Introduction
In the complex world of role-playing games (RPGs), ensuring that a player’s character-building choices feel worthwhile can be challenging. Whether a player opts to heavily invest in lockpicking or persuasion, it is essential that their skills are both useful and impactful throughout the gameplay. Josh Sawyer, seasoned RPG designer and Studio Design Director at Obsidian, offers valuable insights into this delicate balance.
Immediate Impact of Skill Selections
Sawyer emphasizes the importance of making skill selections matter as soon as possible. In a recent YouTube video, he pointed out that if a skill is going to be part of the gameplay, it should be present and visible almost immediately. This approach ensures players feel their early decisions are validated, preventing any feelings of regret over their initial skill allocations.
A prime example of this is Good Springs, the starting town in Fallout: New Vegas. Obsidian designed this area so that every tagged specialty skill during character creation had a potential use case right from the introductory quests and initial exploration. This early intention-setting communicates to the player, “we’re paying attention to the character you made and we’re going to give you rewards for that,” which is crucial for player engagement.
Balancing Skill Representation
Sawyer notes that while equal skill representation isn’t as integral for designing later content, early intention-setting is vital for the developers. Asking a quest or area designer early on what skills the player will use for problem-solving helps design leads assess overall skill check distribution. Proper documentation allows lead area designers to review and adjust if some skills are over- or under-represented.
For instance, script tracking software helps check how often specific skill checks are used throughout the game, and observe their thresholds. If skills are imbalanced, potential solutions include separating over-represented skills into new categories or combining underrepresented ones into a more coherent skill.
Case Study: Pentiment
In Pentiment, an example shared by Sawyer, the team originally included characters with astrologist and naturalist backgrounds. Despite being interesting, these backgrounds couldn’t consistently be designed around. Eventually, they were combined into the heavens and earth background for the final game. This adjustment was both thematically appropriate and practically necessary for balanced gameplay.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the art of making skill points matter in RPGs like Fallout: New Vegas is both a science and an art. By making skill selections impactful from the start, documenting designer intentions, and balancing skill representation, developers can ensure players feel their choices are meaningful throughout the game.
