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There doesn't seem to be much discussion on the elements that, in my opinion, are the most important in a role-playing game. The elements that gave the Infinity Engine games the quality that they are renowned for: Narrative, Setting, Depth, Immersion and Choice and Consequence. Here are the topics analyzed by a youtube personality called MrBtongue in a insightful, articulate and entertaining way: Narrative: TUN: The Shandification of Fallout Setting and Immersion: TUN: The Elder Scrolls VI - Youtubia Depth: Creepy, Obsessive Nerdlove: Planescape: Torment: Colons Choice and Consequence: TUN: Choice and Consequence What is your opinion on these topics? Do you agree with MrBtongue on all of them? How important are these elements to you?

First of all, Obsidian, thanks for everything you have done to the RPG world. I am 29 now and a lifetime fan of your works (back and then). Project Eternity is a dream for me, still i can't believe it's happening. We have waited for so long.Well, i'm very excited. Can't wait to play. This post may be unnecessary or useless, i don't know, i just wanted to write to you, so pardon me. Oh, and excuse me for my lacking english. Here we go. You will read a lot of "in Baldur's Gate this was bla bla bla". Don't get mad. Sorry for this but that game is my gold standard. (whole saga) I am a big fan of D&D and it's character kits/alignement system. I hope PE will have a similar system. Barbarians, fighters, humans, wizards, sorcerers, thiefs, dwarfs, orcs, elfs and sub-classes... It's a nice long list to read:) My biggest concern is the difficulty level. You know, in these days, games are easier to play, dumbed down for childrens; no dialogues, no choices, no stories to listen. Easy quests, lineer story-line etc. I hope there will be a lot of challenging battles, mind blowing puzzles, hard-to-see clues, a lot of stuff to dig in. If a gamer can solve the puzzle in 10 minutes it won't be an epic moment to remember. We wanna argue about it in forums, try theories:) And anyone remembering Kangaxx? Demilich with a creepy mausoleum? I remember, i tried a month just to find a way to awaken him an failed. An enemy (and a puzzle) like him will be epic too. Just a reminder; Baldur's Gate 2 had over 290 quests and we expect more:) This is a very important element. Replayability. Lots of quests, lots of sub-quests, tons of thing to do and freedom in accomplishing things. But not only quantity of course. In BG quests was interesting, some of them were mystical in some ways and connected. Fulfilling rewards are one thing but ancient myths, cults, hidden cities underground, secret passages, georgeous stage designings... Those are just a few of the things made quests replayable. Remarkable, colourful, one-of-a kind characters (NPCs). I missed them. It has been decades, we haven't seen any guy like Minsc or Edwin or Korgan. They had a unique biography, a history. I think i don't have to explain myself longer. This is crucial. Crucial in anyways. We need a lot of unique (NPCs). Not 6 or 7 of them but "lots" of them. I don't know about you guys but i still remember the stories behind the items in BG. For example; Moonblade, Lilarcor... And the artworks they had? I think that's a very important element too. When you put a story, a history behind a sword, when you give it a unique design and artwork, it becomes unforgettable. No matter it's useless or what, it becomes a part of the game that makes you satisfied. This is something i could never found from other RPGs. I think it's enough verbosity:) Only a few things left to say. Graphics are important but not that much. Replayability and unique characters are the keys to win the heart of an RPG fan. I am not expecting a high-end graphics engine, not expecting unbelievable effects. I will be satisfied if it works steady. Ok. Thanks for everything again. Hope you read this.

One of the interesting (and most overlooked) aspects of BG2 and many of the other really good RPGs were the items that were books and scrolls that gave depth to the environments and places that players were in. It was really nice to be able to have a library filled with books that you could read. Unfortunately, I spent all of 5 mins ruffling through the shelves looking for potions and the differently colored scrolls or books that I knew were quest items. To me, I felt really bad for the devs who spent time coding in those books and writing in those beautifully written texts. I wonder how many people actually sat and read through them. One thing that I always thought was, "Why don't we make these books reward the players who read them?" The best example I can remember was Baldur Gate 2's Sun God Amaunator books. You get plenty of hints about the role of the statue but you're never sure what to do. A lot of these hints come from books. I would really enjoy having maybe 1 or 2 "hidden" quests that really reward those players who can only find that information written in the otherwise overlooked tomes in P:E. Maybe have some of them give interesting tactics that players might not think about using against enemies. Then make the books random! You won't always find that tome in the same place in the world. You actually have to read the book! It makes replays totally worthwhile, especially for those of us who always love finding hidden gems in games we've owned for very long times. And I think this is a game that will be played for a very long time.