More Old Stuff

This one I also wrote in 2004. I was still heavily into Final Fantasy XI at this point. The raw idea itself has merit I think, although the implementation would need some serious work most likely. I will probably revisit this at some point in the future, maybe merge it with some of my other thoughts on this type of mmo design.

THE HERO

A lot of videogames place you in the position of a hero/heroine. Granting you powers beyond the ken of mere mortals. Whether it is the ability to shoot fireballs out of your hands, fly through the air, slow down time...the list goes on. But, not only do you get their abilities, you get to BE a hero. Saving the world, rescuing the damsel in distress, and helping people in need. This is all great, but have you ever felt a sense

of urgency while doing it? The people you are saving are all AI routines. They don't have feelings or anything to lose that they don't when you switch off your console or PC. You're basically riding on the urge to complete the game. If the game is well written you might develop an attachment for some of the characters, but even then, you don't really feel like you're under pressure to not fail in your task.

What if you could be the hero for other human players? In a massively multiplayer online world, other players have a vested interest in their characters and belongings, for the simple fact that they put in time and effort to get to the point that they are in the game. It could be very interesting for a world like that to come under threat from some foe. A foe that can bring about the annihilation of everything the player-base

have built up. Towns, items, characters...it would give those in the position of being heroes (maybe the highest level players, or those that are regular contributors)something to fight for, not actual lives (and who would want to?), but something more tangible than the cries of yet another computer-controlled character telling you that your character is part of some prophecy. How cool would it be to be in a village and see the 'chosen' party come round to your shop? You could give them weapons for free and wish them luck. Join them even if you were high enough level. Losing would not be an option in this case, well, it would be, but for the

wrong reasons. Of course the quest would have to be tweaked to make sure that the players could actually get through it, but having harsher consequences for dying could also lead to some interesting gameplay

elements as well. Watching the trailer for Otogi 2 inspired this post, and hence the next thing that I think could be added...the ressurection of 'legendary players' that have fallen in major battles to serve the player base. If a high level player lost his character in one of these quests with high stakes, then he could be added to an ongoing legend of the game. He might have to make a new character, maybe with some perks to make his

new start easier, but if another quest was to come up, the option to resurrect his character could be provided. The way Raikoh is called back from the dead to deal with a new threat. It will provide a wonderful

framework for player-created mythologies to be created and perpetuated. I think it's something that could be looked into. Of course this is not to say that being the main character in an offline game is a rubbish idea, or

that all online games should have this feature worked in, but I think it would provide variety and make players feel more important in a world that they dedicate a bit of their free time to.  

Nostalgia

I was just going through the posts I put up on my first proper gaming blog way back in early 2004 (or maybe even late 2003!) and I realised I actually had some good ones.

I will be posting them throughout the week so that the blog will at least see some daily activity. I might tweak some of them for grammar or whatever, and some of them I think started some ideas that have shaped my thoughts on games and game design, so those ones I will probably want to go over and maybe develop some of them. Oh, and I will keep the original titles as well, so please forgive some of them.

Anyways, here is the first one, and it occured at the time that I had just gotten seriously into online gaming via xbox live. I actually like the style I had back then. don't think I still write like that anymore, and in some ways it is sad, in others at least I can say that I have moved on.

MEMORIES OF THINGS PAST

I woke up quite late today after a night of vivid dreaming. The first thing I heard was the sound of gunshots.

My brother was playing Resident Evil on the Gamecube. Seeing him do this just reminded me about how much fun I had with that dinky machine since I got it at the Japanese launch. It made me think back to why I had stopped playing it religiously and now measured my gaming experiences by the amount of time spent on Xbox Live!

Last summer, I lost all the data on my memory card. It contained every single save I had since I got the machine. At least, every single US save. Goodbye trophies from Super Smash Bros.! Goodbye Wind Waker! Sayonara PSO, Timesplitters and tons of other game stuff. Even my beautiful replays from Super Monkey Ball on Expert mode...*sigh* When I realised it was all gone, through an oversight on my part (I mistakenly agreed to wipe the contents of the memory card while I was about to play a Japanese game)I just lost interest. Then, I got an Xbox. Life became about getting as lost as possible in the worlds of Vvardenfell, Halo, and the skies of Panzer Dragoon. I never even gave my Gamecube more than a second glance in those heady days with Mr. Driller been a slight diversion to the cube's delights. Even Mario Kart only kept my brother and I playing till we unlocked all the cups. By now though, PSO had come and brought with it all its addictive goodness.


Now though, my brother has gone to the back of the mansion and is at the tombstone that requires the arrowhead to get through. It's all coming back to me. I tell him to go back inside and go upstairs to get it from the room with the mirror and the two zombies. It feels cool.


I am going through a gaming fallow period. Being online is fun and all that, but only about four people out of all the people on my friends list make it worthwhile. I had more fun playing all these single player games offline. Or just messing about on Super Smash Bros. with my flat mates. Those days were cool. Of course, I am not saying that Live or online gaming as a whole is without its strong points and its allure, after all I already have a copy of FFXI waiting to be installed on my PC, and NWN is also probably only going to be played online. Overall though, I think that I play games for the experience of gaming. Getting lost in a world and having it affect my own environment as well - the theme tune for a level coloring my memory of summer for example - creating a dialogue, both spoken and unspoken between me and a group of friends, even if they don't play videogames.