Back to topic - I don't want to convince you - why? I don't know your preferences - are you a gamer liking to hack&slash your way through an action RPG and loot? Are you one of the "kill-first-ask-later" faction?
Are you a gamer disliking to read a quest log? Do you like to click yourself out of conversations instead of thinking about them and keeping them in mind?
Do you like to experiment? Find stuff out for yourself? Do you like to understand the "game logic"? Do you like linearity? Or, are you able to understand at what point linearity has to chuck in? In other words => what is the fun factor for you? Do you like brainy riddles? Do you like to explore worlds that are at sometimes sinister?
How can I convince you, if I know nothing about the way you like to play? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />
Kiya
Hi everyone,
Wow, I was not expecting so many impassioned responses, thank you all so much!
Kiya: Since your first response was directed at me, I thought it only fair to answer your inquiry as to my preferred style of play, and the best way to give you an idea of what I am hoping for/expecting from BD is to tell you how I played DD and what I particularly enjoyed about it. So here goes:
The first time through BD I played as a Survivor since I like the ability to steal, fight and cast magic, even though that play style usually makes me a jack of all trades and a master of none. My second choice is usually a fighter type character who carries the biggest sword he can find and wears as much armour as his physique will allow without him falling over. Admittedly, kicking everything's butt gets old after a while, but thankfully small things amuse small minds and "after a while" for me usually means only towards the end of whatever game I am playing. This was definitely the case with DD, as I LOVED dominating everything that was thrown at me, even in the final fights with the Black Ring.
I am not fond of using magic. I guess what puts me off is that even though mages are powerhouses come the end of most RPGs, they are incredibly weak at the start, and for me the start of the game is usually where I get sucked in to a game if I am going to get sucked in at all. Actually, in all fairness I must admit I've never completed any game by focussing on my magic spells and ability to store mana only, so it might be something worth looking in to with BD.
I LOVE games with a compelling story. I also love NPC interactions where the outcome is actually dependent on my choice of dialogue options, and isn't simply cast in stone because that's what the designers want to happen. This, to me, is what makes an RPG. Actions alone do not make you whatever class you are choosing to role play, conversations that reflect the mindset of a particular class, now THAT is roleplaying. At least it is to me. Fallout 1 and 2 are good examples of games that meet these criteria.
Being drawn in to a game, feeling a part of its unfolding history is another appealing trait of good roleplaying games. I felt that way in DD, I felt good about helping the people of Rivellon, I liked repelling the Orc invasion, I enjoyed laughing with (and sometimes at) the characters I met. I don't need to be so immersed in the game that I forget about reality (although that IS nice when it happens), but I like to feel emotionally drawn in to the game. For me what is missing from a lot of modern games is heart, and the most pleasant discovery of the last year was Divine Divinity, a game that had heart, and lots of it. That made Larian a studio to take note of in my book.
As an aside, and <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/offtopic.gif" alt="" />, let me add that I believe that if you want to REALLY sell a modern game, you need to establish an emotional connection between the game and the gamer. My personal recommendation would be through the use of romance, for instance. Every person alive wants to fall in love (regardless of outward appearances), and in my own experience there has been nothing quite as thrilling as finding that someone special to whom I want to give everything I have inside me to give, and I firmly believe that it is easy to reproduce in a computer game because all you are really doing is telling a story. Give the gamer something to connect with, someone to carry on fighting for, someone who they will want to do anything for, and you will have a winner on your hands. I believe that adding a touch of romance, even as a series of minor side quests will add to the game's appeal. But that's just me.
What I don't recommend is going about it the Max Payne way, by killing off the player's "love interest" and using the greatness of that love as the motivation for a spree of revenge killings. Kinda cancels out the beauty and puts the emphasis on rage, doesn't it? Besides that, I never got the impression that Max loved Mona (his rebound relationship) in any meaningful way (if at all), she just happened to be some chick he was fighting with and her fun bits happened to conveniently fit his. Perhaps that is because modern society and particularly the media doesn't truly understand or even care about true love anymore, or just as likely, I completely missed what the writers were attempting to convey and it is in fact my understanding of the concept of love that is lacking. Whatever the case, even though I didn't feel the love in either game, there was still an attempt to draw the player in emotionally, and think it is fair to say that based on the series' success, it worked. Arguably "bullet time" had more to do with that than any emotional connection did, but it was still very much part of what made the series special.
Right, back on topic. I enjoy hacking and slashing just as much as the next guy, I also liked the tactical nature of some of the encounters in DD and the ability to pause my game in the middle of combat to catch my breath, drink potions or choose which spell to cast next on those rare occasions I chose to do so. I DON'T, however, like long, drawn out fights that take everything out of my character only to stumble two steps later into a similarly taxing fight. As much as I like Bioware, I hated Icewind Dale II, as all that game amounted to was a continuous string of difficult fights, to the point where I got bored and annoyed. It was not so much the challenge as the repetition of the combat that got to me.
I enjoy puzzles in my games, I like figuring things out, and I enjoy exploring and finding loot in obscure, difficult to find places. I like dialogue, and lots of it, conversation trees that branch interestingly, characters that pull at my heartstrings as well as characters that I love to hate. I enjoy combat, but I don’t enjoy games that are totally combat-focused to the point where there is nothing else to them but a mindless click-fest.
Have I missed anything? I hope not, this has taken me the whole day to write.
I think that gives you a pretty good idea of my RPG preferences. As for being convinced that BD is worth my time, you lot have done a great job in encouraging me to simply go out and buy it and make up my own mind.
Thanks again for all your input!
Cheers
PS: I have just called one of our largest newsagents over here and BD has been confirmed to be arriving in stores here by the middle of next week!! I can't wait! To any South Africans reading this, CNA will have it by next Wednesday! Yayyyy!
