It had been quite some time since a purely skill-based game had been
developed until the recent (though somewhat troubled) release of
target="_blank">Darkfall.
Considering the creators still can't keep up with population
demand, there's no doubt in my mind that there's a desire for this kind
of skill-based gameplay from players around the world.

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All this
could be yours.

On the other side of the fence, you have players that love their
class-based games. Both sides are devout in their beliefs that their
gaming style is the only true way to virtual world enlightenment. I'm
here to tell everyone this week that this argument has gone on long
enough. The line has been drawn in the sand. Let the battle begin.

Fear My L33T Skillz!

Regrettably, this is a common attitude displayed by many (not all)
players that endorse the skill-based style of game play. A game that
revolves around skills instead of classes tends to also be associated
with a free-for-all environment thanks to href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/63990" target="_blank">Ultima
Online,
target="_blank">Mortal
Online
and Darkfall. The two go together like peanut butter and jelly, so it's
hard to argue with the benefits of this synergy. I think most people
would agree that the only thing really wrong with the skill-based
system involves the crowd it has a habit of attracting.



Despite this (or perhaps because of it?), there are both benefits and
disadvantages to going about building a world with the openness
inherent in skill-based games. The most obvious benefit is freedom. By
having a system that relies on skills rather than any sort of class
system, it allows a player to create the character that's burned into
their imagination. They're not limited by the restrictions of any
archetype.



Aside from having the immediate effect of satisfying the needs of a
player (translated as "the customer"), an open skill system has another
advantage that is hard to ignore in today's current market. With all
the time gamers invest in their avatars, it can be horribly painful to
realize that after spending weeks playing your chosen character that
you just don't like them. In a class system, this means starting over
and creating a new character; one that is a complete noob all over
again. In a skill-based game, you can just start working on whatever it
is you feel your character is lacking. There's no having to throw away
the countless hours you've already invested.

Time To Get Some Class

If everything is so peachy keen with a skill-based system, then how
come the class system is still the ruler of the roost? The simple
answer is just that: it's simple. It's easy to understand, and isn't
overwhelming to a new player. The biggest benefit of a class system is
the direction that it inherently provides its players. From the moment
a character is created, the player has a basic understanding of what
their role is in both the world and the future groups they hope to be a
part of. They can understand that their fighter will work towards
getting stronger, search for better armor, and prepare to leap to the
front lines of battle in an attempt to protect their groupmates.



It's a trade off from the freewheeling chaos of the skill system, but
to many, it's worth it. Not only do they instantly have an idea of what
role they’ll play, but it's also easier to find others to
fill those roles that you cannot. If you're looking for a level ten
Necromancer to join your group, you can put out a message saying as
much. In a completely skill-based system, how exactly do you recruit
others to your cause? It can be done, but the process and acronyms
quickly begin to melt the brain cells of all but the most devout
followers of the game in question.

While there are exceptions to every rule, casual players don't want to
spend inordinate amounts of time trying to figure out their place in a
new world and like it or not, every game company on the planet is
desperately trying to crack that casual market. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/66463" target="_blank">World
of
Warcraft
certainly has its fair share of hardcore raiders, but the game is a
raving success because it successfully appealed to the casual gamer.
One of the main reasons this happened is because it's so easy to
comprehend. The class system lends itself to this style of intuitive
gameplay and will not be going away any time in the near future.

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Don't let
the pretty face fool you.

You Got Your Chocolate In My Peanut Butter

At the risk of incurring the wrath of fanatic gamers around the globe,
I'm going to refrain from declaring a winner in this battle and offer
up my own vision of the perfect character system. I don't understand
why a recent company hasn't made a major push to combine the two.
Giving players target="_blank">the
best of both worlds seems like a complete no-brainer
from the outside. There may be forces at work on the inside that
prevent this from happening, but for the life of me, I can't see it.



Like it or not, the majority of href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/66441" target="_blank">players
need
some sense of direction,
especially when dealing with a brand new world. The vast majority of
those same players also want the freedom to play as they choose and
become as involved as they want in their newfound home. By having a
skill-based system, with the direction and overview provided by
classes, a developer could create a game heralded as a masterpiece by
other developers and players alike. Before you say I'm crazy, hear me
out.



Imagine a world where a character could learn, quite literally, every
skill in the game... eventually. By having players choose a class for
their character in the very beginning, you give them a base set of
skills that climb at the "standard" rate. Other skills then fall into
two categories: Sub-class skills and Foreign skills. Sub-class skills
would be those that while not part of the class’s skill set,
are still closely related. These skills would increase at 50% of the
standard rate. Foreign skills are just what they sound like. They are
completely foreign to a character's base set, so would increase at only
25% of the standard rate.



So a rogue may not have "Longsword" under his base set of skills, but
since "Dagger" is, he has a general understanding of the tactics used
with an edged weapon. As such, he could learn the "Longsword" skill at
a 50% rate. Learning something like "Divination" though would be
something completely out of his realm of basic understanding, so he
would learn that at only a 25% rate.



For those of you that have played the Elder Scroll games, this concept
isn't obtuse at all. This type of class/skill combinations are
definitely at work in Morrowind and Oblivion, and if anyone needs to
see a reasonable way to attempt this sort of gameplay, all you need to
do is look at those two games.



This concept certainly looks good on paper, but could it work in the
real world of gaming? If it ever does, happy cries will be heard around
the world!



Or will they? If you disagree with my thinking, just head on over to
the target="_blank">Ten
Ton Hammer forums and let me know!