your patronage definitely buys greater influence! XD
Oh, dear! I mean, that's good, though it was not my intent. :) If the consensus from everyone else is firmly divergent from my own preferences, mine should not overrule everyone else's... yet! ;)
Understandable about kiboshing the diagonal ship, but hopeful about north & south versions.
How about jeweler's magnifying glasses, or a face shield for welding/smithing, or goggles?
Ooh, good idea! I suppose a jewelers loupe would propably look like a monocle. Still, I like the idea of a loupe or magnifying glasses. Goggles, for sure! Even having nothing to do with jewelry, they apply to so many circumstances.
*I think several of the tools I listed already exist, I just listed everything I am thinking of: stuff for mining, fishing, harvesting, farming, jewelry, device-disarming. I guess most of the smaller tools won't be needed as animated character items, just inventory icons probably.
I have not seen a game solve that myself, but for all weapons except long range (high powered rifles), it sounds like "camera centered on player" works fine, yes? The advantage of high powered rifles is long range with a carfully aimed shot. This implies these weapons would realistically have a different mode of use compared to tactical shotguns or handguns where you can spin and spray bullets at hoards of enemies closing around you. Not that you couldn't use a handgun for a really long-range shot, it just isn't really what that weapon is good for, so having a relatively short range on those weapons doesn't break immersion.
What do you think of this: when the player is using a long(er) ranged weapon, they click the "aim" button (right-click aims, left-click shoots?) which allows the camera to scroll toward the cursor. the maximum scroll distance is some radius around the player character. Simulating a carfully aimed long range shot. You can limit the camera scrolling speed to be something less than vomit-inducing. As you said, whipping around with the camera fixed on the cursor is no good, but that isn't really what this is; it is scrolling toward the cursor, not attached to it. Also, these are not the same high-action circumstances compared to the other closer-range weapons. They're carefully aimed shots.
The lack of policy there is actually intentional. It keeps people from trying to rules-lawyer around the guidelines for ambiguous content like that. Unfortunately, each situtation needs a discussion like this one to determine if it's ok or not. I appreciate your assessment.
Good luck with your erotic itch artwork! If you have any companion content that is more SFW, we'd love to host it here as well. :)
Regarding Hades. Looks interesting. The visuals are gorgeous. Voice acting is decent too. I can't tell everything about it from the video, but it seems like more of an "action platformer with 3/4ths perspective" than what you'd call a traditional RPG. Not sure there is such a thing as "tradtional RPG", but my point is it seems to have some critical differences from the kind of RPGs discussed here so far (Diablo, Baldur's Gate, FLARE, etc.). Namely:
Fast-paced: focus is on action, not tactics and creative problem-solving.
No (apparent) equipment: sword doesn't change, clothing/armor doesn't change, no scrolls, potions, or other consumables to aid in the journey.
No (apparent) abilities: clearly there are upgrades and technique advancements, but they seem to be either entirely passive or only activated via button combos (thus my "action platformer" statement), no activatable tactical abilities or spells on a hotbar. Not necessarily a bad thing, just something that sets it apart. However, it does make me think there is a hard limit on the amount of tactical combat choices available in this game. "Hmm... what should I do? sword strike? or dashing sword strike?"
The attack visuals are over-the-top. Not a bad thing, necessarily. The focus seems to be on the power-fantasy; flashy sword strikes and taking on giant ripped flame-beef-creatures weilding cudgels that are bigger than the PC. I like games like that sometimes, but I find myself gravitating more toward the RPGs where that kind of power isn't earned until later in the game. PC seems over powered from level 1 and doesn't seem like he's actually in danger. It does make sense in this context, though; he's a demi-god of some sort.
Has anyone here played Hades? I'm wondering if it's worth a try.
The question is if the nude components are intended to titillate or if they are simply for anatomical accuracy. The former is not allowed on OGA, the latter is.
@Reemax: "It feels pretty stupid if you have played previous Elder scroll with both climbing skill and levitate spells." Agreed, though I suppose there's always going to be breaks in verisimilitude in any game. For some reason I feel like this is something more than that, though. I can't quite put my finger on it. I guess if I trudged through dangerous and circuitous terrain over 40 miles to get to a restaurant that I liked, only to find that my route home was only 2 miles because of some one-way street... I would feel more cheated by the journey there than happy about the convenience of the return trip.
@Minus Dungon Games: "The Nords have still not invented the ladder. And the Dwemer created vast underground cities with steampunk tech but never invented the ladder either." I LOL'd!
@WithinAmnesia: I do agree there still is femenine-excluding tendency in game design, though it is certainly trending in the right direction. It is far less so than it used to be back when I first got into games (1980's). Even then, there was never a lack of female representation among the protagonists. Samus Aran of Metroid, Rydia of FF4. Celes, Terra, and Relm of FF6. Princess Peach Toadstool made a poor rolemodel, but so does Kratos now-a-days.
@Buttons: That is still an oversimplification of the core gameplay of Skyrim, but I do see your point. However, if you were to follow those instructions to create a skyrim clone with all those quests, all those interactive skills, and the (for the most part) moderately interesting dialogue, I would still love playing such a game (even with the hilarious built-in crash randomizer). Even if it were a text-based adventure in it's new form. Why is that? As much as I may agree with your assessment of Skyrim's primitive construction, why is it still fun to play? I guess you couldn't answer why I enjoy it if you do not. If you know of some games you think are like skyrim but less well marketed, let me know and I'll give them a try. I'm willing to bet I could either tell you why they fall short of the good things skyrim did, or I would enjoy those games at least as much. :)
EDIT: note that I am not a Skyrim Fangirl. I do think it has some major problems, both in design and construction. It is far from the best RPG I've played, I'm just saying I still enjoy playing it despite that.
RE: item tiers and player's skipping content - That is a robust answer. Thanks!
RE: pandering & contrived - ah, pandering to sexualized content. Yes, ok... however, you lost me about halfway through the paragraph here. What does the historical rape and torture have to do with pandering or "contrived worlds"?
EDIT RE: Audio Juice - Ah, got it. Yes, I agree with those assessments.
EDIT RE: Mount & blade - Indeed, a video is worth ~1,000,000 words. That certainly shows some fantastic combat. However, I am unable to feel the controls or tactics involved just from the video. Based on appearances alone, the technical aspects of combat in M&B is approximated by the combat in, say, Skyrim. I know that it isn't, but I still can't tell what sets M&B's combat apart from Skyrim's or The Witcher... Unless the answer is "massive battles involving tons of characters". Certainly impressive, but I'm still only playing one of those characters, right? If M&B always involves commanding armies of characters, then the combat is more like an RTS than an RPG, yes?
RE: rare to see women playing RPGs - I have to disagree on this one. More than a third of all players are women, specifically for High Fantasy MMOs like WoW? Yes that is a disparity to the male players, but hardly 'rare', and certainly not "incredibly so". It is actually a reverse disparity when looking at the subgenre we were originally talking about: the family/farming simulator (like Stardew Valley) player base is nearly seventy percent women. I guess I'm not much of an outlier after all. :P
Thank you for providing the detailed content. I am very much enjoying this discussion. :)
I totally agree with the end-of-dungeon loop conflict you have. They say it's "good game design" to not force the player to retraverse territory they've already gone over. I get it, but at the same time, it... destroys someting about the dungeon. It feels less forboding, less dangerous, when you can just hop down from the vault room and pop out to safety. Was that treasure vault really that secure all these centuries if any smuck with a ladder could have come in through the exit and avoided all the restless undead hellbent on keeping their sacred treasure safe?
Oh, dear! I mean, that's good, though it was not my intent. :) If the consensus from everyone else is firmly divergent from my own preferences, mine should not overrule everyone else's... yet! ;)
Understandable about kiboshing the diagonal ship, but hopeful about north & south versions.
Ooh, good idea! I suppose a jewelers loupe would propably look like a monocle. Still, I like the idea of a loupe or magnifying glasses. Goggles, for sure! Even having nothing to do with jewelry, they apply to so many circumstances.
If it's not too late to give feedback on this, I would personally be most interested in the following, in order of most interest first:
*I think several of the tools I listed already exist, I just listed everything I am thinking of: stuff for mining, fishing, harvesting, farming, jewelry, device-disarming. I guess most of the smaller tools won't be needed as animated character items, just inventory icons probably.
I have not seen a game solve that myself, but for all weapons except long range (high powered rifles), it sounds like "camera centered on player" works fine, yes? The advantage of high powered rifles is long range with a carfully aimed shot. This implies these weapons would realistically have a different mode of use compared to tactical shotguns or handguns where you can spin and spray bullets at hoards of enemies closing around you. Not that you couldn't use a handgun for a really long-range shot, it just isn't really what that weapon is good for, so having a relatively short range on those weapons doesn't break immersion.
What do you think of this: when the player is using a long(er) ranged weapon, they click the "aim" button (right-click aims, left-click shoots?) which allows the camera to scroll toward the cursor. the maximum scroll distance is some radius around the player character. Simulating a carfully aimed long range shot. You can limit the camera scrolling speed to be something less than vomit-inducing. As you said, whipping around with the camera fixed on the cursor is no good, but that isn't really what this is; it is scrolling toward the cursor, not attached to it. Also, these are not the same high-action circumstances compared to the other closer-range weapons. They're carefully aimed shots.
The lack of policy there is actually intentional. It keeps people from trying to rules-lawyer around the guidelines for ambiguous content like that. Unfortunately, each situtation needs a discussion like this one to determine if it's ok or not. I appreciate your assessment.
Good luck with your erotic itch artwork! If you have any companion content that is more SFW, we'd love to host it here as well. :)
Regarding Hades. Looks interesting. The visuals are gorgeous. Voice acting is decent too. I can't tell everything about it from the video, but it seems like more of an "action platformer with 3/4ths perspective" than what you'd call a traditional RPG. Not sure there is such a thing as "tradtional RPG", but my point is it seems to have some critical differences from the kind of RPGs discussed here so far (Diablo, Baldur's Gate, FLARE, etc.). Namely:
The attack visuals are over-the-top. Not a bad thing, necessarily. The focus seems to be on the power-fantasy; flashy sword strikes and taking on giant ripped flame-beef-creatures weilding cudgels that are bigger than the PC. I like games like that sometimes, but I find myself gravitating more toward the RPGs where that kind of power isn't earned until later in the game. PC seems over powered from level 1 and doesn't seem like he's actually in danger. It does make sense in this context, though; he's a demi-god of some sort.
Has anyone here played Hades? I'm wondering if it's worth a try.
Keep in mind OP was not asking about porn. The question was about nudity and gore, which are allowed conditionally.
The question is if the nude components are intended to titillate or if they are simply for anatomical accuracy. The former is not allowed on OGA, the latter is.
@Reemax: "It feels pretty stupid if you have played previous Elder scroll with both climbing skill and levitate spells." Agreed, though I suppose there's always going to be breaks in verisimilitude in any game. For some reason I feel like this is something more than that, though. I can't quite put my finger on it. I guess if I trudged through dangerous and circuitous terrain over 40 miles to get to a restaurant that I liked, only to find that my route home was only 2 miles because of some one-way street... I would feel more cheated by the journey there than happy about the convenience of the return trip.
@Minus Dungon Games: "The Nords have still not invented the ladder. And the Dwemer created vast underground cities with steampunk tech but never invented the ladder either." I LOL'd!
@WithinAmnesia: I do agree there still is femenine-excluding tendency in game design, though it is certainly trending in the right direction. It is far less so than it used to be back when I first got into games (1980's). Even then, there was never a lack of female representation among the protagonists. Samus Aran of Metroid, Rydia of FF4. Celes, Terra, and Relm of FF6. Princess Peach Toadstool made a poor rolemodel, but so does Kratos now-a-days.
@Buttons: That is still an oversimplification of the core gameplay of Skyrim, but I do see your point. However, if you were to follow those instructions to create a skyrim clone with all those quests, all those interactive skills, and the (for the most part) moderately interesting dialogue, I would still love playing such a game (even with the hilarious built-in crash randomizer). Even if it were a text-based adventure in it's new form. Why is that? As much as I may agree with your assessment of Skyrim's primitive construction, why is it still fun to play? I guess you couldn't answer why I enjoy it if you do not. If you know of some games you think are like skyrim but less well marketed, let me know and I'll give them a try. I'm willing to bet I could either tell you why they fall short of the good things skyrim did, or I would enjoy those games at least as much. :)
EDIT: note that I am not a Skyrim Fangirl. I do think it has some major problems, both in design and construction. It is far from the best RPG I've played, I'm just saying I still enjoy playing it despite that.
Thank you for providing the detailed content. I am very much enjoying this discussion. :)
I totally agree with the end-of-dungeon loop conflict you have. They say it's "good game design" to not force the player to retraverse territory they've already gone over. I get it, but at the same time, it... destroys someting about the dungeon. It feels less forboding, less dangerous, when you can just hop down from the vault room and pop out to safety. Was that treasure vault really that secure all these centuries if any smuck with a ladder could have come in through the exit and avoided all the restless undead hellbent on keeping their sacred treasure safe?
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