As a fan of the Shadowrun setting and isometric RPGs in general, I find it ludicrous that I’m so late to the party with playing Shadowrun Returns, but I’m loving Harebrained Schemes’ entry into the cyberpunk RPG genre. It manages to convincingly capture the Shadowrun ethos while, somewhat surprisingly, fit the game setting’s mechanics into a modern isometric RPG mold. Shadowrun Returns plays to its cyberpunk and RPG genres’ strengths very well, while avoiding many of their corresponding pitfalls.
The isometric RPG genre may stand on its own with its rich pedigree (Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment, Fallout) and recent renaissance (Divinity: Original Sin, Wasteland 2, Pillars of Eternity), but there a several key things that MMOs and other games can glean from RPGs like Shadowrun Returns.
Here are three things MMOs can learn from isometric RPGs!
Character-Driven Storytelling
How ubiquitous have quotes from characters like Minsc and Boo become in the modern gaming lexicon? Baldur’s Gate, along with other games of its time, gave primacy to character-driven storytelling, effectively setting a gold standard for Bioware-driven RPGs - and those of their competitors - for years to come.
There’s something about isometric RPGs that lends them towards telling stories that hinge upon the actions and personalities of the characters therein, as well as the development of those characters as incentive for gameplay. It may be due to most isometric RPGs’ dependence on text and audio dialogue, as opposed to cutscenes, to advance story, or something else inherent to the genre’s capabilities and limitations. But for most of these games, with the exception of more mechanic-heavy entry entries like Icewind Dale, storytelling that necessitates character development is integral to the gameplay experience.
Some MMOs have taken the cue of character-driven storytelling to heart, particularly in ways that encourage the development of relationships with iconic NPCs (Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, and The Lord of the Rings Online come to mind). MMORPGs in general can learn from the isometric RPGs mentioned by making character development a focal point of their overarching narratives. NPCs can be much more than simple quest givers or one-dimensional protagonists - they can encourage players to become invested in the game world and its inhabitants.
Crunchy Mechanics
An overabundance of skill trees and other complex game mechanics may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially if they’re not explained or presented well. I must say, however, that one of my favorite pieces of games like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale is the clear intention on the designers’ part to stay true to the source Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ruleset while making it appropriate for a digital setting. I’m finding the same with Shadowrun returns, in that the game systems, while streamlined for digital play, feel true to the original setting and appropriately crunchy.
Although MMOs tend to move towards streamlining to promote more user-friendly systems, there’s something to be said for giving players more granularity if they want it. Dungeons & Dragons Online does this well, for example, giving you control over skills and feats that have quantitative effects in the game world (like Jump and Tumble). I’d love to see more of this granularity in more MMORPGs, rather than tried-and-true character progression systems that only give you incremental bonus percentages to hidden stats.
Quality of Life Improvements
Throwing myself fully into this pretty awesome RPG renaissance that we’re currently experiencing, I installed and tinkered around with the new-ish Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition, and let me tell you, that was an eye-opener. For the one or two people out there that haven’t heard me say this, Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn is one of my favorite video games ever created, and serves as a benchmark to me for all other games released before or since. Playing the Enhanced Edition of the first installment in the series helped lift my rose-tinted glasses a tiny bit, starkly pointing out how far video games have come in terms of quality of life improvements, and reminding me that what I remember from those games are the characters, stories, and D&D gameplay, not the laboriousness of some of the user interfaces and systems.
As is the case with other hobbies and activities, there are certain things that we may have been willing to do in the early days of video gaming that now seem antiquated or tiresome. I don’t, for example, want to have to take notes to keep track of quest clues or NPCs. Having played countless other modern games that do that for me, I’ve gotten used to the convenience of relying on journals that act as more than simply a repository of quest dialogue. I also don’t want to have to go around clicking every piece of loot on the screen to pick it up, as I’ve grown comfortable with autoloot as a standard rather than a feature.
There are countless other quality of life improvements that the recent rash of new isometric RPGs have made that simplify and build upon some systems from previous generations, without compromising the depth of gameplay and granularity offered by their predecessors. Some MMORPGs have taken the same kinds of steps to make the tedious aspects of MMO gameplay more streamlined or fun, including improvements to inventory management and quest tracking. Others seem to place less importance on these small tweaks and refinements, which is a major oversight that detracts from the in-game experience as a whole.
What do you think are some things MMOs can learn from isometric and other RPGs?
Column By Som Pourfarzaneh from http://www.mmorpg.com
whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster and when you look into the abyss, the abyss also look into you, -Friedrich
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Having read all of that tl:dnr wall of text :P, I agree.
Towards the end of CoH, if you just added great looking/feeling superhero movement/action to that list, you had CoH.
Character-Driven Storytelling: Everyone who wanted it could make their own story in the game, and most (not all) of the game storytelling was character driven.
Crunchy Mechanics: By the time you added in IO's and Incarnate, things got yummy Mids crunchy.
Quality of Life Improvements: Paragon Studios kept them coming in a constant stream.
Amazing looking/feeling Superhero movement/action: And CoH had this to an extent that I just haven't been able to find in another game.
I remember I was playing with my brother on an indoor map and I let off a Peacebringer nova in a room when he was out in the nearby hallway. He came running up to me (ingame) and said "what the hell happened? The screen shook and a wave of white light washed past me!" And I said, "yeah, that was me."
Not ever in any other game. Not close.
FIGHT EVIL! (or go cause trouble so the Heroes have something to do.)
sorry for wall of text
whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster and when you look into the abyss, the abyss also look into you, -Friedrich
[img]http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm106/hinata1032/Kitsune.jpg[/img]
Well organized, with headings and paragraphs, it's less a Wall and more a Presentation. No need to apologize for a detailed OP.
Be Well!
Fireheart
No, I didn't mean that seriously, I was just teasing. Mainly because I'm lazy and often don't read longer posts. But as Fire said, yours was so well structured that I read it. It's not a wall and definitely no need to apologize, just ignore my stupid silliness :)
FIGHT EVIL! (or go cause trouble so the Heroes have something to do.)
Quality of Life improvements I would say is a big one. All the small improvements that make the game less tedious and bothersome will make it more enjoyable to play. It is pretty obvious in games what IS enjoyable and what is not. But that
I for one am really enjoying the game Path of Exile. Although I don't really like how you can't customize the character physically there are so many different options to customize them externally that it makes up for it. I was surprised with the mechanics, before I got into it I wasn't expecting to like the combat but it it really enjoyable and makes me think of CoH. Has anyone else tried this game?
The Carnival of Light in the Phoenix Rising
"We never lose our demons, we only learn to live above them." - The Ancient One
Avatar by lilshironeko
Path of Exile is an excellent game. It really shows the modern style of gaming in which you can jump in and start playing a character without making choices that limit you later. I also tried "Pillars of Eternity" which is an older style D&D kind of game where you better understand the classes before you start the game and things progress much more slowly. I certainly hope that CoT is more like Path of Exile.
The Path of Exile online skill (http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree) tree is a fantastic tool which makes it easy for people to share builds using URLs.
I really like the build sharing, it's so nice to have things like Mid's to be able to create the perfect build and share it with others. One thing I wouldn't like too much is if CoT had the Isometric camera angle. I wouldn't mind it as an option but I much prefer the 3rd person angle like in CoH
The Carnival of Light in the Phoenix Rising
"We never lose our demons, we only learn to live above them." - The Ancient One
Avatar by lilshironeko
An overabundance of skill trees and other complex game mechanics may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially if they’re not explained or presented well. I must say, however, that one of my favorite pieces of games like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale is the clear intention on the designers’ part to stay true to the source Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ruleset while making it appropriate for a digital setting. I’m finding the same with Shadowrun returns, in that the game systems, while streamlined for digital play, feel true to the original setting and appropriately crunchy.
In addition to the "this power rank 7 now grants 2 stacks of whatever adding 2% to damage of powers Q and R when stack type 2 is present" x 100s of things in a class (see Star Wars the Old Republic for a disturbing example of this) I am not a fan of hypergigantism and hyperdimensionality in skill trees, where you have to work your way over to this or that skill by taking 3 or 5 crap intermediate skills.
It just delays the inevitable of noobie mistakes until a year down the road when certain best configs are worked out anyway. Is that part of the game? It's a lightning rod for the nerf bat in any case.
This is why I loved City of Heroes' system -- a limited freedom of power choices, with a bigger bag of pool/etc. type powers to pick from. And each power was massively customizable via slotting.
God I wanna just punch any game designer who talks about building up "stacks of Euphonia" on a bad guy. Let me decide how to amp up powers, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you, not you lol.
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The very existence of the taunting tank irritates, for it requires idiotic AI that obeys the taunt.
i read you comment remind me of Yahtzee say in it video here line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbQ-Qwcuehk
whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster and when you look into the abyss, the abyss also look into you, -Friedrich
[img]http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm106/hinata1032/Kitsune.jpg[/img]
The downside to that Path of Exile tree is that adding skills is such a slow process that drilling over to skills you actually want leaves you, the customer, feeling ripped off. Oh boy I leveled! I get...another throwaway skill choice.
CoH minimized this while this game seems to maximize it. Lots of choices = good. Being forced to take 3-5 throwaways for each power you REALLY want = bad.
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The very existence of the taunting tank irritates, for it requires idiotic AI that obeys the taunt.
+1 to the OP / blog post. (BTW: dawnofcrow are you the author, Som Pourfarzaneh? If you are, then good article. If not, then thanks for posting his article here and giving credit, otherwise i'd never have seen it, or that site. And big LOLs @ you guys commenting on his formatting or joking about wall of text. OF COURSE it's good, lol. I'm using my Cenk Uygur voice there.)
Also, i agree with all the comments so far about CoH and PoE. I'm STILL going through CoH withdrawal syndrome. That game kept me captivated for 8 years, and i'll never forgive those responsible for its untimely fall into darkness. Especially because the game still had so much life in it! The devs were constantly making improvements. That game was really like a second home to me.
As for PoE, i really like the complexity and customization in that game. Unfortunately, it didn't have the feel that i was really looking for, and i truly hated the XP loss upon death. Every time i died in that game, it made me feel like i'd just wasted hours of my life. And this is where i draw the connection to lessons MMOs need to learn from other sources.
It seems to me that City of Heroes pioneered the concept of "XP debt". At least it did within my own experience of gaming. If City of Titans is going to have a traditional XP system, and a penalty for character death, XP debt is the only way to go. That said, i think another lesson that can be learned from the past is that there are better ways to "level up" than by using a numerical XP system.
Thank you, and meow.