Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning

First things first, Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning (KoAR) is a good game and is comparable to Skyrim in many aspects. However, Skyrim is a significantly better game overall for a number of reasons but I'm not really here to compare games. If you have looked at my Minecraft posts you will notice a trend where I am wanting to add RPG elements to the game. However, I won't do it by simply adding new items and locations, but actually turning the core game into more of an RPG.

Ideas and concepts are the most exciting part of developing a game, but rarely what you think actually turns out to be as awesome as you originally thought. I like to look at how other games did certain mechanics and evaluate mechanics on a number of factors. Most importantly, when you look at a game mechanic you need to think about the purpose of the feature and how much depth it really offers the game. I don't always follow it like a rule, but its a great guideline for any serious project.

In KoAR, the skill system irritates me. The whole purpose of the system is to allow you to build up your character's non-combat capabilities in unique ways. A great concept, but its poorly implemented. Lets look at the skills and some strengths and weaknesses with them:

Alchemy
Pro: Allows me to make better potions as I progress in the game.
Con: Without spending points in this, getting materials is a nightmare. It ruins the experience of gathering herbs at the beginning of the game and makes it very painful without heavily investing into the skill.

Blacksmithing
Pro: Allows you to craft really good gear and break down components from other gear.
Con: It is single handedly the best way to get good gear and makes repair kits the unquestionable best way to repair damaged gear for dirt cheap.

Detect Hidden
Pro: Improves the exploration of the game and makes the mini-map really powerful.
Con: Doesn't offer much for benefits and can easily be skipped by simply having a keen eye.

Dispelling
I just hate the mechanic in general, seems like a waste of time instead of actually adding 'depth' to the game. Whats the point if I can quickly fail it and in the worst case have to cure some curse for dirt cheap?

Lockpicking
Again, the mechanic isn't fun and seems like a waste of time. I could easily apply this to every game where they put in some sort of lock picking 'minigame'.

Mercantile
Horrible mechanic, completely inverts the scaling of difficulty. The better at this skill the easier the game becomes, and at the start of the game everything is retardedly expensive and earning money is difficult. Later in the game I am flowing with money and everything is dirt cheap. Economy and skills do not mix.

Persuasion
Pro: Interesting mechanic, as it changes the flow of things, but like mercantile you make the game much easier by investing into this skill (and using it).
Con: Can easily be abused by save/reload.

Sagecraft
Pro: Well done mechanic, works great and isn't flawed in its approach.
Con: Potentially devalues gems in the later part of the game, but isn't a huge deal.

Stealth
A combat skill, not sure why it should go with the above ones since it actually has a big impact with combat mechanics and the finesse builds.

If you played Skyrim, some of these comments also apply to that game as well. However, KoAR has a worse system overall with how skills work.

One of the things that KoAR does well is the combat system flows smoothly, and the targeting isn't intuitive until you understand how the attack/camera works. Combinations and such are very interesting, but certain combinations are significantly better than others which leads to gameplay becoming mundane and repetitive. Additionally, the gameplay is pretty easy even on harder difficulties. It is rare for me to feel even threatened in most situations, and I'm not even using very good gear.

The ability trees in the game do not offer much when looking at depth. Pure characters are significantly more powerful than hybrids, many points are used simply as filler and the active ability system is very clunky. I understand the console version is different in using spells, but for PC. I should press 1 key = 1 spell, none of the 'equipping' crap that only exists because of the console.

The alchemy system is numerically split up evenly, but I feel potions in general are too short of duration for me to want to use them and the benefits are fairly potent but when the game is easy overall, making myself even stronger isn't really useful. Tuning the difficulty, decreasing the benefits of potions and increasing the duration would have made the alchemy system much better. It feels like they added it in because its an 'RPG-element' but didn't give it a whole lot of purpose.

Blacksmithing is well done, the random factor isn't very good but that is something you can't help. I feel selling gear with high mercantile is much better than salvaging for the first half of the game. Itemization and stats aren't very interesting and certain ones are significantly better than others which makes the choice super easy for different classes (not very deep or interesting) Itemization shouldn't be cryptic, but it should be more than just 'the number is bigger and my class uses it'

The equipment interface in KoAR is horrible, and I mean horrible. It works because of consoles, but the fact its just a treelist makes it very painful to check gear/equips and compare items. The whole inventory system is a nightmare in general, but the list method seems to be a favorite for consoles. Side note: Minecraft figured it out so why big budget games can't is beyond my comprehension.

The destiny system is good, but it becomes very clear that hybrids suck compared to the three main builds. You will notice huge increases in damage and capabilities early on and never need to waste points on 'filler' you won't ever use as the hybrid. Also, please never add 'abilities' which improve a characters proficiency with weapons. This was a huge issue with Warriors from WoW for years and Blizzard finally figured it out in the more recent expansion packs. Honestly, do not create 'skills/talents/abilities' which determine what weapon your character becomes good at. It just means when you get a new shiny weapon that is different you will need to rebuild your character for a new weapon, its just plain annoying and a waste of time.

Twists of Fate system isn't good for the game. It basically means, if you do side-quests, then the game becomes easier. In reality, it makes balancing the difficulty of the game harder and KoAR didn't do a very good job on difficulty.

The chat system I have mixed feelings about, as it targets a varied audience. For those interested in lore it is great, but to anyone else it simply gets in the way of a smooth flowing story and the exciting part of fighting things. Lorestones are an interesting concept of portraying lore in a non-invasive way, but half the time they are abstract and unclear without thinking about what is being said. This just ended up meaning they felt pointless except for the little experience bonus they offer.

One final comment and this isn't just for KoAR, but many RPG games in general. Fast travel sucks, it is nice and makes the game flow better, but it simply sucks. Why? If you need a system to get around fast, you haven't made the game interesting enough to explore or admire. If traveling instantly from location to location is a core mechanic, then what is the point of building a vast world if the only reasonable way to explore it is by going to a menu between missions/combat/events. Fast travel, and to a lesser extent portals, is a flawed fix to a flawed problem in the game. I should instead be given the ability to travel around quickly, not instantly, and I should 'want' to explore the world instead of just get to the destinations. Just like life, it isn't about the destination, but how you got there.