I really couldn't care less about crafting in video games. Anyone else feel the same way?

[Senare]

(Opening post)

Fair enough. But what about it makes you cringe? Is it the tedious gathering, polishing arbitrary skill points, the set-in-stone recipes, the illusion of creativity, the distraction from DRAGONZ!1 or the very concept of being a craftsman?

Say that crafting was not done by the player character, but by craftsmen NPCs. If you wanted to craft something you simply made a special order where you got to specify customized parts on the item ordered and deciding its look. It got a few bonuses based on what qualities you demanded, how much extra you were willing to pay and the skill of the craftsman you hired, but you would not have to do any gathering or levelling at all.
Would that still sound awful? If it does, then what parts do you still dislike?

 

[WanderingFool]

I like the idea of crafting, I just wish I had some actual control over what i make.

Taking Skyrim for example, I wish I could make the Ebony Dagger design with glass material.

Slightly off topic, anyone know of a Skyrim mod that allows that?

 

[Psychobabble]

I really couldn't care less that you couldn't care less about crafting in video games. As I'm sure you couldn't care less that I couldn't care less that you couldn't care less about crafting in video games.

 

[yuz]

Crafting can give a purpose to other parts of a game. Why hunt an animal for its hides if there were no use for the hides?

The whaling in the new assassin's creed is a good example. It's a new, interesting and fun(ish) part of the game but it would feel totally pointless without crafting.

I agree that the crafting itself is usually poorly done though, but I can't think of a way to make it different.

 

[Dimitriov]

Crafting is frequently the best part of RPG's. I find your opinion very strange OP.

 

[littlealicewhite]

Nope. I feel the exact opposite. I hate it when I can't make my own potions/equipment in a game. And I love the shit out of Minecraft.

Ah, well. Different strokes and all that.

 

[Mr C]

I must admit to feeling like the OP, but I don't have the strength to walk past mushrooms in Elder Scrolls. How do you do it? I'll craft for necessity or because I'm an achievement whore, but mostly meh!

 

[garjian]

I started up a new Skyrim campaign recently, and I found myself (for the first time) not harvesting any ingredients. Just walked right on by all the flowers. Then I reached the first town and decided a free dagger and helmet weren't reason enough to help the blacksmith with his day job. By the time I found my first magic item (and promptly sold it rather than saving it for disenchanting), I'd decided something: I wasn't going to use any trade skills.

Not because they're overpowered. Not because I'd already been there and done that. Because I don't find crafting shit in video games fun. At all.

I don't like crafting much either for the most part. You never have what you need and particularly in Skyrim, holding on to the materials for later either involves sacrificing future loot and irritating inventory management, or manage a bunch of chests in a house.
However, what makes it a lot more interesting is downloading a thousand-million weapon mods, almost all of which are only obtainable by smithing or the console. Each perk gives you a plethora of new weapons and designs...
But even with that incentive, I still pretty much negate it by just giving myself the ingredients via the console.

It can be done well though... Terraria (on the console at least) is probably is probably one of the only enjoyable instances of crafting I've come across, as you make giant leaps forward often through crafting a single item... and the inventory system isn't so bad it makes it frustrating to do so.

 

[FrozenLaughs]

I like the idea of crafting, I just wish I had some actual control over what i make.

Taking Skyrim for example, I wish I could make the Ebony Dagger design with glass material.

Slightly off topic, anyone know of a Skyrim mod that allows that?

Doesn't Tamriel Armory?

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

No.

For the most part I play games like Skyrim because I want to fiddle around with crafting and mixing random crap together to make potions. If I burn myself out on that I'll switch to a RNG equipment ARPG like Torchlight 2 or Grim Dawn.

I often find it is better to properly roll-play in crafting games, for example when I started playing Skyrim it was obvious that Iron daggers were the best way to level your smithing skill but I made jewellery instead. I also ended up going on long treks to find the right ores which were a good way to explore the world.

TL,DR: You may not like it OP but there are others that do.

 

[tangoprime]

No.

For the most part I play games like Skyrim because I want to fiddle around with crafting and mixing random crap together to make potions. If I burn myself out on that I'll switch to a RNG equipment ARPG like Torchlight 2 or Grim Dawn.

I often find it is better to properly roll-play in crafting games, for example when I started playing Skyrim it was obvious that Iron daggers were the best way to level your smithing skill but I made jewellery instead. I also ended up going on long treks to find the right ores which were a good way to explore the world.

TL,DR: You may not like it OP but there are others that do.

Agreed. Sorry OP, but it adds a lot to the game when it's done right. I enjoyed the crafting system in Skyrim, I enjoyed being self sufficient with my characters in SWTOR, and I LOVED being able to reload my own ammunition in Fallout: NV, especially since shooting is a hobby IRL, and the reloading equipment used in NV looked really similar to my Lee Precision setup. I loved being able to reprocess all the unneeded ammunition types I didn't use into a couple common caliburs that I used- also making me play realistically by maintaining and upgrading weapons with a common ammunition. It really added to the survival atmosphere. I really wish the same system was used in STALKER.

 

[AntiChri5]

It depends on the game.

I love the crafting in Skyrim because of the role playing potential it brings to the table. With good enough smithing, the base level of an item is irrelevant. You can enhance the worst gear in the game to the point that it competes with the best. So you can use whatever fits your character/you like best. Plus being able to name weapons and armour is always fun.

 

[Drummodino]

As someone who played a lot of Minecraft and Feed the Beast - I love crafting. Some of the mods in FTB are freaking crazy with their recipes, machinery and mechanics. Mods like thaumcraft encourage experimentation, throwing ingredients together to find and record recipes for items which you can make. Industrialcraft and Buildcraft type mods give you the power to create fantastic machines and tools. The really high tier stuff requires a lot of time and resources which I loved - they extended the middle and late game a hell of a lot.

I like the crafting in Skyrim and similar games too. The idea of custom gear really appeals to me, it feels a lot more personal than just picking stuff up of a monsters corpse.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

For me there needs to be a certain level of customization with the items the game provides, but when it starts to get more into the "Collect 15 X, 10 Y, 4 Z, and 7 G" before I can build a part to enhance an item I lose interest. The KOTOR series got it about right in the second game. Just give me a generic pool of "parts" that I can use to create enhancers and I'm okay with that level.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Depends on my mood. I didn't really like crafting in skyrim either until I modded the game to make my weight limit a non-issue, thus allowing me to collect at my leisure while exploring.

My current mood is crafting frenzy though. I'm participating in the Starbound Beta and playing Rune Factory 4(I've leveled up my crafting skills so far that I'm seeing recipes that require items I get much further in the game. I can't tell if it a crappy element to the system or a neat way to prod me further into the story to get them).

[small]So I need platinum,dragon's teeth, thunderbird's feather, propeller... Why the fuck do I need a propeller?![/small]

 

[Phantom Kat]

I think the only crafting systems I don't like are WoW's and GW2's. WoW's because obtaining everything you need to level it up is beyond a chore and GW2's because the discovery system is an annoying waste of time that just detracts from my enjoyment of the game.

I like crafting systems where I can make something useful without unnecessary crap wasting my time (I'm looking at you GW2). I guess I like my crafting to be practical.

 

[w9496]

I think were Skyrim failed was in customization. Why can't you change color schemes or set precious stones and shit into the weapons and armor you craft? Why doesn't this stuff degrade over time? You could only craft non-unique, non-customized gear which just made it boring after you fourth set of armor made up entirely of dragons.

I'm not a fan of the concept overall, but I admit that it can be fun. The combo cards in Dead Rising 2 were fun as hell once you figure out the crazy ones.

 

[moggett88]

snip

My opinion is as extreme as yours, just diametrically opposed - I think if we're given the option of crafting, we should actually have to craft.

At the moment, what we have is buying stuff at a shop with money, or buying stuff at an anvil with iron bars. It's still just shopping, only the shop only accepts Disney money. I think some of the glorious power of next gen systems should go into a realistic crafting system.

Lets say you want to make a leather helmet. First you hunt a deer. Then, rather than just telepathically yoinking its' skin, meat and organs, you play some kind of Surgeon Simulator game where you take your hunting knife and peel the skin off the meat, then portion the meat off the bones. You can stop whenever you feel you have enough, either being a "use everything" guy like the Native Americans, or a "just the buffalo tongue please" cowboy.

Then, you take the skin to a tanning rack and leave it to cure for a couple of in game days. When you come back, it's ready to work, so you take it to a tool bench. You lay it flat, draw on the shapes that will make up your helmet (either doing it from memory or working from a blueprint), then cut free the pieces you want. Then you take it over to a mannequin and stitch/glue the pieces into your helmet.

Once you're done, either you've done it well and the helmet is far superior to anything that idiot shop keeper is peddling, or you've screwed up one of the steps and the helmet fits poorly (and so has lower defense/a health penalty). People with a strong stomach and teh skillz get an armour upgrade, vegetarians get standard armour and idiots end up wasting their time making crappy armour.

 

[Auberon]

Personally I feel somewhat indifferent when it comes to Skyrim crafting. I approach smithing with the idea that I need that perk to improve my (current) set of Ebony swords, in order to keep up with scaling enemies. Especially as a dual wielder, since I don't have that parrying mod.

I really don't bother with alchemy, but mostly because magicka regenerates overtime unlike Morrowind - which makes potions less essential for survival. Other reason is the stationary location, instead of carrying around a mortar and pestle. Enchanting I don't do much since the magnitude just sucks.