A semi-interesting article up on the horribly named NWN 2 News. Thought some people here might be interested in it.
Yeah, so all you kids who claim to be "RPers" just because you played Fallout: get out of here!
The Rhomal Report said:Why twitch gamers suck or stop screwing with my CRPGs!
by Rhomal
It is undeniable the influence first person shooters (FPS) and real time strategy (RTS) have had on computer RPG’s (CRPG) in recent years. Back in the day of Sir Tech and SSI CRPG’s there was no instant gratification. They were slower placed, long drawn out stories, mostly turn based combat, with highly detailed characters and stats. Compared a Sir Tech CRPG and Doom 1 was pretty obvious differences back then.
With the popularity of games like the Red Alert series which put RTS’s on the map in the mid 90’s (and the dozens of clones that followed) the CRPG industry felt the need to keep pace (and get a slice of the pie) it seemed.
Now in fairness, if you look at the CRPG industry in the mid 90’s it was not all peachy. I do not purport to imply the RTS and FPS industry steamrolled another vibrant sub-market. The CRPG game market was in decline from its golden age of the DOS era and more or less limping by. Windows 95 and DirectX made it much easier for developers to do 2D and specifically 3D graphics in their games. And thus, was an indirect result of the events that unfolded. DX and FPS/RTS was for the most part just kicking a already down on its luck industry.
I also want to put equal blame on the CRPG developers of the time. Rather then try to innovate and wrap their hands around the new technologies they either kept the old mind sets and formulas and thus went under (Sir Tech), abandoned the market (SSI) or caved in to the pressure for more action and the “Action-RPG” hybrid was born. (Most recent example is Dungeon Siege). This dilutes the RPG aspect to the level of little more then basic stats and number of uber l00t items.
By the late 90’s the market was dominated by FPSers and RTS games. I do not recall one AAA CRPG until Bioware took the CRPG market off life support and gave a new chance with Baldur’s Gate and it’s follow up titles.
But by this time the massive appeal and influence of the FPS/RTS crowd could not be denied. Some development houses were able to merge the two genres successfully. Deus Ex and Thief come to mind. But they were sadly the exception rather then the rule.
Of course this had a effect on those twitch gamers influencing CRPGs. Developers continued to dumb down CRPGs with simplistic plots, only solution to the vast majority of issues was combat (Hack & Slash) and one dimensional characters.
This was even more so apparent when even Bioware was not immune to this “dumbing down” effect. Compare BG 1 and 2 and you will see what I am speaking of. One example; these twitch gamers wanting the instant gratification complained and whined enough for Bioware to remove the large areas to explore. As apparently the horrid idea of ‘exploring’ in a CRPG was too time consuming for these players with a attention span of a earth worm.
And their follow up to the BG series, Neverwinter Nights; which would have been a bomb if not for the toolset and MP. The OC was horrendous (which took them two years to finally have the testicular fortitude to admit) that was little more then back to back giant Fed-Ex quests with almost limitless combat. I will say in fairness there were a few nicely designed parts of NWN but by and large my comment stands.
Now one could argue since the much better story/polish in their expansions in NWN it was just a matter of then getting used to their own toolset. I wouldn’t disagree with that comment entirely, but I do believe the fact remains you can’t go from the differences from BG to NWN without some influences. I don’t buy the defense they were completely ignorant. This is Bioware, they had by that point put out enough titles to have the skills to produce a better OC. And I find it hard to believe they were that incompetent to not only release a game with an aged rendering engine AND a poor OC (from a RPG standpoint) at the same time. It only makes sense on some level the twitch gamers at the time had an influence, and still do (Jade Empire anyone), on their design process.
With all that said, We must now turn to Black Isle. Who seem, aside from the BG series, to have produced some of the best CRPG’s of all time. Fallout, Planescape and even, IMO, one of the better ‘action RPGs’ Icewind Dale.
But even they could not avoid the fate of Sir Tech and the like. Obvious mishandling, poor management was to blame on Interplays part for its demise. Though hope remains, with the founding of Obsidian and its core staff of many from Black Isle. The jury is still out until we see NWN 2 however, and see if they can re-capture the RPG spirit and fix the originals many short comings. Time will certainly tell.
With all that said, is there no hope to purge this twitch mentality from CRPGs? That is a fair question that has to be asked, realistically. To be honest we, including myself, don’t know. I believe it is fair to ask ourselves is the day of Fallout and BG 1 dead and buried? Certain studios have tried, the last such attempt that comes to mind, Vampire: Bloodlines; was met with mixed results from fans mostly due to the lack of proper Q/A (which is a story in of itself). But was the anemic units sold due to some bugs or lack of serious CRPG players left? Recall Fallout 1 and 2, had serious bugs on release but still sold well.
I would like to suggest serious, or even hardcore, RPGers are a dying breed. With the advent of RTS and FPSers the kids being introduced into gaming are doing with fast action, instant gratification and high gore games. When then presented with a slower paced game that requires thinking and management they snub their noses too it. Unless of course, they take the Dungeon Siege or Diablo approach to appeal to their limited attention span.
What makes this stand out to me, while traveling the forums I see these younger gamers claim to be ‘RPers’ just because they happened to play BG or Fallout. Yet, post against such things as slower game play, deep and involving dialog/plot and any kind of character management. I hate to be the one to crush your opinion of yourself but if you disagree with the above you’re not a ‘RPer’.
If you want a twitch, constant quick game play then go play your shooter or RTS. And for the love of the gods leave my CRPGs alone! I am making a call to arms for all the CRPGer’s out there who this commentary struck a chord with. We can not afford to be silent any longer if we want to see our hobby survive. If you want to see another Fallout or BG 1 or Planescape then sitting by the way side isn’t going to work any longer. It is time to stand up and shout! Post on the forums, PM the lead developers, post on your blog, write your own commentary on the topic and send it to CRPG sites.
The time of inaction and just sitting back hoping things turn around for is, and has been, at an end. We are at a cross roads and we must act. The FPSers certainly make their case and are vocal, thus we must be the same if developers are to be swayed to our wishes, and the time for silence is over!
Who’s with me?
Yeah, so all you kids who claim to be "RPers" just because you played Fallout: get out of here!
