IGN Roundtable

[username_2060672]

IGN Roundtable

Michał Madej - our chief game designer has contributed to the RPG Roundtable on IGN's RPG Vault website. Among other things, he discussed the issue of whether modern RPGs prove to be as much fun as they should be. He argued that unless someone doesn't actually intentionally and explicitly break with the dated, stiff and rigid RPG conventions set way back in the past, future games in this genre have no chance for any originality, progress, and the potential to provide hours of fun not only to the younger audience, but to women and the more mature gamers, as well. Take a look at the discussion about the very foundations of the RPG genre today!

 

[username_2061180]

I like the opinion of Michał Madej

 

[jbscotchman]

I love it. Michał Madej says exactly whats on his mind.

 

[dziadu]

I love it. Michał Madej says exactly whats on his mind.

Heh, that's his style

 

[Seeker.217]

Oh How I love this part 8)How he pointed out that it not just younger Gamers but also women and the more mature gamers, Meaning old dudes like me LOL

 

[petra_silie]

women too? From my point of view, women are "subjects / currency / rewards" regarding mini games. For more details see my statement somewhere here but I don't want to expatiate this here once again ^..^Nevertheless... indeed wise words, I feel addressed by some remarks, especially the "killing 500 wolves is necessary for a good rpg" That's what I expierenced so far... killing as many beasts as possible, earning exp (the only alternative) to develope my chars. Actually this is worn out and boring and the prove is already obvious. Gamers stop their favourite game, cos they are always doing the same. There are very often "special exp events" on mmorpgs, where players gain twice or more exp and loot from the monsters. And even special offers to former play to come back. But the bait is actually the same as it was before – just more. Event the devs of thoses games don't recognize... maybe our gamers yearn for sth else but exp and loot?

 

[loopy]

great! I also like how Michał expresses himself. He sounds like a for-real person. I don't like a lot of BS. Anyway, he still gets his plug in at the end Bust seriously, I totally agree. I always hate coming off sounding like a raging psycho feminist (although, sometimes i do) because I very much view myself as an all around humanist. But I find it more and more evident that RPGs are made for immature boys, as he says. The emphasis on the "immature." This has always been why I have been excited for the Witcher. I also very much respect and admire the vision behind this game. I sincerely hope to see it have success.

 

[Seeker.217]

Petra Silie I think he was talking about TW and how gameing should go that it not just kids playing RPG anymore and the younger game are turning older too lol

 

[alibi]

Since the idea that the average gamer is around 30 (and probably not a blood thirsty trigger happy 15 year old), I'm actually surprised that most developers out there don't really make games for that age group. After all, wouldn't that make the most sense? Target the most numerous group among gamers? In the end, wouldn't this group be the most willing to buy games off the shelf, instead of pirating them off the net?

 

[petra_silie]

Maybe with TW a new era, mature games begins?@seekerThat's what I comprehend so far ;D

 

[Seeker.217]

Maybe with TW a new era, mature games begins?@seekerThat's what I comprehend so far ;D

that what Im hopeing for Petra ;Da lot of us that are gamer go back to the days of Pong LOL when it was just only at the arcades

 

[gorilla325]

it's an interesting read. keep defining one genre, i think we would be more confused. i think developers should just focus on what kind game they want to make, not what genre they want to make. for example, i would like to create a game with realistic fighting with cold weapon, with a way to keep the character grow through out the storyline, i want to have be able to do some platform moves...etc... i have to say that if designed right, killing 500 wolves may not be so bad. for example, killing special animals in gothic II was not a bad idea, as long as i could have some speical purpose, like raise money to buy superior weapon. i mean repitive needs to give players some purposes, not just because i want to gain experience. input has to have equal output...

 

[alibi]

@Gorilla325I disagree. I just don't think you can create a game just like that without having some guidelines. And guidelines are set by genre conventions, aren't they? It's like this dude Michael Madej said at the RPG Roundtable that these ancient stiff and rigid conventions of the RPG genre have been suddenly seen by developers as set in stone. And today, I don't think that you can really think up a completely new genre. They're all already out there. And when developers decide to produce a game it usually goes a) pick the type of game we want to make (i.e. choose genre), and then b) work out the details. But if genre conventions are so strict you can't really make an original game. You'll just be recreating the ones already made. So, if The Witcher, from what I've read so far, wants to make a cool and original game, they'll inevitably have to at least shake up the genre. On the other hand, TW may just overdo it with all the innovation. While people say they like new things, if something's too different, they get scared. I'm thinking that this is something that may happen to this very production...

 

[darian]

The problem is, some publishers like to fit games into existing genres. It gives them another little bullet point to put on the back of the box, and means they know exactly what audience to target it at. Far too many developers stick to the tried-and-true by fitting each game into a single category and following the traditions of that genre fairly closely. For many games, the "500 wolves" statement is all too true.Judging by the previews some aspects of The Witcher will go against what a western-style RPG is expected to contain, but it will still remain recognisable. Even the increased focus on questing by making Geralt earn near-negligible EXP from slain monsters will have a significant effect on gameplay, to say nothing of the elimination of "stat hoarding". In so many games even non-powergamers have to keep an eye on the magic numbers that determine their character's evolution.

 

[fatherchristmas]

I don't mean to be sceptical here but I get the feeling that games that do not replicate certain proven convensions (i.e. have sex, violence, money, and power struggles), won't sell as well. It just seems to me that there are just not enough devoted hardcore gamers out there that can appreciate originality enough to stake their money on a product developed by a largely unknown company from EE...

 

[witu]

I believe we have this covered. Firstly, research on the gaming industry (once I remember who published the results, I'll let you know) suggests that a lion's share of PC RPG games today is regularly purchased by a small, yet dedicated group of gamers. Consequently, these gamers have vast knowledge and experience on what's old, new, original or not, and will hopefully appreciate the effort we put into creating "The Witcher". Basically, you people here Nevertheless, you are right, FatherChristmas, in saying that CDPR can't overly rely on gamers to suddenly appreciate the originality of a game. That is why we actively and constantly try to reach out to gamers, either directly through our forum, website, and game conventions or indirectly through article publications in the industry's magazines or websites. W are bringing you all the information you need to judge for yourselves whether this is a game for you. Hopefully, it will be, as we did indeed put a lot of effort into making this game multifaceted to get you hooked either on the specific, individual aspects of it - i.e. combat, plot, fantasy world - or, preferably, on the combination of these factors and the general impression. We are therefore doing everything feasibly possible to promote the game to both the more ardent and the more casual gamers. Getting people to know about us is half the success. The other half is showing them what we've got on offer and why they'd maybe like to spend that 50h or 90h of gameplay on "The Witcher". Nevertheless, there is only as much as we can humanly achieve in this respect. That's why we're also relying on you, dear gamers, to spread the word. Your simple "hey, Sam, take a look at this" directed to a friend might just prove to be the winning factor in "The Witcher" gaining popularity it needs. So help us out here We'd be eternally grateful