Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Visionaries Q&A: Ken Rolston, Part 2

For the second and final part of the community Q&A with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning’s “visionary” Ken Rolston we learn that his favorite game of all time is the tabletop RPG Tunnels and Trolls, what he thinks of CRPGs as a genre, his policy with criticism and more. Here’s a snip:

During your time creating pen and paper RPGs and then coming over to the games industry, how did your view on fantasy and RPGs change over the years? By Goatrek

Ken: I originally thought CRPGs [Computer Role Playing Game] were crappy. Sandy Petersen said the worst tabletop experience was always better than the best CRPG experience. I think that was mostly true.

Except now, I feel that vast narrative single-player games like Reckoning and the [Elder Scrolls] games, and MMORPGs, are probably better experiences than most tabletop RPGs. I still find a tabletop RPG with a good GM and players to be FAR cooler than any CRPG. And the best LARPs [Live Action Role Playing] are far better than any tabletop or computer RPG.

I think the variety and subtlety of CRPGs will always be limited by the terrifying costs of design, labor, development, and marketing. You can do lots of cooler and experimental things with paper RPGs.

What are some of the more important/interesting things you have learned over the years, that you now were very aware of, going into Reckoning? By Goatrek

Ken: Mostly I had learned over the years that CRPG combat wasn’t much fun. I enjoyed turn-based, party-based CRPGs like Baldur’s Gate, which were really just small-unit war-gaming. And I liked exploration in first- and third-person games, but the combat itself wasn’t very satisfying. That’s why Reckoning is such a delight for me. I can just load it up, ignore quests and dialog and stuff, and run around exploring and looting and beating on things … the simple pleasures of the picaresque homicidal maniac.