Posted by Shelly Warmuth on Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Under:
Rants
I've been playing Final Fantasy XII. I've started to notice something in RPG's that has become perhaps more evident because I've played so many linear progression games lately...sometimes you have to level just for the sake of leveling. To clarify this, there are times in the game in which you must be a certain level or higher to move through an area without getting whooped just for making the error of moving through there. You must go through there to progress the story, but, you must level in order to do that. The other day, I spent 4 hours just leveling and I still wasn't high enough. To make matters worse, I was 3 levels above the mark I was trying to hunt, but 5 levels below the creatures that surrounded it. At some point, running around a game, fighting enemies just to level becomes tedious. This is the second time in a week I've had to level for this game. In this day of busy schedules that should and do revolve around work, school, family and friends, artificially lengthening a game is an atrocious way to treat your players.
In :
Rants
I started writing as a child and can't stop. Like any other art, writing begins on a blank canvas. Characters form from the ether and develop into living beings that leap from the page and, eventually, from the screen. Worlds emerge.
I have this passion for research, at least for the topics that interest me. Inspired by a teacher, I hold one thing to be true: It's not what you know; it's that you know where to find it. The library was a magical place and, even today, I can often be found combing through books in the New Age section of Barnes and Noble. But, now, with the internet, everything is literally at my fingertips. I just love to learn new things all the time. It's fun to share that knowledge in my writing and to bring history and culture to life in the form of a story; showing instead of telling.
Sometimes, though, telling is good, too. I keep notes from Webinars, IGDA Meetings and industry events as well as writing about the industry for Gamasutra.com. Sharing is an important aspect of game development. Writing about games and getting feedback improves the art, while helping others to learn. It's a win-win.
