WTB [Good Game] PLZ
What follows is the post I made last night on the official Bethesda forums, which of course was quickly swallowed up by a million other posts on the same subject. I’m so sick of thinking about PC gaming and all the things I miss about the old days. But that’s just this bear, and I’m sick of talking about it for the moment. Maybe at a later date…
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There is a lot of controversy as to how this game can be made best, and I don’t think a single person would argue that. What we can all agree on is that we enjoyed Fallout one and two. Whether you enjoyed the combat style, the pen-and-paper feel progression system, or the artful storyline and dialog, these games were magical.To that end, I beg this question: If you don’t change anything, who’s going to complain?
No one. If Beth were to make a isometric RPG with 3D models and textures, the perk/turn based system, with an emphasis on dialog and story drivenplay that is revealed city-by-city, who would complain? There may be cries that the game is not as good as the others due to poor imitation, but I honestly believe that were Fallout 3 made in this way and was done well in general, it would succeed. More importantly, it would
remain true to the series.
So I BEG this question to all of you: If you didn’t get 3D behind-the-shoulder views, or a FPS, or whatever else it is you think would benefit this game, would you really be disappointed? And think REALLY carefully about this point, when you get exactly what you want and find out its different than what it was you loved the whole time, you’ll only have one person to blame. There are plenty of examples of series abuse, and I’m sure most anyone could quote a bunch, so I won’t offer up any examples of it. We all know the offenders.
I’m not saying KOTOR and Oblivion were bad games, I thought they were great. But this isn’t KOTOR. This is a series that represents the very foundation of PC RPGs. More importantly, Fallout represents everything I remember about PC gaming that got me hooked as a kid. As an adult who is in college and would like to get into game development, I see a lot of troubled waters surrounding PC gaming. PC gaming has become either a goto or a come-from, with companies porting games in and out, and designing them with this process in mind. As a result, both PC gaming and console gaming has been affected, in my opinion negatively.
PC games have an advantage over consoles in that there is a very personal experience between the player and the game. You have a front-seat view (unless you play PS2 with your face that close to the TV), probably at a desk, and our implements are much more flexible. There isn’t a limitation cause by a controller in buttons or ease of use. That’s why Fallout feels so right to me. It represents a genre of gaming that isn’t recognized anymore. They were RPGs, but they were PC RPGs. Black Isle was a great company for this, but they didn’t have the audience or the ease of technology to keep it afloat.
Bethesda, you don’t have that problem. You know full well the cult-following this game will have. You know that, whether it is slaughtered or executed beautifully, you’ll have a product that will make money. My fellow gamers, you know that if you liked the other ones, you’ll buy this one too. So what’s the harm in following a formula that we all know worked? One way or another, I’ll but it too. But there’s something greater at stake here. There’s the possibility that Fallout will end as another failed series, doomed into obscurity except amongst its fans, and doomed to be part of an endless fan-lead march that promises a remake that doesn’t posses the financial or personal ability to actually do so.
Or it can serve as a wake-up call. As a reminder of what is WRONG with the gaming industry. As an example of what we’ve been missing. I’m jealous, Bethesda. I wish I was in your shoes.
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