Tunnel Vision – The gaming walls of restrictive play

WinnTech

Often times when I get in a game and I see the different classes and since each game is different I like to change up and see what each has to offer. Typically, I tend to stay with the Rogue classes, hidden in the shadows and striking when I want to, not when the game decides. Its, empowering I guess I could say. Lately, and I have noticed this more in the F2P games than the P2P, the classes are being restricted to specific weapons.

 

I often times think to myself, well…why? As a fan of Oblivion I like to be able to select a set of skills that I think would do well for the style of game play I feel like, from there, I can use what weapons are applicable. If I am a caster class, I often don light armor, a sword and a shield, believe it or not, it gets me out of sticky situations. I get three or more Minotaur attacking and I throw up the shield, switch to a paralyze spell and leave two on the ground frozen while I handle their remaining buddy. Tactically, it works wonderfully.

 

Now, if the game was based on WoW, LotR, or even EQ12 weaponclass restrictions it would be a different story. Caster would see three guys right on them and now, without the ability to block actively and without a shield, the tactics change and they force you to play in their narrow tunnel of allowances. I am all about choice. Give me a million ways to win and a million ways to die as well. Let me figure the rest out. Oblivion has the idea, skills based character shaped around a base set of skills but not limited to just those skills. The world is before you, do you want to be a caster in plate armor? So be it. Imagine a Mage with the ability to wear plate, it could work. What happened to the open world? When did it all become so cramped?

Why did my class have to be filled with thousands of others that have the exact same stats? If we take off all the armor, not suggested in the PG-13 games of late, we get the exact same character with different names and barely different looks. Each class is set to specific stats. When did we have to allow others to set our stats? What happened to our freedom to be a super strong and rather imbecilic mage?

 

Games these days are getting lazy when it comes to providing the ability to create uniquely unique characters. For example, look at OblivionFallout 3 and their systems. You can even have a face that resembles Chuck Norris (and would be the most loved and hated toon due to jokes it would start) and depending on your specific creativity, your face would be the ONLY one in the game.

 

Now, we have games were if you are a Rogue, you have to use daggers or swords. WoW does let rogues stretch a bit and use axes and hand to hand as well. We have games where Warriors, mages, and healers are split into separate classes down the line and they have to use weapon X or Y. What do you get when you do this? You get a major loss in the most important thing in any game, a unique character. I would place my vote to take things back. The current games are too restrictive.

 

Imagine a MMO that let you select your own stats, select your own skills, create your own unique look and maintains that ability to be unique through the beginning and end of the game. That game would, if properly implemented, be a wonderful game that many could enjoy. Would I like to see Oblivion Online? Yes and no, Oblivion needs better crafting…badly. Repetition is the staple of Oblivion gaming. Does the term “Lather rinse repeat” come to mind?  It should, especially if you are playing Oblivion. IMO, there are no perfect games, but there is no reason that we should be restricted in such a manner that we are gaming in tunnel vision.

 

Will developers ever get it right? In my humble opinion, no, they won’t or can’t. They want you to play their game, their game means their rules, their rules mean big game, little tunnel. I just doubt that any developer would be that open-minded or humble enough to let a gamer make their own decisions. Think of it this way, we are all in Communist game-land. Enjoy your stay.

MumboJumbo

Originally posted by WinnTech

Give me a million ways to win and a million ways to die as well. Let me figure the rest out.

I agree with choice and dynamism in combat. I'm more about playing a class that let's me come up with as many variations of fighting, not fighting, starting a fight, leaving a fight, fighting dirty, fighting to lose well... etc etc I guess Rogue classes or pet classes appeal to me for those reasons. I don't worry about min/max'ing but if every encounter I see a new pattern then I am having fun, even if losing!

 

 

"One of our priorities in developing Guild Wars 2 has been to make the simple act of moving around and interacting with the world an enjoyable experience for our players. We often refer to this as introducing joy of movement into the game. This means being able to jump and swim freely, but it also translates directly into combat.

To reinforce the importance of movement in the game, we want your character's position in combat to really matter. You'll see a lot of attacks in Guild Wars 2 that encourage and reward tactical player movement and positioning."