Game Design: Capturing That Old-School RPG Flavor
"Old School" computer RPGs means different things to different people. For some people, it means going back 10+ years to games like Baldur's Gate and Fallout. For others, they think of the 16-bit Japanese console classics that didn't always make it to western shores. Still others might invoke names like Ultima, Wizardry, and even Apshai.

But then there are others who think of the early days of dice-and-paper gaming - when Dungeons & Dragons was new and gaining steam, and of the very early (often non-commercial) computer games that attempted to capture the excitement, enthusiasm, and off-the-wall creativity of the hobby when it was new. While some may lift their noses in derision of such primitive sport, saying that RPGs have evolved to a higher form of gaming since then, some of us feel that the efforts to streamline, mainstream, and - yes, improve - on the computer / console role-playing experience have made collateral damage of some really cool and entertaining ideas.

But it's never too late to bring 'em back.

I thought I'd share some extra-nifty links related to "old-school" fantasy RPG design (appropriate for both dice & paper and computer RPGs). This doesn't necessarily mean these are good ideas - but they are definitely ideas worth considering when trying to capture the spirit and flavor of classic dungeon-delving experiences around the table and at the monitor. Some of 'em favor the more elderly definitions of "old-school," from the days where being able to hit an orc with a sword via a random die roll was still considered a novelty. But there are some cool ideas that could both capture the old-school flavor AND could use a modern make-over here.

Old-School Adventure Design
First up - Old School Dungeon Design Guidelines at Grognardia. Based on some forum discussions at Knights & Knaves and ENWorld, this list felt a little bit like reading a classic D&D module. Or - even better - playing in one of those old games. They got away with a lot of crap back then that wouldn't fly today, but it worked because it was a new, exciting, thrilling hobby without any boundaries.

The 50/50 gambling idea with permanent changes (item #5) never did thrill me. And in a computer game, with access to save files (so any non-online game), it's pretty unusable. I guess back in the era, if you got lucky, your character became all that much more powerful and more likely to survive. If not, you just hastened the character's inevitable demise and your chance to roll up a new one.

One of the cooler aspects of the recent indie game Knights of the Chalice was the incorporation of elements from the second feature mentioned in this article - difficulties enhanced by circumstances, not just beefed up monsters. Of course, as a game based on the 3.5 OGL rules, there was beefed-up, templated monsters as well. But having monsters take advantage of terrain, cover, and area effect possibilities (even if pre-scripted) is very cool.

Stepping outside the dungeon, some of the additional elements I wrote down while studying some old modules for research for Frayed Knights included:

* Really strange fantasy names (still a popular option)

* An old hermit who could be useful, dangerous, or both.

* Riddles were popular by adventure creators (though I guess that falls into the same category as #4 - Puzzles, tricks, and obstacles). Not so popular with players, though.

* An evil high priest ("EHP") or wizard running the show for the bad guys. These days, its more likely to be a drow, dragon, or mind flayer.

Dungeon Puzzles
Next up: Brian "Psychochild" Green posted the results of a brainstorm of puzzles for use in an old-school "maze-style" computer RPGs. Most of these have appeared in some form or another in older games. This one is a great resource for computer RPG designers or a Dungeon Master coming up with ideas for next Saturday's game:

Brainstorming Puzzles In Dungeons

It's a pretty impressive list. Man. Teleport / tile-flip movement traps - I remember those. Ick.

Design Lessons From Gary Gygax's Dungeons & Dragons
Finally, this one is less old-schooly but still useful. Lewis Pulsipher has an article about the design and gameplay lessons learned not from modern video games, but from old dice & paper forays into the world of D&D:

All I Really Needed to Know About Games I Learned from Dungeons & Dragons

I don't know if I agree 100% with all of his points, but it's a useful checklist of core concepts about what made Dungeons & Dragons (and gaming in general) fun.

Labels: Game Design, Roleplaying Games

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