Of course, it looks good, and yes, the physics system looks downright amazing, but there was just something I got out of the videos that didn't seem quite right. I think I raised an eyebrow when they mentioned having two-hundred dungeons...err, right. And I think there was something about them cutting back on dialogue, and just letting the player get on with it. It being going to another dungeon, I suppose...sigh. Viva Planescape! (I am quite mad)
All that was before watching the final two chapters. On seeing them, I'm entitled to change my mind (only slightly). The world dynamics seems pretty interesting, especially with the NPC interacting with her dog. The guy says it's all done real-time, but whether the results are as impressive, I'm not sure. But it has made me regain some of the enthusiasm I had for this game a year ago.
Of course, I can't completely discredit the points I made after chapters 1-4. In truth, it may well turn out to be a step in the Diablo direction; the two-hundred dungeons thing still sounds pretty bad (and only four hundred books! Tsk, tsk). But the saving grace is that I won't be able to play it anyway, since my computer will need an upgrade. So everybody wins!
I'm fairly certain that whatever Oblivion does, it will be very closely watched by the major players in RPG development. I'm actually interested in what the game will turn out to be, because I don't doubt that it will have a non-trivial impact on the future of RPGs. Is there one anyway!?! The advent of MMORPGs suggests that perhaps the days of the single-player epic RPG campaign will go the way of adventure games. The sad (for me, anyway) reality is that there seems to be far more interest in dynamic, online environments than in lengthy solo expeditions. If Oblivion does go the way of Diablo, it will be a painful blow, but not entirely unexpected. After all, they're eventually going to want to go down the road where the money is! I can't honestly imagine them making sometime with such impressive graphics and physics, and then settle into a niche market. No, in all likelihood, they're going to try to reach out to as many people as possible, which means hello dungeons.
Speaking of the Codex, I must say I've come to find it a bit tedious of late. There is so much infighting and elitism that it's just not funny. There are some very clear pariahs (most notably Bioware, and of course Bethesda and Morrowind) that are savagely attacked with nearly every posting that is made about them. Obviously the future of role-playing games is important to them, and that's fair enough, but the immaturity there is sometimes far too much for me. The one positive has been that it inspired me to get Planescape and Fallout, or at least it provided that final push that inspired me to get them (I always knew that I owed it to myself to play them someday, but I kept feeling as though they would magically appear in the shops someday*).
* Hmm, strange that I should be able to walk into HMV/JB/Borders and get any album of Neil Young's (the first artist that came to mind) from the last 40 years, but games stores go back a couple of years at most in their stock. I doubt you could even find Half-Life in most stores here. I guess most of them aren't published anymore, but in turn I wonder why that is. I can understand not shelving, say, Soldier Of Fortune, but the original Baldur's Gate saga, or StarCraft? Let's hope they see the light sooner or later.
Incidentally, I call this a prelude because it doesn't do justice to the topic of gaming and its future. Perhaps the real deal will be written in the distant future, but this ain't it.
1 comment:
The probelm with western RPGs is that they lack universal appeal. Too texty, too long, too slow. Justified or not, that's my view, and, i suspect, many other's view.
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