The ArtRPG Dilemma

I have created my first DeviantArt account 8 years ago and for most of that time, I was participating in some kind of ArtRPG group (ARPG for short, though that may also refer to Action role-playing game). Starting with HARPG I slowly left my comfort zone to explore. ARPG art has always been a big part of what I do here and why people watch me I guess, without that, I'll be just YCH/YHH/commission seller (if I'm not already considered one). Now I don't want that to be my trademark. I'll be always indebted to people who support me. But that's not really what this is about.

First of all, I'd like to say some nice things. As an artist, gamer and student of art education, I consider ARPG the ultimate game genre for all artists and it pains me to see so much wasted potential. Playing a game through artworks sounds almost too good. I don't really know who started this type of game (or how and where it all started) but I would be thrilled to talk to that person and to learn more. Because it truly helped me grow as an artist and a person as well for which I'll be forever grateful. Many things wouldn't be possible if some people never helped me discovered ARPG. I wouldn't get into university for starters, I would most likely struggle miserably to find my way back to art after I finished art school and probably fail.


The first issue I want to address is pay to play attitude. Now I don't really care about this if it's not hurting the game and its players. If you want to make any game, players always come first. If you ignore the people you invited to play your game, sooner or later they come to the conclusion that the game is not worth their time and they leave. It's even more important in this type of game as players often spend a lot of their time and effort on something that eventually reveals itself as a total waste. 

The second thing that makes gritting my teeth is unfinished games. Doesn't matter how fast you create your fancy Weebly advertisement and start selling, raffling or gifting imports if your game is an empty shell. Imagine if game companies start selling games before they get finished, just because they got so excited to show people what they created (so far). That would be a seriously bad idea. There's no point in getting invested in a game that one day may be finished (but you'll just have to wait for a week, month or year). 

Which leads me to the deepest darkest hole of many ARPG's, which is quality content (or serious lack of it). So you managed to finish your game but to make it complete you need to add some game (admin)-player interaction. Quests or activities are the most common things people can do with their virtual critters. Humans love completing challenges and collecting rewards for their hard efforts. It's natural. But do you really think doing the same activity, quest or anything over and over just to get that completely useless thing (why is it even in the game again)? Or does it seems more logical to draw 200 crappy sketches to get your creature at a decent level? Quantity over quality is results of an underdeveloped point system, which turns all the blame towards players creating low-quality art. I'll never understand why it is even necessary asking players to make tons of art with no real meaning or quality behind it.

I used to be seriously addicted to MMORPG Perfect World Online. I still have the nickname I used in that game - Memuii. I wouldn't be surprised if MMORPG's were somehow linked to ARPG. They share some serious similarities. The content of most MMORPG's is based on grinding, battling bosses and PVP. Each day is basically the same, you do some daily, kill a bunch of various monsters and hang with friends afterward in some boss dungeon.
If you apply the same principles to ARPG you will find out that the system is already in place. You don't really have a variety of tasks, everything is mostly repetitive and one day you realize how stupid and meaningless it is. You got nowhere with daily scribbles, each day your drawing gets more lifeless because you must keep going despite it's not really fun anymore. What can you possibly do when you really want that magic glowing poo hat for which you need 100 pink fleas from sparkly unicorn's buttcheeks and you are not willing to wait 10 years until you finally collect all those damn fleas drawing quality artwork once a week.

I applaud to those who actually find ARPG farming activities entertaining (seriously, let me know if it's just me who thinks it's damn boring).

I feel like many ARPG's (HARPG's) gets abandoned because they lack purpose. I never finished my two HARPG's because I found them average at best and they were not really that interesting. On top of that, there's so many small HARPG's which are just barely surviving or are already dead. Some are just breeding societies and adoptable clubs but refuse to admit it. There's no meaning adding to the pile.

Games can be great teachers if done right because they can be actually exciting and fun. There are so many people that wish to get better at drawing but ultimately fail to learn the most basic things. Just imagine creating quests that almost unknowingly get you to draw that thing you hate but since you really wish to continue your journey, you'll get over it. A small step, which gets wider every time you get through an obstacle. 


So I've decided to move on. Play my own games as I venture forth. I'll be no longer bound to rules, which makes no sense at all. I'm fed up waiting until things get actually started. I'm going to throw away everything I made for the sake of getting at the top because there's nowhere else to go beyond that, except back down.

The game that has no end is meaningless and that's why I'm going to play the game I can actually finish with that silly smile you have when you beat your first Valkyrie in God of War 4 (on you 48th try! BOI!).

Maybe all these ARPG I've played so far weren't meant for me and I just failed to see it sooner, or perhaps I'm simply taking it too seriously, or I'm at that stage in life when all your priorities suddenly turn 180. It doesn't really matter at this point I guess. There are some games you simply can not beat.