I've started to get really annoyed lately with the random loot drop model of rewarding players in games like Borderlands, Darksiders 2, and Diablo. This reward model feels exactly like a slot machine to me except instead of pulling a lever, I'm killing a monster or opening a chest somewhere. It means that instead of any skill I have being rewarded, it's a random die roll determining if that activity I just partook in was a waste of my time or not. Not to mention that if you do get that natural 6/20/100/whatever that gets you the most awesome loot, then that pretty much solidifies that the loot you get for the next hour if not the rest of the game is a complete waste of time. It also makes gold in a game completely pointless since killing enemies potentially gives you better equipment and experience, whereas gold could potentially buy you yet another random chance at something better than what you have. In a game where rewards are determined based on hidden items, important kills (i.e. bosses), and expensive items, players are rewarded for their hard work, skill, and ability to work towards a goal.
One way to mitigate the ill effects of the random loot drop reward system is to still put in those hidden chests, those bosses that reward you with guaranteed superior items, or expensive items that you can't find randomly, but the random loot drop still isn't adding anything worthwhile to the game. This whole system is kind of like how rolling character stats in older games based on D&D worked. You roll to determine your starting stats and then tweak them how you see fit. The problem is, I'll just sit there re-rolling until I get the best numbers, which not just wastes my time pointlessly, but I can't use my stats to help roleplay my characters since they are all the same (e.g. I won't have a dumb fighter, or a wizard incapable of hand to hand combat). But I've already talked about this, so getting back to the topic at hand, another problem with the random loot drop is that moment when you do get that totally amazing item with super high stats, but it's for a different play style than yours. So, the chances of another super rare and awesome item are rare and since it's not your play style, you either have to change how you play the game, which can be difficult to do, or it's just a waste of a great item, which is really depressing. Who knows, maybe years from now I'll start liking this model again...
The way we handled that in Planescape: Torment was to have different levels of loot. Like weak enemies would give you weak loot (but still random, because always getting the same stuff every time gets old). Big enemies would give you big items. But even then, special items were hand-placed.
ReplyDeleteThen again, PS:T was a very different game than the ones you're talking about ;-)
I think that's probably the best way to handle random loot drops if enemies need to drop equipment. I kind of miss the Dragon Warrior days where (other than very very special items) you could only get equipment in town, so if you had the best stuff, you'd have to go explore and find the next town to get better stuff. This added the challenge of getting to the next town since every time you crossed a bridge/land mass the enemies would get much harder.
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