|
Text RPGs are probably the oldest form of massively multiplayer
online gaming. Though less popular since the coming of graphical
MMORPG's, several still exist today. One of these, which I have been
playing for the past year or so, is Shining Worlds, a spinoff of the
late Equinox series. But still, when hunting for a good MMORPG to play,
the question asked more often than not nowadays is "What are the
graphics like?" or "Does it lag?" instead of questions about the plot,
or character classes, or even about the server. Text-based games I have
played have handled between 500-5000 players at any given moment, with
little to no lag, as the program requires less computer power to run.
The short of it is that you don't have to worry about graphic quality
or lagtime, and text rpg's lend more to the imagination precisely
because of the lack of graphics.
In graphical RPGs such as Runescape or FFXI, you know what your
character looks like. You can see where you are graphically, what
houses look like, what other people look like, etc. It takes away from
imagination. In these games you only have a set amount of different
looks and clothing for your character. You can't just decide to wear
your hair a certain way, or put on some different clothes like if you
were a Sim.
Without graphics, you can imagine what you want your character to
look like without any restraints. I believe this is a key advantage of
a text interface. Every day you can imagine what you look like as a
character, what other people look like, even what your surroundings are
like. In the aforementioned Shining Worlds, you can enter the Inn and
talk to the bartender. I imagine the bartender is big guy with dark
hair that's pretty unattractive to look at, behind a wooden table with
many different drinks behind him. He's a nice guy, and spends his time
cleaning glasses with a cloth. Now, that's just me. Other players may
have different interpretations of him. But, that's the beauty of it.
You're free to think what you want in text RPGs.
You can enter the weapon shop and imagine what it might look like,
rather then have a graphical RPG show you what the creators wanted it
to look like. While it is fun to actually see your character, and have
other people see you as well, modern RPG heroes tend to look like
Heromachine creations than genuinely individual characters. Although
text RPGs are also limited to certain faces, character sizes, hair
color, et cetera, being unable to actually see 'clone' characters helps
to differentiate them in the mind.
Despite games being more and more graphics intensive, text RPGs can
still hold their own with a little imagination and some good
programming. A text RPG can be just as exciting as a graphical RPG, all
you need is just a little imagination.
|
RSS feed
iTunes