A very good article. I dealt with a number of these issues while working on the design for my own CRPG that I'm writing for my vintage microcomputer. So I'll cover each of your points as I saw them myself:
1. Is it better to control a party or a single character?
A party. Single player CRPG's exist, and they're not bad. But it usually turns your single character into an uber-hero, who can do everything well, because he has no party to back him up. (The Avatar from Ultima 5 onwards and the hero class in Tunnels of Doom come to mind.) Some games may have more restrictions, so only one class type is possible, but then balance becomes difficult to obtain, since some classes may be more difficult than others. With a party, you can explore variety better without as much risk. Plus, in the old days, game designers assumed that a party CRPG could be played by multiple people; often my brother and I would play games together, so it wasn't a bad assumption to make.
Henchmen and AI-controlled party members work pretty well; I especially liked it in Ultima 7. Since computers are powerful enough now to automate party members and even have them react in different ways, it makes the game a much greater living world.
2. Is it better to create new characters or play pre-made ones?
Create new ones. Pre-mades, to me, mean two things; either the game designers decided that you, the player, were unworthy to conceive your own characters, or their game engine was too unbalanced to allow free reign in design. Reminds me of a tyrant DM from tabletop RPG's who insists your elf have an "elvish-sounding" name or gets mad because you make some out-of-character joke during the game.
3. What aspects, if any, should be randomized?
Random factors can kill a game very easily. I can't stand to play Telengard long because pure randomness can kill you at any time by spawning a monster you have no chance of defeating. Character advancement should also stay away from randomness. If luck can yield as much gain as consistent effort, a player will just go for the quick and easy path of luck if they can. When you first played Baldur's Gate, did you take the first set of ability scores, or re-roll until you got the ones you favored?
4. What's the best way to handle magic?
Magic is typically treated as an "add-on" to an existing tactical system with melee and ranged combat with conventional weapons. This is probably due to in original D&D it WAS an add-on to the Chainmail tactical system. Game designers need to acknowledge this and try and think outside the box if they can. Instead of letting old models dictate how your game works, try and find a way to integrate magic into a system of your own. There's no right or wrong way to handle it, but if you want something people will remember, chuck the D&D books and find your own path.
5. Should characters have to eat and sleep?
Generally, activities like this are more appropriate to simulations than games. The logistical aspect of maintaining food supplies and getting rest is, I think, slipping out of the CRPG genre a bit. Food in games like Ultima I-V was basically a money-sink; remember to buy food or you'll be in trouble later. Sleeping is usually to rest and recover the party, and may be considered a time-sink, if time is a factor in the game. Any mundane activity like this needs to be looked at in context, and the question must be asked "Is this fun? Is this necessary?"
6. What role should morality or ethics play?
I like playing heroes. To me, that's what heroic fantasy is about. From a game designer's perspective, though, you never know what the players will get up to. A CRPG can be thought of like a story... if you decide to write it so the player must commit atrocities in order to win the game, you may not find a big audience. I think what players like is the freedom to make the decision themselves, and not have the game engine or game designer decide for them.
7. Should gender/race have concrete effects in the game?
Race is usually used as a balance factor with character design. In modern games, it can also affect appearance, voices, mannerisms, and so forth. I think it's a good thing to have, but no game designer should feel compelled to have them.
Gender's a trickier issue, because it ties into avatar creation. We like to design our avatars to be a lot like ourselves, or our idealized selves. So it's a real kick in the teeth when a particular option isn't available. Since memory and computer power is way up from the old days, there's no real excuse to skimp on avatar design options.
8. What's better--sandbox play or a tight narrative?
Depends on the goal of the game. Sandbox play has it's value, since it tends to have a good replay factor. But ever since the advent of MMORPG's, it seems somewhat strange to be the only player in a massive world... I started feeling lonely in Morrowind. A tight narrative is interesting in that it can be an entertaining story, but it can also become very restrictive... I can't stand the modern Final Fantasy games. I think the essential CRPG leans more towards sandbox than narrative, but can be a hybrid and keep within genre.
9. Should characters age and eventually die?
Like eating and sleeping, depends on how it fits into the context of the game. And it's again, a bit too much like a simulation. Consider that in 3rd Edition D&D, all "aging" attacks and magical effects were removed.
10. What restrictions (if any) should be placed on saving the game?
To me, saving the game should be possible anywhere, anytime. The only reason to restrict this is if you want to force a player to have to run the same area from beginning to end, so that he has to do it with the resources he has at that save point. It would be funny to see a player panic when he enters a very dangerous area and sees the message "You can't save at this time". But in modern life, interruptions happen, and I'd rather extend the freedom of choice to save where you want.
There's my feedback, looking forward to further discussion. Oh, and if you want to know more about the vintage CRPG I'm writing, I got a website up at http://www.adamantyr.com/crpg.
A very good article. I dealt with a number of these issues while working on the design for my own CRPG that I'm writing for my vintage microcomputer. So I'll cover each of your points as I saw them myself:
1. Is it better to control a party or a single character?
A party. Single player CRPG's exist, and they're not bad. But it usually turns your single character into an uber-hero, who can do everything well, because he has no party to back him up. (The Avatar from Ultima 5 onwards and the hero class in Tunnels of Doom come to mind.) Some games may have more restrictions, so only one class type is possible, but then balance becomes difficult to obtain, since some classes may be more difficult than others. With a party, you can explore variety better without as much risk. Plus, in the old days, game designers assumed that a party CRPG could be played by multiple people; often my brother and I would play games together, so it wasn't a bad assumption to make.
Henchmen and AI-controlled party members work pretty well; I especially liked it in Ultima 7. Since computers are powerful enough now to automate party members and even have them react in different ways, it makes the game a much greater living world.
2. Is it better to create new characters or play pre-made ones?
Create new ones. Pre-mades, to me, mean two things; either the game designers decided that you, the player, were unworthy to conceive your own characters, or their game engine was too unbalanced to allow free reign in design. Reminds me of a tyrant DM from tabletop RPG's who insists your elf have an "elvish-sounding" name or gets mad because you make some out-of-character joke during the game.
3. What aspects, if any, should be randomized?
Random factors can kill a game very easily. I can't stand to play Telengard long because pure randomness can kill you at any time by spawning a monster you have no chance of defeating. Character advancement should also stay away from randomness. If luck can yield as much gain as consistent effort, a player will just go for the quick and easy path of luck if they can. When you first played Baldur's Gate, did you take the first set of ability scores, or re-roll until you got the ones you favored?
4. What's the best way to handle magic?
Magic is typically treated as an "add-on" to an existing tactical system with melee and ranged combat with conventional weapons. This is probably due to in original D&D it WAS an add-on to the Chainmail tactical system. Game designers need to acknowledge this and try and think outside the box if they can. Instead of letting old models dictate how your game works, try and find a way to integrate magic into a system of your own. There's no right or wrong way to handle it, but if you want something people will remember, chuck the D&D books and find your own path.
5. Should characters have to eat and sleep?
Generally, activities like this are more appropriate to simulations than games. The logistical aspect of maintaining food supplies and getting rest is, I think, slipping out of the CRPG genre a bit. Food in games like Ultima I-V was basically a money-sink; remember to buy food or you'll be in trouble later. Sleeping is usually to rest and recover the party, and may be considered a time-sink, if time is a factor in the game. Any mundane activity like this needs to be looked at in context, and the question must be asked "Is this fun? Is this necessary?"
6. What role should morality or ethics play?
I like playing heroes. To me, that's what heroic fantasy is about. From a game designer's perspective, though, you never know what the players will get up to. A CRPG can be thought of like a story... if you decide to write it so the player must commit atrocities in order to win the game, you may not find a big audience. I think what players like is the freedom to make the decision themselves, and not have the game engine or game designer decide for them.
7. Should gender/race have concrete effects in the game?
Race is usually used as a balance factor with character design. In modern games, it can also affect appearance, voices, mannerisms, and so forth. I think it's a good thing to have, but no game designer should feel compelled to have them.
Gender's a trickier issue, because it ties into avatar creation. We like to design our avatars to be a lot like ourselves, or our idealized selves. So it's a real kick in the teeth when a particular option isn't available. Since memory and computer power is way up from the old days, there's no real excuse to skimp on avatar design options.
8. What's better--sandbox play or a tight narrative?
Depends on the goal of the game. Sandbox play has it's value, since it tends to have a good replay factor. But ever since the advent of MMORPG's, it seems somewhat strange to be the only player in a massive world... I started feeling lonely in Morrowind. A tight narrative is interesting in that it can be an entertaining story, but it can also become very restrictive... I can't stand the modern Final Fantasy games. I think the essential CRPG leans more towards sandbox than narrative, but can be a hybrid and keep within genre.
9. Should characters age and eventually die?
Like eating and sleeping, depends on how it fits into the context of the game. And it's again, a bit too much like a simulation. Consider that in 3rd Edition D&D, all "aging" attacks and magical effects were removed.
10. What restrictions (if any) should be placed on saving the game?
To me, saving the game should be possible anywhere, anytime. The only reason to restrict this is if you want to force a player to have to run the same area from beginning to end, so that he has to do it with the resources he has at that save point. It would be funny to see a player panic when he enters a very dangerous area and sees the message "You can't save at this time". But in modern life, interruptions happen, and I'd rather extend the freedom of choice to save where you want.
There's my feedback, looking forward to further discussion. Oh, and if you want to know more about the vintage CRPG I'm writing, I got a website up at http://www.adamantyr.com/crpg.