Nostalgia

Recently I made this post over at the NWN2 forums.

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First, let me say this:

I am a gamer. A true, I've dedicated my life to it, often at the expense of 'real' things like school, or work, honest to god, gamer.

FPS, RTS, RPG, MMO, PnP, Solitare, Chess, Monopoly, online, off-line, if it's cards, dice or chits (the three of you laughing can stop now, since you probably still have your mud die). I love them all.

Let me start by dismissing a myth.

Role Playing Games have nothing to do with the story.

I'd like to repeat that because it's vaugely important.

Role Playing Games are not now, nor should they ever have been about the story.

They're about playing a character, and dealing with their reactions and interactions in a fictional setting. STORY tends to push them (meaning the characters) to the background, water down the experience, etc. When you look back at all these connected stages of a good game you have a story, but the story itself, is nothing but a happy accident.

Want proof?

Ultima VII.

Go on, what was the story of Ultima VII? You can tell me the setting, you can tell me what was happening in the game world, but you can't tell me the 'story'.

What was the story in Diablo II? You can tell me that. Because even with some random side things to do, it was a very linear, one way to win, connect the dots STORY. Which character you played, how you talked to townfolk, etc, was laid out in advance, and you played the parts between the lines of the story. But what your character did, didn't really matter.

What old school gamers complain about, when you take another stat away, or reason to roll the dice, is that you're taking away an aspect of that character's persona. Like removing the mole from Cindy, the difference between you and the next character became a little less, and the reason to share the story that's come to be your character has faded away. After decades of taking things about because they're hard has reduced
'role playing' to reading a book while having blob a hit blob b for x damage.

Those stupid little things we old gamers complain about like, food, money types, or carying 5 sets of plate mail seem silly. It's a game after all. "It's meant to be fun, not hard."

No. Not realy.

There was once a golden rule of game development: Easy to learn, difficult to master.

Now, it's easy to learn, easy to master. We don't want people spending to long on a game, because they won't buy your next one. You know the one where the next point haird, sexually ambigious 12 year old boy with an oversized sword is saving the world from a demon.

Role Playing is stats. Very, very much so.

The situations in the world, give us a reason to use those stats. That's the setting.

The openness of the world, gives those stats a chance to be used, and help make our character feel like something different. Those are the chapters.

How we react with our stats and character becomes a story.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's snowing. Which means it's time to walk up hill to my friendly local game shop (FLGS).

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So, if you don't know NWN2 is on it's way, shame on you.

But I think it's worth repeating that games are getting dumber, and that is a Bad Thing.