Closed class is obviously more restrictive in terms of character customization (everyone that picks a certain class ends up with a very similar character) but I think it lends itself a lot more to replayability. I played through Skyrim once. I loved it and played a lot of hours, but I have no desire to play again. I maxed out all of the skills I was interested in, I did every quest (evil and good). I suppose I could choose different story options, but I'm not as into story as some.
I played Neverwinter nights 1 and 2 about 40 times each. This was due to the crazy number of classes (and then prestige classes) and I wanted to try them all.
With distinct classes, I want to play through the game as many times as there are classes. I think if you decide to leave the entire skill tree open (no classes) you should pace the game (or level cap) at a point where the average player can only obtain about 20% of the entire tree. This will allow them to replay the game with a completely different skill set a few times.
Also, allowing the player to max out almost everything in a tree takes away a lot of the strategy of skill selection. A player should have to think very carefully about which skill to choose as they know they won't be able to have them all during that play through.
What are the pros and cons of class based and open class RPG in game design and the ways to design open class RPG?
You should look at the system in Path of Exile for a good middle-ground example. It has defined classes, but those really just define the character's starting point. They have a huge, complicated passive skill tree that all characters share. The different classes just start at different points on the tree. This makes it easy for a class to specialize in its strengths, but you can also branch out and get to any point on the tree if you invest enough skill points.
I like a college like system better. Course that a person take are like skills, and those that meet the major requirements are like class skills. Those that don't meet the major requirements are cross-class skills. In essence, class is also flexible, and that a player should even have the capacity to change class at will. Of course, like college, people could attain multiple degrees; to reference that, players should also be able to multi-class.
This link shows other people's view and discussion about classes and skills:
www.eldergame.com/2011/01/classes-vs-open-skill-systems/
In the end, most system are somewhat of a hybrid between the two extreme. Locked class, partially locked skill are the typical.
This link shows other people's view and discussion about classes and skills:
www.eldergame.com/2011/01/classes-vs-open-skill-systems/
In the end, most system are somewhat of a hybrid between the two extreme. Locked class, partially locked skill are the typical.
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