Ability System: Linear or Customizable

[Neo Samurai]

1) An ability system that is linear

This is your basic "level up, get a new ability" system. The most common in classical games.

Pros: -Learning new abilities isn't too complicated
-All the character's abilities are all ready predetermined
-Characters are unique

Cons: -Not many ways to customize your characters

2) An ability system that is customizable

This includes things such as classes, materia, GFs, etc. You can pretty much decide what direction you want your characters to go in.

Pros: -You can decide how you want your character to be developed
-You don't have to waste time learning abilities you don't want

Cons: -Characters aren't very unique; all characters can learn the same abilities.

3) An ability system with a little of both

This is an ability system that although it's customizable, there's still a linear path it follows. Pretty much how the ability systems in FF9 and DQ8 work. Each character can each learn their own unique set of abilities, but you can decide what you want them to learn.

Pros: -It's customizable without losing the character's individuality

Cons: -Characters cannot learn any other abilities besides the ones preset to them.


So, is there any particular ability system you guys enjoy? Quite frankly, it doesn't matter to me. I enjoy them all, but I'm interested in seeing what you guys might like.

[Dungeon Warden]

I picked linear because it's already the way RPG Maker 2 is built. Picking either of the other two options would be a lot of work that would be better spent on making a good game. Another thing that good about a linear system is that you know what abilities the characters should have at certian points of the game and can set up puzzles and special events that take advantage of those abilities. For example, you could have a wall of ice that the characters can't get pass until they learn a fire spell.

Although I like being able to customize my characters, I'm never really sure what abilities and spells I'd need and often create characters that aren't good at anything (a jack-of-all-trade master of none type). With a linear system I can always be assured that the characters have the spells and abilities that are needed at that point of the game.

The main reason for this is play testing. You can easily play test a linear game but it can take forever to make sure the game stays balanced in a customizable game. Most customizable games make the battles really easy (you can win most fights using your basic weapons and armor) and don't really take advantage of any special skill set.

If you don't care which system you use just stick with the linear system. Your game will be better in the long run.

[Neo Samurai]

dungeonwarden said:

I picked linear because it's already the way RPG Maker 2 is built. Picking either of the other two options would be a lot of work that would be better spent on making a good game. Another thing that good about a linear system is that you know what abilities the characters should have at certian points of the game and can set up puzzles and special events that take advantage of those abilities. For example, you could have a wall of ice that the characters can't get pass until they learn a fire spell.

Although I like being able to customize my characters, I'm never really sure what abilities and spells I'd need and often create characters that aren't good at anything (a jack-of-all-trade master of none type). With a linear system I can always be assured that the characters have the spells and abilities that are needed at that point of the game.

The main reason for this is play testing. You can easily play test a linear game but it can take forever to make sure the game stays balanced in a customizable game. Most customizable games make the battles really easy (you can win most fights using your basic weapons and armor) and don't really take advantage of any special skill set.

If you don't care which system you use just stick with the linear system. Your game will be better in the long run.

I wasn't just talking about what you might like to do in an RPG. I meant what you like to see in an RPG (commercial or homemade).

On the topic of RPG Maker 2 linearity, I guess something like the class system is sort of linear in a way, but its still a lot more customizable than not using a class system at all (especially if it's set up like DQVII or FFV).

I guess I should have posted this in Domain Chatter since it applies to commercial RPGs as well.

[Dungeon Warden]

Commercially, and I guess this applies to any RPG, I just want a system that works. Linear systems are easier to fine tune and thus lead to better constructed games, but it's nice to give players the freedom to adjust their characters.

Allowing full customization makes it very hard to design any game balance since you don't know what skills the player will give his characters. Most commercial games that allow lots of customization tend to be easy to play because the designers don't want the player to get frustrated and give up because they didn't optimize their characters. Many people read FAQ's to create the most optimal characters, in effect making the customizing system very linear in the process.

The mixed system is probably the best. It makes sure the party has the skills to survive while players can customize the party to their liking. DQVIII's system was nice in that some skills a good for killing Metal slimes (the highest XP enemies in the game), but those skills aren't as useful elsewhere. The player can decide what kinds of enemies he wants to fight by learning specialized skills while making sure the core abilities can handle most random battles.

[Doan the Nado]

Even FF1 was good in the respect of customizable linearity. You could pick any 4 characters from a choice of 6, choosing between a Fighter (powerful, high HP, armor), Black Belt (great fighter, cheap, agile), Thief (jack-of-all-trades), White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage (a little of white, black, and decent fighter). Beyond that, each spell type (white & black) had 4 spells you could buy at each level, but each caster could only have 3 spells at each level. I have always loved this game, because depending on who you start with, you end up playing the game completely differently. In spite of the customizability, I think the difficulty level remained rather high.

So I guess I'll take the third option . Although leveling up and gaining attributes are completely linear, and available weapons and spells are generally linear, the choices the player makes cause the game to be far from linear.

[The Final Rune]

[white]I picked the third option, mainly because I'm a fan of characters having chosen professions that they excel in and not any other. Maybe a subjob system would a bit more customization but I like the idea of the magic casters specializing in casting magic and the sword users focusing on cutting things. It just works better for the whole 'this is a real logical based society' thing, even though its a parallel universe.[/white]

[Maindric Games ©]

I chose the third. Becouse I like uniqueness, but I like a sense of freedom. Making it kind of both, makes me want to play it more. And when I make a game, I intend to do it like that. I have my own system in mind, but it is a decent bit to type out right now.