Story Lines, Mechanics, and RPG Elements that Kept me Playing

Introduction

One of the biggest selling points to me in an RPG is the story. Whether some one sprinkled me with pixie dust or if it has to do with Final Fantasy introducing me to the genre, I don't know, I just like a good story. Take a book for example. A good book will glue you to the pages and not let you go until you have finished the last page. This is why I have completed almost every Final Fantasy game I played, the story got to me, made me feel like a part of it, and jerked my imagination around like a rag doll. I had to know what happened next, and have finished a few of them at very low levels trying raffling through the story as quickly as possible.

Take for example the Might and Magic series. To begin with, I have played 3 through 7, and enjoyed everyone of them, but never finished any of them. There was no real problem with these games, they were fun, they were adventurous, and they had most of the classic RPG elements with their own branding. I think it was the open ended adventurous aspects of the game that robbed the game of a full blown story. Besides some of the best self improvement in any RPG, there was really no draw to keep on going once the game started to feel like work.

A Quick Stop on Self Improvement in an RPG

I just want to hit on one of the basic RPG elements before I go any further, and what better way to start this section than with the stats. Stats are my number two reason for playing an RPG. I love stat systems and leveling up. The stat system in Final Fantasy for me was never that great. I liked the mechanics behind it, but I had no control. This was great for character development in the story line, but took a lot of the fun out of the actual game play. In my mind, the Realms of Arcania series has the stat system that is hard to beat, closely rivaled by the Wizardry series. I enjoy AD&D as much as the next person, but I felt that it was too simplistic for cRPG's since the computer managed the calculations. In my eyes the stat systems needed to be much more advanced, allowing a new comer to pick up quickly while offering a challenge to the most advanced of RPG gamers.

Getting back to the topic at hand, the first two games in the RoA series were fun to me for two reasons, one being the stats. Now RoA's stat system was an advanced beast that offered fine tuning at about any point in time. It was possible for a level up to take up to an hour, basically making level ups a mini game. Diablo 2 did very well with simple stats and skills. While many argue the unbalance of the classes, the fun to be had with this game is beyond addictive, and I feel that the total control of stats and skills was a key participant.

As stated previously, the big draw to go on in Might and Magic, as well as many other RPG's, is self improvement. I really don't know who started some of these mechanics but Might and Magic executed their branding of them wonderfully. Not only did it take experience to improve yourself, but it took money, knowing the right master, and world travel in order to bring your character around to their full potential. It was very involved and took a lot of management and planning in order to achieve a desirable character for later on into the game. This improvement style really shifts the NPC into the forefront because so many of them are so valuable to you as a player.

Moving away from simple training, there is also the guild system. The first game I played that employed the Guild System was Daggerfall. While the guild was more of an identity than directly related to your stats, it served its purpose well. When I first started playing the game I ignored these entirely, but as time went on I began to explore this area of the game. It seemed to me that the purpose of the guild was intended on giving the player a role beyond their profession. In fact, it was much more interactive than the profession, and really drew you in to what you were trying to accomplish. To me, the guild system was the true immersive element that made me feel like part of the game.

There are a lot of other areas I could pick on, but my last stop is going to be good vs evil. As a kid, Star Wars was unrivaled as my favorite movie series. My legos quickly found themselves in the form of x-wings and star destroyers. Anyway, the overall epic struggle in these movies and books was the struggle between the force and the dark side. Many RPG's have now found this paramount in their game play and you can quickly find yourself on either side of the conflict. This mechanic welds self improvement and self degradation into one being and give the character good control over how not only the character, but also how the story will evolve. Many of you know, D&D has had a similar mechanic woven into their game play for quite some time, and it offers rewards as well as challenges making the game play feel a lot less linear.

Lore

I stated two reasons for really like the RoA series. Well, lore is the second. With the exception of Shadows Over Riva, RoA didn't have what I would call a great story line, they had more of just a plot. While a simple plot alone will bore me quickly, I came to find an intriguing world that I constantly wanted to know more about. Wizardry 7 was much the same way. The history, and the odd cultures wrapped into this simple plot line made for a spectacular RPG experience that no one will soon forget.

Class Swapping and Multi-Classing

This is where Wizardry 7 almost ruined RPG's for me. The class swapping in this game had me addicted, and it was hard for me to play single class games for the longest afterwards. It was like a mini game that would not end. If I got bored, I would start experimenting with character classes. When I wasn't bored, I would trod through the game. With this mechanic there seemed to be so much to do that it was hard to stop playing. It literally felt like I had two games going on in this game at all times.

Bioware finally came through for me in NWN's with their level up system. I enjoyed multi-classing too much, and literally spent hours in the contest of champions creating new characters and leveling them up to see what I could achieve. I was no longer stuck with one of over a dozen pre-determined classes, I could now mix and match to make my own character. It felt personalized, taking the strengths and weaknesses from each of the classes and actually matching my wits against the game. I will barely touch a 3d game with a third person camera, so the time I spent on this game really said something to me about the addiction of multi-classing.

Equipment

They say that the first step on the road to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. I quickly found in RPG's that I like equipment. When I spend extra time scouring the area turning every stone, I am gambling on the chance of finding that legendary sword of ultimate death +1, or that you can't touch this plate armor of the feather that only weighs 2 pounds and provides extra resistance to attackers who's last name is Xtollnander.

Weapons have always been interesting to me since I was young. My dad would take me hunting from time to time and that just fueled it all the more. Of course, weapons in real life are expensive, and somewhat dangerous when mis-handled. This isn't the case on the computer. I can safely and affordably hobby in weapons to my hearts content using nothing more than a keyboard and mouse. As an added bonus, I get to use these weapons, with no consequence, and with no regret.

Exploration

Wizardry 7 was the first game to annoy me with equipment, it was hard to find at first. As I played on, I found that this was a very good thing for that game, because when I found things through exploration, I truly felt rewarded. Never before had any game made me want to explore every nook and cranny as badly as Wizardry 7. I just knew that if I left any stone unturned that I was going to ultimately miss out on the experience everyone will be talking about for years to come. I would go into places I did not yet belong just to see if I could steal away just a glimpse of what I had yet to find.

Through reward an RPG can make a player truly feel the adventure intended. What good would an Indiana Jones movie be if there was no reward at the end of the journey. Sure, he rarely made it away with it, but the fact that it was there struck the imagination of a generation. The same is easily true of a video game, there needs to be something there, something attainable, something spurring them into the fray with little knowledge of where they are going.

And Back to the Story

All of these mechanics make for great games, and beyond great games. There are so many games that have minimized the story to maximize game play and pulled it off so succinctly that I personally wouldn't have it any other way. As a consumer of games, it is hard to explore the market without looking for familiarity, and comparing new games to the great games of our past. It is very easy to get irritated with what is offered. Just remember, in all the centuries that music has been around, history holds but a few truly outstanding names surrounded by a sea of those who's names have vanished into the pages. This does not discount the fact that people enjoyed those who were great for only a time.

For more opinions on this topic you can easily start here at Rampant Games.