On RPG Accessibility…

 

All of these games have somewhat oblique mechanics and can be difficult to understand without a guide or manual of some sort. But the games listed above don't offer much in the way of guidance outside of dense tutorials, and even those aren't always enough. The question is how much oblique mechanics hinder the overall experience of a game.

Let's start with Pokemon. It might seem like an odd choice for this list since the basic mechanics have long been capture a monster, level it up and kill some bad guys. Even at that level though, the game is more oblique than it really needs to be.

Pokemonis of course infamous by now for its hidden stats like "effort values," but let's put all that aside for a moment. The Pokemon games could probably benefit from a preview function that offers a complete list of moves that a given monster can learn. At the very least, being able to look the information up in the Pokedex would save a trip to the computer or the guide book.

The same sort of functionality would likely benefit breeding, which currently requires a fair amount of outside of research when it comes to passing along the proper moves in a chain. And, of course, it would be nice to know the difference between a Docile and a Mild Pokemon without having to resort to Bulbapedia.

Infinite Space'smechanics are similarly vague at points. While a rather extensive Help menu exists to take care of most of the basic questions, there are still points where it's easy to get lost without the help of a guide.

The poster boy for oblique mechanics is obviously Final Fantasy VIII and its infamous Junction System. The funny thing is that the system is not that hard to grasp — most of it revolves around training up abilities like Strength + 30 on the attached Guardian Forces. It's just that it's all buried beneath layers upon layers of menus, so most people didn't even know that those skills existed, let alone that they were critical.

I don't believe that these are crippling problems, because there are plenty of hardcore players who are willing to keeping digging because they find the game interesting. And I do believe that it's possible to go too far in trying to ensure that the player grasps every bit of a system's minutiae, as was the case with Final Fantasy XIII and its interminable 20 hour tutorial. But I also think that part of designing a good game is giving the player the tools they need to succeed.

As an example, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey has just the sort of preview function that would make a solid addition to Pokemon. When fusing, it's possible to see both the resulting demon and which moves would be passed along before I ever commit. On more than one occasion, I've found myself engrossed in just the possibilities, trying out every possible combination.

I think that's just one example of how an RPG designer can make the overall experience more satisfying. I can't speak for other people, but part of the reason I like RPGs is that I like parsing stats. If it's not clear what exactly all those numbers or terms actually mean, some of the enjoyment is diminished.

With that in mind, I want to stress that complex mechanics aren't automatically bad. Resonance of Fate has caught a lot of flack for being inaccessible, but that doesn't mean it ought to be easier. It's just the designers went the opposite direction of Final Fantasy XIII and threw players right into the fire. Consequently, it takes a certain amount of patience to get to the point of being comfortable with the battle system.

By their very nature though, RPGs are less accessible than the average action game or shooter. An RPG with an overly simple combat system risks being seen as shallow or even being branded as an "action game." Witness Mass Effect 2, which inspired much debate among genre enthusiasts as to whether or not it's actually an RPG (I maintain that it is, albeit of a different sort).

Basically, designing an RPG is hard. The more complex the mechanics get, the more care the designers have to take to ease in players without alienating them with overly lengthy tutorials. There are plenty of ways that designers can help themselves though, starting with designing a clean, easy-to-use interface that makes all the numbers as transparent as possible.

Failing to adequately explain the battle system doesn't necessarily make the game bad, but it will likely ensure that many players never get to the point where they can truly enjoy and appreciate it. That's a shame, because there plenty of worthy RPGs out there that probably aren't being properly appreciated because they are too oblique or difficult to understand for the average player.

Thus, there needs to be a pact between players and designers. Developers need to do a better job of explaining their wondrously complex battle systems, but players need to have some patience and give these games a chance. Given that, we can truly have the best of both worlds.

The Skyward Sword Diary: Entry #1:I’m loving it, so far (I’m 3 hours in).The impressionistic art style is quite striking and the individual quirks of Skyloft’s denizens are just hilarious.In terms of characterization and setting, I think this is my favorite Zelda title thus far.I’d rather be able to use a standard controller to play the game, but after waiting 5 years for a console Zelda, I’ll take whatever I can get (even if it requires a bit more waggling than I’d like).

 

 

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