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Ever since I started college and especially since I graduated, got a real job and got married, time for RPGs has really been limited. I would guess that I probably play through two RPGs a month, if that. As such, I've become very picky about what I buy and play. If I start playing an RPG and it doesn't catch me in the first few minutes, it's likely to be put aside for a second chance play later or tossed in the trade-in pile.
So, for the games that I do stick with, what makes me keep playing? I know that a lot of it has to do with my current mood. These are not make or break issues, but they are some things that draw me in.
I want an exciting opening. I'm not talking about some fancy CG intro with lots of shiny. My biggest concern is not graphical and I'm not referring to opening cutscenes. I'm talking about interaction, getting your hands on the game. I want the first few minutes of gameplay to have me doing something thrilling. Final Fantasy VI started me off with action, attacking random town folk with wild abandon. I had no idea why I had to kill these poor people, but I was having fun and just didn't care. On the other hand, I started up Wild Arms Alter Code: F and what was my character doing? He was taking care of a horse. Yeah, some heroes have to work their way up to glory, but why couldn't he be racing the horse or at least riding it? Give me something to be interested in, something with at least a little excitement.
If a game has a lot of backstory to tell before it gets started, I don't want to read it on some plain boring screen. Some games add a voiceover to read this plain boring text, but it doesn't help. If you have to give me backstory and can't tell it throughout the main story, then just hit the highlights with scrolling text, a minute or two at the most.
The telling of the story is another key factor. If you are going to have voice acting and have scrolling text with it, then make it seamless. A lot of games seem to let text bog down the pacing when the voice acting could speed things up greatly. These days voice acting is almost a must. With deep stories to tell, I don't want to have to wade through tons of text. Story pacing is a delicate thing, so have the voice acting keep up the pace and don't be too text-heavy.
Also, I don't want to go forever before having control of a character. Long opening cutscenes can be really nice, but generally I do want some kind of interaction. With a big fancy intro, you had better really keep me interested with some story, not just a lot of filler and fancy graphics. While I'm in full support of having a high level of graphical detail, it should not overshadow story.
This is just scratching the surface and is by no means a set in stone list, but it does at least highlight some major factors that draw me into an RPG. Of course, sometimes even these don't always work due to time issues, but such is life.
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