Crafting in games is one of those things I will go out of my way to avoid. I will often immediately click Ignore if it's one of the main content tags of a game in Steam. Crafting consumables like...
Crafting in games is one of those things I will go out of my way to avoid. I will often immediately click Ignore if it's one of the main content tags of a game in Steam. Crafting consumables like health/mana potions or ammo is a chore that I simply refuse to do and if I can't buy the items the game will be uninstalled. I don't mind scarcity or limited inventory space as a difficulty curve, but if the ingredients are commonplace enough or the difficulty easy enough that it's just crafting tacked on for the sake of crafting, then I'll typically just cheat by forgoing the crafting entirely if I'm not allowed to buy the items.
I've played games like Spiritfarer (but I haven't played that game specifically) where crafting as a minigame is present and found it enjoyable and works well as a break from core gameplay (like fishing despite actually hating fishing minigames), but I do not like that some of these minigame crafting mechanics have risk involved. If I attempt to make an item (or make an improved version) and fail, often the game will just take the materials and give me nothing in return. As if somehow the ingot of steel no longer exists if I failed to make a sword or all of the fabric went up in flames if I failed to make a robe. Metal from a failed sword can be reforged, fabric from a failed robe can be made into another or patchwork robe. Even if of slightly lower quality/quantity, I should either receive the materials or the failed item back so it can be broken down into the materials and another attempt made.
Alternatively, if I have the skills and materials to make an item, then by default I should make a standard version of said item even if I "fail" to make the improved version. Oftentimes the game will return a lower quality item if I fail to make an improved version. Which I can understand in very limited circumstances that I've never actually seen in a game. Say I'm supposed to have crafting level 50 to make an item. If I'm level 50, then I make the item by default, if I try to make Ultrasharp Sword version and fail, it doesn't magically end up as a spoon, it's just the standard sword. Now if I'm crafting level 45 and the item requires level 50 to craft it, I can understand that if I attempt to craft it might turn out worse or fail. That's where the risk should be, in trying to make something I'm not skilled enough to make. I might succeed, I might fail, that's an acceptable risk for trying to make it earlier than expected.
If I craft something and "win" the minigame, then it should return some of the materials as if I found a more efficient way to craft the item if the game's mechanics aren't built to have improved versions of the item or doubles of an item don't make sense.
I am not in a place where I can watch the video to get the full intent, but I can see where you're coming from. There's only one game series - Gust's Atellier games - where I think the crafting...
I am not in a place where I can watch the video to get the full intent, but I can see where you're coming from. There's only one game series - Gust's Atellier games - where I think the crafting system is even worthwhile but realistically the gameplay cycle that requires you to go out and get ingredients in dangerous areas with RPG battles makes the actual crafting aspect secondary. And that's pretty bad considering the entire game series concept is built around crafting.
The only game where crafting just works, makes sense for the gameplay and story, and is just excellent is the Metro series, particularly Metro Exodus that relies on this in a seriously fun and...
The only game where crafting just works, makes sense for the gameplay and story, and is just excellent is the Metro series, particularly Metro Exodus that relies on this in a seriously fun and intense way.
I was thinking the same thing. It's important and is done fairly frequently, but it's kept real tight; true crafting is fast, can be done anywhere, is kept only to consumables (ammo, gas mask...
I was thinking the same thing. It's important and is done fairly frequently, but it's kept real tight; true crafting is fast, can be done anywhere, is kept only to consumables (ammo, gas mask filters, molotovs, etc.), doesn't mess around with recipes or pass/fail, only involves two resource types that can be found through regular gameplay (including picking up dropped enemy gear as materials instead), and very much fits in the post-apocalyptic setting. The additional "crafting" is really just swapping weapon and outfit mods for a situation or your playstyle; find a doodad or gun once and you're set for the rest of the game, no breakage or crafting a recipe or any nonsense, mods can be swapped from anywhere, the base guns can be swapped at home.
The Last of Us does it similarly and I like it there. Both it and Metro are basically using crafting to let players prioritize what consumables they want to use in combat without detracting from...
The Last of Us does it similarly and I like it there. Both it and Metro are basically using crafting to let players prioritize what consumables they want to use in combat without detracting from the sense of scarcity that is so important to the oppressive atmosphere they create.
In games like Far Cry or Assassin's Creed it is just annoying. I'll never understand why I need 6 whole alligator hides in order to craft a slightly bigger wallet. It just feels like busywork with no logic.
In Fallout 4, I really loved the idea that I'm building a base and scrounging up parts from the wasteland to do so, but it wasn't all that engaging gameplay-wise and I agree with the video's...
In Fallout 4, I really loved the idea that I'm building a base and scrounging up parts from the wasteland to do so, but it wasn't all that engaging gameplay-wise and I agree with the video's criticism of it. It's hard to keep track of what resources you want and what you want to use them for, and it's not worth the effort to try because the game is mostly balanced for it to be unnecessary and doesn't reward you enough for putting in the effort. Keeping track of what you need is even extra pointless because you can't do much to choose what to search for (it seemed like all areas had about the same mix of random supplies) and you can usually take everything home that you find (so you don't have to choose what to prioritize too often).
In games like Minecraft and Factorio that are much more specifically about crafting, it's much more interesting. It's more rewarding especially because it gets you stuff you need. It's easier to keep track of the various resources you need because there's mainly a few iconic core types, and you're forced to deal with them often so the game causes you to build some expertise with the system.
Crafting in games is one of those things I will go out of my way to avoid. I will often immediately click Ignore if it's one of the main content tags of a game in Steam. Crafting consumables like health/mana potions or ammo is a chore that I simply refuse to do and if I can't buy the items the game will be uninstalled. I don't mind scarcity or limited inventory space as a difficulty curve, but if the ingredients are commonplace enough or the difficulty easy enough that it's just crafting tacked on for the sake of crafting, then I'll typically just cheat by forgoing the crafting entirely if I'm not allowed to buy the items.
I've played games like Spiritfarer (but I haven't played that game specifically) where crafting as a minigame is present and found it enjoyable and works well as a break from core gameplay (like fishing despite actually hating fishing minigames), but I do not like that some of these minigame crafting mechanics have risk involved. If I attempt to make an item (or make an improved version) and fail, often the game will just take the materials and give me nothing in return. As if somehow the ingot of steel no longer exists if I failed to make a sword or all of the fabric went up in flames if I failed to make a robe. Metal from a failed sword can be reforged, fabric from a failed robe can be made into another or patchwork robe. Even if of slightly lower quality/quantity, I should either receive the materials or the failed item back so it can be broken down into the materials and another attempt made.
Alternatively, if I have the skills and materials to make an item, then by default I should make a standard version of said item even if I "fail" to make the improved version. Oftentimes the game will return a lower quality item if I fail to make an improved version. Which I can understand in very limited circumstances that I've never actually seen in a game. Say I'm supposed to have crafting level 50 to make an item. If I'm level 50, then I make the item by default, if I try to make Ultrasharp Sword version and fail, it doesn't magically end up as a spoon, it's just the standard sword. Now if I'm crafting level 45 and the item requires level 50 to craft it, I can understand that if I attempt to craft it might turn out worse or fail. That's where the risk should be, in trying to make something I'm not skilled enough to make. I might succeed, I might fail, that's an acceptable risk for trying to make it earlier than expected.
If I craft something and "win" the minigame, then it should return some of the materials as if I found a more efficient way to craft the item if the game's mechanics aren't built to have improved versions of the item or doubles of an item don't make sense.
I am not in a place where I can watch the video to get the full intent, but I can see where you're coming from. There's only one game series - Gust's Atellier games - where I think the crafting system is even worthwhile but realistically the gameplay cycle that requires you to go out and get ingredients in dangerous areas with RPG battles makes the actual crafting aspect secondary. And that's pretty bad considering the entire game series concept is built around crafting.
The only game where crafting just works, makes sense for the gameplay and story, and is just excellent is the Metro series, particularly Metro Exodus that relies on this in a seriously fun and intense way.
I was thinking the same thing. It's important and is done fairly frequently, but it's kept real tight; true crafting is fast, can be done anywhere, is kept only to consumables (ammo, gas mask filters, molotovs, etc.), doesn't mess around with recipes or pass/fail, only involves two resource types that can be found through regular gameplay (including picking up dropped enemy gear as materials instead), and very much fits in the post-apocalyptic setting. The additional "crafting" is really just swapping weapon and outfit mods for a situation or your playstyle; find a doodad or gun once and you're set for the rest of the game, no breakage or crafting a recipe or any nonsense, mods can be swapped from anywhere, the base guns can be swapped at home.
The Last of Us does it similarly and I like it there. Both it and Metro are basically using crafting to let players prioritize what consumables they want to use in combat without detracting from the sense of scarcity that is so important to the oppressive atmosphere they create.
In games like Far Cry or Assassin's Creed it is just annoying. I'll never understand why I need 6 whole alligator hides in order to craft a slightly bigger wallet. It just feels like busywork with no logic.
In Fallout 4, I really loved the idea that I'm building a base and scrounging up parts from the wasteland to do so, but it wasn't all that engaging gameplay-wise and I agree with the video's criticism of it. It's hard to keep track of what resources you want and what you want to use them for, and it's not worth the effort to try because the game is mostly balanced for it to be unnecessary and doesn't reward you enough for putting in the effort. Keeping track of what you need is even extra pointless because you can't do much to choose what to search for (it seemed like all areas had about the same mix of random supplies) and you can usually take everything home that you find (so you don't have to choose what to prioritize too often).
In games like Minecraft and Factorio that are much more specifically about crafting, it's much more interesting. It's more rewarding especially because it gets you stuff you need. It's easier to keep track of the various resources you need because there's mainly a few iconic core types, and you're forced to deal with them often so the game causes you to build some expertise with the system.