Computer Role Playing games are the future of RPG's it will eventually replace Pen and Paper once the multiplayer features are perfected. But the most of the Roleplaying games out now for computer are Hack fest blood and guts. There isn't much rolplaying to be seen. I.e. Icewind Dale no plot just try not too die too much was the overall theme of that game. Even the other games out there you fight all this was to defeat some ultimate evil and the same thing happens in every game. Walk into large room bunch of tough guys and the leader HACK HACK HACK SLASH yeah!! we won game over.

I would like too see more depth in the characters as well as the villians. I want too be half way through a game and not really know who the bad and th good are surprise a little but get me in some good conversations battles make me think don't just make me look for the best weapond and armor and send me on my was to the next chapter. One thing I have found out from being a dungeon Master has been the games I've run where I balanced the combat with good and deep NPC's. The more complements I got after the game on how much fun they had.


Let me know what you think on the subject, Vote either more combat or better plot. You need both but it seems the game has leaned alot more torwards combat and that's a bad thing. If I want hack and slash I'll play Diablo.

Lord Killjoy

Well I am sure most people here will say Beter plot line. As I do.

Of course you need both. A game with just a bunch of talking going on isnt going to be fun. And a game like IWD or Diablo....ah, you already said it...hehe

Beter plot line gets my vote.

Hmm, I think you are wrong about pen and paper though, the social aspect and the possibility aspect of this gamingstyle will always beat the computerised verison IMHO at least.

To the question though..
I think that the click and search thing is one of the worst thing for any RPG games, you feel the "euphoria" of improving yourself all the time and that becomes the goal of any game. Thus the RPG facto will always be "tuned down" because of this. The best RPG game would probably be that of a text only interface more or less..
Otherwise we will always fight to be better, find the better armour, find a better sword and so on..

I think that the character develoment have to be more focused on skills and traits, feats and "more character powers and disadvantages" instead of magic items will lead to a better character developement. Online RPG´s could win alot by improving the interaction between players, chats and open dialouges, the possibility that you more or less have two teams playig bad vs good so you can have more intriguing adventures, a DM to the game can aslo change alot of the game to a more roleplaying style.

On the other hand, I work alot with puters and for me the social and fun connevted to pen and paper feels important to me, and thus I like the hack fest and the dungeon room by room action as a pure relaxation from normal behaviour ;) But most combat systems are already developed fine and I agree that the plots can be better, take PLanescape tormnet, to be able to play in that realm with thoose possibilities and thoose plots. Yes please! :D Better plots are more important than more comabt features, at least in todays style of games!

One thing I do is not make neccesarily the 'best' character, or what would make the most well balanced party, but I like to take interesting characters and have them develop a particular skill, say dual-wielding, or offensive spells...with NPC's it's harder, and I agree, there could be a lot more roleplaying in roleplaying games, but there are ways to help yourself rp more.

I'm barely into BG1, but the romances in BG2 sound like the
future of CRPG to me. I'd like to see ongoing interaction
with all the members of the party, whether you're falling in
love or competing with Minsc to see who can make more
Xvarts explode, or having personality clashes and getting on
each other's nerves, or getting to hate each other because
of alignment differences.

This sort of thing could result in morale improving, it could
change the character's behavior scripts as they tend to help
their friends and leave their antagonists in the lurch in combat -
all the stuff you see in pen-and-paper games.

Generating enough dialog to avoid repetition would be a backbreaking
amount of work, but I'm sure players would appreciate it. I certainly would.

Cheers,
Rikter

I like the idea of more plots in CRPG's as well but as of now a computer can't even come close to matching the abilities of a real DM. Also I have played some online multi user CRPG's and you don't have the time to role play as much as you would in a pen and papaer game because the time is real time. If you are running down the road and see that a group of critters is aproaching with and are intent on making you their next meal you can't stop and make a plan because you will get killed. THere is no thinking things over by taking a slow walk to the refridgerater to get a Coke, or have someone ask stupid questions while the rest of you plot your actions. In most pen and paper games the DM will give you some time to make a plan but in the real time aspects of multi player CRPG's you can't stop the whole world to talk it over with your friends.

Now with a single player game you can get away with more.

I like CRPG's and I like roleplaying but I also realize that at this point in time they are limited to the abilities of the computer.

People who would like less hack & slash & more roleplaying!!! Well if anyone of you has not tried Planescape : Torment, try it. This is the kind of game you've been awaiting. Actually we surely won't have hack & slash replaced by storyline in future crpgs, because it simply does not sell. Planescape was a fantastic attempt to bring more storyline & less combat into crpgs. It was far from having BG's success...

[ 02-20-2002: Message edited by: WZ ]</p>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by WZ:
People who would like less hack & slash & more roleplaying!!! Well if anyone of you has not tried Planescape : Torment, try it. This is the kind of game you've been awaiting. Actually we surely won't have hack & slash replaced by storyline in future crpgs, because it simply does not sell. Planescape was a fantastic attempt to bring more storyline & less combat into crpgs. It was far from having BG's success...

[ 02-20-2002: Message edited by: WZ ]<hr></blockquote>

And such a shame!!!
Something I missed in BG2 was the ability to be able to initiate dialouges with your fellow adventurers as you could in PLaneScpae. The only thing you could actually talk with was a crazy sword and a familiar. No wonder the child of Bhaal feels a bit out in the cold :S

Planescape had alot of dialouges and intricate problemsolving and unique solutions, but at the cost of a pretty linear story. The second time around was not so fun, but give it a rest for a year and it is fun again. ;)