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Kalia
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 07 Jan 2005
Posts: 30
Location: Arizona |
| NWN 2 - JE Sawyer Interview @ NWN 2 News |
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JE Sawyer and his thinking about yesterday's and today's cRPGs is the target of an interview at NWN 2 News. <blockquote><em><i>In the big picture where do you see CRPG's going 5 years from now? 10 years?</i>
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<br>I think most of them are going to move in the direction of Oblivion, into systems where player skill is just as (if not more) important than character statistics. I think the systems will become more and more streamlined as publishers attempt to broaden the appeal of RPGs to casual gamers while still retaining some of the core RPG players. Transparent mechanics are easier to comprehend and generally have a shallower learning curve, so I honestly believe that's the direction the games will go in.</em></blockquote>Interesting man. Read it <a href="http://www.nwn2news.net/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=45&" target="_blank">here</a>. |
Thu May 18, 2006 12:06 pm |
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DarNoor
Village Dweller
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
Posts: 11
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After reading that quote it sounds like a depressing time for RPG fans. So, we are going to continue to get dumb downed games that will only appeal to all the 12 year olds. Times sure have changed.
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Thu May 18, 2006 12:08 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
quote:
Originally posted by DarNoor
After reading that quote it sounds like a depressing time for RPG fans. So, we are going to continue to get dumb downed games that will only appeal to all the 12 year olds. Times sure have changed.
Seriously.
But then again this is hardly new news - its been happening for years now. We are at the end of the road.
Do people realize what has happened with Oblivion? Things have gotten FAR WORSE in very short order.
- Morrowind was roughly 50/50 xBox/PC units sold.
- Oblivion is 75/25 xBox/PC units sold.
Thats the fat lady singing. I'm still on an AGP rig and I'm facing the whole upgrade thing right now and I'm seriously considering throwing in the towel and getting a 360. Most of the "complex" RPG's (if any) will have lower specs anyway and will run on my aging PC hardware until they simply stop making them outright or (hopefully) adapt to the 360.
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"For Innos!" |
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Thu May 18, 2006 5:31 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
Seriously.
But then again this is hardly new news - its been happening for years now. We are at the end of the road.
Do people realize what has happened with Oblivion? Things have gotten FAR WORSE in very short order.
- Morrowind was roughly 50/50 xBox/PC units sold.
- Oblivion is 75/25 xBox/PC units sold.
Thats the fat lady singing. I'm still on an AGP rig and I'm facing the whole upgrade thing right now and I'm seriously considering throwing in the towel and getting a 360. Most of the "complex" RPG's (if any) will have lower specs anyway and will run on my aging PC hardware until they simply stop making them outright or (hopefully) adapt to the 360.
Very well said. I'm in the same AGP boat. In fact, it appears my rig won't be able to handle NWN2. Where to go, indeed?
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=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Thu May 18, 2006 10:44 pm |
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DarNoor
Village Dweller
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
Posts: 11
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I'm holding out hope for the European developers. The good rpg's seem to be coming from there. Gothic 3, The Witcher, and a few others. They seem to be picking up the rpg torch from the American developers who have all but given up.
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~D~ |
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Fri May 19, 2006 2:29 am |
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Roqua
High Emperor
Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 897
Location: rump |
quote:
Originally posted by DarNoor
I'm holding out hope for the European developers. The good rpg's seem to be coming from there. Gothic 3, The Witcher, and a few others. They seem to be picking up the rpg torch from the American developers who have all but given up.
I hate to knitpick but...
quote:
I think most of them are going to move in the direction of Oblivion, into systems where player skill is just as (if not more) important than character statistics.
I don't see any torch carrying.
Of course it will be from the indie devs who can afford to cater to the niche market. McCarthy's TBS, AoD, Eschalon: Book 1, Ashes, Afterfall (if it gets funding), etc. These are the folks carrying the torch
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Vegitarian is the Indian word for lousey hunter. |
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Fri May 19, 2006 3:39 am |
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DarNoor
Village Dweller
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
Posts: 11
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Good point. I forgot to mention the indie developers. Mount and Blade and Minions of Mirth come to mind. Although, i'm not sure if Mount and Blade is a RPG.
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~D~ |
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Fri May 19, 2006 4:22 am |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
I considered it an RPG when I wrote about it long ago, and still do. More RPG elements have been added since then and while it does tend to blur the edges of genre, it's a fun game we like to promote.
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If God said it, then that settles it!
I don't use Smileys, I use Emoticons!!
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Fri May 19, 2006 6:37 am |
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doctor_kaz
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 108
Location: West Virginia, USA |
How can RPG's become more streamlined than they are now? North American companies have all but abandoned traditional RPG's already. |
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Fri May 19, 2006 12:44 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
quote:
Originally posted by doctor_kaz
How can RPG's become more streamlined than they are now? North American companies have all but abandoned traditional RPG's already.
Have you played FABLE? Oblivion has handholding but FABLE is practically a guided tour. So yes, it can get alot more streamlined.
I think the American RPG's are becoming more like the Jap console RPG's which are really just guided stories with action combat.
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"For Innos!" |
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Fri May 19, 2006 12:49 pm |
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doctor_kaz
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 108
Location: West Virginia, USA |
quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
quote:
Originally posted by doctor_kaz
How can RPG's become more streamlined than they are now? North American companies have all but abandoned traditional RPG's already.
Have you played FABLE? Oblivion has handholding but FABLE is practically a guided tour. So yes, it can get alot more streamlined.
I think the American RPG's are becoming more like the Jap console RPG's which are really just guided stories with action combat.
It's not more streamlined in regards to character development and the balance between player skill and RPG stats. Sawyer's point seems to be that we'll see less stat-driven gameplay and more action-driven gameplay. And I ask -- how can we get less? Non action RPG's have pretty much disappeared from North American single player RPG's. MMMORPG's are another story though.
I would dispute whether the masses want all action RPG's. Some action RPG adaptations of popular PC RPG's have been spectacular flops (e.g. Fallout: BOS). World of Warcraft and Japanese RPG's like Final Fantasy are incredibly popular, and they are almost totally stat-dependent. Kotor was very popular and Bioware's old D&D games were huge hits. Jade Empire was in the bargain bin shortly after its release and was a slight commercial disappointment.
I don't see what the basis for this prediction is. There are no sales numbers that support the conclusion that the masses embrace actiony RPG's more than stats-driven RPG's. Action games have learning curves of their own. These learning curves are no less intimidating to casual gamers than stats or strategy learning curves. Maybe even moreso, since there's a huge portion of the population that suck and twitch gaming and don't want to play an action game. |
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Fri May 19, 2006 1:08 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
Part of the basis of his statement is due to the shift to console - basically what I said above about the 75/25 ratio of units sold for Oblivion. Consoles have exploded in popularity with the xBox360. Look at E3. Everything is going that way with only a few notable AAA title exceptions like Quake Wars.
Given that it makes sense that they would cater to what has been seen on consoles vs. PC's. Pretty soon AAA budget RPG's will be console only or dual release like Oblivion - but don't be surprised if titles like Dragon Age suddenly shift to the 360.
BTW I hate this trend, but denial will get us nowhere. We and our desires are now small market.
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"For Innos!" |
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Fri May 19, 2006 1:31 pm |
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doctor_kaz
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 108
Location: West Virginia, USA |
quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
Pretty soon AAA budget RPG's will be console only or dual release like Oblivion
here's my point -- that has already happened. |
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Fri May 19, 2006 1:53 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
quote:
Originally posted by doctor_kaz
quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
Pretty soon AAA budget RPG's will be console only or dual release like Oblivion
here's my point -- that has already happened.
Except NWN2. I was hoping Oblivion would be the game to occupy 6 months for me but it only lasted 3 weeks. Now I'm hoping NWN2 will occupy me for 6 months. Time will tell.
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"For Innos!" |
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Fri May 19, 2006 2:06 pm |
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doctor_kaz
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 108
Location: West Virginia, USA |
It's discussions like these that drive home to me how utterly clueless Microsoft is when it comes to diagnosing the problems with the PC as a platform. Their solution is to bring X-Box live to the PC so that I can play first person shooters with X-Box owners. Yayyyy!!!
Somebody said what the real problem is earlier -- developers jumping ship, leaving little or no incentive to upgrade your machine. Seriously, what is the point of upgrading a computer nowadays? The library that you can play on it gets smaller by the day. Why spend $500 on a video card for Oblivion when you can get an X-Box 360 for $400? The game obviously wasn't built or optomized for the PC, so what's the point of getting it for the PC if you have a choice? People are buying less PC games as a result, but Microsoft doesn't seem to understand that it's because of cannibalization. |
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Fri May 19, 2006 3:07 pm |
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