The wrong thing: The poacher class

post from Destructoid on 20 November 2009 01:20:00 PM. © Destructoid

The wrong thing: The poacher class screenshot

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When it comes to RPGs, enemies mostly come in four varieties: humans, flora, fauna, and monsters. Typically you'll see the first and the fourth as major foes, and the second and third as the fodder you mash while building money and experience. When you defeat foes such as the Turks in Final Fantasy VII, evil is punished, no big deal. Toppling a behemoth isn't much of a moral issue either because you know he'd tear you a new materia hole if given the chance.

But what about when you're running around outside Midgar, trampling into the wilds and intentionally stirring up fights? Sure, it appears as innocent grinding, stomping around and making noise to scare out the animals, but let me tell you what you're grinding there -- animal guts.

Enough of the Final Fantasy VII examples. Take any RPG that flows with standard conventions. Think about how many evil plants, wandering dragons, or electric fish you've killed. It's countless, because the standard convention requires a player to build levels. The best way to build levels is to wander around outside town through random encounters. The random encounters are mostly flora and fauna, with the occasional goblin/mercenary thrown into the mix. You meander through the desert and encounter a massive sandworm, a wonder of nature by its own right. Truly an apex predator of this magnitude should be studied and appreciated and oh well, just cut it the fuck up already and get your 2000 experience points and 10 gold from it stomach, because we all know that even though the choice to run away is present, the player never will. You cannot finish the game without gaining experience, and this is what the game forces you through.

Ever wonder why people in towns are so eager to give you information, and never are bothered that you just barge into their homes? Because they're scared as hell! You've just been cutting through the nearby fields and forests, decimating the food chain. They'll tell you anything to get you out, and won't even raise an eyebrow when you raid the chests in their homes. Oh sure, you justify it by saying these are dangerous creatures that need to be eradicated, such as those found in most Dragon Warrior/Quest titles, but just because a lion might attack a man doesn't give an armed group excuse to romp around slaughtering every single one they can find. But again, it's required. Very few RPGs will allow a player to progress without building levels, and since they haven't yet figured out how to concoct a length quest where every encounter is integral to the story, there will always be a river of blood between each town.

What I'd like to see are random encounters where simply scaring off the wild animal, deceiving them, or just avoiding them is the way to resolve the scenario, with experience rewarded accordingly. An occasional situation where killing the animal or plant is the only way out would add to the realism. If I was travelling with a group of friends on a quest, I wouldn't want to put them at unnecessary risk by chasing down a giant fucking poison moth.

There aren't many RPGs that would look at the other side of the random encounter, but Ys: Book II actually did just that. When Adol is granted the ability to morph into an imp, he can communicate with all the animals and monsters, as well as try to communicate with the townspeople, who are less than friendly. Some of the monsters spit the expected non consequential bullshit, as seen here:

But take a look at what some of the others say.

And look at what this turtle-like creature is saying.

Good god! If you ever need a game to make you feel horrible about slaying two-frame hyper animated sprites, look no further than Ys II. Here you are bombing around this mountain, killing some one-eyed yeti and all his friends, and also tearing apart a giant turtle who was just lost and confused. Good job Adol. There isn't much else to say except that all of us RPG fans are horrible, horrible people with no regard for nature's balance. Agent Smith was right.

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The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 2 -
Developer Diary #2

post from Gamezebo: Casual Game Reviews, Previews, Cheats, Tips, Forums, Free Games, and More on 20 November 2009 01:16:51 PM. © Gamezebo: Casual Game Reviews, Previews, Cheats, Tips, Forums, Free Games, and More

Hello Gamezebo-ers,

This is Ryan Modjeski again, designer and producer of Legacy Interactive's upcoming hidden object adventure, The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 2. Since my last developer diary, things have gotten really hectic around here. Murder, She Wrote just launched (at the time of writing it is #1 on Big Fish Games and Legacy Games) and the energy surrounding that project amplified our stresses as we are quickly approaching our own release date in December.

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http://www.gamezebo.com/features/special-editorials/lost-cases-sherlock-holmes-vo
l-2-developer-diary-2

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Supreme Commander 2 dated

post from Gaming Nexus on 20 November 2009 01:16:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: John Yan
NEWS - I never played the first one but Chuck was a fan of the game. Now, the Supreme Commander 2 for the PC will be available on March 2, 2010 while the 360 version follows a few weeks later at March 16, 2010.

Supreme Commander 2 is a real time strategy game that's set 25 years after the first one. What's good about the series is the scope of having large battles with a large amount of troops on hand to command. This is the first one that Square's publishing as they look to branch out into other genres.

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http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/Supreme-Commander-2-dated/Item15088.aspx

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Unite and play with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

post from Gaming Nexus on 20 November 2009 01:13:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: John Yan
NEWS - One of the cooler things that's just been released is adhocParty for the PSP system. This will let owners of PSP and PlayStation 3 systems use the PS3 to bridge a connection to other PSP players and play some online games over the Internet. Capcom's Monster Hunger Freedom Unite is one of the first games to take advantage of this.

Just download a free app from the PlayStation Store and you're good to go. You can even do voice chatting which is pretty slick. I don't own a PSP, but I hear great things about Monster Hunter and this just be the game that makes me pick it up. Since I own a PSP, having the ability to play online from anywhere in the house will make it even that much better.

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http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/Unite-and-play-with-Monster-Hunter-Freedom-Un
ite/Item15087.aspx

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New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) Video Review

post from Gamer Grenade News Blog on 20 November 2009 01:08:16 PM. © Gamer Grenade News Blog

Bifordus-Maximus returns to the Mushroom Kingdom in this review of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Nintendo’s first full co-op Mario game. Let’s a-go!

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http://site.video-game-central.com/blog/2009/11/20/new-super-mario-bros-wii-wii-v
ideo-review/

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Rage To Include Class id Software Weapons

Loads of classic id Software weapons available alongside Rage’s new arsenal.

id Software isn’t only responsible for what is considered the first FPS, Wolfenstein 3D, but it has also made a handful of the best known franchises, Quake and Doom to name two more. According to NowGamer, many weapons from those now-classic games will make a [...]

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http://site.video-game-central.com/blog/2009/11/20/rage-to-include-class-id-softw
are-weapons/

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