What do you NOT want to see in an RPG

[Noadi]

This was kind of inspired by the game anoyances list on the comunity forum. However I'd like this one to be a litle different. Instead of just listing what annoys you also list ways to fix it, or if you don't know how to fix it ask.

Now the list on the community forum already has some things covered like no installers (however I say provide both if you have the webspace), crappy graphics, etc. So try to stay away from those really common ones and talk about things that are problems that might be tricky to fix.

So here's my list.

Problem 1) Boring NPCs. These are NPCs that only ever say one thing or have no personality to them.

Solution 1) There are several articles online that deal with this problem (I have one too ). Here are the links.
My articles (I have one on NPCs, and a general RPG article) just go to tutorial. noadi-pixels.tk
Realistic NPCs www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article249.asp
NPC conversations www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article247.asp

Problem 2) This is more a GM specific problem that doesn't just affect RPGs. Flickering text, if you're computer is slow, the game large, or you just have too many things open text often flickers.

Solution 2) The solution I use if to use draw_sprite_text(), GM draw sprites much better than if does regular text so this is a good option if you have a little patience. The best way to do it is to use printscreen while having Character Map open with the font you want to use and then cropping it down to size, then use the image as a sprite strip. If you're really obsessive or bored like me you can use a graphics program to get the font just right.

So what bugs you in RPGs?

IA: fixed 2 typos "board lie me"

[IsmAvatar]

ah, good topic.

I'd have to say 1) slow gameplay (we could have a whole topic on solutions to this), and 2) bad key handling.
Bad key handling
When a noob starts an RPG, they do a simple style of key/responce movement. This often results in the moonwalk, unfortunately.
When a more advanced user starts an RPG, they learn to prioritize keys by asking for one key, and if that key is true, execute it, and ignore the rest. This can be annoying, because the actions can become quite unexpected at times.
Answer: When an expert brings along a good code (please try out my professional movement script), it's the start of a revolution in rpg programming.
Then, there is the future. what lays in the future? I'll tell you right now, in the future I will make a code that prioritizes the new key, rather than the old one, like a gameboy.

and that's all I can think of and solve at the moment. for #1, the solution is known. A good idea is to allow the player to choose what sacrifices must be made in order to improve gameplay.

[mayhem]

A corny, cliche'd and downright bad story can break a game that gets it right in every other way.
BEWARE OF BAD STORIES
The two biggest cliche's are a quest to find any number of magical crystals and rescuing a princess.
Any RPG that attempts to have a serious story should avoid things like that.
Of course if you're trying to make a game like conker then it's fine.
And if you cant think of a story yourself, then either make it up as you go along, or GET SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR YOU!!!

[Lethalanvas]

IsmAvatar said:

When an expert brings along a good code (please try out my professional movement script), it's the start of a revolution in rpg programming.

A revolution? That's a bit of a stretch!

However, Ism brings up a good point (albeit subtly concealed by his self-praise)!..

Good RPG developers (like Ism) know how to take the time to concentrate on the 'little things'. A good story will keep you playing the game for the first time, but not the second.

Another way to add to the life of a game is through multiplayer. Interacting with others (whether they be PC or NPC) is the core of role-playing; multiplayer creates endless possibilities of interaction and extends the life of an RPG immensely.

It's a double-negative, but I don't like to see RPG's who neglect to add a large degree of interaction in the game. As a result, there 'should' probably be more than one ending.

[AltiusBimm]

I can make a simple statement, I dislike RPGs where the NPCs fail to change position after key events. The same goes for dialog.

[hamalnamal]

me and my one friend have problem with this.

when your playing in an rpg in a battle there are many moves. some of them being things like a meteor hit the enemy. not these are fine, its an rpg, it doesnt have to be to realistic. but then say theres a god the comes from the sky and attacks your charecters as a move from your enemy. you charecters will take the hit and lose hp (sometimes alot) but thell still be in the same position, no matter what, usless there poisened or something. if youd just been hit by a giant asteriod summoned by an enemy would you really still be just standing there as if nothing had happend?

[IsmAvatar]

yes, a lot of RPG's fail to take into account that being low on hp actually hurts. The reason behind this is that they don't have the graphics to back up this idea.

Resident evil actually takes pain into account, and you walk with a limp if you're hurt, and you walk slower.

[hamalnamal]

yes i will admit that for an action rpg that is nice to be able to have things exreamly realistic, that is after all basically what they are, exreatmly realistic rpgs. But in something like say golden sun you dont have battles in real time, you have separate battle screens, and dont want to be bothered by your health in the real world.

[Vexen]

I reckon that if it's turn based then there's no need to see how badly injured your character is. But if it's real time then it would be a nice touch.

[IsmAvatar]

I'd have to say, Damsel in Distress, and Gem Collecting is overused. If you add some genuine ideas to spice it up a bit, it might be better.
Example, Damsel in Distress is actually a Cross Dresser (If you're going for the more comedial RPG).

[hamalnamal]

sometimes puzzles are impossible to solve, like they're possible, but it takes so long you just give up. those are annoying

[IsmAvatar]

yeah, and also stuff that pretty much, you get so far, and then you lose it all, and you have to restart from so long ago.
Unfortunately, this is pretty much the player's loss for not saving the game... but yeah, that's the main reason I leave most games.

[Solution]

IsmAvatar said:

yeah, and also stuff that pretty much, you get so far, and then you lose it all, and you have to restart from so long ago.
Unfortunately, this is pretty much the player's loss for not saving the game... but yeah, that's the main reason I leave most games.

Why not add an autosave routine to the game, that saves every 5-10 minutes, or like in Baldur's Gate, saves after entering/exiting different parts of the world.

[hamalnamal]

i think a game that auto saves every 5 mintues would be good because you can do alot in 10 minutes and that is annoying to do it all over again if the game freezes or something.

something annoying is when you have to do everything exactly the way its supposwed to be. like you cant just run off and abandon say "bob", you have to help him, if you say no than "bob" will say "Please help me" again, and youll have to choose again and everntully youll have to help him.

i undestand that you cant have compleatly different story lines in all games, but it would be nice if there were different ways of getting to the same goal rather than doing what you have to do and you can abandon "bob".

[Noadi]

Well having the person continually as for help would be awful but if you really need the party or character to help Bob then you should give them an incentive that makes it worth doing, or have consequences result from not helping him.