Curse

Dravic Badmoon · Jul 21, 2005, 07:04 PM // 19:04

This is a repost of a reply I made on another thread on this board.

The basic idea behind classes is to make a game feel slightly realistic. Role-Playing Games means you assume the role of something that is unique. Some examples are as follows:

I play a character that can raise minions from my dead enemies, while showering my foes with meteors from the sky.

I play a character that is a mixture between a necromancer and a pyromancer. I have the ability to raise minions from my dead enemies, while showering my foes with meteors from the sky.

The first example lacks the sense of how that has the ability character to cast those things, while the second example gives you the sense that the character has the ability because its is part of what he is able to do. We can give a character more sense of actuality or existence in a made up world by adding even more descriptions as follows:

I play a male character that is a mixture between a necromancer and a pyromancer. He spends most of his time learning how to master fire, while dabbing in the dark arts of necromancy. His physical appearance follows the dark and mysterious look associated with necromancers. He is about average height of six foot and size of 150 pounds, with a moderate muscular build. Though he may appear to look weak and feeble, he is extremely nimble and quick, and he can easily slay a towering orcish berserker with a quick snap of his fingers. He has the ability to raise minions from his dead enemies, while showering his foes with meteors from the sky.

This paragraph always you to begin visually conceptualize mentally, how this character appears to others and the destructive power he is able to release. While a classless RPG may give you more freedom in developing your character, it lacks overall the ability to give you a true sense of uniqueness of existence that a class system gives. Try looking at class-based Role-Playing Games in that light, instead of it as a restriction.

As for the attribute issue, if you find that a undead necromancer/dominating Mesmer is not working out, then you can reallocate or refund attributes into another spec line such as blood magic. Once you have reach ascension you have the ability to change your secondary class to something else, such as an undead necromancer/pyromancer. I look at Guild Wars and see no actually character balance issues that some claim. This game was designed around the idea that as a player, how well your character does in the game is based off your skills to play your character effectively. It was not designed to be based off having the best equipment available at the time and how high up your level is. This game is easy to play if you experiment around with different class build, spec lines, attribution allocation, and lastly, your ability to interact with other players of the world. Going solo is going to be tough, but if you group yourself with other players, an area can become quiet easy if you bring in the right mix of classes and skills.

The problem that does arrive is the demographical diversity of actual players in the world. Occasionally, you run into the childish person that wants to screw a group running a mission, just for their own self-amusement. The next problem that arises in any game is the fact gamers have emotions. Some people are offended by the language some other players use in game, or even by what they say such as gender remarks, racial remarks, sexuality remarks, religious beliefs, and so on. The other thing is every game requires patience and thought. You cannot win a game of chess without thinking about your next move, or you cannot expect to complete a mission if you blindly rush into the enemy. Even if you do stop and think, it does not always mean you will succeed, failure at something is to be expected. When it does happen just say “All well it was a good effort, let us try that mission again, but with a different plan.” Sometimes you just need to stop and take a break from something, and comeback and try it again later.

This brings me to the issue of players out there crying about some of the missions being too hard, I know I spent at least two weeks trying to get the three required missions before ascension done. I got frustrated and cussed a few times to myself about how close I was, the idiot who pulled the agro, and so on. I eventually got through it with patience, and did not bitch on a forum or to ArenaNet that such and such mission is too hard and needs to be redesigned. For those who want to bitch about equipment, I have one thing to say, I made it 70% of the way through the game with henchmen and Pre-Searing armor. I was at the desert before I started to replace my armor with the desert collectors’ armor.

It makes me sick and disgusted, that certain players who do not truly gasps the Role-Playing Concept are the ones complaining. I use to do chat room RPG in Yahoo! A&E. For those who were some of the few original RPGERS and knew of the kingdom of Atlanticia, I played the character who was the personal guard of the queen, Diamond. The downfall of A&E RPG was the people who try to have ubber characters, and refused to play by the accepted rules for A&E RPG. It appears to be the same people, who would rather cry for change, then accept and play the game on how it was conceptually designed.

I could go on and continue complaining about those who complain, but I am not. I am merely just trying to changes people’s opinion about the game. This game is almost perfect, ArenaNet fixed majority of the economy issues that did exist at the launch of the game. The game is balanced at this time; it just now falls back to the thing of how effective a person can play their character. Please stop crying wolf at things that just take a bit of thought and time to get through. This is not McDonalds or some other fast-food restaurant; you cannot always get it your way. Lastly, Guild Wars is a game, have fun while playing it damn it!

Side Note: Yes, I know I did slightly diverge of the topic at hand, but it has some relevancy in the basic idea of a Role-Playing Game.

Another Side Note: Go ahead say what you will.

Epinephrine · Jul 21, 2005, 07:32 PM // 19:32

1.) That's not a suggestion.

2.) I don't actually view this gmae as remotely role-playing, any more than Counter Strike is role playing.

I am a Counter terrorist with a big gun. My family was killed by terrorists when I was staying at my uncles place, they were on vacation in Israel. I've trained hard to fight those who would use terror as a weapon, and I know my duty is to oppose them. Really I'm a small arms expert, though lately my job has been defusing dangerous devices - I got perfect marks in the courses on wiring and detonators, and I know how to dispose of most explosives, but I'd rather be proactive, busting into terror cells than playing this game of catch up where I clean up the dangers the enemy leave behind. Funny thing is how still my hands are when I'm at work; off work they shake like leaves - my doctor says the stress is killing me, but I like to joke that it's the cigarettes. Since the move to bomb disposal I've started smoking again, but I think it's about the only thing that keeps me sane....

Give me a break. You can make up a back story and "role play" anything. I've been a PnP role player for ~25 years at this point, and GW is in no way a role-playing game. Those words were co-opted by the gaming community to describe games with progressive character development, but it's no more role playing that Pole Position is - oooh, I play the "role" of a race car driver!

Complaining that people play an online RPG without treating it like role-playing is absurd - you MUST know that RPG is a word that has been borrowed and twisted to suit gaming, right?

If you want to "role play" GW, power to you, but you are in the minority. The acronym RPG is more likely to stand for Real PowerGaming in most of the genre, and this is not much of an exception. I keep my role playing to actual roleplaying, GW and DoD are fun online games, neat theorycrafting and strategising and that's about all. If it has a computer involved it's probably not role playing - you need social interaction, a freedom of options not present in games and a flexible storyteller to weave it together.