Tropes that could be avoided

[Margaretha]

(personal and humble opinion, poor english, sorry, etc.)

 

Obsidian people and us all here are old roleplayers, jaded to some extend; white hair here, and there, not the horny teenagers focused on cheap tricks, dat sorceress illustration, powermaxing skills anymore. Not to that extend, at least... we have our weaknesses, sure. We'll hide them. This is what I want to believe.

 

Now. Tropes are in the mood. Some could be avoided as said:

 

- Bikini armors and sexist clich

[Blarghagh]

Tropes are not bad. Edited September 15, 2012 by TrueNeutral

[Oerwinde]

I'm ok with romances as long as they're done well, which they often aren't. Bioware tends to do romances where sleeping with the romance subject is the ultimate goal/reward, where IRL that tends to happen early on in a relationship and is simply a part of it. I say if they can be done right, have them, if not, cut them.

[LadyCrimson]

I have no issue with "bikini armors" as long as there are also plenty of non-bikini armors of equal value/protection etc. It's all about options for me.

 

Romance ... not huge on them as a major active part of the game for the player-character, but I do like them as backstories for dialogue and some companion side quests or something like that.

 

And I like dragons. Well, not the ones in Skyrim so much, but I can like dragons...especially if they're more than just enemy-fodder.

[DAWUSS]

You kinda can't get away from tropes TBH. It's what happens when everything's been done before.

[Gorgon]

JE doesn't like romances either. So maybe we'll get none, or some bad ones.

[Nefastus]

Romances are much better when they are done subtly, so many recent games do them so hamfistedly where the ultimate goal is just fanservice in a suggestive cutscene (I'm looking at you Bioware). Romance is among the most complicated of human interactions.. it's impossible to simulate with a dialog wheel and attraction meter. Be minimalist with it and let the player fill in the gaps, please.

[Oerwinde]

I thought BG2 did romances pretty well, keeping them going beyond sex, and being able to screw them up, each one being completely different, etc. The relationship with Fall From Grace in PST was good too. I don't like the idea of having romances end abruptly and never being able to revisit them though. Missing a single dialogue option ending the tree and missing out on it. My friend did that in DA:O missing out on the Morrigan romance because he said the wrong thing once.

[Nonek]

Oversized, unwieldy and hideously ornamental weapons.

Spiky impractical armour.

Feeble quest rewards (oh you've just slain the Morngrang the Destroyer, Archbastard of Infernum? Here's a weakly enchanted dagger.)

Give us a backpack if we're playing pack mule.

Make a gold piece have some value, and a purse full of them be a very fitting reward (if you use gold.)

I neither eat, drink, sleep or ever sit down...I am Iron Adventurer.

[DAWUSS]

How about multiple currencies? Seems like everyone runs on the exact same currency system. Including isolated (or even unknown) civilizations.

 

 

 

The pipedream would be a fictional world with no fantasy elements...

[Ieo]

(personal and humble opinion, poor english, sorry, etc.)

 

Obsidian people and us all here are old roleplayers, jaded to some extend; white hair here, and there, not the horny teenagers focused on cheap tricks, dat sorceress illustration, powermaxing skills anymore. Not to that extend, at least... we have our weaknesses, sure. We'll hide them. This is what I want to believe.

 

Now. Tropes are in the mood. Some could be avoided as said:

 

- Bikini armors and sexist clich

[Catamite]

There should be sexuality as well as gender balance- the game should have as many options open as possible, and not fall into heterosexual male teenage fantasies.

Though I'm not against bikini armour options for women, as long there are bikini armours for men.

Sexuality should include heterosexual, homosexual and asexual options within relationships. I agree that the end point should not be a simple cut scene (yay I scored!) but should ultimately develop into the player caring about their partner, (maybe even to the point where you get bonuses to attack if their health is low? just an idea).

 

I also agree with Noneks list- for gods sake no ridiculously giant weapons or armour, it's not the size that matters!

[Skyhawk02]

I like romance if it can be done in a subtle realistic way. For example, if you meet a character and are just constantly hitting on them from when you first meet, that probably won't lead to a healthy relationship.

 

I'm also interested in a game where I don't get punished for being mean to my party members, sometimes I argue with my friends but that doesn't mean I lose respect for them, what I mean is let me tease and argue with my companions without punishing me. In other words don't have a influence mechanic, or if you have one keep it hidden in the background, an influence mechanic actually cheapens conversations where instead of having a natural conversation you are just trying to get influence points (Obviously I'm talking about Dragon Age which did this poorly in my opinion)

 

I am also opposed to a morality systems for similar reason, it limits my choices if I'm thinking, "I need renegade points so i have to be rude even though I would rather not". I don't want to end up grinding morality like xp.

[Skyhawk02]

There should be sexuality as well as gender balance- the game should have as many options open as possible, and not fall into heterosexual male teenage fantasies.

Though I'm not against bikini armour options for women, as long there are bikini armours for men.

Sexuality should include heterosexual, homosexual and asexual options within relationships. I agree that the end point should not be a simple cut scene (yay I scored!) but should ultimately develop into the player caring about their partner, (maybe even to the point where you get bonuses to attack if their health is low? just an idea).

 

I also agree with Noneks list- for gods sake no ridiculously giant weapons or armour, it's not the size that matters!

 

Interesting idea giving bonuses for romance, I wonder though if this could cheapen the romance a bit, it could lead to players thinking, "i will romance everybody for the attack bonus!" haha, I don't know if people would really think that, but it's a possibility.

[WDeranged]

Tropes are like rape jokes, it's all in how you use 'em, something like Firefly is a good example of clich

[Catamite]

Tropes that can be put to rest:

 

The effeminate male Mage (particularly if he is evil)

The catty female thief

The bearded druid

Clerics being good (plenty of evil comes out of religion)

All the women have to be attractive

Older women don't adventure

[The Sharmat]

I realize this is a game balance thing, but the classic warrior/mage/rogue triad annoys me to no end. Why can't a mage wear armor? yes yes, somatic spell components and all. Just go without gauntlets and have flexible bracers. And why do game developers think archery requires no strength? The draw st rength for an English longbow was something like 110 pounds as I recall. Try doing that over and over again for hours.

[Ieo]

I realize this is a game balance thing, but the classic warrior/mage/rogue triad annoys me to no end. Why can't a mage wear armor? yes yes, somatic spell components and all. Just go without gauntlets and have flexible bracers. And why do game developers think archery requires no strength? The draw st rength for an English longbow was something like 110 pounds as I recall. Try doing that over and over again for hours.

 

Those are all trappings from traditional D&D, IIRC. I thought the latest D&D rules broke absolute armour limitations but still made them affect performance? I don't know. I stopped paying attention to D&D rules since, well.... possibly Baldur's Gate.

[Nakia]

Hokay, here goes with an older female opinion.

1) Armour, if the men want females dressed in skimpy bikini armour ofr outfits that no self respecting warrior would wear that is fine by me as long as they are optional. If I play a female I want a proper outfit. Most likely I will opt for my fighter/rogue character but I want decent outfits for my party members. I don't mind a little sexy male casual outfits either. Women like to look too. Just play fair. More and more women are playing games.

 

2) romances, again play fair give us females some decent choices. No wimpy, whining males that I want to slaughter rather than romance. Make the romances slow and optional. Keep the sex private.

 

3) Dragons? I liked the dragons in Baldurs Gate II. Some were good, some were bad and some were interesting. Skyrim type dragons are boring. None of those please. Don't make them the center of the story just incidental.

[Delterius]

I take 'avoiding the bikini chainmail' for granted, so no comment there.

 

Dragons, if done well they are a great trope. No problems there.

 

No thief girl companion? As opposed to what, A thief guy companion? Most games I played have both, so I don't understand this aversion.

 

Romances. Not a game feature I ever aimed for, but I hope its at least not design from a gamist perspective of 'you must bed at least one of the stereotypes' a la Dragon Age 2. But I'd much rather get to know character from a perspective of camaraderie, and that their character development is not limited to romance.

Edited September 15, 2012 by Delterius

[Piccolo]

No romances please. I've never, ever, seen them done well in a video game. They usually come across as shallow, gimmicky, cheesy, or all three.

[Nefastus]

No romances please. I've never, ever, seen them done well in a video game. They usually come across as shallow, gimmicky, cheesy, or all three.

 

Yeah, better safe than sorry I think. I actually think some (especially older) JRPGs have done romance decently, however. Like JRPGs in general they were highly scripted, but effective ones were developed slowly and generally told by the small things with an element of real, albeit sometimes somewhat childish, humanity. Lots of room was left for the imagination of the player. I don't think I've ever felt emotionally invested in a WRPG romance and often it's just the opposite--I'm frequently annoyed and distracted by them.

[WDeranged]

You know, I don't mind the odd romance if it's well thought out, obviously this means not going down the Bioware path of making practically everyone a romance option, that plain sucks.

Edited September 15, 2012 by WDeranged

[Delterius]

You know, I don't mind the odd romance if it's well thought out, obviously this means not going down the Bioware path of making practically everyone a romance option, that plain sucks.

 

BioWare went further down that path and now most everyone must be a romance option, no matter what.

[Lohi]

Romances may be ok, but they're so often somewhat out of place. Too often though these seem to be the only in depth interaction wtih some characters. Make it more like Planescape where the other party members are very interesting without it being romantic. Now that I'm remembering more, Planescape did it very well, almost all the NPCs were very well fleshed out with lots of conversational options.

 

Ie, how about Bromance!

 

Maybe I want the girl I grew up with to be my best friend but without any entanglements. Maybe some of the party members are married already and have kids too, or some members have romance with each other but not the main character. How about the party member that subtly wants to get you to go along with him on some illegal venture, and instead of just saying "help me rob a bank" is instead feeling you out and it takes a few camp fire conversations before the plan is revealed.