Interesting discussion about the philosophy of RPG design, I really like to read about these things. What went on through my mind as I programmed Realms III is that I think about the most cost-effective way to add features, especially because this was for a retro platform where memory is actually finite (even if it is a maxed-out VIC-20).
One unusual feature in an RPG that I found hilarious was Oubliette's 'seduce' option. It's a humorous way to find a use for charisma (considered by many to be a 'junk' stat). I struggled a bit on how to use charisma in Realms III, but I decided to use it for the (G)reet combat option (it only works with reasonably intelligent monsters--you can't "greet" a giant blob, for example) and as a saving throw modifier VS charm attacks.
I remember talking to a hardcore wargamer a few years ago about Axis & Allies (the WW2 board game), and he dismissed it as something as a Risk-like game for the masses. He confessed to me a few years later that he finally tried it and that he had a lot more fun playing that game than the traditional hex-based ones like World in Flames, Advanced Third Reich, etc. Calculating something like line of sight for every move may add a certain amount of realism, but they make game playing a chore.
I think that I probably would have played most of the Ultima series to their completion if it didn't require torches and food in order to explore the game.
Some RPGs do away with sex entirely (male/female) because they don't really add to the game. I struggled with this somewhat but I decided to go with it. Having male/female characters doesn't really affect the plot of the game, except that males get +2 STR while females get +2 CHA. While having a higher STR gives a better advantage for starting characters as opposed to having a high CHA -- it is really STR that becomes the junk stat compared to CHA later on when you encounter monsters who employ charm at the more difficult stages.
Interesting discussion about the philosophy of RPG design, I really like to read about these things. What went on through my mind as I programmed Realms III is that I think about the most cost-effective way to add features, especially because this was for a retro platform where memory is actually finite (even if it is a maxed-out VIC-20).
One unusual feature in an RPG that I found hilarious was Oubliette's 'seduce' option. It's a humorous way to find a use for charisma (considered by many to be a 'junk' stat). I struggled a bit on how to use charisma in Realms III, but I decided to use it for the (G)reet combat option (it only works with reasonably intelligent monsters--you can't "greet" a giant blob, for example) and as a saving throw modifier VS charm attacks.
I remember talking to a hardcore wargamer a few years ago about Axis & Allies (the WW2 board game), and he dismissed it as something as a Risk-like game for the masses. He confessed to me a few years later that he finally tried it and that he had a lot more fun playing that game than the traditional hex-based ones like World in Flames, Advanced Third Reich, etc. Calculating something like line of sight for every move may add a certain amount of realism, but they make game playing a chore.
I think that I probably would have played most of the Ultima series to their completion if it didn't require torches and food in order to explore the game.
Some RPGs do away with sex entirely (male/female) because they don't really add to the game. I struggled with this somewhat but I decided to go with it. Having male/female characters doesn't really affect the plot of the game, except that males get +2 STR while females get +2 CHA. While having a higher STR gives a better advantage for starting characters as opposed to having a high CHA -- it is really STR that becomes the junk stat compared to CHA later on when you encounter monsters who employ charm at the more difficult stages.