Computer RPG Games
Community for CRPG games and other RPG gaming discussions. Witcher, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Baldurs Gate as well as indie RPGs (Underrail, Avernum, Space Wreck etc.). Focus is on CRPGs, but discussion around JPRGs, ARPGs and hybrid games with RPG components is also welcome.
Tabletop/pen & paper RPG discussion is not a good fit for this community. Check out !rpg@ttrpg.network for TT/P&P RPG discussions.
Memes are not banned, but the overwhelming focus is on discussions, releases and articles. Try and post memes (on an occasional basis) that would make people who don't like memes admit "OK! That was a good one!".
Some other gaming communities across Threadi:
- Adventure Games
- Automation Games
- Cozy Games
- City Builders
- Horror Games (variety)
- Indie Games (variety)
- JRPG Games
- Lifesim Games
- Open Source Games (variety)
- Roguelike Games
- RTS Games
- Space Games (variety)
- Strategy Games
- Turn-based Strategy
- Tycoon / Business Sim Games
- Visual Novels
RPG Game communities on Threadi:
- Baldur's Gate 3
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Deus Ex
- Elder Scrolls
- Fallout
- Kingdom Come
- Mass Effect
- Starfield
- The Witcher
General gaming communities on Threadi:
Rules (Click to Expand):
-
Follow the Lemmy.world Rules - https://mastodon.world/about
-
Be kind. No bullying, harassment, racism, sexism etc. against other users.
-
No spam, illegal content, or games with excessive, non-artistic NSFW content (e.g. hentai or porn games).
-
Please stay on topic, cRPG adjacent games or even JRPGs are fine. Try to include topics / games that have a strong roleplaying component to them.
Thank you to macniel for the community icon!
view the rest of the comments
Absolutely agree, especially regarding your point that "the game should be clear about what the intended loop is so that players aren’t surprised when they don’t engage with it." I've sometimes heard game designers call this “conveyance,” and Avowed, for all its streamlining, had pretty poor conveyance. Case in point, players feeling blindsided by how crucial crafting was.
After my long rant last night, I started thinking about how Avowed could’ve better encouraged players to engage with crafting. Things like stronger incentives to return to camp, companions commenting on worn gear, or maybe even a light repair mechanic to nudge players toward the crafting screen (though that might get annoying fast). Alternatively, as you said before, a more exploration focused alternative.
Honestly, the gear upgrade system felt a bit tacked on. So maybe just replace it with a gear leveling system? Weapons gain XP as you use them, fill up a progress bar, trigger a level-up animation, and maybe every couple levels unlock a perk for the weapon just for fun. Since gear already follows a linear upgrade path, the underlying progression wouldn’t change, but players would engage with it naturally, just by playing. But I digress.
Point is, I appreciate the clarification. And I agree, this was a design flaw, not just player oversight.
Ooh, yeah that bit about conveyance is exactly what I was trying to, well, convey (pun intended). I just didn't know there was a term for it!
It kind of reminds of the yellow paint argument- Many recent games use yellow paint markings on objects as a shorthand to show that a player can climb on an object, but this can often break immersion and make little sense in the context of the world/environment.
How do you thread the needle as a game dev to make it clear that a player can interact with an object without totally pulling players out of the world? Do you make it less obvious and hope players will figure it out at the expense of some players getting stuck or missing something, or do you make it really obvious and cater to the lowest common denominator?
It’s definitely a challenge. Imho, Portal does it brilliantly. But then again, it’s also a game literally set in testing labs, so the heavy signposting feels natural in context.
Obviously there’s no perfect balance. Go too explicit, and players roll their eyes and say “Yeah, I get it.” Too vague, and they get lost and keep saying “What am I supposed to do?”, followed by “Oh, come on!” when they stumble into a solution by accident.
There’s a video series I like on classic game sequels that talks about this. They make a point that what’s cool about video games is how they can teach through gameplay. And then go on to give examples of how to do this well. Games that show each mechanic (an enemy, a hazard, whatever) in isolation first, and usually in a way that can't negatively affect the player the first time. Then later, when they start to combine mechanics to ramp up the challenge, it feels fair.
I think for me, it's that "fair feeling" that is most important. I want challenge, but challenge only matters if I have agency. And I can’t have agency if I don’t understand my choices. I sometimes laugh when a yellow line is telling me which ledge to grab… but if grabbable and non-grabbable ledges look identical, and I keep dying for no visible reason, I’m going to be really salty.