@ven: it's all good.
@valkyrie: thanks for the kind words. I do want to continue this project, though maybe not in its current form. accommodating for the event limit, etc., this will take a long time. what I've written is part of a road map for future development. this is pretty verbose, so I've decided to split it up into several posts over the next few days.
Roles and Experience
How it works traditionally: You have just downloaded
NetHack. You've heard that the game can be confusing at first, but you are enthusiastic and willing to learn. You open the game, and . . .
. . . what?
These names don't mean anything to you. You have no idea what you're choosing between. You are confused and have lost interest in the decision, so on a whim you choose to be a
tourist. congratulations! you have died.
Choosing a role is not only confusing to new players, but many of the roles are redundant; there is very little difference between a rogue and a ranger, or between a valkyrie, knight, caveman, samurai, or monk. In fact, all roles are very similar strategically; the choice is "choose your difficulty" in everything but name. The player can also choose a race, but aside from some minor changes in stats, the choice still isn't compelling.
Although not all roles are geared for combat, NetHack's principle method for gaining experience is to kill enemies. Mechanisms exist for pacifists to gain levels, but the game is stacked in favor of fighters.
As the player gains levels, only their stats change; this helps discourage grinding, and this works well, but character progression should give the player more ways to interact with the game.
How it can be improved: Consolidate different roles into four or five different options, which are not only radically different but appeal to different styles of play. Mechanisms for character progression should play to the strengths of the player's role. A high experience level shouldn't make a game easy, but it should give the player the tools to develop a more complex strategy.
How it could be implemented:
Warrior: The strongest and least strategic of all roles, the warrior is a good choice for new players. The warrior is slow and is only capable of physical combat, but a large amount of health provides a wide margin of error. Because the strategy of the warrior does not scale with the game, the diversity and severity of hazards increases, so that while this role is still a viable choice players are encouraged to experiment. Warriors gain experience by killing enemies.
Mage: They can start fires which spread through the map, destroying flammable objects and burning enemies. They use telekinesis to fire nearby objects at enemies (and can eventually use enemies as projectiles against other enemies), or take control of weapons and armor to create a rotating shield around themselves. They can cause lightning to strike, but have no direct control over where it lands (mages should
never wear metal armor). They can shoot bubbles which drown smaller enemies and make larger ones wet (combine this with lightning for devastating consequences). Mages gain experience by using magic to exploit enemy weaknesses.
Rogue: They are fast, stealthy, good with a bow, and excellent tool-users (they are known to carry grappling hooks and improvised explosives on their person). Rogues are vulnerable: if enemies catch you they will likely kill you, but they'll have to catch you first. Rogues take advantage of darkness, dungeon features, and labyrinthine corridors. Rogues gain less experience than other roles, but those who succeed in speed-running to the bottom floor of the dungeon are rewarded handsomely.
Necromancer: Necromancers revive fallen enemies to fight for them. The necromancer's campaign consists of killing a few enemies, who kill more enemies in turn, until the necromancer has amassed an army of the undead. Necromancers gain experience when their minions kill other enemies, but they do not become stronger; instead, necromancers gain more nuanced control of their minions:
Which ones will I send to fight the minotaur? Keep that fire elemental away from the water! I'm about to die, I want to call back all of my minions to protect me! etc. Instead of strategy arising from internal complexity, it emerges naturally from the diversity of enemies.
Mechanic: If it exists in the game, you can probably build it: walls, moats, doors, gun turrets, conveyor belts, transporters, weapons, armor, vehicles (with poor safety standards, naturally), bizarre new tools (scythe + chain whip + trigger = long-ranged scythe???), pressure plates and switches to control other mechanisms, stairs and bridges are all possible. Gameplay is analogous to a tower-defense game; you shape the environment around you to create fortified bases, but if enemies reach you, you won't last very long. Mechanics gain experience when their machines kill enemies, and more experience (and more raw materials) allow them to build more complex machines.
