I have had a hankering lately to play a game that does not exist.  Specifically, a Western RPG as they used to be, before Bioware and Bethesda took up the reins of Western RPGdom.  Of course, many of you will say there is nothing wrong with those two being in charge, but I’m afraid that Dragon Age and Fallout 3 just don’t scratch that itch for me.

So, why?  Why am I dissatisfied with the current crop of Western RPGs?  What are they missing, what are they doing wrong?

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There is a refrain that I hear often on gaming sites: “turn-based combat in RPGs is dead.”  As anyone who has been paying attention knows, it is a favorite hobby of games journalists and bloggers to proclaim the death of this, that, or the other.  For instance, adventure gaming has been declared dead on more occasions than I can count, and yet seems to be enjoying quite a resurgence at the moment; episodic Monkey Island games, some fantastic-looking titles like Machinarium, and a host of others are popping up for download on a weekly basis.

So why the eulogies for turn-based (TB) combat?  The general consensus seems to be that TB combat is simply too boring in this new world of HD graphics and multiplayer FPSes. People want speed and twitch gaming, the writers say, and turn-based is just too slow and old-fashioned to keep people interested.

This is a pretty shallow way of thinking, I’d argue.  Yes, turn-based combat is by definition slower than real-time, but that does not automatically make it boring.  Boredom is in the eye of the beholder, and for those used to speed and action, turn-based systems must feel like a long walk through a muddy swamp.  But depth and choice can be exciting, and TB systems can usually offer those in spades.

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Every day, when I wake up, one of the first things I do is peek out the bedroom window into the outside world.  I do this for two reasons: First, to make sure the damn squirrels aren’t on my bird feeder (I am a crotchety old man), and second, more importantly, to see how the weather looks.  I do this because the weather plays a large part in most of the decisions I make first thing in the morning.  If it’s bright and warm and sunny, I can perhaps get by with a t-shirt.  If it’s cold and windy, I’d should probably think about a sweater.  If it’s pouring, I might have to consider canceling my hike in the woods later that day.  If it’s 90 degrees and humid at nine in the morning, I might also want to think about canceling it for completely different reasons.

The point here is: the weather is an important, constant factor in pretty much everyone’s life.  So why is it, then, that games tend to ignore it completely?

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The hillside is rough; bare rock protrudes through the ground between patches of scrubby grass.  Despite this, the trees grow thick here, their roots sunk deep into tilted earth, holding on with all their might.  From below, it looked like finding a safe path upward was impossible, but a thorough search revealed a narrow but well-worn animal trail winding a convoluted path towards the top.  The climb is slow, but the top grows ever closer.

With a final burst of energy, you reach the crown and are taken aback by what lay before you – a lake, as blue as the sky above, stretches from just below you towards the forest on the distant hills.  In the center of the lake stands a lone island, ringed with trees, and in the center of that island stands a shrine of whitest stone, its columns radiant in the noonday sun.  From the road below, you would have had no idea such a place existed, but now it beckons to you from across the calm water.

Looks like it’s time for a swim.

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Moral decision making is not one of those things people tend to associate with video games. Shooting, racing, twenty-minute unskippable summoning sequences: those are things that immediately pop to mind, but not soul-searching ethical quandaries. And, for many years, that was entirely understandable – Eating the ghosts in Pac-Man had no visible ramifications, and as far as the player knew, none of the spaceships they shot down in Space Invaders had any family to worry about.

Most early games were about fun, simulation, or escapism. They were also, more importantly, incredibly linear in general. Linearity, by its definition, does not offer much in the way of choice, and choice is ultimately the engine that allows moral decisions to make themselves known in games. Choice is what starts to allow a player to break out of the lines and start to delve into questions of Good and Evil and everything in between. Pen and paper RPG systems such as Dungeons & Dragons had their built-in systems of alignment, and these were easier to play out when a human being was running the show as dungeon master. If the players chose to follow a path different than what the DM planned, he could simply adapt. Video games, it was felt, either couldn’t, or shouldn’t, have to worry about player choice.

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Over the last two articles, we’ve looked at a sequel that failed on its gameplay, and a sequel that failed on its story. This time, we’re going to take a very special look at a sequel that boldly failed on both. Actually, we’re going to look at two sequels, in fact, as a special 2-for-1 deal. Or maybe that’s 3-for-2. Whatever math makes it work.

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