As part of a new Gamasutra feature, author Victoria Earl explores the key design decisions that the developers of classic RPG Chrono Trigger put forward to ensure a linear narrative didn't hold players back from exploring the game on their terms. Earl explains these four design aspects:
- Players are able to choose to experience distinct narrative sections, many of which are optional, without the hassle of fighting enemies to get there, as enemies are limited to specific dungeons, and not the world map.
- Enemy levels are set at according to the critical path, guiding players along it without overtly forcing them through it. If players wander out of the critical path, high-level enemies will push them in the direction that the designers intended.
- Each enemy encounter is visible and avoidable, giving players control over when to fight and when to avoid confrontations.
- New Game+ is a major feature that Chrono Trigger introduced to the RPG genre. By selecting this option, players could re-experience the game from the beginning with the equipment, character levels, and skills that they had when they finished the game. Players can use the New Game+ feature to circumvent and deconstruct the critical path that they followed on the first playthrough.
Successfully balancing these key points showed that it is possible to give the player a great amount of control over the choices in the game, says Earl. "This is good news for any modern developer that wants to give players the freedom they crave while preserving a coherent and well-crafted narrative," she adds.
The full feature, which explores other aspects of the game's design -- including its world map and dungeon design -- is live now on Gamasutra.
I always felt that high level enemies as a roadblock is a probably sub-optimal design. If you shouldn't be going there, then why have it as an option?
This of course is screwed around with by the New Game+ and the novelty of doing things "out of order", which might have been the best option after all.
@Aaron:
The other option is to take the Legend of Zelda approach and block people's progress through a certain area via a "Correct key for the lock" design. (eg. bombs to destroy rocks, hookshot to cross gaps, bow and arrow to hit distant switches, etc.)
I wouldn't necessarily say that using high level enemies is a sub-optimal design, it just encourages the player in a different way. While the Zelda approach rewards the player with a feeling of "Aha! So that's how I get in there", the higher level enemies approach rewards them via a feeling of "I was weaker than you before but now I'm more powerful and can defeat you". Basically it's discovery vs growth and it comes down to the game design as to how much they present themselves as an obvious corralling device to keep the player on the critical path and how much it frustrates them.
Critical path and high level enemies? That was just an excuse to go to some lower level dungeons in games like Final Fantasy 1 then grind up a whole shit ton of cash. Then take the cash and spend it on TONS of healing potions. Then after that I went to these places with " critical path and high level enemies" with my metric ton of healing potions and wasted them to build up levels super fast!
Yeah, this is what I did when I was 12 back on the original FF2. I did the same on Chrono Trigger. Critical path and high level enemies just offered me a place to build up XP at a hyper-fast rate. Faster than the game was most likely designed for. Them when my characters were powerful I just went to the intended places and wasted them like bugs. That is what I did with critical path and high level enemies. LOL.
This of course is screwed around with by the New Game+ and the novelty of doing things "out of order", which might have been the best option after all.
The other option is to take the Legend of Zelda approach and block people's progress through a certain area via a "Correct key for the lock" design. (eg. bombs to destroy rocks, hookshot to cross gaps, bow and arrow to hit distant switches, etc.)
I wouldn't necessarily say that using high level enemies is a sub-optimal design, it just encourages the player in a different way. While the Zelda approach rewards the player with a feeling of "Aha! So that's how I get in there", the higher level enemies approach rewards them via a feeling of "I was weaker than you before but now I'm more powerful and can defeat you". Basically it's discovery vs growth and it comes down to the game design as to how much they present themselves as an obvious corralling device to keep the player on the critical path and how much it frustrates them.
Yeah, this is what I did when I was 12 back on the original FF2. I did the same on Chrono Trigger. Critical path and high level enemies just offered me a place to build up XP at a hyper-fast rate. Faster than the game was most likely designed for. Them when my characters were powerful I just went to the intended places and wasted them like bugs. That is what I did with critical path and high level enemies. LOL.