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Non-level systems showed up in JRPGs and CRPGs, too. Just like in tabletop, they carved out a decent foothold without ever completely defeating level systems. I

• chongli 2y ago
  I think the issue with computer (and console) RPGs is that they tend to have a very rigid goal state which leads players to want to optimize. Game systems that are more open-ended on the character development front can then suffer from “first order optimal” strategies: players experiment a bit until they find one thing that works well and then never deviate from it. Class-based systems, on the other hand, at least break up the FOO strategies into a few separate lanes which give players multiple opportunities to try different things. I think in general, open-ended systems suffer when they present the player with too many options all at once and it’s hard to design an open-ended system which doesn’t do this. When players are overwhelmed with options they tend to go into “analysis paralysis” mode which can be a frustrating enough experience that they prefer to use a FOO strategy over revisiting that zone of complexity and confusion.