is not forced on the player Johannes, it is up to the player if he wants to do it that way.
Oh and to my knowledge most modern action games do give you a bit of downtime between combat via cutscenes, dialogue or mission briefings; they understand that wall to wall action is tiring without a breather

 

[DraQ]

By definition downtime is not forced on the player Johannes, it is up to the player if he wants to do it that way.
Oh and to my knowledge most modern action games do give you a bit of downtime between combat via cutscenes, dialogue or mission briefings; they understand that wall to wall action is tiring without a breather

Cutscenes are pretty poor sort of downtime, though.

 

[King Crispy]

Kuldahar is not a bad example. There's not much to do other than to listen to the excellent music playing, but it's such a pleasant tune that it begs to be allowed to linger. It fits so well with the warm, comforting atmosphere of the town.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I find that in Darksouls downtime around the campfires is something you most look forward to. Yes! A camp fire!!

 

[Silva]

The real men downtime:

Spoiler

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Great example, RB6 had some awesome downtime.

I liked playing dice in The Witcher. It helped that the dice and board art was nice and I dug the music.