This is something that has always been in my wishlist. Try to design the mobs in a game as creatures, with a background, specific behaviour and so on.

What I don’t like is having one pattern only. Where aggressive mobs pretty much react only to the player’s level and range. I always though that in a game the mobs shouldn’t be just generic entities with different statistics. Differentiated not only by a model, a texture and different attacks, but also by different behaviours.

Here you can see how this way of thinking (because it’s really about an overall approach to a genre) is linked to all the critics I made against the linear content progression typical of level based games. Instead of “killing the bigger foozle” as you progress, you wouldn’t just deal with stronger mobs, but you would have to learn and recognize their different behavious. Something that, even in this case, is much more “systemic” than the linear progression. Less forced in a obligatory sequence and MUCH more appropriate to a “world”, where different creatures have their own individuality and aren’t exclusively functional to a power progression.

A few games tried to go in that direction, but without much success. Ryzom has creatures that come to watch you and even migrate in packs from zone to zone. SWG also had creatures that approached you. But what really misses is the variation. The possibility of reaction to a number of different variables, both coming from the player and the environment. So that the concrete gameplay will be then much less predictable. And also much more interesting to discover and learn.

It’s also again not a wish for complex, reactive AI systems. I repeated in the past that advanced AI isn’t something that these type of games should waste lots of resources on. Both Dave Rickey and Raph Koster are strongly against me on this front. But I continue to think that we only need some more complexity, but not necessarily reactive AI, with the hope that it would help to auto-generate content. I have a desire for identity and specificity, but not automation. I would just like to see worlds that are more interesting to explore, more immersive, interactive. Rich.

Less predictable. Feeling not all coming from the exact same mold. But in THIS genre. Not in another. A fantasy world, still, but seen from a new point of view that would make it feel as a totally new experience. Standing out between the rest.

It’s an approach that, despite applied to a similar genre and world, would be the exact opposite of WoW and all the other similar games. Instead of simplifying and reducing everything to the essential, the goal would be about delving, adding details. Rediscovering aspects of this genre that have been purged. Similarly to how Diablo “boxed” the RPG genre, making it lose a lot of unique qualities.

We are used to mosters that simply aggro at a range. It’s even incredibly annoying if you are traveling and start aggroing all sort of critters that in a few cases can even stun and snare you. What if instead the creature would start growling if you walked too close? What if some creatures could be attracted by a light, or scared by it? Or attacking only to defend their lair? What if some wolves would attack you only if you were alone, while runinng away if you moved with a party? What if they would attack you only when they feel the smell of your food? What if the game could simulate the mechanics of a real hunt?

With zones designed to be more organic. Mobs with realistic loot.

That’s the approach I’d like to see. Richer, immersive worlds. Without the need to move away from the fantasy genre to do something different.

(Then if you tell me that is already daunting enough for the servers to check aggro ranges and pathing without adding more variables, okay. Let’s make treadmills all life long… *sigh*)