Martin Klima, co-founder of Warhorse Studios, the developer behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance, has expressed frustration with the persistent tropes found in many modern role-playing games. In an interview with PC Gamer, Klima stated that he is "tired of all the RPGs where you are this chosen one" and that the genre is "still games for teenagers."
Klima's critique centers on what he perceives as an overreliance on straightforward power fantasies, where players are tasked with saving the universe. He believes this formula has become repetitive and that a significant portion of the RPG audience has moved beyond it. "I play a lot of RPGs, it's a genre I really like," Klima said. "I was really and I still am bored and tired of all the RPGs when you are this chosen one, when you have this grand task of saving the universe .. The games that are these really straightforward power fantasies. It's not that I think it's somehow wrong in principle. There is nothing bad about a good power fantasy. It's just, it's so repetitive."
He drew a parallel between these common RPG structures and the satirical idle game Progress Quest, which parodied the time-consuming nature of older MMORPGs. Klima suggested that this repetition indicates a demand for new and different experiences within the genre. "So I found that there must be many, many people who are really tired of this formula and who want something new and different," he stated, explaining that this sentiment was a foundational inspiration for Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
Despite the passage of time since Kingdom Come: Deliverance's release, Klima feels the industry has not significantly evolved its approach to RPG design. "The games that were and sort of are being made are still the games for teenagers," he remarked. "If you are 16, 17, you love playing these power fantasy games because it's something that you need. But the audience is much older today."
Klima attributes this stagnation partly to publishers' risk aversion and their tendency to "recycle the same formula over and over." He cited games from Ubisoft, such as the original iterations of Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Watch Dogs, as examples of franchises that, while initially engaging, can become stale with repeated formulas. "I played the original Assassin's Creed, and the original Far Cry, and the original Watch Dogs, and most of these games in the first iterations, and it was fun. But once you play the same game for the 10th time, it sort of becomes stale."
While acknowledging the high production values and polish of games from studios like Ubisoft – noting their "beautiful animations, beautiful models" and general bug-free experience – Klima suggested that this craftsmanship could be better applied to more innovative titles. However, he also recognized the financial pressures and risks involved in such experimentation for large-scale franchises, admitting, "I appreciate the dilemma that they have, and I don't have any easy answers for it."