Mar 20

Mar 20 Turn-Based Combat Suits My Busy Life

As someone that has never played D&D, what is a Baldur? And what’s up with his gate?

When news broke from PAX East that the much anticipated Baulder’s Gate 3 was going to have turn-based combat, people were divided. Whilst some enjoy the nostalgia of taking control of each nuance of a fight, a lot of people prefer the move that Final Fantasy VII Remake has taken in creating a hybrid system, blending turn-based staples like party and skill management with modern combat twists like frantic button combinations and reactive dodging. Polls were put up by huge outlets, like PC Gamer, showing we couldn’t decide what we wanted from a modern Baulder’s Gate. This got me thinking about myself and where I am in my life, and how thankful I am that, in this ever busy and frantic world, people still make games that give me time to think.

I grew up in the late 90s, and like most 90s kids I was obsessed with Pokémon. The adorable little sprites became the pseudo-pets that I loved, looked after, and threw into horrifying fights from their tiny metal ball prisons for money. The simple turn-based combat allowed for my still-developing brain to process my next move and never feel too overwhelmed. As I started to grow up, especially in that teenage interlude when I felt I was “too cool” for Pokémon, I wanted all of my games to be the exact opposite. I’d throw myself at games that required twitch controls, a mastery of timing and button combinations, and aim. I believed, in my heart of hearts, that this was “true gaming”; turn-based combat was for kids and weirdos.

But, as I’ve gotten older, I soon started to change my tone.

Gone are the days of trying to completing every level at S-rank in a Devil May Cry game, or throwing my controller into the nearest river whilst playing Ninja Gaiden. I now had responsibilities. As I moved away from my family home, suddenly things that I assumed “magically” did themselves were suddenly piling up around me. My clothes didn’t get instantly washed, my food didn’t magically appear, I had bills to pay. It was madness!*

*(Actually, it was a complete failure on my part in assuming that a parent, specifically my mum, would do the housework. This was a horrendously patriarchal and privileged mindset which I am not proud of and have made active efforts to change in the interests of having an equal partnership with my wife. But for the sake of levity, let’s stick with “magic”).

Nowadays, when I do have time to sit down with a game, my attention could be interrupted by household responsibilities or the doorbell ringing with a delivery. Of course, I could simply pause the game and come back to it, but I’m at the age where I walk into rooms and forget why I went in there. Coming back to a paused game after a protracted break leaves me equally confused: why am I here? What was I doing? What is that giant metal thing being hurled into my face? Unpausing almost always leads to me being ground into a fine powder.

Enter turn-based combat. Modern marvels like Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Persona 5 move their combat beyond the basics of Pokémon and into a place that requires considerable skill. A turn-based game is more like a game of chess, in that every move can be countered and reacted to if misplaced. For example, placing a soldier one square too far in XCOM could alert enemy aliens to your location, thus spelling certain death. A turn-based game engages your mind, unlike any other video game combat. When I play a “Souls” game, the combat is twitchy and difficult, but it ultimately boils down to evading and striking (this doesn’t stop me being terrible at it though). When I play something like Divinity: Original Sin, I have to position characters in optimal locations, wait for the perfect moment and cascade attacks into a beautiful cacophony of violence. Turn-based combat always leaves me feeling like a genius when my best-laid plans click together perfectly whilst never letting me feel deflated when it all goes wrong, as my mistakes boil down to tactical error, not my calamitous reflexes.

Ah yes, this what I want on my TV for several hours while I pop out.

However, the biggest draw for turn-based combat in my life now is in the space it allows you to breathe, take time to think and time to do other things. I could be in the middle of a battle against pirates with the Black Eagle Strike Force in Fire Emblem and take a 20-minute pause to hoover. I’ll come back and I am still in the exact same spot, with time to re-remember what I was doing. If I find myself having to leave the house to go shopping in the middle of a boss battle with The Phantom Thieves in Persona 5, I can leave the PS4 for 3 hours and come back to find myself not being tea-bagged that perverted gym teacher. These games do not judge me for having responsibilities outside of them. They do not demand my complete attention. They don't punish me for living my life. Turn-based games give me the freedom to engage them in a direction and pace that suits me.

As I get older, my responsibilities will only grow. I will eventually have children which I know will be a magical and life-changing experience, but children are also all-consuming and have no concept of your personal time and space. They will constantly demand attention, inadvertently get in peril if you’re not watching and poop on you when you least expect it. This will stretch my already lacking cognition to a whole new and beautiful level. I am thankful, then, that developers are still putting their trust in this reliable combat format, ensuring my capacity to continue doing the thing I love for many years to come, while also having the space and time to devote to the things that really matter in life.