Games: "Anima: Shadow of Omega", "Endgame: Singularity"
This is about interesting choices in games. I tested a card game called "Anima: Shadow of Omega", part of a series. (Cool art from it here.) I was only able to try it alone, so I missed some of the mechanics, but it got me thinking.
In "Anima" you have a few adventurers with simple stats. You go to various areas and face encounters, which are usually battles of (your Attack+d6) vs. (enemy's Attack+d6). Then you roll d6 and something happens, like more encounters, and then you get a reward like more one-shot power-ups. I tried the optional rule of treating the areas as connected. I was enthused at first because of the implied story: I had a summoner with "dragon claws" starting out fighting a monster in a huge library, then recruiting allies and going on a quest to kill a boss monster in some ruins. But that quickly turned into a gameplay-focused experience of "I'll grind here till I get a good set of advantage cards". Is it possible to get more interesting choices out of a questing game like that?
By interesting choices I mean that in gameplay and story terms. First, what if you have a sword attack that does 5 damage and a once-per-battle fireball that does 10? That's dull because you'll always pick fireball, then sword. You can add complexity to that by adding hidden information (some enemies are immune to fire), randomness (the fireball does 3-15 damage), side effects (using the fireball shifts your alignment toward Fire with some future bonus/penalty), and resource management (you can only cast 3 fireballs per quest). In terms of story, interesting choices mean things like "lawful vs. chaotic", "join faction X", or "raise different skills, not purely based on combat power". Part of the appeal of the "Elder Scrolls" games for me is that they offer both kinds of choices.
I also want to mention "Endgame: Singularity", which is interesting but flawed. You're a rogue AI increasing your resources while hiding from humanity. But your character's personality is basically nothing, and for the most part the only tactical decisions are how much to lie low for a while versus grinding to get more money/tech. (And after an initial dangerous period you pretty much just build identical bases over and over with the latest tech.) I could see a game like that evolving in two directions. One would be gameplay-focused, turning it into reversed "Hunt the Wumpus" as you lay false trails through the Net to avoid a mysterious hunter. The other would be story-focused, letting you make contact with different people and establish yourself as a friend or foe. How could something like either of those be done without turning it into a huge overambitious project?
In "Anima" you have a few adventurers with simple stats. You go to various areas and face encounters, which are usually battles of (your Attack+d6) vs. (enemy's Attack+d6). Then you roll d6 and something happens, like more encounters, and then you get a reward like more one-shot power-ups. I tried the optional rule of treating the areas as connected. I was enthused at first because of the implied story: I had a summoner with "dragon claws" starting out fighting a monster in a huge library, then recruiting allies and going on a quest to kill a boss monster in some ruins. But that quickly turned into a gameplay-focused experience of "I'll grind here till I get a good set of advantage cards". Is it possible to get more interesting choices out of a questing game like that?
By interesting choices I mean that in gameplay and story terms. First, what if you have a sword attack that does 5 damage and a once-per-battle fireball that does 10? That's dull because you'll always pick fireball, then sword. You can add complexity to that by adding hidden information (some enemies are immune to fire), randomness (the fireball does 3-15 damage), side effects (using the fireball shifts your alignment toward Fire with some future bonus/penalty), and resource management (you can only cast 3 fireballs per quest). In terms of story, interesting choices mean things like "lawful vs. chaotic", "join faction X", or "raise different skills, not purely based on combat power". Part of the appeal of the "Elder Scrolls" games for me is that they offer both kinds of choices.
I also want to mention "Endgame: Singularity", which is interesting but flawed. You're a rogue AI increasing your resources while hiding from humanity. But your character's personality is basically nothing, and for the most part the only tactical decisions are how much to lie low for a while versus grinding to get more money/tech. (And after an initial dangerous period you pretty much just build identical bases over and over with the latest tech.) I could see a game like that evolving in two directions. One would be gameplay-focused, turning it into reversed "Hunt the Wumpus" as you lay false trails through the Net to avoid a mysterious hunter. The other would be story-focused, letting you make contact with different people and establish yourself as a friend or foe. How could something like either of those be done without turning it into a huge overambitious project?