On the last two analysis (as they were released in the same day) i stated that Design Breakdown series is going on a hiatus but the truth is that depending on how Re:Build ships, as some skill changes are quite drastic. I’d like to be honest and say that the series may die out depending on how the patch lands and their plans for the future, after all it’s harder to engage in a game if you can’t enjoy it. These analysis take a lot of time already (for a passion project with almost no return) so in this scenario i’d rather use it on other projects. As for now i’ll focus on getting the basics covered better, and that will be finished regardless of the patch outcome, as the original thread was rather hasty.
Anyway for this thread we’ll talk about Theme, Identity, how to blend those elements and convert a Fantasy into an unique playable experience. Some of these can hard for me to explain but i’ll try my best to deliver them, in this series in particular i may mention some games, or game staples, as examples even tho their mechanics can’t be compared to Tree of Savior. Don’t forget that the development team is subject to limitations and some ideas may not work due engine, practicality and balance issues. Sometimes it isn’t IMC’s fault.
What is a Theme?
Taking it from the Merriam-Webster dictionary Theme can be described as “a subject or topic of discourse or of artistic representation” or “a specific and distinctive quality, characteristic, or concern”, on this matter it may have been inappropriate of me to the word when ‘Fantasy’ can fit better since it’s broader. When one talks about Theme it talks a main idea (or the main idea), core elements or a set of valors. If that is applied to something visible and recognisable, be that alone or with other Themes, and be relatable to one we end up with a Fantasy. The issue with using Fantasy however is that it is more visible as the experience, and so the combination of Theme and Identity in a game context, and cannot have the same literacy power as Theme. In short we can take Theme as the main ideas and elements that compose a Fantasy that may or not be represented in the experience of playing the Fantasy.
Now let’s say we want to find a game that explores the Fantasy of magic. The Theme usually comes with manipulation of the natural forces and casting, as the knowledge and procedures required to manipulate such forces, and without the latter we can call it super powers. Two games that do a good job in exploring this Fantasy are Magika and Lost Magic as both explore casting by having primordial signs (representing runes or elements) with unique traits that when combined build up into more complex effects, using the first as an example it is possible to combine Water, water spray, and Cold, cold spray, to produce Ice Needles or have Earth, rock throwing, and Fire, flamethrower, into a small meteor. If a player wants to experience the Fantasy of being a Pyromancer it can restrain itself by using fire spells only (or majoritarily if the game doesn’t allow), learning how to combine elements in ways fire ends up on top and that can produce flamethrowers, fireballs, meteors and more.
Here is where things start to get interesting, the same meteor mentioned twice before is often associate as fire magic even they are nothing more than a massive rock. In fact some games take the meteor spell as neutral, earth or even ice instead of the traditional fire meteor, it goes into a different part of the fire Theme as it is not only not exclusive to it. Meteors has different properties when taken in the fire magic groupe that can be explored differently, meanwhile other spells may have the engulfing nature of the element which is more interesting to play with.
On the other side this wizardry comparison we can have a water mages, a theme that incorporate manipulating water shape as in whips, tornadoes, spheres, waves and in some cases generate and manipulate ice and snow. However if we do the same to an ice wizard it will have the same snow and ice controlling power and likely cold (as wind) as well, yet the theme often excludes water from it even that being a different state of the same matter. Themes are subject to interpretation and can be trimmed to fill the game need, however these gaps are soil Identity needs to sprout.
Identity isn’t Theme
Using the same dictionary the definition of Identity can be of “the distinguishing character or personality of an individual” (or thing), and when talking about classes it’s taken almost as the mechanical Identity. That doesn’t apply only to classes as weapons, skills and monster races (even tho applied differently) as they can own Identity in their respective spheres, if we take the first group as example most of weapons are fairly similar with small variations on hitboxes, numbers and attack property but Maces in particular have both PAtk and MAtk which gives it a distinctive value that some other weapons lack (that may be compensated on mastery attributes). The main reason why Identities are important is to ensure elements will have their place in game and not be disposable, it can also be a guideline for the new added elements as they can fill the gaps with more diversity.
Any game that has many playable characters or classes has to deal with Identity, fighting games in particular have to cover it mostly by adjusting characteristics as speed, power and range combined with different playstyles as skirmishing, brawling, grappling or even throwing (depending on the game). If a certain character or class can’t provide a reason to be taken then it’s likely to die in oblivion, yet if said reason is a gimmick (or a group) then it will only sustain as long that feature is there and that may end up once the trend is gone or, if said gimmick is unhealthy, changed beyond recognition losing its important features.
All that said the Identity is a major gameplay component and affects how players interact in game, if we take the archetypes we’ll have tankers holding enemies, healers providing support, archers killing priority targets and spell casters to clean the crowds - yet those are a quartet and not 76 different classes.
Let’s start with a small thought experiment by having two wizard classes that have fire and lightning as their Theme and both share 8 skills with exact same values and mechanics, however they have completely different particles for each one the skills, will that make those classes different? Now, let’s change one or other component or mechanical execution, such as damage, duration, target count and deployment location, but still make they play almost the same as before, would they be different now? Lastly, if each of these classes receive two unique skills with no counterpart at all in either one of the previous scenarios, is that enough to make them different classes? At what point does a class starts or stop being unique? I won’t say this exact example exists within the game, and the only classes that may resemble it are Pyromancer and Cryomancer (due Theme) that have opposite playstyles, but that’s something to have in mind when dealing with class Identity.
Whenever classes have overlapping Identities they will clash and provide less real options for players to choose, in the best case it may turn into a matter of personal preference and the worst scenario has the class with better numbers or easier execution to dominate. In the end all offensive classes will deal damage and all support classes will help allies but the way they do it can change the whole experience, comparing Musketeer and Wugushi as the main single target damage classes in Archer we have the first one with delivering damage straight up and the second one to be a slow burner this makes them complement each other and have different value depending on the context. Even if different trees have classes similar Identities isn’t ideal as that can lead to a state where players can have virtually the same build as more and more classes are introduced, but that will still be far away from our reach for some time.
Creating the Fantasy
In a strict sense any Theme applied into a gameplay can be considered a Fantasy however that doesn’t mean it will have the immersive power than a kit designed to transmit the experience of being the it. Let’s take the fire Theme as example again, under this theme we have all the characteristics of fire.
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- Can’t sustain itself without a host (fuel)
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- Consumes the fuel (burn), taking its form
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- Spread to the surroundings
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- Doesn’t have physical shape, always rises
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- Persists as long as it can burn
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- Expands
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- Produces heat and light
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- Symbolizes power and aggression
By extracting these elements we can then translate them into game mechanics, not all of them are required to convey the Fantasy but it’s nice to have implemented as additional components here and there to make the experience more pleasant. The common approach on fire is to adapt it into raw power and/or burn as damage over time which is how it is perceived, however other Themes such as ice can also take the burn (even tho in a different way) route and in mechanics poison is as similar if not the same.
With this example the other elements inside the Theme are required to solidify the Identity, ice may have burn as one of its characteristics but isn’t as important to it as is to fire, for poison however the mechanic translation of damage over time can’t replaced. One thing that fire do is be casted into objects and apply the damage through it, when poison is applied to a surface it may intoxicate on contact but that effect will persist which is different from fire as it requires constant exposure to damage things. Another aspect to explore is the way fire can’t be handle as easy when using it in a specific target due spreadness, this is a scenario where poison has the advantaged as it can be directed towards a specific victim and not affect anyone else. By taking some of those aspects into consideration the Fantasy can be delivered within an Identity, it gives the class an unique place in the game, makes it easy to understand when playing with or against ensuring consistency.
Fantasies and Identities are relative to the game environment and the possibilities it offers for players to explore, such is the fact that certain Themes can be interpreted in opposite ways as long as they fit their game needs. Paladin can be a healer at game A, a tank at game B, an undead slayer at game C and a hybrid of any those combinations on game D. As an interesting case of study we can have a game with archer and wizard as both ranged units, the difference being that the latter can make use of elemental damage properties and deals magic damage. On both Theme and Identity level wizards are distinguishable from archers yet the Fantasy of wizardry isn’t experienced as it can feel the same.
The Holy Triad of Class Design
Theme, Identity and Fantasy not always walk together and may not even be delivered in a game, but as a matter of fact their presence can improve the experience. Tree of Savior is a heavy Fantasy based game but sometimes it only delivers the Theme on other cases it does a good job on nailing the Fantasy of the Theme but can’t sustain an Identity, or isn’t that fleshed out to be perceptible. In Tree of Savior this triad has all elements sharing equal value and none can be missing, without Theme classes have no charm, without Identity it has no reasons to pick it and without Fantasy it can’t feel fun to play.
The usual process that has players to learn about classes, and eventually play them, starts with the Theme as it marks both class name, costume and a preconceived idea of what it can do. Next it is the class description and skills which should be under Identity territory, by getting that information players should be able to decide if they have interest in playing the class. Lastly the gameplay itself, here Theme has to be represented with proper particles and animations and Identity has to provide uses for the game, only then the player can experience the Fantasy of playing what got their attention. Ensuring those elements and give players a good start is the way to keep the ball rolling but for that each class needs to do the minimum in those departments. That’s not about looking good nor about having ways to maximize the efficiency, it’s about having a good experience while playing the game.
I believe that covered everything i had to say about these three elements, the follow up for it will be an analysis of both classes systems, class progression and the pros and cons of each one. We’ll, the usual stuff… Drop a like to support the series cause it’s one of the few ways to know how interest people are in this kind of discussion, share your thoughts on comments cause they’re really matter, correct me, point out confusing parts and even make questions if that is the case. I’m not a game design expert but i may be able, or at least try to, clear things out if i can.