I recently started playing Far Cry 3 to see what all the hype surrounding the game was about. The game took some getting used to, since the first-person shooter genre is still very new to me, but there's one mechanic in this game that I'm very familiar with, the skill tree. However, I this mechanic wasn't the right choice for this particular game.



Many modern games incorporate some RPG elements to offer players with more customization to manipulate and shape character attributes as they see fit. It's become quite common in games to allow players to create any type of character they want. Usually, it's done through the distribution of experience and skill points. The skill tree you see in the pause menu is an example of the uninspired effort used by developers to bring over elements of the RPG into other types of games. This mechanic enables players to grow their characters. Normally, combining components of various gaming genres isn't a bad thing, if done well, it can enhance the game significantly. However, it seems that whenever RPG mechanics are transposed into other genres, they just don't fit right.

This fusion of genre mechanics is a shallow attempt to improve player investment in a story and its characters. It's weak because the action genre is inherently and greatly different from RPGs. Action games of all types are based on concrete ideas (like gaining access into an enemy camp), whereas RPGs deal more with the abstract; numbers and probabilities dominate these kinds of games. An action game tests a player's ability to cope with and overcome challenges using their skills and in-game resources. On the other hand, RPGs are slower paced and concern themselves more with the prospect of achieving a certain outcome. Experience points are used to balance the odds or tip the scale in the player's favor during an enemy encounter. These upgrades are a part of a number's game that are the keys to progress. On the other hand, a shooter puts the emphasis on trial and error, skill, and reaction time for successfully advancement.


In any other game, upgrade systems are incentivized and pad out gameplay time. They are ultimately unnecessary to the player or the game, but merely their presence makes you feel as though you need them. These upgrades are totally arbitrary, but something about them is very appealing to players. The presence of these upgrades validate the desire to unlock them even if they are meaningless or do little to improve the character. It's quite possible to play a game without even paying attention to a skill tree, but eventually, players typically spend experience on character upgrades, these proverbial carrots dangled in front of them.

The tattoos of Far Cry 3 are a perfect example of creating an incentive to upgrade the player character. While it is possible to complete the game without using the skill tree, the tattoos just look so darn cool and you kind of want to complete that sleeve of tribal designs.  Aside from being completely superficial and arbitrary, these upgrades work counter-intuitively. Conventional game design is structured around difficulty progression; earlier parts of the game are meant to be easier than the final moments. However, with total exploitation of a skill tree, the difficulty curve is completely flattened and the end-game enemies are typically no match for a fully buffed character.


Upgrade systems have become ubiquitous and many, if not most, of today's games use them. This is likely going to become the norm with future games, and I can accept it, but don't quite like it. If a game must have an upgrade system, it should avoid the clunky flow chart approach and opt for contextual or plot-based character progression. This system wouldn't feel out of place or cumbersome like the current utilization of skill trees. Players could still shape their characters to their liking, but it could be achieved more appropriately by rewarding continued use of certain weapons or techniques. This method is more similar to real life adaptation. As someone is exposed to something, they naturally adapt and become more proficient with an item or a skill. Similarly, a character who uses specific weapons will level up with those pieces of equipment. If it's plot-based characters will grow as they gain access to new resources. Alas, the current trend in gaming is to hold player agency as paramount; people want games to reflect their interpretations of characters and situations. Not to mention that "linear" has become a bad word these days.

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