Wyrmlord
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2008
- Messages
- 28,886
I was just playing Daggerfall, and I just can't help but keep thinking, "Damn, this game is fun." It's just so damn amazing.
Everything feels right in this game. A few blows is all that makes the difference between whether you or your enemy remains alive. The loot from enemies always lies within the range of slightly below average to slightly above average, enough for you to have something better to find, whilst having enough incentive to keep something that might get you a few more coins. And that is just enough money for you to save up until you blow it off on a horse or some other convenience.
The very idea of a game in which you descend into large complicated dungeons risking your neck at every corner just so you can get a little more money and just have a little better living - it's genius, really. And it's always enough to make you feel like it is worth it. For all that, whenever you find some magical item, like a Shortsword of Levitation, it feels like a huge permanent advantage, without making you feel like you have been handed an exploit, or some disposable item you can easily ignore.
So how would or should the last two ES games have been made? Well, I for one wouldn't change a single thing about the game's mechanics. Leave it as it is. However, it was unfortunate enough that Daggerfall reused Arena's music, so the game definitely needs a whole revamp in terms of music and soundsets. A change in technology would be welcome provided they do not require the mechanics to be changed. Though I think that it may well be better to have better drawn sprites than simply go for second rate ugly 3D models.
One thing I would definitely do is build twisting, dense, and complicated cities, which are meant for you to use wall climbing and jumping to get from one place to another. Like those cities we see in Alladin. Seriously, why did they have to remove wall climbing? A reasonable feature that no one ever would object to. And you would think that mainstream games would hold the vanguard in pushing technology. Yet, we saw the removal of wall climbing and jumping through city rooftops, reducing the whole city to nothing more than unusable props. Even though an older game had the decency to implement such a thing with less technology.
Everything feels right in this game. A few blows is all that makes the difference between whether you or your enemy remains alive. The loot from enemies always lies within the range of slightly below average to slightly above average, enough for you to have something better to find, whilst having enough incentive to keep something that might get you a few more coins. And that is just enough money for you to save up until you blow it off on a horse or some other convenience.
The very idea of a game in which you descend into large complicated dungeons risking your neck at every corner just so you can get a little more money and just have a little better living - it's genius, really. And it's always enough to make you feel like it is worth it. For all that, whenever you find some magical item, like a Shortsword of Levitation, it feels like a huge permanent advantage, without making you feel like you have been handed an exploit, or some disposable item you can easily ignore.
So how would or should the last two ES games have been made? Well, I for one wouldn't change a single thing about the game's mechanics. Leave it as it is. However, it was unfortunate enough that Daggerfall reused Arena's music, so the game definitely needs a whole revamp in terms of music and soundsets. A change in technology would be welcome provided they do not require the mechanics to be changed. Though I think that it may well be better to have better drawn sprites than simply go for second rate ugly 3D models.
One thing I would definitely do is build twisting, dense, and complicated cities, which are meant for you to use wall climbing and jumping to get from one place to another. Like those cities we see in Alladin. Seriously, why did they have to remove wall climbing? A reasonable feature that no one ever would object to. And you would think that mainstream games would hold the vanguard in pushing technology. Yet, we saw the removal of wall climbing and jumping through city rooftops, reducing the whole city to nothing more than unusable props. Even though an older game had the decency to implement such a thing with less technology.