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Will Crafting be fun?
ArchivedUser
Guest
The title is a rhetorical question... sort of.
So crafting, trading, and resource management sounds like it's going to be really interesting on a macro level because of the node system and caravans and whatnot. But I am concerned that it's not going to be interesting on a smaller scale. In other words, I know it will be interesting to figure out the crafting system, plan where to buy materials and sell goods, and make progress on artisan classes; but what about performing the actual crafting?
Let me break this down a little more. I like to think of game activities on three scales:
<ol>
<li>Second-to-second gameplay, or execution - Action-y things like low-level combat (using abilities, moving, and dodging) or platforming action or anything that demands your attention every second.</li>
<li>Hour-to-hour, or strategy - Basically, deciding what you want to do next. Potentially involving research and planning. Stuff like figuring out character builds, deciding on priorities, or coming up with plans for your next adventuring/trade/political endeavor. There is no time pressure here; these things can be done whenever, even when off-line.</li>
<li>Minute-to-minute, or tactics - Figuring out HOW to carry out your plans, or making tactical adjustments to them. For example, puzzling out your strategy for a specific fight, plotting a route using your map, deciding which fork to take in a branching dungeon or story, or literal tactics during a large-scale seige.</li>
</ol>
So for instance, with combat, both PvE and PvP, there are clearly interesting decisions to make and things to do at each of those levels. But all of us should know from experience, that crafting usually does not provide the same level of engagement at the lower levels. In most MMOs, it's fun to figure out what items you can craft and deciding what you want. And in some MMOs, it's fun to figure out the recipes and maybe play the Action House/Trading Post to buy materials and decide what's most profitable at the time. Aaaand in basically no MMO, when it comes time to actually make the items, does it involve anything remotely interesting/engaging/challenging/fun.
I don't know why I spent so much effort elucidating this trend that we are all probably very aware of. I just really want to get some discussion going early, in the hopes that Intrepid can be of the few (or only) studio to make an interesting crafting system; one that can at least come close to combat in engagement.
As far as suggestions go, the most feasible path in my opinion, is to just have a ton of minigames for crafting. But that could ruin immersion or feel too gimmicky. (Just thinking about people comparing it to Neopets...) But maybe if the mini-games are thematically related enough to each crafting activity it would be okay? Like if masonry were an artisan class (it probably isn't), would Tetris be engaging enough, assuming that they could make some variations for different crafting recipes/levels? If you came across a reskinned form of Tetris (with less abstract graphics) in a fantasy MMO, would it feel out-of-place?
Then again, maybe most people are fine with a mild, easy-going crafting system, and I'm asking for too much?
So crafting, trading, and resource management sounds like it's going to be really interesting on a macro level because of the node system and caravans and whatnot. But I am concerned that it's not going to be interesting on a smaller scale. In other words, I know it will be interesting to figure out the crafting system, plan where to buy materials and sell goods, and make progress on artisan classes; but what about performing the actual crafting?
Let me break this down a little more. I like to think of game activities on three scales:
<ol>
<li>Second-to-second gameplay, or execution - Action-y things like low-level combat (using abilities, moving, and dodging) or platforming action or anything that demands your attention every second.</li>
<li>Hour-to-hour, or strategy - Basically, deciding what you want to do next. Potentially involving research and planning. Stuff like figuring out character builds, deciding on priorities, or coming up with plans for your next adventuring/trade/political endeavor. There is no time pressure here; these things can be done whenever, even when off-line.</li>
<li>Minute-to-minute, or tactics - Figuring out HOW to carry out your plans, or making tactical adjustments to them. For example, puzzling out your strategy for a specific fight, plotting a route using your map, deciding which fork to take in a branching dungeon or story, or literal tactics during a large-scale seige.</li>
</ol>
So for instance, with combat, both PvE and PvP, there are clearly interesting decisions to make and things to do at each of those levels. But all of us should know from experience, that crafting usually does not provide the same level of engagement at the lower levels. In most MMOs, it's fun to figure out what items you can craft and deciding what you want. And in some MMOs, it's fun to figure out the recipes and maybe play the Action House/Trading Post to buy materials and decide what's most profitable at the time. Aaaand in basically no MMO, when it comes time to actually make the items, does it involve anything remotely interesting/engaging/challenging/fun.
I don't know why I spent so much effort elucidating this trend that we are all probably very aware of. I just really want to get some discussion going early, in the hopes that Intrepid can be of the few (or only) studio to make an interesting crafting system; one that can at least come close to combat in engagement.
As far as suggestions go, the most feasible path in my opinion, is to just have a ton of minigames for crafting. But that could ruin immersion or feel too gimmicky. (Just thinking about people comparing it to Neopets...) But maybe if the mini-games are thematically related enough to each crafting activity it would be okay? Like if masonry were an artisan class (it probably isn't), would Tetris be engaging enough, assuming that they could make some variations for different crafting recipes/levels? If you came across a reskinned form of Tetris (with less abstract graphics) in a fantasy MMO, would it feel out-of-place?
Then again, maybe most people are fine with a mild, easy-going crafting system, and I'm asking for too much?
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