LunarLoony

There’s a trend in games lately (and by that, I mean since about 2014 or so), and that is the Skill Tree. It’s meant to represent your character learning new… er, skills… as the game progresses. Nothing new to games as such – RPGs have had them since before RPGs were video games, and they’ve also sort of had a place in strategy games in the form of tech trees.

The wisest men follow their own direction.

Some Guy

Skill trees do have their issues, of course. Like in Fallout, where you can somehow become more skilled in Big Guns despite never holding a rocket launcher in your life.

What I’m referring to specifically is the modern Action Game With RPG Elements – those RPG elements typically being a Skill Tree. Lots of games have ’em, from the varied trees in Payday 2 to the relatively benign levelling system in Donkey Kong Bananza.

Notice they don't tell you to turn it back on.

Thing is, if you go back and play Donkey Kong 64, you’ll note that there are no skill trees. But there are still skills! Instead of going to a menu and nebulously purchasing a skill whenever you want, you have to go and visit Cranky or Funky or someone else and get the skills from them.

I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man's. I will not reason and compare; my business is to create.

The Other Guy

This makes a lot more sense in the context of the game, and more than that, I think it’s more fun and immersive when you’re not kicked out to a menu every time. It feels more like you’re playing as the character, not managing them.

Anyway, all this still doesn’t answer the biggest question about skill trees… what happens to your skills between games??