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As a gamer that spends most of his leisure time playing RPGs, there's a game mechanic that I run into so very often, but it irks me every time I realize that it happens.
I hate getting currency from killing monsters.
I'm not talking about picking up items from beasts that I slay, and then selling them for profit. That makes complete sense to me. I'm sure someone needed that eggbear claw for some necklace. I'm sure that owlkin feathers would be wonderfully luxurious inside of a pillow. And a Cactaur should be able to provide a whole sweatshop's worth of sewing needles.
I can't, however, understand why all of these monsters are carrying around cash. Like there's somewhere that they can use it for. Or as if they actually knew of their value, and took to robbing people for it.
I understand that there's supposed to be a suspension of disbelief regarding this game mechanic. I need cash to progress through the game, and I am going to be fighting monsters for the majority of the game. Therefore, the solution is to give cash to the monsters to drop for us to pick up. It's simple and convenient. It just doesn't make sense.
Playing
Tales of Vesperia, killing random beasts to get money was normal, just like most JRPGs. And then they go and give you a figurine that gives you
more money when you kill enemies. As if waving this little doll in front of the wolf I am fighting will make him go home, pick up double the cash he was carrying, then drop it when I cut him up. It just doesn't make
sense.
Back when I played
World of Warcraft, I liked that killing humanoid enemies got me cash, while the beasts mostly gave me organs and nick-nacks that I had to bring back and sell to townsfolk. And then I fight Onyxia, and she drops gold coins for me. Thanks. I'm sorry I interrupted your trip to the armory. You could have used better gear when you fought me.
I enjoyed how you got money in
Etrian Odyssey. My guild had to venture down into the depths of these mysterious ruins and bring back supplies that the town merchant could use. He'd give me good cash for these items, and I would use this to buy better equipment from him to get him more materials. I also got the opportunity to do assignments for people in town for money as well. This gave me a clear picture on
how I was acquiring this money. It wasn't magic monster money. It was money I was working for. However, I know that getting money this way is frustrating for many people (especially with limited inventory slots).
That's why my favorite currency distribution method is from
EarthBound. Being a JRPG that bucked many of the trends that defined JRPGs, it was set in a modern world in 199X. Clearly, killing dogs and crows to get money wouldn't make sense considering that this was a world based on ours. So all they did was create a middle-man between you, and the money that you got for killing random monsters. Ness' dad would deposit money into his bank account each time he defeated a foe. To access this money, you had to find an ATM to withdraw your cash (or deposit some too, if you so chose). It even had the occasional banking fee when you took out some money!
It was one of the greatest things I had ever seen in a role playing game. The money that I got wasn't difficult and inconvenient to obtain, but at the same time, how I got this money made sense. And that's something that I truly appreciate when I play an RPG. It's these little touches that pull me into the game's world.
I love role playing games to death, but there are just some things that just bug me about the genre. Yeah, I get that I need some yen, but how did these shadow-monsters from inside of a television come across it?
Contest:
3:00 PM on 10.04.2009 | 
Makes me want to quote the movie Swingers every time I kill a slime now -- "You're so money, and you don't even know it!"
Though I'll put up with it if I have to, really...
Nice blog... and I do agree that it's a very over-used mechanism that could be replaced with something that doesn't require rationalization! (especially when you kill a little critter and it was apparently hiding an entire suit of armour!)
EarthBound played a bit with this mechanic, but I want to say that it also raised a bit of confusion as on how was the relation of killing an enemy and getting... paid... oh my God, Ness is a hitman!
probably a way to make these things clearer would be if you also had a role as merchant and got leather or actual parts from the monsters to sell them later for some fine gold. Even if it would make a bigger task it would make much more sense and also could make grinding more credible and addictive instead of choring.
I liked the idea that the Fable universe runs off of, wherein adventuring is cool for experience and all, but you've got to provide or deal in services to acquire gold. It ended up being a very broken execution, considering how easy the accumulation of wealth actually is in that game (and considering you can sell your collector's edition bonuses for phat seed money). But I think a separation of loot, cash and experience in general could lead to some compelling experiences.
This is why, despite buying every Nintendo console, Nintendo has failed me ever since the SNES. :(
Also: in Xenogears the only enemies that dropped money were humans and mechs. Random monsters dropped teeth and pelts that could be sold for cash.
Also also: The Sephira statue from the Tales games makes you "lucky"; that's why the enemies you kill while equipped with it carry more money.
Haha.
Also, Golden Golem from DQ can drop gold.
Question: is that an actual location in EarthBound, or is it a hack? That awesome game still hasn't been released over here yet. :(
One of the best examples is the Fallout series, you go wandering around in the Wasteland and find abandoned buildings where you can findo items that then will be selled to merchants.
Also, reading anything about Earthbound makes me smile.
Not to say that it's a bad game, cuz it's not. Just that it's a bad example of stuff that makes sense. Sorta... I guess...
What?
I just grab the cash and go buy a bigger sword!
After one encounter with a wolf who drops the contents of a gem mine and small armoury, the narrator decides that it's not going to work like that any more (much to the ire of the main character) and afterwards you only find enemy-applicable drops (such as wolf pelts, picnic baskets and red capes for wolves). However, to avoid the tedious "trek back to the shop because my inventory is full" mechanic, anything you find is shown to you (on the right of the screen), then instantly sold for cash, without you even pressing a button :V
That's not even the best thing in the game.
Fallout3 however is a bit more 'realisitc' in that the only thing you can get off a dead creature is meat and the occasional organic item (poison-glands) etc.
I love videogame logic.
That's just how I am.
OH SH-... AP ENGLISH HAS TAUGHT ME NOTHING
Now I have some semblance of an answer. Great work.
Onimusha has a cool system where you can pick up gold, but it's not really worth useful stuff. You buy little tidbits and trade with people for restorative items. That's pretty cool.
I wish MY parents would give me money for beating down people, instead of calling the mental institute :(
Oh well, gotta go, it's time for my meds!!