[bort]

the way most roleplaying games let the player interact with items, equipment, weapons and such things, or anchor them to play and character progression, lies somewhere along this axis:


[acquiring, changing, or establishing] character identity or status to enable new context/perspectives for use of material goods <--------------------------------------------------> [acquiring, changing, or modifying] material goods to establish or alter a character's identity or status

the left is an older (i think) paradigm that you see in most anything involving a class or job (whether they can be changed and reassigned (see fft) or are static beginning-of-the-game distinctions (see d&d))
the right is either exceedingly dry (my fighters are pikemen when i give them a pike) or involve the absurdities you see here, or in ffx-2 (NEVER PLAYED IT), or in most of the SaGa series

they're both kind of loathsome perspectives on "character growth" and game-success, depending on how you read them. everyone loves to make their little people stronger in games. i really do. but really, increasing just levels/numbers/stats is very boring to me and i'm sure to all of you as well. what is truly "rewarding" (ugh) is having extreme control over a character's identity. that it enables them to slaughter things more effectively (in a team, even!) is just gravy. i name my final fantasy tactics members after my family and i have them do cool things. my sister is a monk and my other sister is a calculator and my brother is a mediator. they got that way because they were in the job class menu and had already expressed aptitude and acquired experience in whatever was required of them. and then they self-define. upon doing so look who can suddenly hold books? and rods? and who is forbidden from using weapons at all?

alternately i start deprived in dark souls and can switch from dingy robe to havel's set mid-combat if i'd really like, and beat the game on level 7. while this is commonly looked at as OH IS IT LEVEL DEPENDENT OR LOOT DEPENDENT that's not really what i am trying to get at while i type this. viewing dark souls again as what success is "dependent on" it's clearly equipment, more so than buying power (which could be levels too but see: pyromancy and blacksmith materials being a constantly effective use of said buying power). but more importantly, probably for you all, is that it is the exact mode of character development, definition, and distinction outside of the covenants and actual "fighting style" and gestures used and stuff like that. the gear i obtain is actually a reflection of things i have done, characters i've met or killed (4 their loot) and side-quests i have completed.

in saga games you literally can transform your robot into a different type of robot by equipping 7 Cure Potions to their body. a monster eats meat and transforms into a different monster.
in lighting returns while you play as a distinct character your "job" or whatever it's called is determined by your clothes. your battle commands are used by equipping skills (the game literally calls them "items" in the menu). these things all impart passive abilities too so that while the actual name of the job comes from the main article of clothing you equip, the overall play-style of the job is derived from the whole list of equipment and skills equipped in aggregate. it is maybe the furthest we have come in this style to date.

oh i guess there's scribblenauts or something.

these two methods are present in like every game (one or the other or they are both intertwined) even beyond role playing games. and you can see real live humans doing the same things if you look around. self-definition through acquirement and adornment of goods (see: nice cars and watches, being a goth or any obvious style) vs. self-definition from someplace immaterial with the ultimate goal of presenting their acquired goods in a different light or to different effect (see: "am i the kind of guy that can pull this off?" while admiring leather jacket, mohawk in mirror after shower, high heeled shoes, tattoos (only when i lose this gut!)). i'm not sure which is more materialistic and which is more narcissistic or if they are both tied. i wonder if it's why children can spend so much time playing rpgs (i sure did). these past couple sentences are a load of crap but i did consider them.

this is something i thought about... but clearly i didn't think about it a lot! apologies to all, i didn't know where else to put it and if it isn't applicable to this game it isn't applicable to anything. thanks.

about the game: maybe i will play more than the demo one day. really interesting stuff here.