I love it when the weekly is Patchwerk. After you get like 5 people together the raid chat is usually like this:
Raid Leader: Alright we need a healer and some more dps.
guy 1: Why don't we just 5 man it?
guy 2: Yeah Patch is super ez mode
warrior tank: I can 2-man Patch with just a healer
paladin: I can solo Patch, it just takes a long time
I'm hoping when cata hits the market, even I will be able to solo Patchwerk. Oh noes, he cleaved me for 2k! XD
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Action adventure vs RPG
So I started playing Zelda: Spirit Tracks for Nintendo DS while I was on a trip. It's something to do while you're sitting in an airplane trying not to get naseous. I have to admit the game looked kind of stupid but I enjoyed it very much. Playing with the stylus seemed cumbersome at first, but once you got used to it, everything was pretty nice and seamlessly designed with only a few minor hiccups.
Anyways, my whole topic of debate today is, as the title suggests, action-adventure games vs. RPG. Some people confuse these two concepts which are as different as night and day. Super Mario Bros is an action game. The Myst series is an adventure game. Zelda is the hybrid of these two - the bastard child known as action-adventure.
Zelda is about as classic action-adventure as you can get. I would even go so far as to say Zelda invented (or at least re-invented) the whole sub-genre. It's a mix of delightful puzzle-solving and fast-paced sword-slashing, bow-shooting, whip-cracking action. It's fun and addictive, but it is not an RPG. I suppose the argument some people would make is that, "hey, you're assuming the role of Link, therefore it's a role-playing game." Well in that case, I suppose Frogger, Street Fighter, and Rainbow Six are all RPGs as well. In any game you're assuming the role of the protagonist, that criteria alone does not define an RPG.
I think that the true definition of the RPG genre lies in the combat system. It's the mechanics of combat (if there's no combat, I don't think you can really even call that an RPG. Better classify it as adventure) that sets an RPG apart from action or action/adventure. In a true, old-school style RPG, combat takes place randomly and apart from the rest of the world you explore - quite literally, you enter a "combat sequence" and which is usually turn-based. Compare that with Zelda or Golden Axe, where combat is integrated seamlessly into the exploration of a dungeon. When you attack your enemy in an RPG, it is not the matter of pressing a button to swing your axe. You instead give a command to a character you are controlling - everything outlining whom/how/where you will attack (physical attack? Magic spell? Which spell? Directed at whom? Use item? Which item? Etc etc). This is what enhances that role-playing experience.
Sometimes a hybrid of these two can be very fun as well. Take for example FF12 - for over a decade Final Fantasy has been regarded as the classic RPG format, yet with FF12 they broke that invisible wall between "explored world" and "combat world", integrating combat seamlessly into the adventure. But you still give your characters commands on whom and how to attack, and these actions are still turn-based. All they did was allow you to see the enemy approaching (and avoid them if you can) and remove the tedious 5 second intro to a combat sequence, hence greatly accelerating gameplay and winning points with me!
WoW is another great example of a action/RPG hybrid. I will venture out on a limb here and declare that the "adventure" element of WoW is largely optional. While there is a large amount of storytelling and lore present in the game, no one is required to participte or even read any of it. There are very few cutscenes or scripted events you are forced to watch, and enemies you have killed always resets after a certain period of time which largely negates any sense of storyline continuity. It's inevitable in an MMORPG - the story can't advance at the same pace for millions of people, after all. Despite the lack of "adventure", WoW is hugely popular and for good reason.
I love RPGs and its hybrids. I like action-adventure as well, but it tends to frustrate me more than I'd like. A common facet of all action-based game is dexterity. You have to be able to press buttons in a well-timed manner, or else you miss that jump or don't get to hit that enemy just at the right time. This is 99% of the reason why I feel the urge to throw the controller when I play Zelda or God of War. OMG, I did all that work to get here and I just died because I couldn't press a button at the exact 1/10 of a second. With an RPG it is not crucial at all - sure my dps might be lower if I don't press the right rotations, but milisecond timing is not required at all. And I certainly will not wipe the raid by being off by a few seconds. You need to be aware, but you do not need to have the fingers of Paganini.
So the next time you're wondering what genre a video game falls into, ask yourself these questions:
Can you die from one little badly timed press of a button? Can you die/get hurt by falling into a pit? Do you find yourself pressing the "attack" button in rapid succession a lot? If you answered yes, it's probably an action/adventure*.
*The Diablo series is a special one. It's technically closer to action than an RPG, but it's true nature is hack-and-slash, with RPG flavors thrown in (mainly in terms of character-customization). We'll discuss Diablo in depth later.
Anyways, my whole topic of debate today is, as the title suggests, action-adventure games vs. RPG. Some people confuse these two concepts which are as different as night and day. Super Mario Bros is an action game. The Myst series is an adventure game. Zelda is the hybrid of these two - the bastard child known as action-adventure.
Zelda is about as classic action-adventure as you can get. I would even go so far as to say Zelda invented (or at least re-invented) the whole sub-genre. It's a mix of delightful puzzle-solving and fast-paced sword-slashing, bow-shooting, whip-cracking action. It's fun and addictive, but it is not an RPG. I suppose the argument some people would make is that, "hey, you're assuming the role of Link, therefore it's a role-playing game." Well in that case, I suppose Frogger, Street Fighter, and Rainbow Six are all RPGs as well. In any game you're assuming the role of the protagonist, that criteria alone does not define an RPG.
I think that the true definition of the RPG genre lies in the combat system. It's the mechanics of combat (if there's no combat, I don't think you can really even call that an RPG. Better classify it as adventure) that sets an RPG apart from action or action/adventure. In a true, old-school style RPG, combat takes place randomly and apart from the rest of the world you explore - quite literally, you enter a "combat sequence" and which is usually turn-based. Compare that with Zelda or Golden Axe, where combat is integrated seamlessly into the exploration of a dungeon. When you attack your enemy in an RPG, it is not the matter of pressing a button to swing your axe. You instead give a command to a character you are controlling - everything outlining whom/how/where you will attack (physical attack? Magic spell? Which spell? Directed at whom? Use item? Which item? Etc etc). This is what enhances that role-playing experience.
Sometimes a hybrid of these two can be very fun as well. Take for example FF12 - for over a decade Final Fantasy has been regarded as the classic RPG format, yet with FF12 they broke that invisible wall between "explored world" and "combat world", integrating combat seamlessly into the adventure. But you still give your characters commands on whom and how to attack, and these actions are still turn-based. All they did was allow you to see the enemy approaching (and avoid them if you can) and remove the tedious 5 second intro to a combat sequence, hence greatly accelerating gameplay and winning points with me!
WoW is another great example of a action/RPG hybrid. I will venture out on a limb here and declare that the "adventure" element of WoW is largely optional. While there is a large amount of storytelling and lore present in the game, no one is required to participte or even read any of it. There are very few cutscenes or scripted events you are forced to watch, and enemies you have killed always resets after a certain period of time which largely negates any sense of storyline continuity. It's inevitable in an MMORPG - the story can't advance at the same pace for millions of people, after all. Despite the lack of "adventure", WoW is hugely popular and for good reason.
I love RPGs and its hybrids. I like action-adventure as well, but it tends to frustrate me more than I'd like. A common facet of all action-based game is dexterity. You have to be able to press buttons in a well-timed manner, or else you miss that jump or don't get to hit that enemy just at the right time. This is 99% of the reason why I feel the urge to throw the controller when I play Zelda or God of War. OMG, I did all that work to get here and I just died because I couldn't press a button at the exact 1/10 of a second. With an RPG it is not crucial at all - sure my dps might be lower if I don't press the right rotations, but milisecond timing is not required at all. And I certainly will not wipe the raid by being off by a few seconds. You need to be aware, but you do not need to have the fingers of Paganini.
So the next time you're wondering what genre a video game falls into, ask yourself these questions:
Can you die from one little badly timed press of a button? Can you die/get hurt by falling into a pit? Do you find yourself pressing the "attack" button in rapid succession a lot? If you answered yes, it's probably an action/adventure*.
*The Diablo series is a special one. It's technically closer to action than an RPG, but it's true nature is hack-and-slash, with RPG flavors thrown in (mainly in terms of character-customization). We'll discuss Diablo in depth later.
Friday, September 24, 2010
I slayed the Lich King...but I did not shoot the Deputy
Yes, you heard me correctly. I am now a Kingslayer!
Well, the actual slaying of the Lich King took place almost a month ago. On the night before I left for my wedding & honeymoon trip, my guild decided to give me a nice little present by taking me along on their icc10 hard mode runs. They decided to down the lich king at the end too just so me and a couple others could get their Kingslayer titles!
The run started at 7pm sharp. We had sort of a snag at the start but once we were all focused, we started clearing one boss after another in rapid succession. We either did them all hard mode or went for once of the achievements (except LK himself, obviously) - which in some bosses are just as hard as the HM itself. Marrowgar, Lady D, Gunship, Saurfang were all a total breeze on HM. We did rotface and fester achievements, also a total breeze. Professor Putricide on HM cost us only one wipe if I remember correctly. We did the achi on blood council, HM blood queen (cake walk), we went for an achi on dreamwalker but it glitched on us sadly.
We were going for an achievement on Sindragosa, but man, that fight is always hard for some reason. So many things have to go just right for it to work. We wiped 6 or 7 times without even getting to phase 3 in which you can do the achievement. Finally we just said screw it and downed her even though the tank had already messed up the achievement part.
And then...big bad LK himself! To tell you the truth, the fight was really, really anticlimactic. I'd wiped so much before even getting to phase 2 that I had no idea the only hard part of the fight is the beginning! Everyone complained that the defile mechanic was hard but it was super easy. You see disgusting grey goop under you, you move out. Simple as that. I didn't have to worry about much else besides avoiding defile and hitting LK. Oh, and stunning valkyrs. My dps was nothing to write home about since I was so new to it and all, but we downed LK on our second attempt. All in all, the full icc clear (including achievements and hard modes) took us 5 hours, and less than 10 wipes total. PRO.
We got to watch the end cinematic, we all put on our new titles - Kingslayer - and took a group photo! LK was teabagged many a time that night.
Sigh, it made me think, what the hell was wrong with my last guild? Their GS was just as high, they seemed to be good players. Was it just lack of experience that made them struggle so much with LK? Perhaps. Who knows how long it took my current guild to get to the point they could 2-shot LK on their alts? Probably took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
Well, now I'm back from 3 weeks of travel and ready to WoW hardcore. Brewfest is going on! Probably my favorite wow holiday of the year!!!
Well, the actual slaying of the Lich King took place almost a month ago. On the night before I left for my wedding & honeymoon trip, my guild decided to give me a nice little present by taking me along on their icc10 hard mode runs. They decided to down the lich king at the end too just so me and a couple others could get their Kingslayer titles!
The run started at 7pm sharp. We had sort of a snag at the start but once we were all focused, we started clearing one boss after another in rapid succession. We either did them all hard mode or went for once of the achievements (except LK himself, obviously) - which in some bosses are just as hard as the HM itself. Marrowgar, Lady D, Gunship, Saurfang were all a total breeze on HM. We did rotface and fester achievements, also a total breeze. Professor Putricide on HM cost us only one wipe if I remember correctly. We did the achi on blood council, HM blood queen (cake walk), we went for an achi on dreamwalker but it glitched on us sadly.
We were going for an achievement on Sindragosa, but man, that fight is always hard for some reason. So many things have to go just right for it to work. We wiped 6 or 7 times without even getting to phase 3 in which you can do the achievement. Finally we just said screw it and downed her even though the tank had already messed up the achievement part.
And then...big bad LK himself! To tell you the truth, the fight was really, really anticlimactic. I'd wiped so much before even getting to phase 2 that I had no idea the only hard part of the fight is the beginning! Everyone complained that the defile mechanic was hard but it was super easy. You see disgusting grey goop under you, you move out. Simple as that. I didn't have to worry about much else besides avoiding defile and hitting LK. Oh, and stunning valkyrs. My dps was nothing to write home about since I was so new to it and all, but we downed LK on our second attempt. All in all, the full icc clear (including achievements and hard modes) took us 5 hours, and less than 10 wipes total. PRO.
We got to watch the end cinematic, we all put on our new titles - Kingslayer - and took a group photo! LK was teabagged many a time that night.
Sigh, it made me think, what the hell was wrong with my last guild? Their GS was just as high, they seemed to be good players. Was it just lack of experience that made them struggle so much with LK? Perhaps. Who knows how long it took my current guild to get to the point they could 2-shot LK on their alts? Probably took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
Well, now I'm back from 3 weeks of travel and ready to WoW hardcore. Brewfest is going on! Probably my favorite wow holiday of the year!!!
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