Video Game Fables is inspired by some of the absolute best turn-based RPGs, including titles from the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy franchises. However, the creator of the game wanted to offer players something new, unique, and ultimately better in terms of combat mechanics than what the classics have to offer. This would keep players engaged while battling instead of pressing on a pre-determined pattern of their favorite power moves.
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Video Game Fables and Critical Hits
The first major change Sharp implemented to make Video Game Fables different from a traditional turn-based RPG was to revamp the critical hits. Almost every RPG handles critical hits similarly. Whenever a character hits an opponent or uses a skill, there’s a small chance to create a more powerful version of that attack. Often this chance is diminishingly small by design, although perhaps enhanceable with gear like in Genshin Impact. However, instead of this tiny chance to score a critical hit, Video Game Fables provides frequent critical strikes that instead work like a resource. Sharp wanted to make this dopamine-hit-inducing machinery work harder.
In Video Game Fables, critical hits are issued by each character’s basic attacks at the approximate rate of 40%. On average, every two or three basic attacks is granted a satisfying CRIT graphic and an appropriate sound effect. Also, Video Game Fables’ critical hits do not provide any additional damage instantly. Instead, the character responsible for the CRIT gains a resource that is stored for later use. Only one of these CRIT resources is stored as a marker for each character, which encourages use before using another basic attack. According to Sharp, he considers the feature like a mini version of Final Fantasy’s Limit Break. The critical hit makes the next non-basic skills of the character more powerful. This isn’t always a straightforward boost to effectiveness either. While an attack skill might gain more damage, a haste skill could target the whole party, instead of a single target.
Round Timer in Video Game Fables Isn’t Punitive
The second major improvement in Video Game Fables over classic turn-based role-playing games like Shin Megami Tensei is a more encouraging round-timer. A timer to hold players to a certain pace isn’t anything new, but the way Sharp implemented it matters. Instead of a standard round timer that requires the player to use their abilities and skills during a specific time frame, Video Game Fables encourages players to perform their skills earlier and get rewarded for their fast thinking.
According to Sharp, the feature was created both for better accessibility and to improve combat. He recognized that some of the hardest RPGs ever released are too hard for a casual player, but didn’t want the game to be without a challenge. Not punishing a player after the timer has run out lowers the barrier to entry, while allowing bonuses for players planning ahead and thinking on their feet, which makes the battle more intense and rewarding. The timer has different color-coded phases, and the best reaction time - hitting the green slice of the pie - can improve the effectivity of the ability by 20% over running out of time.
Sharp’s aim with the combat was to repair some age-old problems with RPGs. Issues like poison damage nearly always being much less viable than other forms of elemental damage and weakness of other status effects bothered him. While the game is not the only RPG with a unique poison system, it is most certainly in the minority. That’s why he spent a lot of time focusing on the underlying calculations and formulas to make sure the game’s balance was up to par. Poison deals more damage if it runs its course, and buffs and debuffs are very effective, even topping the best round-timer bonus. Through these changes, Sharp managed to make the game not only more challenging but more fun to play.
Video Game Fables is available now on PC.
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