I'd like to start a conversation about Skills.
Making mountains out of molehills and rockin' some mo' skills
Butt naked beats with butt naked 'cause
I got the skills to pay the bills
Every RPG has skills that vary depending on your class, your character type or your preferred playstyle. These skills can be as mundane as being able to bake bread to something as powerful as being able to manipulate time itself. Each game has their own framework for how these skills work and what influence they will have on future games.
In the DA games, we see our skills primarily manifest themselves in combat functions. While DA:O did incorporate some skills that could be used outside of combat, these weren't really showcased nearly as much as those which were designed to be used to fight.
in this thread, I'd like to discuss three modes of skills and discuss what about them works and what doesn't and hopefully lead to some good discussion about how said systems could be used in the DA games going forward.
Combat Skills:
I figured I'd start with the big dog... COMBAT! Whether it is the power-leveling skill tress of Diablo 2 or 3 or the more organic progression of skills in a game like Skyrim, or even in the DA games... combat skills are what many people live and breathe in an action RPG type game. Because let's face it - if your build is not the max DPS, you can go frak yourself, right?
Well... let's not be too hasty here. Sure, games that focus on combat skills alone are pretty combat heavy, by nature. And good ole' DPS is the governing mentality in creating the "best" build of combat skills. But there can be other combat skills out there that can be used in very effective ways that DON'T deal out damage.
For instance, a game like BG has many skills which don't actually do much in the way of damage. Spells that work to slow or reduce the effectiveness of enemies while your fighers go after other enemies. Other games have enemies such as undead creatures which always drain your health with their mere presence, unless a skill/buff is used to prevent such a drain. Still other games have ways for your "squishy" characters to disappear - a sneak skill for fragile rogues or an invisibility spell for a wizard. After all - not every character has to be 100% about combat, do they? They could have a purpose and skillset outside of combat. Which leads us into...
Non-Combat Skills:
Ah, these old gems. Sneak. Trap Making. Crafting. And the UBER skill of the RPG world... PERSUASION!
Many players have had experiences with games that have skills that can be used out of combat. And, unfortunately, many players have thought they (rightfully) have sucked sometimes.
In Fallout, did having that Computer or Speech skill really result in anything outside of a few Auto-win scenarios? In Morrowind, did having an ability to Enchant armor or weapons really result in anything but being able to create game-breaking gear? Did Awareness in KOTOR really foster a certain type of playstyle, or was it just a way to avoid the very few enemies who used the stealth mechanic?
Yet there is a lot of potential for non-combat skills in games, particularly from a story-telling point of view. DA:O tried to use this, with quests like curing the halla in the Brecillian Forest area, or creating a cure for an assisantion attempt in the Deep Roads. Yet these skills never worked to define our characters. In fact, since any character could learn the skills, it just became a matter of rotating the right skills amongst the right companions.
If, instead, we had non-combat skills for the PC determined by their background or by a portion of their characte creation, so that what skills they used would be tied into their identity, this would be a very cool way of integrating the concept. And, furthermore, if companions similarly had a locked-in subset of non-combat skills that could advance as they leveled up, but stayed true to their identity, this could also be a unique way of doing this.
In addition, let's focus on having non-combat skills related to class. A thief should be able to sneak. And pick locks. And disarm traps. But a fighter should be able to bust down doors, or be gruff and use an intimidation skill, or survey an area before a fight and get an advantage against the enemies who would be fought later. And mages - well, mages practically write themselves with non-combat skills. Demonology, enchanting, scrying ahead to see if there are threats, reading ancient magical runes, identifying equipment to see if it has magical value (or harmful curses!), the list goes on and on.
Point being - if you can tie the skills into the story and identity of the characters we have, instead of just making them Auto-Win buttons or skills that gather dust on the shelf (hello, Trap-Making), then there could be GREAT potential in how they can be used.
Both...?:
So, here's the Holy Grail of gaming. You have the ability to cast a fireball. In combat, it scorches enemies and does damage. And... that's all, right?
Wrong. What about being able to use that same spell against objects that AREN'T trying to actively kill you?
If anyone has seen me post about the Quest for Glory games, you'd know how great I think they are. I personally think they did skills great, specifically in relation to spells.
Some examples:
You learn frostbite, a cold spell, and fireball, a heat spell. Your character becomes stuck in a cage. He uses the normally combat spells to first freeze the bars, then heat to make them brittle and bust out.
Eventually, you learn a spell to summon a magic staff, which makes your spells stronger when you are fighting. At one point of the games, you are confronted by a wizard MUCH more powerful than you. You summon your staff to begin combat and he uses his magic to snatch it right out of your hands. Your then use a spell that destorys your staff and kills the wizard, in a very unconventional manner.
You get involved in a magic duel with a shaman, where neither of you can cast the same spell more than once. Right off the bat, you both cast spells which would protect you from direct attacks. Then you have to use non-direct spells to counter each of the shamans spells, such as a spell that creates light when you are cast into darkness, a calm spell to put out a fire ring summoned around you, a leviation spell to rise out of a bottomless pit, etc.
The games were great at not making magic something that was just throwing damage projectiles at an enemy, but gave you lots of instances where you had to use non-combat spells to fight your battles, or to use spells that were normally only for combat in situations where you were fighting nothing more than the environment.
TL;DR:
Games can get by fine with just having skills that are all about making the most damage dealing builds. Or non-combat skills that maximize your gold production, or unlock the most quests. But I'd really like to see more instances of skills being used in a more reactive, character driven way, where we can identify with our character based on their skills, in addiiton to having good, solid gameplay purposes.
Modifié par Fast Jimmy, 17 janvier 2013 - 12:21 .
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