Name me the RPGs (pre 2000) that you played and found their mini-games and preparation mechanics (travel, pre-combat, pre-dialogue, resource accumulating) to be a chore please. So i can have a framework by which to (re)evaluate your statement. Opinions and onions, but 'boring', 'needing', 'tedium' and 'busywork' have the broadest of spectrums
That 20 minutes timer you arbitrarily put in the discussion is obviously not particularly helpful in terms of my forming a response..elsewhere we call this a strawman. More than happy to pre-suppose you exaggerated for emphasis, but perhaps prior to dismissing such a system you should consider whether it adds to the tactical element of any situation. It being the one prior to the strategic. Goes beyond combat and can in fact be all encompassing. You could additionally consider how, being on the highest difficulty slider, it would be anything
but obligatory.
On a shallow level: While i love being able to abuse the hell out of everything in D:OS, i could for example love it even more if telekinesis (should read: "Abuse Me") and stealth/invisibility (-//-) had some criteria that would need to be met prior to being appliccable to each and every situation a direct solution cannot not be easily found. Helps one think a bit more, look around see if maybe one missed something. Helps one appreciate things further (having introduced the notion of
cost vs reward); makes any exploit/cheesing a feat, or inversely, indirectly lead to what it is one's supposed to be doing instead of it. Not a 'click and done' affair. RPGs are not the local Dry Cleaner's.
And most of all, systems of this type allow for a progressive expanding of your capabilities as a PC (in ways deeper than 'Fireball 2'), since this being an RPG you will naturally begin by collecting more/spending less, to eventually move on to enjoying more/caring less.
Right now, to enter a scenario, be it one involving interaction, combat or travel, i just click. And usually once. I personally (obviously) think that adding systems that enrich transitions between two or more scenarios add to a game's overall wealth and depth.
And again personally, my interests are a touch beyond what is commonly found "playable", no offense meant. Dragon Age Inquisition was "playable". Drank half a bottle of Jack Daniels and actually managed to play it for almost two hours. So just as with your generalising of "chores" above, so here as well i'd need a bit of a clearer definition towards what you'd consider "playable". Or not ^^
p.s. Not offended, i remember you from the Codex, so am aware of your usual 'tone'. Am thankful for the input
