I'm dreamin' large! These are entirely just my most idealized wishes.
I love the new direction Phantasy Star is taking. I've always thought that PSO walked a line between Action and RPG with the worst of both worlds. With PSO2 I feel like its firmly striding toward Action and away from RPG, but I could be happier.
No more level ups, tiered equipment systems, and otherwise cheap game mechanics. These have, for much too long, been described as "RPG" but I don't think that's right. At all. We can all pretend that level ups facilitate role playing, but is this really true? I think that these systems create a "keeping up with the joneses" mentality that is exactly contradictory to having fun. It's described in this video as The Skinner Box, and I think it's a sign of lack luster creativity in design.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vide...he-Skinner-Box
I think that anyone who wants to think critically about games and their designs should watch this video. And you absolutely MUST if you want to participate in this discussion.
Spelunky. For those of you who are unfamiliar. Spelunky is the game that is most surprising and open to discovery I have ever played. I still go back to it, curious to see what kind of environments, and challenges it will generate for me. It's simple, but creates a whole range of scenarios that are both fresh, and interesting. It's difficult to play the game the way I might have played PSU a few years ago. Eyes half lidded, barely aware... reflexes in total control. In Spelunky, if you rush and don't pay attention. That's it, game over.
But that's Rogue-like game design for you. If you can't have YASD (yet another stupid death) it's no fun. Failure seems to be an under appreciated outcome in games these days. But man, I've had some spectacularly memorable failures in Spelunky. It's a learning experience, it's engaging my interest. It's the antithesis to that... grindy farmy mindless sloggy experience that I had with both PSO and PSU.
So what would PSO2 be like in my idealized star studded fantasy dream?
-Randomized fields would have such a variety of outcomes, that they'd create emergent dangers and challenges that would not only hold my interest, but if I didn't learn and pay attention they could actually beat me.
-No level ups, or incentive to farm. Structure the game like C-mode from PSO, and I'd be super happy. C-mode with randomized fields? Yes yes yes yes. Remember how gear in C-mode was always really good? Give me my rewards like water, and take them away when I fail. Not only does it mean some of us would actually get to SEE some of the cool stuff that most people would take months to farm, we'd see it pretty often. Like the jetpack in Spelunky. Sure it's hard to come by, but it makes things interesting if we can lose it too.
+now let me be clear. Most people would baw over perma death. But think about it, why do we fear it so much? This is a game after all, you can always try again. Essentially it's a world proven to have reincarnation. Death is just a mild set back, try try again. When we have systems that promote farming and hording items and levels, it creates that fear of loss. Sure failure sucks, but it can be an interesting outcome and the game should be designed to facilitate a variety of experiences and make them ALL interesting. The way REAL Role Playing games do, you know, in the meat space. These so-called RPG game mechanics are being used as the anti-thesis to actual role playing. How do they still share the same label?!
-It would give us tools, not weapons. Sure, we could use them as weapons, but they'd have a sense of function. You saw it before in the weapon classes, some weapons were the "right tool for the right job" depending on the circumstances. But make them more than that. Let us use them in more than one context than merely... bashing waves after waves of enemies with uninspiring tactics... yawn. I'm excited to see guns in the PSO2 trailer, because they've given them new use. New control. Akin to the way they gave us new control for melee battle back in PSU. I am excited to see how they give us new control over techniques. Something in the vein of FMA alchemy, where you manipulate your environment or the tide of battle. Beyond... heals and buffs. We have complex computer systems, I think we could find a cleverer way to use techniques beyond +5 armor.
So in case it's not clear, I do actually like this series. I loved PSO's beautiful environments and atmosphere, and its clever enemy tactics. I still have an extreme fondness for certain attacks in PSU, which were so satisfying to land on enemies. Koltova, my tasty little punching bags. And if anything, I hope that PSO2 is the best of both worlds. A variety of environments with interesting structure, enemies with tactics worth fighting, and player controls that really let us get expressive (and cooperative) in gameplay.
Now, go play some Spelunky. Learn to enjoy failing.
http://www.spelunkyworld.com/
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