Game mechanics and immersion in RPGs
by Ben McDougall · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 05/08/2009 (7:46 am) · 22 replies
One of the great things about video games is that you are allowed assume the role of someone adventurous and exciting. A good game will allow you to lose yourself in that role. Achieving a deep immersion into a character and world is what sets apart the great games from the good and the bad.
By their very nature, RPGs should be particularly focused on drawing the player in. The problem I find with RPGs, those of the MMO type in particular, is that there is a wall between the player and the character/story/world formed by the game mechanics itself. Back in the days of pen and paper games it was fine to record all of the details of your character in the form of numbers and formulas and using them to generate outcomes. Today, it seems a bit archaic to have the player rely on the same mechanics to conceptualize their character.
Too often the game mechanics get in the way of character concept and immersion in the game world. People may try to look past them, but inevitably players are going to consider how he will progress to the next level, or the bonuses in raw numbers a new ability will give him.
My questions are these;
1. Can a game be constructed where a players progression is not measured in numbers: In essence, can the game mechanic of xp and the raw data of abilities be hidden, allowing the player to simply know that he is powerful and will become more powerful over time.
2. Can the execution of abilities be such that they are not just a list of powers to click: This is a bit harder to conceptualize, but what I'm going for is a more intuitive system of interacting with the world. Take spell casting for example. Need it be a hot key on a bar that you press to execute the power, or can it be a series of actions taken that would result in the desired effect?
As previously stated, my goal is immersion in character and game world. Removing the mechanical barriers would go a long way in achieving this. Players should see their characters as a difference maker in a fantastic world, not a math problem to solved.
By their very nature, RPGs should be particularly focused on drawing the player in. The problem I find with RPGs, those of the MMO type in particular, is that there is a wall between the player and the character/story/world formed by the game mechanics itself. Back in the days of pen and paper games it was fine to record all of the details of your character in the form of numbers and formulas and using them to generate outcomes. Today, it seems a bit archaic to have the player rely on the same mechanics to conceptualize their character.
Too often the game mechanics get in the way of character concept and immersion in the game world. People may try to look past them, but inevitably players are going to consider how he will progress to the next level, or the bonuses in raw numbers a new ability will give him.
My questions are these;
1. Can a game be constructed where a players progression is not measured in numbers: In essence, can the game mechanic of xp and the raw data of abilities be hidden, allowing the player to simply know that he is powerful and will become more powerful over time.
2. Can the execution of abilities be such that they are not just a list of powers to click: This is a bit harder to conceptualize, but what I'm going for is a more intuitive system of interacting with the world. Take spell casting for example. Need it be a hot key on a bar that you press to execute the power, or can it be a series of actions taken that would result in the desired effect?
As previously stated, my goal is immersion in character and game world. Removing the mechanical barriers would go a long way in achieving this. Players should see their characters as a difference maker in a fantastic world, not a math problem to solved.
#22
That goes to the heart of giving more freedom of interaction to the player. If they player can do more, then you need to have ways for the world to react to what the player does. Part of it can be GM-controlled, some of it will naturally self-regulate from the players' corner, and another way is to bring in methods from other genres such as RTS games. An over-arching MetaAI to "play" factions and zones against each other like a giant RTS game is an idea I'm working on as a way to influence players in a way that is reminiscent of how real governments try to influence their citizens (modified of course).
As an example, if an adjacent zone is controlled by an opposite faction (Faction B), and the players of that faction have a larger player population in that zone consisting of fighters, then that zone has become more of a threat to Faction A. In response, you may get a higher rate of quests directing fighters in Faction A to that area to counter the threat. It may boil over into a war (one would hope), or the other side could back down. The same kinds of metrics can be directed at player economics and other stats. And if Faction A overcompensates, then the rate of quests directing fighters to that area can decrease below normal until it stabilizes.
Then, your GM can go in and throw the balance out of whack to generate a war between two or more factions which is more dynamic than the usual "events" that occur in other MMOs.
Immersion is more than just the ability to do or change something- it's the result of what you did or changed, or possibly the result of failing to do or change something. But to accomplish that, then the world itself needs AI, not just the MOBs and NPCs.
05/13/2009 (12:43 pm)
Quote:Of course, it is still necessary for designers to take some interest in the ebb and flow of forces within the game world and provide some sort of structure
That goes to the heart of giving more freedom of interaction to the player. If they player can do more, then you need to have ways for the world to react to what the player does. Part of it can be GM-controlled, some of it will naturally self-regulate from the players' corner, and another way is to bring in methods from other genres such as RTS games. An over-arching MetaAI to "play" factions and zones against each other like a giant RTS game is an idea I'm working on as a way to influence players in a way that is reminiscent of how real governments try to influence their citizens (modified of course).
As an example, if an adjacent zone is controlled by an opposite faction (Faction B), and the players of that faction have a larger player population in that zone consisting of fighters, then that zone has become more of a threat to Faction A. In response, you may get a higher rate of quests directing fighters in Faction A to that area to counter the threat. It may boil over into a war (one would hope), or the other side could back down. The same kinds of metrics can be directed at player economics and other stats. And if Faction A overcompensates, then the rate of quests directing fighters to that area can decrease below normal until it stabilizes.
Then, your GM can go in and throw the balance out of whack to generate a war between two or more factions which is more dynamic than the usual "events" that occur in other MMOs.
Immersion is more than just the ability to do or change something- it's the result of what you did or changed, or possibly the result of failing to do or change something. But to accomplish that, then the world itself needs AI, not just the MOBs and NPCs.
Torque Owner Daniel Buckmaster
T3D Steering Committee
But what I mean by a deregulated world, just in case, is that there are fewer arbitrary enforcements like areas where you aren't allowed to kill other players, or areas in which only certain events can happen (or events that happen only in certain areas). That means it is up to the players to shape how the game plays in a given area. And this can lead into concepts such as ownership of an area.
So instead of being character-advancement based, the incentive for playing the game, generating your own story and content, is to take part in, for example, a struggle to take control of the entire world. Of course, it is still necessary for designers to take some interest in the ebb and flow of forces within the game world and provide some sort of structure, but... and I mean to recapture but bunny with this but (try that one in conversation... ;P)... this could lead to gameplay tht is less focused on character advancement, and more about the development of a particular faction or conflict over time.