WWWest-Online Development Blog

When one decides to create a game, one of the first things that come to mind is character advancement. At least it was for us. What do I mean by character advancement? Well, looking at several existing games, there seem to be three prevalent choices:

1. Level-based advancement, with level cap. A good example of this approach could be WoW. The basic process in this option is the following: The player’s character gains xp. Every so and so xp, the character advances a level. This is usually accompanied by certain advancements to the character, such as more hitpoints, stat increases, etc, though these advancement may or may not occur every level. In this option, there is a limit to the levels the character can gain (e.g., level 70 in The Burning Crusade) – after hitting that level cap, the character itself ceases to advance, and the player seeks to advance his character by getting better equipment and items for him/her. In addition, each level may unlock new content (e.g., quests, vendors).
The problem with this system is that as stated, the character itself ceases to advance once it hits the level cap.

2. Level-based advancement, with no level cap. As the name implies, this option is the same as the first option, with the exception of there being no level cap. This means that the character can keep rising in levels, with all the subsequent advancements (e.g., stats) included.
The problem with this system is more on our end – we have to create loads more generic content, since the characters don’t stop at a certain level, and we don’t want them getting the same things over and over (and over) again.

3. Skill-based advancement. This one has the same problem as the last one – no proper level cap means no end to advancement, and so no end to the items needed. On the up side, it’s more realistic in a way. Since practically any RP game ever made is level based, here’s a short introduction to skill-based advancement: In a nutshell, it’s a bit more real-lifelike. With level-based advancement, you gain XP by whatever means, and after gaining a set amount of XP you advance a level, causing your skills to “magically” improve. With skill-based advancement, there is no XP. You use your skills, and as you use them, you improve them. Very few games (that I played, anyway) have implemented skill-based advancement. Whether it’s because most RP gaming systems are level-based or because level-based is easier to implement, I don’t know. If you want to take a look at some skill-based games (single player), here are those that I can remember: Betrayal at Krondor (I think its followup games, Betrayal in Antara and Return to Krondor were also skill-based, but am not sure), the Quest for Glory series. The only skill-based MMO I can think of is Irth Worlds.

So those are the options as we see them. At the moment we’ve got our eyes set on skill-based advancement. How about you guys? Any thoughts, comments, etc.?