The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Just in time for X-Mas. My wish list to Santa for what I would like to see more of in CRPGs:

More interaction.
Some games like Arcanum did a good job with the choices you made for your character, be it focused on technology, magic, good or evil. Suddenly you couldn't go into certain shops, people might not join your quest. Characters would remember what you did or did not do for/to them. All of that is a great start, built upon the trend started in modern CRPGs like the Baldur's Gate series. But what I really want to see is causality and true ramifications for what you have done, not necessarily based on a value of how good, evil, magical or technological your character is.
The Wheel of Time d20 RPG touched on part of this equation and that is reputation, or how famous your character is. More importantly, why your character is treated a certain way (such as liked reviled, feared, etc.) Maybe this will lead to other plot lines or simply boons and banes along the way.
People to get over the fact that CRPGs are not RPGs.
It's an established fact, they are related and the gap is ever decreasing. Get over it.
More time to play CRPGs.
Lets face it, RPGs are tough with a career, marriage, family, etc. But of course, by sacrificing sleep, I can get all sorts of gaming under my belt-- I'm glad that I don't need to be truly awake until 10 or so...
A gritty, detailed and fun combat system.
I wish a CRPG would have a combat system that rivaled Rolemaster, Millennium’s End or Phoenix Command. Heck, with computers, it might make some of those options a lot more entertaining and practical. Hit points and maybe some penalties as still found in many games today are great. It would be nice to have a really advanced combat engine integrated in an RPG. Besides who didn't love rolling a 66 or 00 on a Rolemaster critical?
Neverwinter Nights by NEXT X-Mas would be swell.
Games that have so much potential...
...but are mired by bad product management, poor game design and bugs galore. Lets face it, Pool of Radiance Ruins of Myth Dranor could have been a good game rather than a forgivably mediocre one.
A massive multiplayer RPG that is really an RPG...
...and not a veiled excuse to kill things. Though Dark Age of Camelot by my research is a step in the right direction.
A Might and Magic game that is not a simulation of a FedEx business model.
A new CRPG that is based off of a pen and paper game that is not AD&D or D&D,
but better than earlier attempts like: Traveller, Twilight 2000, Buck Rogers, etc. Fallout was supposed to have been based off of GURPS until Steve Jackson got his panties in a wad about the games opening animation. Luckily it turned out to be one of the best CRPGs ever.
A CRPG based off of the marionette UK TV show from the sixties, The Thunderbirds.
Just kidding.

Binary: Computer RPGs

All I want for Christmas

What do you think?

All Binary columns by Wes Johnson

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Binary: Computer RPGs All I want for Christmas by Wes Johnson December 18, 2001	Just in time for X-Mas. My wish list to Santa for what I would like to see more of in CRPGs: More interaction. Some games like Arcanum did a good job with the choices you made for your character, be it focused on technology, magic, good or evil. Suddenly you couldn't go into certain shops, people might not join your quest. Characters would remember what you did or did not do for/to them. All of that is a great start, built upon the trend started in modern CRPGs like the Baldur's Gate series. But what I really want to see is causality and true ramifications for what you have done, not necessarily based on a value of how good, evil, magical or technological your character is. The Wheel of Time d20 RPG touched on part of this equation and that is reputation, or how famous your character is. More importantly, why your character is treated a certain way (such as liked reviled, feared, etc.) Maybe this will lead to other plot lines or simply boons and banes along the way. People to get over the fact that CRPGs are not RPGs. It's an established fact, they are related and the gap is ever decreasing. Get over it. More time to play CRPGs. Lets face it, RPGs are tough with a career, marriage, family, etc. But of course, by sacrificing sleep, I can get all sorts of gaming under my belt-- I'm glad that I don't need to be truly awake until 10 or so... A gritty, detailed and fun combat system. I wish a CRPG would have a combat system that rivaled Rolemaster, Millennium’s End or Phoenix Command. Heck, with computers, it might make some of those options a lot more entertaining and practical. Hit points and maybe some penalties as still found in many games today are great. It would be nice to have a really advanced combat engine integrated in an RPG. Besides who didn't love rolling a 66 or 00 on a Rolemaster critical? Neverwinter Nights by NEXT X-Mas would be swell. Games that have so much potential... ...but are mired by bad product management, poor game design and bugs galore. Lets face it, Pool of Radiance Ruins of Myth Dranor could have been a good game rather than a forgivably mediocre one. A massive multiplayer RPG that is really an RPG... ...and not a veiled excuse to kill things. Though Dark Age of Camelot by my research is a step in the right direction. A Might and Magic game that is not a simulation of a FedEx business model. A new CRPG that is based off of a pen and paper game that is not AD&D or D&D, but better than earlier attempts like: Traveller, Twilight 2000, Buck Rogers, etc. Fallout was supposed to have been based off of GURPS until Steve Jackson got his panties in a wad about the games opening animation. Luckily it turned out to be one of the best CRPGs ever. A CRPG based off of the marionette UK TV show from the sixties, The Thunderbirds. Just kidding.