How much do you guys like RPG elements in a game? With the ability to gain exp, level up, etc. Also, do you guys like it in ANY genre? Or are there some genres you think RPG elements would never work in?
RPG elements have been the best part of many games I've enjoyed. Would you really play games like Eliminate if they didn't have them? It'd really be much more boring without those elements. Plus, they add a lot to the replay value. It's much better than the high score style replay value. Even games like Call of Duty have RPG elements. I find myself playing Modern Warfare 2 online longer than I thought I would just so that I could unlock that next gun or perk. And I can't think of a genre that could be ruined by RPG elements. Even poker works with these elements, as demonstrated by Sword and Poker. Here's how each could work: Racing - New tracks/cars/upgrades each level. Fighting - New characters and special moves each level. FPS/Dual Stick Shooter - New guns/levels/perks each level. Works especially well in survival shooters. Crime (GTA-style games) - New cars/guns/areas each level. Match 3 - I don't think I need to say anything other than "Puzzle Quest". Card - Sword & Poker. 'Nuff said. Asteroids - Space Miner. Turn Based/Real Time Stratey - New characters/units/abilites per commander level, and upgraded strength and defense each unit/character level. As you can see, pretty much every genre works with RPG elements. I'm sure I've forgotten some, but those are most of the major ones right there.
Yes! Sword and Poker was awesome. Games such as Alive4Ever are so much more fun, simply because you unlock new stuff and the explosions get bigger as you go
im a complete, drooling sucker for RPG elements, i love them THAT much.. its the sole reason i picked up the old gameboy versions of Mario Golf and Tennis, they just make any game better.
Yes, but only if it isn't to a pointless end / the system is too transparent i.e. - I hate it when the game world levels up at the same speed you do, it makes the whole exercise pointless
They always make games better and add replayability for me. I'm also more likely to buy a game if I see there are RPG elements.
I heard that for the new Fable they hid most of the RPG stat stuff, because they found out less than 50% of the players actually cared about them. I think this forum is particularly overrun by RPG fans though.
I love them, if however the specific game doesn't have the "must-grind-1000-mobs-to-continue" grindfest. But yea, in general RPG elements are a real favorite of me and I believe many more gamers.
I care about RPG stat stuff, but at the same time you have to make sure you don't intimidate newcomers. Your game is on the welcoming-fringe of the spectrum, while Necromancer Rising is on the intimidating-fringe. You are right about this forum though, I recall a poll about everyone's favorite genre, and RPGs one by a mile.
They're great, as long as they're properly integrated and don't feel shoehorned in at the last minute, and don't force players to level/stat grind to progress (this is a big one, it can totally kill a game). Even platformers can benefit if done properly - Zelda 2 on the NES is a great example, and it's something I'm sad I haven't really seen since then.
I say it really depends on how they're used. If they're well integrated and intuitive then it's great. If it either a) feels tacked on to be able to claim they have it and the game would be the same without them or b) too much emphasis on the stat side that it begins to feel like micromanagement, then in my opinion it sucks.
I am new to RPG elements on game and since I discovered it I switch 100% to games with RPG elements. They have to be well balanced thou, to make a good game.
RPG elements work with most games, as stated above though, they can't make the game feel grindy. If it does, then its better to just go with a scoring system imo.
Two great examples of RPG elements done wrong would be Super Paper Mario - a mediocre trip-fest, where the damage and HP system do nothing but slow down the gameplay and make it feel both unnaturally paced and too easy - and La Mulana - an otherwise decent adventure game, where experience and levels are practically useless and you're constantly forced to grind for money, which takes forever.