Damien 'Puuk' Foletto Interview, Part Two
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WW: Were there any particular innovations for Jefferson you think other developers should consider in future crpgs?
DF: I don't know if I'd call these (innovations) since these are concepts and ideas played around with in many old-school CRPG's, but the things I'd like to see in future RPG's are:
Non-linear game play: True non-linear, not just reserved for a chapter or two. The player decides which direction to move his own story. Want to go to town C before A? Go for it. Want to poison the water supply to a village because you're an evil SOB and that's how you get your jollies? Do it, do it now.
Repercussions for action AND inactions: Everything in life has a repercussion of some sort, in RPG's it's just more pronounced. Help one person out; you might piss someone else off. Burn down the local Alchemy shop; you have a horde of bummed out druids hot on your tail. Help the magistrates with their financial woes; discover that the local townships have now hit a financial backlash that threatens to ruin the local economy. Find out that the local wannabe warrior has been imprisoned by the evil Sir Toppem Foozle and the Duke wants you to rescue him, but you forget about the quest and do something else; discover later that this wannabe warrior had the special ability to perform something that could be really useful to you in a situation, but now you're hosed and have to think of something else not to mention the Duke really hates you and the wannabe warrior is now the main villain in the sequel. In a nutshell, have the side quests have meaning and influence, however small, on the overarching character development and story of the game.
Character creation: Let the player create their own character, from how they look in the game world, to their abilities and skills. I don't care if the game is level based or purely skill based, just let me create my character so I can have ownership of this character. Give me opportunity to reaffirm my character development during the game. Ego-stroke me by rewarding my character creation and development throughout the game through multiple paths to quest completion.
Multiple paths for quest completion: I don't want to do quests where I feel I have to figure out what the designer intended. Give me multiple paths to quest completion. Make me feel like I am clever and came up with a unique solution to a quest. Sure, it's an illusion since everything in a game is (designed,) but with multiple ways to solve a quest (and I mean more than just two ways) it creates a feeling of accomplishment when I piece together what I perceive as a unique solution to a quest. It's that ego-stroking thing I was talking about.
Reputation: Falling into a similar category as my repercussions example above, I want to have a reputation for deeds done. I want to develop influence with a town as well as with my NPC companions, be it for good or ill, through my actions and inactions throughout the game.
The return of turn-based combat: I know good RPG's can be made using real time and phased real time, but on a purely selfish note, I really would like to play some good, old-fashioned turn based combat. I love to sit and strategize, and some of my best RPG gaming moments came from turn-based conflicts. Troika's (Temple of Elemental Evil) had the best implementation of D&D combat in any game, including BIS/Bioware games, in my opinion, and I would love to see more RPG's using this model.
Good and evil path: Pretty self-explanatory. Let me choose whether I develop my character down the path of dark or light. But on this same note, let me change my mind during the game as well. Allow me to atone for my sins or seek unholy vengeance during the mid section of the game. Make the path to atonement/vengeance special, difficult quests quests that prove my intent and conviction in changing my focus. It all goes to customizing the play experience of the gamer, making the character they made their very own.
Shades of grey: Don't make everything so cut and dry good and evil. Nothing adds to a story line like implementing shades of grey. Sometimes one has to do a small evil for the betterment of the whole, so the player must weigh whether or not it is worth it to him to sully their reputation with one group just to save another, or everyone. Or conversely, the player must wipe out what looks like a decent township to further their evil cause, but it turns out that wiping out this township saves the lives of all the do-gooder towns in the region because of some burgeoning plague in that town. Allow the player to make these difficult decisions.
