The Perfect RPG
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I'm tempted to just post my whole design document, but that would probably take up half the forum, so; open ended character progression.
A stat system that doesn't increase exponentially on a linear plane as levels rise. Your enchanted mythril sword of improbable construction should not do several times the damage of a steel sword per swing. It should perhaps do a little more damage (depending on the system) and have other, less obvious advantages (eternally sharp edge, use as a light, ability to store and release spells, et cetera)... a la D20.
1d8 vs 1d8+3 with multiple attacks at high levels as opposed to 12-20 damage vs 4783-10529 damage at high levels. Balance is much more organic that way. Your level 20 fighter has to at least swing his sword to kill a level 1 mage that way, as opposed to simply breathing on one.
1d8 vs 1d8+3 with multiple attacks at high levels as opposed to 12-20 damage vs 4783-10529 damage at high levels. Balance is much more organic that way. Your level 20 fighter has to at least swing his sword to kill a level 1 mage that way, as opposed to simply breathing on one.
Final Fantasy 12 as a foundation, only with verticality, a grandiose story and a main character that has purpose within the main-story, mix that with Xenoblade Chronical's side quest and relationship systems, Monster Hunter's strategic combat with Zelda's lock on system and collision detection and to top it all off, throw in Lost Odyssey's backstory narratives (dreams) and it's quality and lengthy cinematics. 1080p / 60fps.
Man, that would be the best game ever.
Man, that would be the best game ever.
well there is alot of subjectiveness that can't be balanced out (somewhat)FPLOON said:
such as having one person vs having a party of people to control (you can take one person and no one else but that would fuck with the combat/style of the game)
D&D style gameplay or action real time based? (personally I prefer D&D turn/pause combat, but that's just me)
I don't think there is any "fault" for those decisions, it's just whatever the developer rolls with, but obviously people are going to have their opinions on what is "better".
I'm trying to pry my nostalgia goggles off my face, but they keep whispering "Baldur's Gate 2" & "Majora's Mask" in my ear.
Hands down the best 2D RPG I ever played is an indie PC 3-part episodic game called Aveyond 3 (which annoyingly is not numbered to tell you which chapter you're supposed to play first).
My lazy procrastinating ass still has Skyrim, The Witcher, dragon Age, & Torchlight sitting on a shelf in shrinkwrap collecting dust. I will get around to them someday.....
Hands down the best 2D RPG I ever played is an indie PC 3-part episodic game called Aveyond 3 (which annoyingly is not numbered to tell you which chapter you're supposed to play first).
My lazy procrastinating ass still has Skyrim, The Witcher, dragon Age, & Torchlight sitting on a shelf in shrinkwrap collecting dust. I will get around to them someday.....
A game that combined the strong narrative focus of linear JRPGs with the expansive worlds, NPCs, and side quests of WRPGs.
Basically what you'd get if you "fallout" by way of "tales of", with the lore of "shin megami tensei"
Basically what you'd get if you "fallout" by way of "tales of", with the lore of "shin megami tensei"
I think New Vegas is an egregious example of having multiple factions. Seeing as regardless of if you chose NCR, Legion, House or independent, you still only have a handful of quests to make friendly with the exact same people each time.chaser5000 said:
That depends... If the choice is not meaningful, then it's not choice at all. I could go further, but Extra Credits covered this better than I ever could.JazzJack2 said:
OT: In addition to the "gaining experience through doing", I like to see immediate incremental stat increases happen in a similar manner like in the Rune Factory series. Run around a lot? You get better at running and your stamina (RP) increases too. Swing a sword a lot? Deal more damage and get more strength. Use fire magic a lot? Deal more damage and get resists.
A counter example would be Morrowind and Oblivion. I liked Oblivion for the most part, and I feel I would have liked Morrowind if not for the complete shit combat, but instead of playing a video game, they both felt like I was playing a spreadsheet. I want to gain +5 Endurance, +5 Agility and +1 Luck? Then I should only get +10 skill increases in Endurance skills, +10 skill increases in Agility skills and nothing else.
Depth, not width.
I need a world with lots to do, so that the world feels living. A game that is massive and empty is no good to anyone. For example, in the future, I would like to see a deeper Elder Scrolls, not a bigger Elder Scrolls. I want a Skyrim with more randomly generated encounters, deeper quest lines, appropriate reactions to your actions in the world. Quality of quantity, if you will.
A good start would be to take the stories and plots from Oblivion (particularly the Dark Brotherhood), and implant them into the Skyrim engine. Honestly, the 'guild' quest lines felt really weak to me in the most recent installment of the Elder Scrolls.
I need a world with lots to do, so that the world feels living. A game that is massive and empty is no good to anyone. For example, in the future, I would like to see a deeper Elder Scrolls, not a bigger Elder Scrolls. I want a Skyrim with more randomly generated encounters, deeper quest lines, appropriate reactions to your actions in the world. Quality of quantity, if you will.
A good start would be to take the stories and plots from Oblivion (particularly the Dark Brotherhood), and implant them into the Skyrim engine. Honestly, the 'guild' quest lines felt really weak to me in the most recent installment of the Elder Scrolls.
A game that lets you level up different weapons and magic, instead of equipping an axe for the first time and being a master of it instantly, while giving you your special skills once you hit certain marks. I've only seen the first Grandia use this system in RPGs so far(if someone knows another game like it then I'd really like to know) and it's a pity since it makes so much more sense.
Loot varying depending on how you kill an enemy, specifically relating to body part destruction (Monster Hunter).
Practice based skill development and no class roles, so no arbitrary limitations on equipment use. If I'm trapped and surrounded by orcs and I shouldn't be fighting them off with my fists because the jewelled deathaxe of miscreant gods I stole from their temple is only wieldable by higher level players, having started this quest 'before I was supposed to'. That is garbage logic, if you're player is lame at wielding melee weapons then you should be able to wield them lamely, they shouldn't somehow be impossible to use.
In depth customization that incorporates stats, skills, classes and gear. You should be able to make a cookie-cutter character, or a character that stands apart from the crowd and both should be equally effective.
A second thing that I don't think is necessary but that I really prefer in a game is Small Stats. Having lower numbers that a player can actually wrap their head around instead of seeing stats that are 5 or 6 digits long. Even the most recent Fire Emblem has stats that cap at 50 and the earlier ones capped at 30. (Not including HP or Avoid or stat boosting gear/skills) Because the game uses simple calculations with small numbers you can figure out most of what you want to know in your head, easily - which I like.
A second thing that I don't think is necessary but that I really prefer in a game is Small Stats. Having lower numbers that a player can actually wrap their head around instead of seeing stats that are 5 or 6 digits long. Even the most recent Fire Emblem has stats that cap at 50 and the earlier ones capped at 30. (Not including HP or Avoid or stat boosting gear/skills) Because the game uses simple calculations with small numbers you can figure out most of what you want to know in your head, easily - which I like.
It really all depends. In general, I loved Super Mario RPG for its unique take on the Mario world, fleshing out its own little part of the Mushroom Kingdom that just hasn't been beaten by any other as of yet simply because it looked, felt, and played differently than any other Mario or RPG of its time.
So, for me, it's how well you take an already established setting/genre and flip it around without completely alienating me. [sub]Hell, that's one of the reasons Hyrule Warriors has me a little giddy, and that's not even an RPG.[/sub] Then again, I suppose that's not a mechanic as much as it is just an excuse for me to talk about Super Mario RPG.
Alright: For me it's the little things you can do after you've played the game enough. Dark Souls in particular has a ton of these, from getting the Demon's Hammer in the tutorial boss fight by beating it the first time you encounter it, to skipping an entire section of the game because you got the Master Key.
So, for me, it's how well you take an already established setting/genre and flip it around without completely alienating me. [sub]Hell, that's one of the reasons Hyrule Warriors has me a little giddy, and that's not even an RPG.[/sub] Then again, I suppose that's not a mechanic as much as it is just an excuse for me to talk about Super Mario RPG.
Alright: For me it's the little things you can do after you've played the game enough. Dark Souls in particular has a ton of these, from getting the Demon's Hammer in the tutorial boss fight by beating it the first time you encounter it, to skipping an entire section of the game because you got the Master Key.
Immersion. On top of what others already said I would add here: An unobtrusive interface that doesn't distract you from the world, i.e. no health bars, no damage numbers and status messages popping up, no mini-map, no quest markers, none of this nonsense. All the information you need should be provided to you by the world itself, not by some interface. And, to extend this principle to gameplay mechanics: No explicit skill or overall levels, no number crunching, no arbitrary classes, no explicit attributes, nothing like that. Everything should feel organic.
Obviously all that only applies to RPGs where you control one character only, and in first or third person. Everything else is stupid anyway.
Obviously all that only applies to RPGs where you control one character only, and in first or third person. Everything else is stupid anyway.
All I require from RPG's is 'personality'. Since we're talking about the perfect RPG, that'd have to extend to everything; battles, NPCs, even the menus.
I also think good RPG's should give you a sense of fear; whether that just be in a creepy environment, or a battle system that rewards careful progress and observation (ala Demons'/Dark Souls)
I also think good RPG's should give you a sense of fear; whether that just be in a creepy environment, or a battle system that rewards careful progress and observation (ala Demons'/Dark Souls)
Secret of Mana, sort of. In truth it was kind of a pain since it took so long to level up your magic and weapon skills to the higher levels (about 80 casts per level for 8 levels!). Some people would do it though just to see what the attack spells look like on the highest levels (they become more graphically impressive as they level up). Same for Weapon skills.DanielBrown said:
Final Fantasy II did that as well, but... we don't like to talk about that game.
But while we're on the subject of Secret of Mana, MULTIPLAYER! I've always said that the problem with a lot of real-time RPGs is that you can only control one party member at a time, leaving your allies in the hands of often-questionable AI. That would still need to be available, but I'd actually prefer someone completely random off the internet to control my backup over most friendly AIs.