tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post8193807738692415672..comments2023-09-28T07:23:51.376-07:00Comments on ProjectPerko: Two AgenciesCraig Perkohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13173752470581218239noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post-65549684825156110152010-06-20T10:53:46.962-07:002010-06-20T10:53:46.962-07:00I always wanted to play an RPG where your choices ...I always wanted to play an RPG where your choices affected an overarching system--one scenario I thought of was a community under siege, where your actions indirectly affected the simulation. <br /><br />I've personally found that immersive agency is useful for letting the player direct the way they want to navigate and respond to the world. That said, I prefer it when it is expressed through systems in the world rather than dialog choices or single pass/fail checks: choosing between sneaking past the guards, attacking them directly, sniping from a distance, hacking into the security system, stacking crates to climb onto the roof...the player gets to choose which approach feels more appropriate to this particular challenge and available resources, though it probably doesn't affect the long-term plot much.<br /><br />I'm not sure that matches the definition of immersive agency that you're using though.Isaachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09981225682631417415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post-51775127463568208732010-06-20T09:29:01.097-07:002010-06-20T09:29:01.097-07:00There is some systemic agency in the game, most no...There is some systemic agency in the game, most notably in your character's skill set. Although, of course, the game practically begs you to go the stealth route with all the talk about being diplomatic and sneaky and such, and then punishes you for not taking the guns-blazing route. Not terribly brilliant on their part.<br /><br />It may be that the plot is more adaptive than I thought, but I doubt it. It's probably just different characters saying the same things. I'm not planning on playing more of the game to find out, so I'll happily leave that a mystery. <br /><br />Either way, immersive agency (such as the character interactions you talk about) is apparently very effective. I just don't feel it. And the game gets 99% of its good press based on immersive agency. Which I can't feel as agency: I feel it as a linear story with loads of failure conditions.Craig Perkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13173752470581218239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post-81804377825115629512010-06-20T09:18:15.678-07:002010-06-20T09:18:15.678-07:00I think you're approaching immersive agency in...I think you're approaching immersive agency in a very narrow way. For example, on my first playthrough I would agree, there are a bunch of obvious choices: don't kill person X because he's clearly innocent and I don't like the idea of killing him. Obviously.<br /><br />But I'm playing a second time through and enjoying choosing the options I wouldn't normally choose; this time I'm choosing to roleplay an arrogant pistols expert, instead of the diplomatic stealth guy I normally default to. It's a game, to think there's a best path is to miss the point, especially when they do a fairly decent job of making sure that there's no systemic best path in terms of stats and solutions. (They do fail sometimes, like forcing boss battles on stealth characters.)<br /><br />Also I'm very impressed with how the game changes based on the order in which you do the different areas. Essentially, the earlier you meet a character, the more important that character becomes to the plot. So by doing different areas in different orders you can experience a fairly different story, character-wise.<br /><br />And for me the interesting story is the interplay between the characters; not the plot of the stupid tom-clancy-novel variety.Darius Kazemihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01646249933207430061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post-53896170852126975942010-06-20T09:12:13.353-07:002010-06-20T09:12:13.353-07:00P. S.: Yes, I know about (game X, where X is a gam...P. S.: Yes, I know about (game X, where X is a game you know about that does adaptive plots). I'll be happy to discuss them, because I've already played them.<br /><br />This notice courtesy of the endless "YOU SHOULD TRY FACADE!" posts I tend to get when I post this kind of essay.Craig Perkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13173752470581218239noreply@blogger.com