Slartibartfast
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2004
- Messages
- 7,280
Interesting article over at Raph Koster's website:
http://www.raphkoster.com/?p=214
He talks about the ways the concept of leveling changed when it made the transition from D&D to MUDS and MMORPGs. It's really an interesting article and is something that I've thought about more than once. It's always bothered me that in games like Final Fantasy, all experience and leveling does is hinder you from getting through tougher portions of the game, ie, you don't have a chance at dungeon x until you're at least level y. It seems like such an artificial and cheap way to provide more content. I always liked the way Zelda did it better, by using items and puzzles to provide access to various parts of the world, instead of just having to hack through monsters for hours. It's also kind of a cheap reward system. Which is not to say I'm above it, I've hit level 88 or so in Diablo II, solely through doing Baal runs. Each level is a little bit of a thrill, but then it's just on to the next one. I know I get addicted to it, I just don't like it. I don't mind it so much when it occurs more naturally though. For example, in Dawn Of Sorrow, you are limited to certain parts of the castle based on the abilities you have, which can only be acquired by defeating certain bosses. There is a leveling system in place, but you never really find yourself having to stop advancing and just grind, becuase you earn xp fast enough that as long as your killing say 75% of the monsters you encounter, you will be on a high enough level to get where you need to go (this doesn't hold true for Julius mode so much, mainly because you can't use healing items). So while in Diablo II I was always trying to level up, in Dawn of Sorrow it's not really a motivating factor.
He also talks a lot about the way players advance through levels in MMO's, which should be interesting to anybody who's played them. Anyways, highly recommended, Koster is an excellent writer and has some really fascinating ideas.
http://www.raphkoster.com/?p=214
He talks about the ways the concept of leveling changed when it made the transition from D&D to MUDS and MMORPGs. It's really an interesting article and is something that I've thought about more than once. It's always bothered me that in games like Final Fantasy, all experience and leveling does is hinder you from getting through tougher portions of the game, ie, you don't have a chance at dungeon x until you're at least level y. It seems like such an artificial and cheap way to provide more content. I always liked the way Zelda did it better, by using items and puzzles to provide access to various parts of the world, instead of just having to hack through monsters for hours. It's also kind of a cheap reward system. Which is not to say I'm above it, I've hit level 88 or so in Diablo II, solely through doing Baal runs. Each level is a little bit of a thrill, but then it's just on to the next one. I know I get addicted to it, I just don't like it. I don't mind it so much when it occurs more naturally though. For example, in Dawn Of Sorrow, you are limited to certain parts of the castle based on the abilities you have, which can only be acquired by defeating certain bosses. There is a leveling system in place, but you never really find yourself having to stop advancing and just grind, becuase you earn xp fast enough that as long as your killing say 75% of the monsters you encounter, you will be on a high enough level to get where you need to go (this doesn't hold true for Julius mode so much, mainly because you can't use healing items). So while in Diablo II I was always trying to level up, in Dawn of Sorrow it's not really a motivating factor.
He also talks a lot about the way players advance through levels in MMO's, which should be interesting to anybody who's played them. Anyways, highly recommended, Koster is an excellent writer and has some really fascinating ideas.