In fact one of my favorite RPG has the player characters being the ones trying to end the world as they know it.
Which one would that be?
Comment on The world is ending but here's a side quest - will RPGs ever solve their urgency problem?
brsrklf@jlai.lu 4 weeks ago
Some games fix this issue by making the player trigger the change they want and bring the fight to the big powerful threat themselves, on their terms.
In fact one of my favorite RPG has the player characters being the ones trying to end the world as they know it.
I do think the extreme example, the old RPG trope of the big bad looming in the red-tinted sky and being just minutes from firing the world busting laser while you finish your quest list, is rather cringe. Maybe don’t invoke this in a game where time is basically irrelevent.
theangriestbird@beehaw.org 4 weeks ago
brsrklf@jlai.lu 3 weeks ago
It’s
spoiler just in case
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Thavron@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
Yes but even in this scenario it’s a bit strange that the threat in question is just twiddling their thumbs waiter for the player.
brsrklf@jlai.lu 4 weeks ago
Depends. If they’re already in a position of power, they basically win if nobody rises against them.
What often happens is they did try to stop the hero through the game, and failed.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 weeks ago
It’s not an RPG, but I think Owlboy handled it expertly.
Each level, Owlboy is out to handle some dangerous issue that is happening. By the end of the level, he succeeds.
The thing is, in the background, other things are happening. Almost every time you “succeed” the story moves forward to tell you, “oh, while you were doing that, THIS was happening that made all you just did basically pointless and we’re all even more screwed than before.”
So, it keenly points out the enemies aren’t waiting around, in fact, they’re doing dastardly things while you’re busy trying to save the day, so much so that your character continues to feel like a failure despite many successes. I think it’s a great way to present and write a story, to show that your character isn’t the only one in the wider world that things are happening to and can’t handle all problems at once. Things happen outside of their control and outside of their vision, just like in our real lives.