Figured I'd finally weigh in as I'm the one credited to bringing this subject to a head...
Vault Dweller said:
Just like in life, some paths, choices, and professions are more difficult but they offer certain rewards and advantages that make them more appealing to some people. Is there anything wrong with that?
Not at all, VD. I totally agree with you.
There's one honking big problem with that, though--the suspension of disbelief, or to use RPG jargon, the desire to metagame, (where the player plays his character using knowledge he as a player has about the game mechanics--ie, if I'd heard the module I was playing had a sweet +3 Mace in it, and I made my character spec into Maces with the intent of picking that up, I'd be metagaming), gets in the way. Big time. I'll explain below.
Vault Dweller said:
Now, I'm still having that delusion that I'm making a game, and in my game, for example, being a knight (profession, not a class) who serves a noble house is much much easier then being a merc who is on his own. Imo, as long as you are given a choice, and your choice is supported, it's fine. Any thoughts?
You're on the right track with the choice business. The player must always have a choice, all the choices must be supported to a conclusion, and I'd like to add, all choices must have seperate and unique effects on the game's world.
Here's what I believe, though.
In terms of game mechanics, all choices must be equal, or as close as you can get. Your knight/mercenary dichotomy is close, but it's falling victim to one thing: your own take on the issue.
Stay out of the player's game. You might think it's easier being a knight guarding some castle, but another player might think it's hell, because you're not your own person, you're just the king's lapdog, or whatnot. The game is not for you. The game is for a thousand other people who think nothing like you. Don't make choices for them by saying "Oh, well a Knight would have had it easier."
Balance issues should exist in every game--but these issues should be between the player and his character. You want to make the player's stomach turn as he watches his fellow raiders murder children and rape the mothers. You want to make a player's ambition stir when he's the sole bedroom guard of a weak and foolish king. You do NOT want to assume that a Knight's path would be any "easier" in terms of combat or obstacles when compared to a Mercenary's. Obstacles should be balanced for every path--for every good, there is an evil willing to thwart it, and for every evil, there is a good willing to stop it. Don't do otherwise.
It's my belief that a player's character should reflect the player himself. Don't hold punches when it comes to giving the player choices. Tempt the Knight with ambitions of power. Let the Mercenary have a chance to kill his compatriots in order to avenge the innocents slain. Always let the player have a choice to change the path he's on, then make the paths as visceral and real as possible.
DON'T leave mechanics unbalanced, it tears the player out of immersion like a newborn being yanked through a C-section. DO leave "paths" unbalanced. Force the player to either become his character or change--without fail, the player will feel closer to his character this way, and thus be more engrossed in your story, and have a more enjoyable time.