Dhruin
SasqWatch
We seem to be alternating between articles that argue either everything or nothing wants to be an RPG - except perhaps RPGs, which I'm pretty sure we've established are trying hard not to be RPGs. Bit-tech is next to step up to the plate and they turn to Sebastian Armonioso from DICE and Erich Schaefer from Runic for more insight. The article addresses the actual question briefly before looking at the potential problems with levelling schemes:
More information.Turning simple, repetitive interactions from being work into a game and making that game enjoyable sounds like the kind of thing that Mary Poppins would suggest to a typing pool, but it's powerful juju nonetheless. Many games have cracked this, from Torchlight to World of Warcraft and the Lineage series. Some would say that such games are mindless, turning players into sallow zombies, but tap into the world of these games and it’s clear that the people who devote such time to them are switched on, driven and ambitious.
We can see why levelling is such an attractive mechanic for developers to put into a game, as it provides a way to tell a story and create a continuous experience, and it's more involving and sophisticated than a score.
The problem, however, is that while the game is tracking your skill level in an official way - e.g. your Paladin has level five heavy weapons skill - as it's still a game, your skills are also building up in the real world. By the time you've bumped your Paladin to level 10, you're going to be better at actually playing the game.