Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
If you use an @yahoo.com email or any related Yahoo services, they have blocked us also due to "user complaints"
-UE
Character levels in games where level doesn't influence gameplay (besides maybe unlocks)
I’m starting to dislike experience level systems in games where level doesn’t directly influence gameplay. It's one thing when levels determine your stats, like in many RPG's, both single-player and MMO.
Some other games use levels to determine what items you're authorized to purchase and use--for example, some DJMAX games use levels for song unlocks, and some items and familiars PangYa require you to be of a certain experience rank to purchase them.
But in some other games, like O2Jam and S4 League, level is basically just pointless e-peening about how long you've been playing the game. It doesn't even provide a good indicator of how good you are--some people are already amazing when they hit level 15, while someone else could be a slow learner and still have a lot to learn by the time they hit level 50. Maybe level dictates what servers you can use, but again, level =/= skill.
If I must put up with levels/ranks, at least let it be skill based (i.e. beatmania IIDX's and Tekken 6's kyu/dan rank system). "Oh, this person is so and so rank" in this case would mean they have the skills necessary to have that rank, rather than just time spent playing the game.
Comments
One thing I've noticed about games in general these days is that they always eschew the straight, linear progression path associated with levels. When was the last time you played an RPG where there wasn't some kind of customisation linked to gaining levels? Even MMOs, with all the restrictions that come with skill tree systems, still technically have just that. To that end, I think things have actually gotten better in general and more games are inching towards free build systems of character customisation in terms of both visuals and mechanics.
The most important thing about a level is that it's an abstract representation of one's placement in power relationships. In fact, that's its entire function and use. The mechanical elements associated with it (such as the actual collection of more power) can be implemented separately of actually having levels. Games that give you points to spend at certain intervals without raising an abstract level variable would be examples of this. Linear levels are actually kind of useless if they're not used to represent a power relationship unless they become a mechanic in their own right. For instance, requiring a certain level in class A to unlock class B and the special abilities that come with it would be an example of levels as a mechanic rather than an indicator.
Most of the time, though, levels really do come down to where the player avatar stands in relation to the world around them and acts as a sort of narrative shorthand. One of the things that really bothered me about Dead Island was its RPG mechanics, complete with level, because you can't exactly deliver good horror if the player has a quick way to cross reference their chance of success against a monster's and finds that they're a superior combatant most of the time.
I guess what I'm saying here is that levels having essentially always been metafictional rankings anyway, so the fact that the concept has been shanghaied for popular FPS games doesn't strike me as particularly surprising.
That's perhaps one of my favorite elements of the Etrian Odyssey series. For a JRPG, it's quite customizable: you're free to build your characters' skills however you want. It's up to you to decide whether your Gladiator should specialize in club skills or sword skills, or whether your Zodiac should specialize in one particular element of magic attacks or be a jack of all trades.
At the same time, this degree of customization means that while it's possible to have the RPG party of your dreams, it's also possible to have a party with a disastrous build that can't make further progress. Fortunately, that's what the "Rest" command is for (reset skill points at the cost of 5 levels).
In cases like these, it's very important to teach players about the system and, to that end, to have a system that can explained well in a reasonably short amount of time. Monster Hunter circumnavigates that issue by not technically having customisation outside of gear, but all the talk of skill points and the like may as well be gibberish for all the attention I pay. Similarly, the otherwise excellent Demon's Souls and Dark Souls fail to teach the player about the levelling system. While all the information is actually reasonably accessible in bits and pieces, it requires a bit of detective work to bring it all together and then it requires players to relate all the concepts they may or may not have understood -- good character builds don't exactly suggest themselves.
Contrast with Mount and Blade. It has four stats, a few dozen skills and a set of weapon proficiencies. All of this is pretty straight forward, though, with everything having a short rollover explanation, and each skill tells you which statistic it's based upon. All you need is a character concept, after which the character screen is all the research material you'll need to understand how you might make that happen. Want a good fighter? Then give your character some moderate strength advancement and pump dexterity until it bursts for a good combination of health, damage and bonuses to general combat abilities. Or do you want an excellent leader who can take hits to ensure the battle goes in your favour as often as possible? Charisma and strength are where it's at, so you can create a character that has a large army capacity, deals heavy damage and can take a lot of hits. It's simple, accessible and still allows for great depth of gameplay.
The skill point system is actually extremely simple. Though it's true that it's not explained well (/at all?) in the game. Armor gives skill points to various skills while you're equipping it. If your skill points in a skill are high enough (generally at multiples of 10 or 15 points), you'll get a special ability. Stuff like extra damage or better resistance to elements or always knowing where a monster is without having to paintball it.
Yeah, it's not really explained in any way.
The skill about monster tracking is pretty cool. I can see that coming in handy.
TF2 has levels?
Edit: Other than the joke levels of items, like "level 8 medigun prototype".