Future Game Design: Density as Level
I was pondering what a standard Computer RPG would look like in some (not so) distant future when we are playing in some form of fully immersive/responsive virtual environment. What would hit points, or levels look like in a world where I'm swinging swords and avoiding blows via my own movements?
As a game designer, how would I model a game to have the sort of progressive advancement that players like so much - but without intruding on a player's immersive experience with all kinds of stats and figures?
After looking at this for a bit I found that surprisingly, a physics model that could represent comparative mass/density changes between creatures and equipment should elegantly address a great many of these problems.
Denser armor = harder to cut through, denser sword = more impact force, denser character = likewise harder to cut through. The effective density of any given item is calculated based on the difference between its level and the level of the thing(s) it is interacting with (unlike the real world where those values are fixed).
Equipment restrictions are dealt with in the same stroke, as any object's apparent weight would increase in line with its density. Newb trying to wield lvl 50 Starmetal blade? Might as well try to lift Mjölnir.
As a character increases in level, the comparative density of much of the stuff they interact with would appear to decrease, while their own would increase. Eventually they'd be able to punch through flimsy low level doors with their bare hands, and yawn while low level kobolds ineffectually attempted to gouge them with daggers with the effective mass of a toothpick.
There's lots of other RPG tropes not addressed by this particular mechanic of course - but you could probably build an entire virtual combat game of considerable depth and RPG style playability around this single factor alone without ever making the player look at a single number.
As a game designer, how would I model a game to have the sort of progressive advancement that players like so much - but without intruding on a player's immersive experience with all kinds of stats and figures?
After looking at this for a bit I found that surprisingly, a physics model that could represent comparative mass/density changes between creatures and equipment should elegantly address a great many of these problems.
Denser armor = harder to cut through, denser sword = more impact force, denser character = likewise harder to cut through. The effective density of any given item is calculated based on the difference between its level and the level of the thing(s) it is interacting with (unlike the real world where those values are fixed).
Equipment restrictions are dealt with in the same stroke, as any object's apparent weight would increase in line with its density. Newb trying to wield lvl 50 Starmetal blade? Might as well try to lift Mjölnir.
As a character increases in level, the comparative density of much of the stuff they interact with would appear to decrease, while their own would increase. Eventually they'd be able to punch through flimsy low level doors with their bare hands, and yawn while low level kobolds ineffectually attempted to gouge them with daggers with the effective mass of a toothpick.
There's lots of other RPG tropes not addressed by this particular mechanic of course - but you could probably build an entire virtual combat game of considerable depth and RPG style playability around this single factor alone without ever making the player look at a single number.