How to Put the Sense of Mystery Back Into Games
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Even the often more freeform RPG genre appears to be aligning itself with Newell's philosophy. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the most successful RPG in recent memory, pivots on a scaling system, whereby everything a player sees, fights, buys from and converses with in the virtual world is scaled to his or her level. The player can push through the game's main storyline fairly quickly as a result, but they won't fight a Minotaur, say, until they reach the right level.Actually, BioShock's main plot was completely railroaded.
Systems like the one used in Oblivion exist to make vast, technologically complex virtual worlds streamlined and manageable. Forego any kind of balancing system, and you may end up with a bug-ridden, inconsistent game - one of the quickest ways to earn seriously bad press. There are several studios, though, that are trying to prove that surprises and functionality aren't mutually exclusive. 2K Boston (formerly Irrational Games) is probably the most prominent: BioShock was released in August to unanimous praise and commercial success. And it's a completely open-plan experience.
And this is one of the few times I've heard level scaling be mentioned as a positive in recent memory. Weird.
Spotted on RPGWatch
