My WoW addiction aside, my console gaming time of late has been going towards Knights of the Old Republic 2. Created by a fairly new studio (Obsidian), albeit one with a pretty good pedigree of talent, it is quite an impressive game. It's the first game I can think of in a long time where I was really as interested in interpersonal relationships as a core gameplay element. Not that the lightsaber hacking and slashing and looting isn't fun, it is, though in the same semi-broken way that the original KOTOR was. But the character building is where this game really shines.
On the surface, the conversation system is the same basic conversation tree system seen since time immemorial. But dig a little deeper, and there are some fine polish elements that really come together for a compelling system.
First off, the production quality is stellar. Excellent voice acting, and some well-written lines. This is hardly unique to KOTOR (though still generally lacking in the industry). High production values here make me really listen to the delivery of the lines and draw me in to the characters. The voice actors for the main characters (esp. Kreia) do such a good job that they add tremendous depth.
But what is much more compelling to me is the way it integrates game mechanics into the system. As you make conversation choices, you are scoring light & dark side points (which are usually pretty obvious) but more importantly, influence points. As you gain influence with characters they turn more towards your alignment, and also unlock some new conversation options. Determining what options will gain or lose influence is a far more subtle analysis that really involves understanding the character. When this is working well, it goes a long way towards taking the characters of KOTOR far beyond the simple cardboard cutouts that usually pass for characters in a game. This goes beyond just conversations with that character too -- how your treat other characters in and out of the party can make a difference.
On top of all of that, there are often multiple phrasings of the same basic concepts that can (sometimes) make changes in influence. Whether you are disdainful of advice, foolhardy, simplistic, or conniving can be expressed through your choices, and there is enough complexity in the system that they maintain the illusion that those nuances in expression actually matter.
I love language and the art of conversation, and this is really the first game I've played that even begins to capture the "vibe" of a real spoken conversation. We've come a long, long way from trees that are just "choose every option in order". It's going to be very painful to go back to those in the next RPG I play.
Even though it isn't really the main point of game, I find myself primarily judging my "progress" by how much influence I can garner with my various party members. I played a Light Jedi in the original KOTOR, and the evil "dark side" dialogue options always sounded so much more interesting. One of the neat mechanics in KOTOR 2 is that the more influence I can gain with my party members, the more I can turn them to the path of the dark side! So this time around, I'm playing as evil as I can.
Which, as it turns out, is not evil enough. I keep taking the power hungry, psychotic choices, and sure enough, lots of times I can just strike people down remorselessly in my quest for the dark side. But when it comes to gaining influence, it becomes a much more complex matter. I'm always trying to make dialogue choices to increase my influence, and I guess my real life lessons learned seep through too much -- I keep saying nice things and accidentally getting light side points!
KOTOR 2 is the first game I've played in a long time where I really think of the other characters in terms of their personalities and motivations, not just as cool character designs in a cinematic or in terms of their stats. I hope Obsidian will pave the way for more of this in the future!
One side note on KOTOR 2, the difficulty curve is kind of all over the place. I ran into one boss battle about halfway through that was just a brick wall -- even on easiest difficulty it took me hours of trying to find every possible exploit to beat him. It's too bad when balance & polish issues like this really get in the way of the game, but for the most part it's been decent.
Also... Happy New Year (imminently)! If you are partying, please remember to drink responsibly and don't drink and drive.
2004 was a pretty great year for the Fermier family, with some fanatastic developments at work and the birth of our second child, Alexander. 2005 is going to have to work pretty hard to keep up!