Diablo III Auction Houses Close March 18, 2014

[kandrathe]

Loot, is the major downfall of the game.

I go back to my 1970's studies of game theory.

Loot is meant as a means to tempt players to keep playing. It's the cheese the rats get when they press the feeder bar in the correct sequence.

But, for DIII and games like it, I believe it is a narrow perspective on what motivates play. I've said it before; I think players play to become more powerful (e.g. than other players in pvp, than the next big boss in pve), and be able to survive harder challenges. Items are one way to augment power, but it puts the most value into the things that anyone can get. It is easy to "game" the system by buying, trading, selling loot to short cut the power curve, in what would otherwise require work. This leads to farming drops, and an economy that subverts the intention of the game, which I think for most, is to play and have fun.

It would be far more exciting to me to find an RPG type play system that invests play time (experience) into the characters skill. This investment in the character is then non-transferable (at least unless you sell the whole account). Taem the barbarian is powerful, because Taem the barbarian has gained experience fighting thousands of foes. The newbie Deebye in epic gear will be creamed by a naked Taem. I will leave the visuals to you. I felt DII had a good balance between skills choices, and the nice bonus of cool loot drops. Where DII was wrong, was in the occasional OP loot. But, it was a distraction, more than the rule.

But, then again, merely a race to level 99 isn't the simple solution. The game makers seemingly avoid (or dumb down) more complicated skills based systems where the player could possibly make bad choices. What results is that everyone is the same, except for the PRNG's influence on gear, or your leet AH skills. I feel the fundamental game needs to hook you into the characters life, and struggle. They need to create repeatability and story immersion, and ultimately, there needs to be a win point where you retire, or rest on your laurels testing your leetness in the PVP arena. In some respects, it would be a virtual Maslow's pyramid of needs. In the beginning of the game you are motivated by survival, then later by the accolades of peers, and finally, the self actualization of making the game world a better place for the newbs. D1 to me was all about the story, and seeing the adventure through the character's eyes. Somewhere along the way, this is a big part of the fun that is lost.

The hard part is to create infinite variations on character build, but still give them a balanced shot at "winning the game" -- without creating an artificial gray pablum of diversity in play. But, I'd be ok with unequal outcomes. If you choose to roll a Bard, with awesome bongo skills you shouldn't be surprised when the half-orc barbarian beats you to death with your own bloody stump of a leg.