Experienced Points

But, I LIKE this Cliché!

You Must Save The World... Eventually

The bad guy might be on the precipice of world domination, but he's sporting enough to let you build up until you're ready to face him.

Games with time limits have the problem that if you run out of time, your entire savegame is screwed and you have no choice but to start over from scratch. This tends to drain the fun out of the game. Also, it's hard to tell how long the quest will take, so players feel like they're being rushed and end up missing out on content, even if they have plenty of time. The original Fallout had a hard time limit, and a few players discovered the frustration of running out.

It's nice to be able to explore the freeform world and do the sidequests without having a clock running. A good story can make the task feel urgent without actually putting a time limit on how long you have to save the world. It might not make sense, but it's nice to know you're free to explore as long as you're having fun, and you're free to move forward if you want to see how the story turns out.

The Ancient, Well-Lit Tomb With Traps That Still Work

Yes, it's stupid. If I left my car sitting exposed to the elements for just ten years I don't expect it would start up on the first try afterward. Yes, traps with wooden moving parts that remain functional for hundreds of years at the bottom of a damp cave are ludicrous, as are the monsters that live there without setting them off. The fact that traps of stone and wood so often seem to have optical or light-based mechanisms is more than a little goofy. And the ever-burning torches on the walls and the glowing crystals that light the place are kind of messed up too.

But screw you. Tombs and ruins are fun.

Do I Have to do EVERYTHING Around Here?

"Welcome to our town, stranger. The king has been poisoned, the well is contaminated, the princess has been kidnapped, the drawbridge is broken, the fields are overrun with wolves, we lost contact with the monastery, the merchants are all squabbling about something, the dock workers are rioting, the inn is infested with rats, there are undead in the graveyard, one of the ships is under quarantine, there's a curse on the temple, several town guards are taking bribes, an evil mage has been kidnapping young women, a supply shipment is over a week late, the Duke hasn't been acting like himself lately, a bad minstrel is annoying people in the town square, goblins have moved into our sprawling sewer system, widow Creekjoint has lost her cat, a priceless artifact has gone missing, and we've got an entrenched criminal organization that we're all too chickenshit to fight. If you could fix all that we'd be much obliged."

"Uh... hi?"

Okay. What other good RPG cliché did I leave out?

Shamus Young is the guy behind this website and these three webcomics. In Fallout, he returned with the water chip with just 2 days to spare.