
Originally Posted by
aubergine
Thanks for +1ing my idea there.
Your idea for skill trees could be cool, although I suspect why they wouldn't do that it because they might feel the more the game becomes like an RPG, the more consumer doors it closes. They made it clear they were making an FPS - let's call it an "FPS With Benefits" nudgenudge - and wanted to provide heaps of choice but not, I don't think, complexity. I don't think System Shock II (and let's remember this is a game that no one except me and that guy paid for) had "skill trees", but it's systems were more complex than Bioshock's.
I like complexity but I also think that the formula that Bioshock has is very close to perfect and it seems to be commercially viable too.
Then again, maybe the market has simply changed a great deal since 1999. I bought a new computer (A$2000) to play System Shock II in 1999. Those dollars were worth more than the A$500 I spent on a 360 to play Bioshock 8 years later. Even a viable PC for it would have been cheaper than back then.
Also, the new marketing, expecially the internet, makes games like this more viable. I think that much more complex and intelligent games, that might not have worked commercially ten years ago, would now have a market, and a large one. Perhaps with the new keypad for 360 we can go back to games with textual input. This is the main reason why everyone younger than me is a moron.