CarcusRex
Watchdog
- Joined
- November 17, 2006
- Messages
- 80
Why not make an RPG in which good, intricate dialogue options comprise a large part of the gameplay? Don't get me wrong, combat is good and should never be neglected. But the point I'm trying to make is that it seems the notion of good dialogue has morphed into simply good writing and interesting story.
Unlike Fallout, most games today usually supply x number of options, usually all of which will be selected by the player in turn, just to gain the pertinent information about the story. The only "choice" for the player is basically in which order he'll ask the questions... or if he should choose to be "good or evil"... how old is THAT getting? Most often the motivation for these dialogues is just to progress the story, to prepare the next cut scene and to provide a means for initiating quests. Of course this has to be done to some extent, but I would like to see dialogues offered as part of the gameplay.
The developers of the new rpgs are always touting how great the story is... how deep and compelling it is and how well the story is written. They boast hollywood style cut scenes that will blow us away and provide the ultimate immersion. But, as far as I'm concerned, I'm really not interested in a great "story" as much as I am in dialogue as a mechanic of gameplay. I'm not talking about good "writing" either - although, that doesn't hurt. I'm talking about Fallout style dialogue which is intricate, branching and forces the player to make smart choices which branch off in different directions depending on how the player decides to steer the dialogue and how much intellegence and charisma the player has invested in his character. I'd like to see dialogues as puzzles for the player to "play"... where the player uses his mind (and his stats) to further develope, complicate, continue and or complete quests. Dialogues where when one option is selected, you won't always go back to the base node but instead continue on a different tangent... nested tangents which can offer success and exp, an escape route or, if you do poorly, can lead you into a tangled mess requiring a re-load... lol. Dialogues with consequences... for better or worse! Dialogues for adults who don't whine and complain that the game is too hard.
Admittedly, this is probably not easy to do, and requires depth of thought and many long hours of work. But the Fallout guys did it! And considering how well received Fallout was and what a classic it continues to be, why won't the developers stay with a good thing??? I guess I probably just answered my question with the first sentence in this paragraph... how sad.
Won't somebody make a game like Fallout... please.
Unlike Fallout, most games today usually supply x number of options, usually all of which will be selected by the player in turn, just to gain the pertinent information about the story. The only "choice" for the player is basically in which order he'll ask the questions... or if he should choose to be "good or evil"... how old is THAT getting? Most often the motivation for these dialogues is just to progress the story, to prepare the next cut scene and to provide a means for initiating quests. Of course this has to be done to some extent, but I would like to see dialogues offered as part of the gameplay.
The developers of the new rpgs are always touting how great the story is... how deep and compelling it is and how well the story is written. They boast hollywood style cut scenes that will blow us away and provide the ultimate immersion. But, as far as I'm concerned, I'm really not interested in a great "story" as much as I am in dialogue as a mechanic of gameplay. I'm not talking about good "writing" either - although, that doesn't hurt. I'm talking about Fallout style dialogue which is intricate, branching and forces the player to make smart choices which branch off in different directions depending on how the player decides to steer the dialogue and how much intellegence and charisma the player has invested in his character. I'd like to see dialogues as puzzles for the player to "play"... where the player uses his mind (and his stats) to further develope, complicate, continue and or complete quests. Dialogues where when one option is selected, you won't always go back to the base node but instead continue on a different tangent... nested tangents which can offer success and exp, an escape route or, if you do poorly, can lead you into a tangled mess requiring a re-load... lol. Dialogues with consequences... for better or worse! Dialogues for adults who don't whine and complain that the game is too hard.
Admittedly, this is probably not easy to do, and requires depth of thought and many long hours of work. But the Fallout guys did it! And considering how well received Fallout was and what a classic it continues to be, why won't the developers stay with a good thing??? I guess I probably just answered my question with the first sentence in this paragraph... how sad.
Won't somebody make a game like Fallout... please.
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2006
- Messages
- 80