D
Deleted User
Guest
I apologize in advance for any rambling. I'm waiting on the latest episode of my Let's Play to encode, so I have nothing better to do at my computer then write large walls of text...
Impressions continued…
So, kudos to you, Piranha Bytes. You guys should be very, very proud of your Gothic series. I hope in the future we see a return to some of the ideals that you guys created with the series, by other developers who are creating new games.
Impressions continued…
It didn't take long to notice the exquisite character progression in this game. The way that Learning Points are gained and used is very simple in it's execution, yet makes for some complex choices. It feels as though I can craft the character I want, and while a game like Morrowind wins in the *amount* of skills/abilities, it is nice to see so many varied, interesting options in Gothic.
For example, the ability to skin animals. Seems simple enough. 5 Learning Points and away you go, able to skin any animal with fur. It adds another little element to the game that rewards you, this time directly with gold for your sold pelts. By investing the LP, you can become a little richer, but it comes at the cost of beefing up your strength or weapon skills. There's a tradeoff there, a real consequence and, in turn, a substantial reward for your choices.
I really like how the weapons have stat requirements as well. Modern RPGs, take notes, please! There are requirements but they aren't arbitrary. You need to be skilled or strong enough to wield these weapons, and increasing your base stats gives you a real incentive to get stronger or more dextrous. You'll have some real choices to make, such as - Do you want to learn to sneak and pick locks early? That will cost you a hefty 15 LP. Or, do you want to pour those learning points into your weapon skills, or your strength, even. That may give you the advantage in battle, and any gold or loot you miss out on by not having the ability to pick locks, you can possibly make it up on the battlefield.
I guess the main idea that I'm getting at here, is that the game offers choices, consequences, and freedom, not only in quests and story, but in every aspect of the game design! It truly feels like a wide open experience, one that you can completely define by your own choices. I call it a very "organic" experience, because it's not contrived, it's not all flash and no substance, it's exactly the opposite - ultimate substance and ultimate freedom.
Here's an example of a tactic I just did in my newest playthrough.
I was trying to get into the Upper Quarter, and this time I was being creative. I noticed that the guard guarding the back yard full of confiscated goods at the entrance to town was the only person there, and that the chests he was guarding also did not have locks on them. Well, I decided that I would find a spell of Sleep to cast on this guard and quickly plunder the goods he was guarding while he slept . The game gave me this opportunity right from the jump, and even hinted a bit that I should try this (Matteo mentions that the guard confiscated all the citizen's items, as well as spare armor. Thus, this gives you the notion that you can acquire some free armor perhaps, if you're able to get into that storage area.)
So, I grab a spell of Sleep from Ignaz, and away I go. I cast the spell, quickly run in, grab all the stuff I can carry and boom! There's some armor, as well as citizen's clothing! Okay, so you don't even have to become a citizen of the town to get into the Upper Quarter!? Unbelievable. Just steal from that chest and equip the citizen's clothing.
So, that just shows me that this game is designed with ultimate freedom in mind. Don't want to join the town as an apprentice? Fine. Do something else. Join a mage society. Or, maybe you just steal clothing and say you're a citizen? However you want to do it, it feels like the options are limitless and it's all up to how you decide you want to do things. (I also find it quite funny that some of the NPC background dialog says stuff like, "I would have went about that differently", and the classic, "He would have never thought of that on his own." LOL!
For example, the ability to skin animals. Seems simple enough. 5 Learning Points and away you go, able to skin any animal with fur. It adds another little element to the game that rewards you, this time directly with gold for your sold pelts. By investing the LP, you can become a little richer, but it comes at the cost of beefing up your strength or weapon skills. There's a tradeoff there, a real consequence and, in turn, a substantial reward for your choices.
I really like how the weapons have stat requirements as well. Modern RPGs, take notes, please! There are requirements but they aren't arbitrary. You need to be skilled or strong enough to wield these weapons, and increasing your base stats gives you a real incentive to get stronger or more dextrous. You'll have some real choices to make, such as - Do you want to learn to sneak and pick locks early? That will cost you a hefty 15 LP. Or, do you want to pour those learning points into your weapon skills, or your strength, even. That may give you the advantage in battle, and any gold or loot you miss out on by not having the ability to pick locks, you can possibly make it up on the battlefield.
I guess the main idea that I'm getting at here, is that the game offers choices, consequences, and freedom, not only in quests and story, but in every aspect of the game design! It truly feels like a wide open experience, one that you can completely define by your own choices. I call it a very "organic" experience, because it's not contrived, it's not all flash and no substance, it's exactly the opposite - ultimate substance and ultimate freedom.
Here's an example of a tactic I just did in my newest playthrough.
I was trying to get into the Upper Quarter, and this time I was being creative. I noticed that the guard guarding the back yard full of confiscated goods at the entrance to town was the only person there, and that the chests he was guarding also did not have locks on them. Well, I decided that I would find a spell of Sleep to cast on this guard and quickly plunder the goods he was guarding while he slept . The game gave me this opportunity right from the jump, and even hinted a bit that I should try this (Matteo mentions that the guard confiscated all the citizen's items, as well as spare armor. Thus, this gives you the notion that you can acquire some free armor perhaps, if you're able to get into that storage area.)
So, I grab a spell of Sleep from Ignaz, and away I go. I cast the spell, quickly run in, grab all the stuff I can carry and boom! There's some armor, as well as citizen's clothing! Okay, so you don't even have to become a citizen of the town to get into the Upper Quarter!? Unbelievable. Just steal from that chest and equip the citizen's clothing.
So, that just shows me that this game is designed with ultimate freedom in mind. Don't want to join the town as an apprentice? Fine. Do something else. Join a mage society. Or, maybe you just steal clothing and say you're a citizen? However you want to do it, it feels like the options are limitless and it's all up to how you decide you want to do things. (I also find it quite funny that some of the NPC background dialog says stuff like, "I would have went about that differently", and the classic, "He would have never thought of that on his own." LOL!
So, kudos to you, Piranha Bytes. You guys should be very, very proud of your Gothic series. I hope in the future we see a return to some of the ideals that you guys created with the series, by other developers who are creating new games.