Articles

GameGuy: The
“Role Playing” Edition
By Mark H. Walker

I hate taking out the garbage,
mowing the grass, or painting my house. It’s not so much the work
I mind, but the constant reminder of my work-a-day life’s responsibilities.
Nevertheless, I do it because I know it’s only temporary. When the
kids are in bed, my basement computer beckons, and I escape the chores.
Sometimes the escape is the flashing guns of Serious Sam: Second
Encounter, other times the sinewy esses of Watkins Glen
International race track, still others the booming tank cannon of
the Operational Art of War II. But by far the best reality
displacement devices are the dungeons, wasteland villages, and space
ship corridors of computer role-playing games.

Today’s computer role-players
have much to be thankful for: Diablo II, Baldur’s Gate II,
Deux Ex, Septerra Core (just kidding). There has never
been a better time to take up falchion or flechette gun and romp through
an alternate reality. But for how long will the romping stay good,
what must CRPG designers do to ensure a strong future for the genre?

In short, they need to
make me forget to take out the trash, mow my grass, and paint my house.
They need to keep and enhance that immersive edge they hold over the
other genres. An obvious observation perhaps, but how best hold that
edge? I feel dialogue, combat and pacing, setting, and acting are
the edge-holders. Let me explain.

First up, dialogue. Notice
that I didn’t say plot, story, or any other grand verbal machination.
Until developers hire writers to pen their tales, I won’t expect good
story from a computer game. No, I’m talking dialogue, the simple interaction
between characters. Too much CRPG dialogue is stilted, dead, and way
too long. Case in point is anything from Squaresoft and parts of Baldur’s
Gate. We’re here to play a game, folks, not study philosophy.
Don’t *remind* the players that they are reading. Trim the words,
add a pinch of humor, and you’ll keep a few more fans awake. Morte’s
passages in Planescape Torment is an excellent example of dialogue
done right.

Combat and pacing. Take
a turn-based RPG, put in too many battles, and it slows to a crawl
(Can you say Wizardy 8?). On the other hand, real-time combat
glosses over the gamer’s tactical options –and an order-while-paused
feature is little more than a band aid compromise. RPGs of the future
need innovative systems such as Squaresoft’s Active Time Battle, Parasite
Eve 2‘s real-time/turn-base engine, and Septerra Core‘s
time/turn-based hybrid. And while we are on pacing… it’s all about
peaks and valleys –bosses should be bosses, not pushovers, or any
combat system losses its luster. You gettin’ this down Monolith?

Setting. Role-playing games
started in dungeons, but there is no need to stay there. So far the
staying has paid off; Baldur’s Gate sold over a million copies,
and Diablo II has amassed figures equal to Brittany Spear’s
income. Yet like Brittany, the dungeon’s allure will soon fade. The
RPGs of tomorrow will certainly include dungeon crawls, but I think
the next big game lies in the realm of Science Fiction. Maybe Bioware’s
Star War’s RPG? Or Interplay’s Fallout 3? Who knows? But I
know that sooner or latter gamers will tire of swinging swords and
turn to flashing lasers.

But make no mistake, Dungeon
and science fiction are not the only “settings.” Developers
must also decide whether to develop for the multi or single player
market. Which market is the wave of the future is a toss up. Massively
multiplayer online RPGs aren’t going away. They are damn fun, and
a great way to flirt with girls (at least I think they’re girls) without
enduring their haughty sneers. But on the flip side of the shield,
single player offers better story, and a sense of completion. Don’t
expect either to dominate.

Acting. I can’t tell you
how many role-playing games bad voice acting has ruined. Actually
I could tell you, but that would be a different column. Odium
springs immediately to mind. Yet, good voice acting can suck players
into the game’s universe like nothing else. Once Diablo‘s Rogue
spoke, “And where would I put that?” I couldn’t stop playing
(I’m better now). Bottom line, if you want to produce a high-quality
game, you better belly up to the quality voice-acting bar.

Obvious by omission to
the immersive-edge list are graphics and game length. Graphics? Who
cares? Diablo II is 640 X 480 (yeah, the expansion has 800
X 600, but you know what I’m saying) Vampire is resplendent
in 1024 X 768, but who topped NPD’s list? Length? Well, you already
read that diatribe. Baldur’s Gate II supposedly tops out at
200 plus hours. Why? Are you going to sink 200 hours into it? I say
it’s a waste of development man (or woman) power.

In the final analysis,
CRPG is one of the strongest genres on the market. Yet that strength
must be nurtured in order to grow. If CRPGs hope to maintain their
strong sales, the games of the future must improve dialogue, invent
new combat engines, vary setting, and employ high-quality actors.
Only then will the immersion continue, and only then will I have a
good excuse to blow off the garbage, lawn, and paint.

© Mark H.
Walker, LLC 2002
Mark H. Walker is a veteran interactive entertainment journalist who
has written over 40 books including his soon to be released, Games
That Sell!