As I became more interested in games, something was made abundantly clear: choice is the most important thing. Choice gives your decisions meaning, and immerse you in the fictional world around you. Seeing the impact of your decisions on the world around you make you feel personal agency, or at least try to replicate it.
Pokemon is missing two main things: choice, and by extension, stakes. For an RPG which allows probably one of the largest amount of party variety and customisation (Pokemon choice, movesets, items, stats, natures, abilities etc), it has surprisingly little amount of player autonomy. Nothing you do matters. If I say 'No' to an NPC, they don't take no for an answer. Why is that? Why give me the choice, then take it away?
Here are a few changes I would make to mainline Pokemon games:
- All routes should be accessible from the start
- Pokemon fainting should have consequences. I like the idea of injuries incurred when Pokemon faint, which could temporarily weaken them, even if fully healed.
- Decisions should matter, and there should be stakes or missed content for failing missions
- Capturing legendary Pokemon which control say, Space or Time only to shelve them permanently in Bill's hellscape AKA the PC, should cause massive problems of universal proportions. There should be a decision to capture but let them roam or something, so they can do their job. Sending them into legal dogfights seems so petty.
- Pokecenters shouldn't be free, they should either cost money or maybe reduce a trainer Reputation statistic. Reputation could have negative consequences or positive ones, give you missions, access to certain gangs (joining Team Rocket etc), items or Pokemon.
These changes could even be part of a 'Veteran Mode', where kids will still get to button mash their way through games, but the challenge exists for more experienced players.
No comments:
Post a Comment