Final Draft

Introduction

Role playing games tend to be massive, both in scale, story mechanics and content in general. When making a role playing game what steps should a developer consider? Look back at the history, think about the world that one wants to build, interactive story telling, level design and difficulty as well as game mechanics. These are guidelines and steps one should consider when creating a role playing game, combined with research and experience told shared by various game developers.

First of all, let's talk about the history of Role Playing Games (RPG's). Role playing games are a genre of games practiced since the early 70's. Back then it wasn't something used in video games, it was more popular in board games. In a RPG you often have to create your own character, you choose their gender, class, appearance and origin and play a decision making game with others. This style has elevated into the video game format since then and the RPG genre went through many phases as explored by Richard Cobbett (2017) who talks about the beginnings of Role Playing Games, such as the board game, Dungeons and Dragons(1974) and how the first RPG video games came to be, from the 70's up until modern day. Starting off as a board game to 2D PC games only being available in Universities to modern 3D behemoths such as Fallout, The Witcher, Elder Scrolls etc. Showcasing how the genre advanced both in mechanics, graphics and storytelling as the years went on. A board game became so big it inspired people to adapt it's unique playing style and create story based games where, you the protagonist, choose your own path. It made video games more immersive and memorable than ever before.

Let's talk about world building in RPG's. An in game world(usually an open world setting) is probably the most important element of a Role Playing Game. An immersive world worth exploring creates a setting for a story and people(AI) who live in it. A world defines the principles for the game, like conflict, language, culture etc. Research by Gustav Grund Pihlgren Martin Nilsson Mikael Larsson Oskar Olsson Tobias Foughman Victor Gustafsson (2016) shows that when creating NPC's in a video game we have to take two things into consideration, the game world itself and the AI. The game world should always be developed first as it allows better planning and sets a theme and characteristics for the NPC's. The AI comes next but it's more tricky to develop good AI. Good NPC AI supports immersion. A nice and authentic world needs nice and authentic people so that the player can really immerse themselves into the experience. This supports the statement that a game world should be developed first.

Gillian Smith, Ryan Anderson, Brian Kopleck, Zach Lindblad, Lauren Scott, Adam Wardell, Jim Whitehead, Michael Mateas (2011) studied quest design by examining different role playing and quest based games. This allows us to look for patterns and create better quests. Learning how and where to fit in a quest in an open world to allow to player to explore and conquer as well as reward them. A game developer should always include something, like quests for example, to encourage the player to explore the world they built and learn more about it.

Since we got the world building out of the way, let's talk about interactive story telling, famous to RPG's. Since you play a role in a Role Playing Game, you should experience the game as the protagonist. You create origins, goals, conflicts etc. Petri Lankoski (2002) explains that when creating a character it's important to engage the player in a way that they experience the game as that character. Character interpretation requires character understanding. A well defined character needs a well defined goal. Balancing the power of the player and turning forces against each other, it is important that the player has something to do. The story isn't the most important part of the game, it is only a fraction of the experience. The character should have side missions and more in depth exploration in mind aside from the story.

User testing and models can prove useful in game design when it comes to story telling. David Thue, Vadim Bulitko, Marcia Spetch, Eric Vasylishen, (2007) discuss how creating an interactive story can be based of user experience and user models. Using a system called "PaSSAGE", one can use a player model which makes decisions in an interactive story. Then the game is tested by users and date is collected. That way one can avoid difficulty when implementing an interactive story in an massive open world.

When designing levels one should also think of difficulty. It refers to game progression and how difficulty spikes may occur but also it could give a feel of player progression as the game gets progressively harder. But first let's start with level design. Mike Stout (2016) discusses a game developer's personal experience in designing levels for video games, divided into steps. Looking at the limitations, brainstorming the structure, using diagrams to lay out areas, rough maps and finishing the design are the key steps in creating a level. Of course once you start creating a level in an engine you're going to change certain aspects, but having a solid foundation makes the job much easier. Now lets talk about the difficulty. Bryant Francis (2015) studied the work of veteran game designers and how they designed difficulty in games. Comparing the thinking of old versus new game designers and how when designing the difficulty for games, you should think about what the player can do rather what the game can do. Level progression should introduce new milestones and skills to players as well as new challenges.

Boss battles are a test of skill for the player. They are a goal, sometimes unexpected. Mike Stout Introduces how boss battles should feel and how they should be designed. Boss battles should feel rewarding, something achieved after a tough challenge. A boss should feel like a milestone, something to look forward too and then go further. A good boss battle should test the players skills and abilities learned throughout the game. Lastly, they should be satisfying. Difficult and tense boss battles need a satisfying ending, something to please the player.

Game Mechanics, much like the world, capture the feel of the game. They should correspond to the setting(past, present or future). In RPG's mechanics are mainly the environment reacting to the player and how the player interacts with the environment. Alexander Zook and Mark O'Riedl (2014) mention using a domain-independent system to create game mechanics.Combining mechanics using a constant solver and planner.That system can work in a variety of game mechanics focusing on the higher-level problems of designing mechanics rather than genre-specific concerns. Developing more sophisticated playability requirements. Autonomous mechanic generation (given designer initial inputs) holds promise for creating AI designers that generate games starting from mechanics. This could allow for more precise mechanics and an overall better experience.

Combat in RPG's is key to a fun interactive experience. IT may vary depending on the character, class, weapons and setting. Sebastien Labottin (2012) indicates that good combat system should be fun, clever and challenging. A player should be engaged and have many fighting options. Also make sure that when designing enemies they can match players abilities. Finally make the player feel clever about how they handled a situation in combat. You should always aim for that feeling. Designing good combat mechanics takes skill and cleverness. Boring repetitive combat way seem too easy or inefficient to the player.

Conclusion

Role Playing Games have so many variations that it's hard to define how to develop a particular one. These are the steps one should consider when developing a game but not bound to. Making games, especially as broad as RPG's can be abstract and it really depends on the developer, what should the game be like. Nevertheless, an RPG should let the player experience the game as the character and engage in world and it's people and a player should have a reason to explore and discover and the approach taken is up to the developer.

Citation

1. Richard Cobbett (2017) Our comprehensive guide to PC RPGs spanning four decades - from Dungeon to The Witcher 3, The History of RPGs. PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/the-complete-history-of-rpgs/4/
2. Bryant Francis (2015) Designing difficulty in role-playing games, Gamasutra. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/256705/Designing_difficulty_in_roleplaying_games.php
3. Mike Stout (2016) A Beginner's Guide to Designing Video Game Levels. tutsplus.com https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/tutorials/a-beginners-guide-to-designing-video-game-levels--cms-25662
4. Petri Lankoski (2002) Character Design Fundamentals for Role-Playing Games, Södertörn University, researchgate.net. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Petri_Lankoski2/publication/200010276_Character_Design_Fundamentals_for_Role-Playing_Games/links/54eb0aa20cf27a6de115daae.pdf
5. David Thue, Vadim Bulitko, Marcia Spetch, Eric Vasylishen, (2007) Interactive Storytelling: A Player Modelling Approach, University of Alberta. http://www.aaai.org/Papers/AIIDE/2007/AIIDE07-008.pdf
6. Alexander Zook and Mark O'Riedl (2014), Automatic Game Design Via Mechanic Generation. School of Interactive Computing, College of Computing Georgia Institute of Technology. https://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/AAAI/AAAI14/paper/viewFile/8152/8466
7. Gillian Smith, Ryan Anderson, Brian Kopleck, Zach Lindblad, Lauren Scott, Adam Wardell, Jim Whitehead, Michael Mateas (2011) Situating Quests: Design Patterns for Quest and Level Design in Role-Playing Games Center for Games and Playable Media, UC Santa Cruz. http://sokath.com/main/files/1/smith-icids11.pdf
8. Sebastien Labottin (2012) The Fundamental Pillars of a Combat System Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/175950/the_fundamental_pillars_of_a_.php
9. Mike Stout Boss Battle Design and Structure Gamasutra. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134503/boss_battle_design_and_structure.php?print=1
10. Gustav Grund Pihlgren Martin Nilsson Mikael Larsson Oskar Olsson Tobias Foughman Victor Gustafsson (2016) Realistic NPCs in Video Games Using Different AI Approaches Department of Computer Science and Engineering CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Göteborg, Sweden. http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/245348/245348.pdf.

RPG