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Old 08-05-2004, 09:44 PM   #74
Threshold
Legend
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Home MUD: Threshold RPG
Posts: 1,260
Threshold will become famous soon enough
ASIDE: Isn't it funny how whenever discussions of this volatile topic come up, "classless" is always the more popular choice, yet the most popular and successful games on the market have classes.

I think it was one of the SWG developers who said: "It is pointless to try and create a completely classless game. The players will just end up creating their own."

Unless I misunderstood KaVir's points here, I agree with him that the real question is one of implementation.

Class based systems can be extremely flexible and allow enormous customization. This is particularly true if people are allowed to respec skills or change their class.

Similarly, classless systems can end up having so few "viable" builds that the game ends up having very few options. If everyone ends up having pretty much the same skills, trained up to pretty much the same degree, then you really haven't provided people with much customization.

It all comes down to the implementation. That is far more important than whether or not you have classes. Both types of systems can have extensive customization if designed well. Both can be extremely limiting and restrictive if designed poorly.
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