Bloodwize

Since I didn't read more than one quarter of the above post, I'm assuming it asserts the assumed need for logic in video games. If that is the case, allow me to remind everyone of our good friend Mario.

Mario, one of the most widely recognised characters of gaming, stars in the game Super Mario Bros. In this game, he can eat a star, change colours and bowl over oversized mushrooms and flying turtles. My point is that there is almost NO logic in that.

How does one eat a star? No clue. All I know is that with illogicality comes success and a firmly printed image in the minds of children everywhere.

Long story short: who cares about logic. If everything made absolute sense in gaming, there'd be no stars to eat, no giant mushrooms, and no flying turtles.

Our Italian plumber seems to have 1UP'd you guys.

However, this is a Role Playing Video Game. They focus very heavily on story. Mario is a Platform Game, they focus heavily on game mechanics. An RPG is not an RPG if there is no story, and games that are not logical are bad. I mean, logical in their own setting. Slaying Angels in Bayonetta is logical for the setting, a game is good when it allows the player to suspend their belief. In Mario, the setting is unbelievable, so one more thing like a Star giving you power, or riding a green dinosaur, is acceptable because the player is not encouraged to make sense of them.

One moa thing! In a Mario game, mass murder could never happen. It is just not plausible for that setting. But in real life (which RPGs tend to imitate), it can and does happen. So, it is up to the Creative Writer to make it fit within the setting.

I believe a Final Fantasy, or Kingdom Hearts game had something like that. It was a tile system where you only had so much space (in this case it would be wieght) to level up your character (in this case it would be what gear you could carry with you). Would higher weight loads slow your character down? I guess that depends on what kind of system you are using.

For quicker explanation of my thoughts, a numbered list will be used.

Part One; Thoughts
1. I find it unsettling if nobody saw or heard a force large enough to destroy them all, especially if they appear immediately after someone notifies the village. If the player has time to think about that, then the effect of the battle may not be as strong. So that would mean a swift decent into battle, catching the village and the player off guard, nearly from the opening of that scene. Or maybe just a somewhat secluded village, and the small army appears from nowhere.
2. If the 3 men are able to defeat a small army, they better have saved a few people from death. If they are that powerful, the death of an entire village seems needless and illogical/unreasonable.
3. A title like "Tactician" or "Scout" could either give bonuses to speed or critical hits, something like that.


Part Two; Thoughts
1. Depending on the style of the game, something interesting would be the ability to play as one of the 3 characters in the battle of Part One. That may give you bonuses when you later choose the path for you. Or, in playing one of those characters, we already know what the player wants, so he grows up slowly looking like, the Mage for example. And then during the Path Choice Discussion in Part Two "Blah blah blah, we have noticed you have developed a talent (in the arts of magic)(and skill with a bow)(and skill with a sword), though we want to make sure this is what you want to commit to.

Part Three; Thoughts
1. Depending on the Oppressive King you have, maybe he's possessed, maybe he's being controlled, hopefully it's not a religious crusade, but maybe he's just evil. You have to remember that justifying the slaughter of an entire village in a satisfying way is very important considering it is the reason, the driving force, behind the journey. I'd like to think that mass murder is not taken lightly by the logical, considering the village had no apparent warning that they were to be completely annihilated.


I think the framework for your story has a lot of potential, and depends a lot on execution, but I'm interested and I'll be looking forward any progress and to what is produced.

Very thoughtful post, good for learning and refreshing!

It doesn't matter how experienced a person is, everyone should take a moment and open their eyes to take a look at what makes the online games we love so successful and decide whether they are taking the right approach or not. It amazes me that so many people overlook what I've written about. Most of it is common sense. You just need to put yourself in your audiences' position.

You make it sound like a switch, polishing a game just comes easy to some as opposed to others. It also depends on the experience and influences they have in other areas. Certain ways of thinking just take practice and the willingness to learn.

Very thoughtful post, good for learning and refreshing!