Bay 12 Games Forum

No, designing a game in a way that players will experience all that it has to offer is not just dancing around a devs feelings. Pretty much the definition of game development is making choices to shape the experience of a player. You have to accept that it is their sandbox, not yours, you are just playing in it. They are going to do what ever it takes to make sure you have fun in there, but at the end of the day the very premise is that they set the rules.

The dungeon is there to be explored, every nook and cranny. The monsters are there to be beaten to death in what ever way you best see fit. You remove flying, because it impairs the first, but you don't remove weapons because it complements the second.


As for this argument that it is a sandbox game and therefor non-linear, but it is linear therefor bad, the solution is simple! Stop thinking of it as a sandbox game! If in your mind all linearity is intrinsically negative to sandboxes, then the elder scrolls games aren't sandbox games. If you want to tell me all swans are white, when I find a black swan don't try and tell me I'm blind.

I will point out that character, not just a collection of numbers, but actual character and story are not separate entities. Your character is part of the story, so if you get to define your character, you get to define a part of the story, and a good story should react to that in some way, even if the end is the same... Then again "what is an RPG" and "what is a good RPG" are not the same question. We could talk all day about what is and is not an RPG without ever touching on what makes one good.

I think the term is a little misleading. In the vast majority of games you play the role of a character, so in name alone most games are 'RPGs', but there is more to it.
I would say any real RPG lets you define your character. It lets you choose what sort of abilities and attributes they will have. For for example, if I am playing an Elder Scrolls game, I choose what weapon types I want to use, what armor will suit me, what levels I want to raise. I would also say one of the important qualifiers is that your choices are exclusive. You can't have it all. You need to choose between getting more health or more mana, for example, and make peace with this choice. This is a bit of a controversial definition, as it would mean like The Legend of Zelda series is not, in fact, a true RPG, but I'm ok with that.

Consecutive night of unrest on Manus island. 1 dead, 77 injured.
Early reports indicate that the locals instigated this attack against the asylum seekers, most likely out of retaliation and fear after the protests the night before. You know I would like to say I'm shocked, but for fuck sake anybody with the eyes to see it saw something like this coming from the moment Rudd reopened the camp. If you are surprised, it is because you are uninformed on the issue.


EDIT: In other news, the High Court has ruled the WA senate election void. It is still going over all the details and precedents before it will rule if a revote is required or not, but it looks very, very likely at this point. Save us WA, save us alllllll!!!!

Plenty of time for cation and indifference when I'm old... Until then, I will continue to actually give a damn about the world I live in.

Peer pressure! Peer pressure! Peer pressure!
But seriously Tiruin, you are totally justified in feeling uncomfortable posting a photo on the internet. Heck I would probably avoid it myself were I a wiser man. But if you do feel like it, don't think we will think less of you or anything. Sometimes opening up a little is a good feeling.

It's nice to be alive.