The case against numbers

gordonbennett

Hello everyone

We've all seen it many times. A game is launched which has a number of set classes within which are a wide variety of possible skill lines. A particular skill line gives better dps. Suddenly, anyone who has not built their character in this one specific way gets booted from groups and is seen as a liability and/or a naïve noob. Before long, the game is populated by clones.

More to the point, boss encounters become timed to match this 'perfect' build so thus supporting the player-based insistence on conformity. Attempts to add diversity by 'evening out' the skills leads to years of rebalancing and counter-rebalancing until in the end you have every class and build being either simplified down to largely cosmetic 'bulk builds' or being completely interchangeable.

And in all of this, class-specific contributions to the wider adventure, such as detecting magic or unlocking chests and doors, is quietly forgotten.

Weapon types are also equalised. A two-handed weapon is a slow provider of a powerful blow. Nobody armed with daggers ever won a fight against an equally-skilled opponent with swords, and yet no assassin ever achieved speed or surprise with a four foot piece of tempered metal-- well apart from that one who hid in the toilet....

I'm not sure if this is a lost battle in a world where so many people seem to expect that every game has the same mechanics and should appeal to the same gamer lust for numbers. The irony is that, when even the most principled of game providers bows to the clamour of the masses for 'moar dots', the game then becomes dreary, dull and unappealing.

What am I arguing for here? Perhaps a little resistance to the above. What am I going to get?

Rob

Crassius

You'll get exactly what the majority wants because keeping the most people happy over the longest period of time is what will bring in most money.

It'll always come down to cash. There are no scruples in management anywhere, anymore. No belief in a design or philosophy. No 'I have a dream' games.

It's all about the cash flow. All we can do is play until we don't want to and then lament what might have been... again.

paradoxorganisationb16_ESO

There is already a long thread (and others) on basicly the same subject just wider range and different wording here: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/93183/who-do-you-think-you-are#latest

And on the subject of if you want realism as per some of your examples...Umm first of yeah it's a computer game and if you really want things a specific way to your standards of realism i guess there are other games out there that can provide what you want.

knaveofengland

oh my and I thought this was a ciggie packet accounting post

j.frank.nicholsb14_ESO

I think the problem is that the basic design of all these games is the same, as has been said, to cater to the largest number of people - which drives profits.

And yes, I left Wow because I had no desire to be a clone, where the only acceptable build is the one everyone else uses and the only acceptable rotation was the one shown to me by my add-on. Basically playing whack-a-mole on the action bar and never bothering to look at what was going on in the game.

I like ESO a lot and find the ability to customize builds interesting, but I expect that before too long the top end end game players will all walk in closely synchronized lock step.

KerinKor

j.frank.nicholsb14_ESO wrote: »

And yes, I left Wow because I had no desire to be a clone, where the only acceptable build is the one everyone else uses and the only acceptable rotation was the one shown to me by my add-on. Basically playing whack-a-mole on the action bar and never bothering to look at what was going on in the game.

Enjoy the soloing in this game because once you group-up then the min/maxers will tell you what spec is 'required' just like in all other MMOs .. in fact it's already started:

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/92443/melee-is-so-weak-they-are-getting-booted-out-of-dungeon-groups

daneyulebub17_ESO

You'll get exactly what the majority wants because keeping the most people happy over the longest period of time is what will bring in most money.

What people don't understand is, those aren't the same thing. People "want" a lot of things--easy bosses, easy travel, easy crafting, easy this, easy that. Convenience, crazy armor, no grind, mini-maps, auction houses, painless death, etc.

The thing is--in the long run, providing what they "want" won't keep them happy over the longest period of time. It will just produce a boring, face roll of a game. Good design balances what's wanted with what's needed to provide a challenging long term experience, full of inconveniences and annoyances and frustrations that add up to something people will become invested in and not get bored with in 30 days.