Lunchtime Discussion: Classes

For those of our readers who are still young enough to be studying, don’t worry this isn’t about those kind of classes. I’ve only just escaped that age myself (and may soon be returning) so I fully appreciate the horror that can become coupled with the word class. No, obvious misconception used for poor humour aside, today we’re going to be talking about the uses of classes in games, from RPGs to the raft of class based shooters that now seem to flood the market.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that RPGs really don’t appeal to me. For a start I don’t tend to game all that frequently any more, a style that doesn’t lend itself to the length of most modern RPGs. Secondly I just don’t have the attention span. Once upon a time, when I was younger and my time was still my own, I did play Final Fantasy VII, but I could only get as far as the end of the first disk. Pretty much as soon as the change disk prompt came up I gave up on it and turned to a game where I could shoot my younger brother instead.

Now this isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate what RPGs have given us, although they took it on from their pen and paper originators, a style of RPG I’m actually more prone to enjoying. The balanced system of mages, healers and warriors that originated in RPG titles has slowly spread into other games other the years, now even entering into titles like Command and Conquer where you wouldn’t expect it to work.

For me though, the class based system really started to take off when I played Battlefield 2, which is still one of the best shooters available in my opinion. I used to play a lot of the Sniper and Anti-Tank classes, because who doesn’t like sniper rifles and rockets? There may have been earlier class based shooters, but it was certainly the first that I’d played that bought them in from RPGs, as well as borrowing the levelling system from the same. Whilst people seemed to be amazed by the persistence in Modern Warfare et al. the Battlefield series had it all years before.

So I’ve talked about my preference for classes in shooters, although I will admit they do work a little better in RPGs. I also talked about rifles and rockets, so it’s time to move onto you. What style of game do you like classes in? What genres would benefit by having them added? What classes do you play? Should other genres borrow RPG classes like mage?

NOTE: Today’s discussion was spawned by me looking at a hat, my mind makes connections in odd ways.