It’s the Experience, Stoopid

Perhaps it’s how my brain is developing as an adult, but I’m finding that, more and more I crave story out of my games. Not just the story that developers give me, but stories that I create myself through the game.

That is to say, I don’t want developers to railroad me into particular stories. We now have the technology and there are studios out there who have the ability to create content and develop methods by which they can create these individual stories experiences.

Now, I’m a bit peculiar. I don’t enkoy it when someone talks to me about a game I haven’t played and details some of the experiences to me. I prefer to have the experience myself. Similarly, I approach. I read publisher’s synopsis of several books until I read one that speaks to me.

(This is the same way I review games. I will not answer “what is the game abou?” because I feel that question is lazy and subjective)

All of that said, I am looking forward to several games that are coming down the pipe specifically because I will have the ability to create my own experience. These games offer story and option. That will allow me to differenciate my own experience from others’.

(If you’ll recall I made a rambling post about the sort of MMORPG I want. Sadly, none of these are that. Perhaps I should just start working on a business/game model to pitch to studios.)

Star Wars: The Old Republic
Let me first begin by saying, unequivocally, that I am not a fan of Star Wars. That is to say I’m not particularly more interested in the Star Wars intellectual property any more than I am, say, Lord of the Rings or the Lethal Weapon series. It simply is. That said, I am pleased that we are finally getting a huge budget sci-fi MMO in a market dominated by fantasy.

Choice
From what I read, each class will have its own storyline, with zero overlapping missions. Apparently, when I’m a Bounty Hunter, I won’t have the same experience as, say, a Jedi Knight. Additionally, choices that I make during dialogue trees will have lasting repercussions.

Too often I’ve played MMORPGs where, regardless of if you complete a certain mission, you I always pick up the story by leveling to the proper point. Also, there is no lasting repercussion to any choice I make in a mission. If I let the Captain die, I can just go back to the quest giver and get it again. Magic-o fantastic-o, the captain is alive again. What is the point of an experience if when I make a choice it doesn’t matter?

Deus Ex
I haven’t beaten the first game. Apologies for those purists who feel that that’s blasphemous. I just didn’t feel the story, acting or presentation was compelling enough. Also, I just got it for the first time last year, so that might have something to do with it.

Playstyle
For those of you who have played any cooperative game with me, you understand that I’ll always take one of two roles: Sniper or Healtank (for those of you not versed in MMO speak that’s a character that will take attacks on behalf of the team but also heal or provide defensive support to the others). I like this because it provides me with tactical overviews of the battle and, with this greater sight of what’s going on, I can make informed decisions.

Deus Ex promises to allow me to play the way I want. If I want to take my time and snipe the crap out of an area, I have that option. If I want to be stealthy and make my way past the enemies, I can do that, too. If I want to be rambo, well, I can get dead.

I hate hate hate it when there is only one way to solve a puzzle in a game. It drives me three different kinds of insane. If my objective is to shut down a reactor, what does it matter if I can only get through a checkpoint by breaking through a fence? WHy can’t I climb on a roof and make my way that way?

I am looking forward to taking charge in this game.

Guild Wars 2
Full disclosure. I never got past level 15 in Guild Wars. This is because of two very important reasons: 1 The monk was not a monk but a cleric. This infuriated me because the clothic style was that of an oriental kung-fu monk. 2 I couldn’t jump.

Discovery
One thing I’m very intrigued about with Guild Wars 2 is how it’s going to introduce non-story quests. For instance, I’m walking down a path and I hear a farmer call out for help. I can go over to him and I see (rather than him telling me) that bandits are attacking! If they continue to attack, they’ll kill all his rabbits and carrots or something. So it’s up to me (and whomever else is passing by) to take care of those bandits! But I don’t just kill ten of them, I have to get rid of them ALL. More, if I just run past and ignore him, if the farm falls, I may not be able to buy lucky rabbits’ feet or carrot stew from the neighboring town because, guess what, my action had a consequence.

The press information for GW2 is full of these kinds of examples and I’m really looking forward to experiencing this. More than just that, though, I’m also looking forward to how they’re doing their skill system. And, speaking of which:

The Secret World
Another non-Fantasy offering coming down the pipe in the MMO space. Very pleased. It boasts Alternate Reality Game aspects, a horizontal progression model and some really compelling story ideas which I hope pan out.

Latitude
One thing I always disliked about MMOs is that there was always a progression gate before one reached a certain awesome skill. With the original Guild Wars, this wasn’t that much of an issue in PVP arenas, but with Secret World I have the opportunity to select the skills that I want — in what combination I want — without fear of being completely useless. This was, and still is, one of the major draws to me about Champions Online.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Years ago Dungeon Siege 2 did something I thought was pretty unique: You gained more skills in a certain weapon the more you used it. Similarly, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion did the same: you became better at the things you did the most of. With Elder Scrolls V, developers are taking that idea to the nth degree.

Reward
I will be rewarded for playing the way I want to play. Unlike Deus Ex which simply allows me to play how I wish, with Skyrim I’ll get better at the things I do the most of. If I spend my time shooting arrows, I’ll get better at that. Magic? Same. Sneaking and pickpocketing, sure. This is a reward for playing the way I find most fun and, as I get better, my fun will increase. I really look forward to experiencing this but I am pretty sad that it’s not showing up in an MMO instead of a single player experience.

So these are my previews and expectations for some of the games coming out in the next year. Check out my follow-up posts on the games as they come out.