Advancing the Role of Role-playing

Taking some cues from his pen and paper gaming sessions, Jay “Rampant Coyote” Barnson has penned a piece on “advancing the role of role-playing” which translates to some advice on how to make the interactions between the players and the world in CRPGs more advanced and akin to the tabletop forefathers of the genre. Here’s an excerpt:

Consequences for Everything

Actions should have consequences, and an impact in the world. Too often, we limit this discussion to big, canned events that change the direction of the game plot. Those are definitely fun and interesting, but sometimes it’s now so much how you change the story, as the little choices you have to make to navigate it. Consequences may be minor, but there should be at least the potential for .m good or bad or in-between for every action. Impactful choices shouldn’t be limited to a few canned decisions or a simple faction system.

The causality doesn’t even have to be explicit and maybe it’s better if it isn’t. At least, not always. If there are enough hints as to causal relationships between the player’s actions and events in the game, players will see causality even when there is none. It’s enough to ignite the imagination. And in the end, that’s really what we want, right?

NPC Perception of Player Actions

I guess you could say this is a second-order consequence thing. But canned actions generally have only direct consequences. What about indirect ones? What do the other characters in the game perceive? How do they react? If you kill someone on the street, do the other townspeople freak out? Do they try to understand what you did and why you did it? If you are seen talking to an untrustworthy fellow, do they start treating you with suspicion?

History / Memory

One of the best ways for an action to have an impact is for it to be remembered by someone (or something) other than the player. And not just in big (Hero of Kvatch) ways, either. Maybe the barmaid starts wondering why you don’t wink at her anymore. Maybe a farmer complains that somebody stole the five gold pieces he had hidden in the barrel behind his house that you looted by habit earlier in the game. While a lot of history may get baked into certain mechanics, (like a faction system), it’s even more fun to see permanent changes or a history of specific actions reflected in the game world. Especially actions that reflect choices you, the player, made on your own rather than prompted by a canned event.

And yes, I know talking about memories of (specific actions) here may seem contradictory with my appeal for common, broadly abstract actions above. And maybe it is. This is fodder for thought and experimentation, not a formula. And hey, as long as I’m making wishes, why can’t I wish for some way of making them work together, huh?