Topher
Gold Member
There is a reason for that.
The "better" the combat, the more the skill of the player matters compared to the stats of the character. And the more the skill of the player matters the less roleplay you get.
If you are a progamer in real life and aim like a god, then in an RPG it should not matter as the accuracy should be based on your character's skill, not yours.
And same with you being a middle aged guy who's reflex isn't what it was used to be, that you should still be able to roleplay a strong character because a well built character should be strong despite the limits of the player.
RPGs are dying because young kids with their competitive nature and infinite time would rather win by their skill. RPG elements are just used to spice up gameplay these days and you are punished for not being young and focused. All these elements related to button timing are just action game tropes that have no place in RPGs, the skill of the player should not drag down the character's abilities.
Example: in TES Morrowind, you have accuracy stats. As in, even if you swing a sword in the direction of the monster, you can still miss if your character is inaccurate. This is as it should be, your ability to swing a sword should have no link to the character's actual swordmanship.
Action gamers hate this of course. They want to hit what they aimed at. And since action gamers are the majority, RPG games die.
I think this is a matter of RPGs evolving rather than dying. Classic RPGs used stats of characters because the gameplay mechanics had not matured enough. The gameplay was literally a matter of pointing to the enemy you wanted to attack and then let the algorithm in the background do the rest. As RPGs became more immersive the skill of the player worked in conjunction with the stats of the player. My ability to aim my bow in Skyrim isn't the only thing going on. To be more effective, the traits of my character must grow. So the transference of "skill" from character to player, imo, is a natural evolution of gameplay in RPGs. That isn't to say it is better, but I think a lot of people simply like the older mechanics and have purist outlook when it comes to RPGs. That's fine too. Personally, I think RPGs have broadened quite a bit and that is why games like Horizon are called "action adventure RPGs" as a result.
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