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PepsimanVsJoe talks about random games.

I guess I could talk about Torchlight for a bit.

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While I could (and should) be writing a review for Saints Row 3 I'm going to break away for just a bit. I realized that I put a couple dozen hours and gotten all of the achievements in Torchlight on XBLA, I may as well have something to say about it. One of the things I enjoy about this blog is that I'm not restricted by things such as word counts, my writing style, making sense, and all that other unimportant junk. I'm free to make that critical analysis and say something significant. Is that actually going to happen? I don't know, my thoughts are only seconds ahead of my fingers when it comes to getting this stuff down.

Anyway I'm going to talk about what makes Torchlight work. It's the same formula that drives other successful games. Simply put you keep the player in the game. As long as they have something they feel they have to keep playing for then the game is good. Maybe the game doesn't have to be good, it could probably get by simply because the formula is perfected and the model is so refined that the player can't help but keep going no matter their opinion of the game's actual quality.

I'll admit I've always had a weakness for the loot-oriented videogames. I never really got anywhere in early PC RPGs like The Bard's Tale because I had no mind for exploration, solving puzzles, and doing what needed to be done to save the land. You can bet however that if I ever bothered to figure out all that nonsense I'd steamroll every foe thanks to my kitted-out party. Needless to say I took to games like Diablo and its ilk instantly. My time spent with titles like Diablo 2 and Phantasy Star Online practically dwarf the entirety of my time spent with most other videogames. Now that I think about it I could probably argue that I've spent more time on those two games than at least my days with the NES. I'm not going to bother with the number-crunching here since even the very thought of it makes me more than a little ashamed of myself.

In any case I took to Torchlight about as well as anyone else. This game understands the formula perfectly. There is always something to work towards because opportunities are continually dumped in my lap. I'm just wondering why I had to hold the controller all the time. Torchlight is a very easy game, too easy in fact. Obviously I'll go ahead and mention that I played through the game on the normal difficulty, and fans will note that I should have went for a harder setting from the start. What I'm curious about is how much of a difference it would actually make. Maybe I'll use a few more potions, maybe I'll have to run away from the thick of battle a bit more often, maybe I'll actually have to think about where my skill-points are going. So all that really happened is that I didn't think, I was never concerned, and I certainly didn't worry. This game was under my control from the moment I started.

Or was it? I don't care much for terms but I've heard "hamster-wheel" get thrown around. It was applied to the Call of Duty franchise's multiplayer mode. A mode which all you know ties weapon and ability unlocks to amount of time played. There's only so many unlocks to go around so commonly CoD players will prestige so they can start fresh to unlock everything again but also maintain a semblance of progress. Torchlight works in much the same fashion and even offers a "retirement" option so that players can make a fresh character but with some minor bonuses like their favorite piece of equipment carrying over. Ultimately it's not really progress at all since you're going in circles and all you have to show for the trouble is higher numbers. I use the word "trouble" loosely here because I may as well use the word effort, and neither applies to Torchlight or Call of Duty.

If all I do is stick to team-deathmatch with random players like 90% of other Call of Duty players I'm going to find that only so many factors will be in my control. I have a reasonable chance of killing other players as well as staying alive but nearly everything else is out of my hands. Either I dominate and carry the team on my back, put in a good effort, or get clearly outclassed. It's the promise of domination that keeps me playing Call of Duty. With Torchlight every chest I open, every rare fiend I pop open like a pinata, and every time I roll the dice on enchantments is going to lead to a particular result. I'm basically playing to get the best possible reward, and that's some unique piece of equipment that will be rendered irrelevant in an hour or so. It will be forgotten just as quickly as that match where I went for 36 kills and 0 deaths. And yet I still think it's all really compelling. Sometimes I work out a new strategy, find a good location, or put together a character-build that kills slightly more efficiently than before. If I was that proverbial hamster on the wheel I'd have...hmm...a nicer body to look forward? Shame I'll never get out of the cage to put it to work.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that unlike a number of other games that emphasize the grind, I never really felt like Torchlight gave me any reason to feel like I'm making the game my own. I'm never in control and it's all because the game is so adherent to its formula that I can't break out. Some of the things that made games like Phantasy Star Online and the Dynasty Warriors series work is that enough leeway was given to empower the player. If they put in the effort, the skill, or the creativity they will be able to accomplish tasks in ways that feel just as rewarding as what's in that next treasure chest or whatever rare item that monster just dropped is. Torchlight on the other hand just leaves me feeling empty, it may as well be Progress Quest with pretty colors and I'm forced to hold the controller the entire time.





Good Lord I wrote a lot of nothing. Oh well.

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