Tuesday, August 14, 2007
RPG Design: Feed Me, Seymour!
I enjoy classic CRPGs. That's not much of a secret. Old-tech graphics? I use my imagination. Turn-based combat? I marginally prefer it. Lots of numerical stats? Hey, we Americans (at least of the male persuasion) can't watch sports without breaking it down into statistics and rankings. Primitive, complex interfaces? Well, okay, those really do suck, but at least you get used to them.
But there's a feature of certain "Old School" RPGs I really don't miss much...
Keeping track of food, and keeping your party fed.
The Ultima series was notorious for this. I recall very painfully hearing the explosions of static repeating for each of my characters every few steps as they starved to death in Ultima III. In Ultima VII, your party members were like baby birds, chirping every few minutes for more food, so you would (manually) shove a biscuit or something down their throats to get them to shut up for five minutes.
EverQuest also had this little "feature." You had to keep food in your inventory, or your character would start to weaken.
Keeping track of food is just not one of the fun elements of heroic fantasy. Sure, tracking the logistics might appeal to some people, but most people would rather play Aragorn than Samwise. Tracking that level of minutia just feels like a nuisance. And there's nothing heroic about your party starving to death while crossing the wilderness. If I was playing Oregon Trail or Everest or something like that, sure... that's part of the experience I'm expecting to simulate. But in adventure stories, fatigue and hunger is only good background prose. I don't want to have to live it and play accountant and quartermaster - I'd much rather concentrate on the butt-kicking aspects of my heroic career.
I haven't seen it crop up too recently, and its something I'm happy with which to say good riddance!
Are there exceptions? Absolutely. Ultima Underworld springs immediately to my mind. This was a somewhat unique "Survival RPG" set in a closed environment. It ran at a slower pace, and trying to forage enough food to keep alive was part of the challenge and interest there. I enjoyed it, and found it to be one of the very few cases where maintaining a food supply was an enjoyable part of the game.
You know, nobody's really done a "survival RPG" before or since. And there is a major digression waiting to happen...
The Vampire the Masquerade games also required you to feed. But since you play a vampire, that really makes sense as being integral to the overall gameplay. Food - blood - was a scarce commodity, and balanced out how much you could use your powers (which typically burned off the blood points you needed to fill with more blood). Again - here, it was fun, and a vital part of the game mechanics. It was interesting. And, in the case of Bloodlines, could be its own mini-game!
So there is a time & place for worrying about food in a CRPG. But on the way to do battle with the ferocious ancient dragon is NOT it.
(Vaguely) related grumblings:
* RPG Design: Quest Abuse
* RPG Design: Ye Olde Saved Game Debate
* Fair Game or Drama?
Extra-Long-Lasting Comments for Future Embarrassment Found on the Forum!
Labels: Game Design, Roleplaying Games
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 5:00 AM (Permalink)
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I remember when I was writing my own "best RPG evah!" (before MMOs were an acronym), I was thinking about how sickness might affect the player. If you were out in the rain and didn't get indoors, then you could get sick and would have to deal with that sickness. It would also prevent you from doing as much as you could do if you were healthy. If you don't complete certain tasks on time, then when you have recovered, voila! A different branch of the game story!
Looking back, I can't see how that would be much fun UNLESS it was a huge part of the game. And even then, wouldn't it just be frustrating?
Heroic heroes don't get sick, need sleep, or starve from lack of food, so expecting the player to take care of such basic needs is tedious and gets in the way. Or is it? Is it really only appropriate to ask the player to take care of his/her character if the game play centers around such mechanics? Can it be made to work otherwise?
It works in Nethack, but survival is a huge part of that game.
What if it wasn't as big of a problem? After all, if I don't eat for a day, I'll survive a few more. I may get weak as the days go on, but I can survive well enough. In games, if I recall correctly, it always seemed like the player characters were hypoglycemic or something.
Looking back, I can't see how that would be much fun UNLESS it was a huge part of the game. And even then, wouldn't it just be frustrating?
Heroic heroes don't get sick, need sleep, or starve from lack of food, so expecting the player to take care of such basic needs is tedious and gets in the way. Or is it? Is it really only appropriate to ask the player to take care of his/her character if the game play centers around such mechanics? Can it be made to work otherwise?
It works in Nethack, but survival is a huge part of that game.
What if it wasn't as big of a problem? After all, if I don't eat for a day, I'll survive a few more. I may get weak as the days go on, but I can survive well enough. In games, if I recall correctly, it always seemed like the player characters were hypoglycemic or something.
Yeah, it comes down to whether or not the added feature contributes or detracts from the focus of the game.
Nethack... I dunno. You are right, it is a little survival-centric... but and it's undoubtably a huge part of the game. I never really decided I liked it though.
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Nethack... I dunno. You are right, it is a little survival-centric... but and it's undoubtably a huge part of the game. I never really decided I liked it though.
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