Shadowrun is one of my favorite genesis games. Weaker on storyline than the SNES version, but the matrix gameplay was so good. And as a whole, the game system was much more like the pen & paper.

I think the problem there is that you NEED for areas to become easier. It's what lets you feel like your characters actually ARE improving over time.

Perhaps you shouldn't simply allow the player to gain gain HP at levelling up? This way, even weak enemies could present a challenge, especially in numbers?

It's a very fine line. By the time you can wipe out an Evil GodTM, then an area filled with adorable fuzzy bunnies really shouldn't be giving you any problems anymore.

I do like the system Neverwinter Nights uses though, whereby you set an encounter and it's toughness relative to your party.

I've always thought levels are silly, though in the long run I think I'm really of two minds... (and sorry if I sound like I'm repeating myself or someone else; my communication skills have been pretty shabby of late.)

Levels are a fun way for a game to work. You have quantifiable achievements that get farther apart and harder to work for as you go, but all the while you have a little gauge that lets you know how far you've come and how far you have left to go. In addition, each level has a good jump in your abilities; you get better at attacking, more health, tougher, etc. all at once, so each level is that much sweeter. Unfortunately, you miss out on player's choice. If the player wants another warrior, and you don't give him one, then he's out of luck. This can be pretty frustrating if you want to play a game, not read a book.

On the other hand, I've always loved customizability. The idea of being able to pick exactly what improvements come next, and making each character fill the niche that I want them to, it just makes me feel warm and good inside. I also feel that it helps with replayability... it gives you incentive to go back and try developing a character in a different way. Especially if game designers were smart enough to make skill systems that mattered in ways other than combat (opening optional story branches, allowing alternate puzzle solutions, etc.) Unfortunately, this has the drawback of not just more work for the designer, but it also sort of cheapens the characters; if each character can be customized to be exactly the same as the others, how do you build a coherent story around that?

In my opinion, the second approach is way more suited to RPGs, as long as you keep everything under control. I don't understand why we don't have more level-style approaches to action-adventure games, because I think the two suit each other much better.

And with all that said, I'm gonna plug my game now. ;) In Geas, I'm setting up a system where each character gains experience, but there are no discrete levels anywhere. I'll figure out growth formulae for each character, such that you get small incremental boosts to stats and health as you accrue experience. As for skills, I've developed a skill tree system where you buy skills with your accumulated experience, and if you feel like making Kiel, the healer, become an ass-kicking sword-fighter, then you can sink all her experience into combat skills. To combat the FFX problem where all the characters become interchangeable, though, I'm also tossing in two 'aptitudes' or whatever per character: a special skill that isn't buyable, and often affects how skills are used. Kiel, for instance, has 'Skilled Healer', which means that healing skills just work better for her.

I like to think that I've found a pretty good balance between having customizable characters, but still giving them roles around which to build the overall story. Oh, and I also intend to throw in bits of what I mentioned above... developing the characters differently will provide different paths and whatnot.

Anyway, sorry for that aside and little bit of self-promotion... hopefully something I've said added something or sparked someone's imagination somehow.

Unfortunately, this has the drawback of not just more work for the designer, but it also sort of cheapens the characters; if each character can be customized to be exactly the same as the others, how do you build a coherent story around that?

FF7 anyone?

(Note that I am not an FF7 fan, I thought this was the problem with FF7.)

I though - yup - Baldurs Gate had an interesting mechanic - allowing you to 'adopt' NPC's in the world into your party, but also allowing you to fill it with genetic clones if you wanted.

The world NPC's naturally all had their own backstories and associated quests which could only be accomplished if that NPC was in your group.