On Character Development In RPGs

Thanks to IGN RPGVault for their continuing series quizzing videogame creators about single-player RPG character development. Respondents include Chris Avellone of Black Isle/Obsidian, who rants on CRPG spell conventions: "Almost every spell system I have encountered in an RPG has done wonders for sucking all the mystery and enjoyment out of magic", and Star Wars:KOTOR producer Mike Gallo, who suggests: "I think that somewhere, at some time, a type of stat-less main player character development will make it into an RPG."

Comments

Re:Don't blame us!

[Anthony Boyd]

Spells that commune with spirits

...are in Planescape Torment. I found it to be slightly interesting at first, but it got far more interesting when I returned to the morgue and spoke to every dead thing there. I was impressed to find that they had bothered to script dialogues for something that very few people would use. Arcanum also has this, but they did skimp on the dialogues. The spell is almost worthless in Arcanum -- even when a major NPC was murdered and I was tasked with solving the mystery, communing with his spirit did nothing. I thought to myself, "wow, even in obvious places they neglected the spell, why even have it?" But Planescape used it well. It was enjoyable.