LOL.. there is strategy in baseball, but just like magic, the 'better' team is often the one with the money to grab the best players, so it's not exactly fair or exciting. Then come price caps, trying to regulate it all. If baseball was left unfettered, I think things would be more interesting. Extremely unbalanced teams going at it... you can cheer for the underdog! Anyways, I don't really like baseball that much.
Pep most turn based games basically go to the person with the better cards/characters that’s just the way it is. In most cases no amount of skill or strategy can beat some tuity fruity rich kid that has the best characters and has a slightly above average skill level.
Is white always going to beat black at chess? Is there a determinable edge? Everyone starts as equals in most games, though turn order can bias ones chances right off... so I can agree in part, but turn based games are not exclusively vulnerable to the rich kid element as you seem to suggest. Or is it just that you don't like turn based games for some other reason?
I have a grudge against MMORPG's in the same way that the rich kid element comes into play. But it's also clearly the fault of the designers. Many games out there have subscriptions, and you must keep your subscription paid to keep your account alive, and the more you play, typically the greater an edge you have over new players. It's a deviously good business model, but it isn't always fair, and I think it comes at the price of strategy gameplay.
I'm not saying MMORPG's can't be good, or have strategic elements. If they weren't good, people wouldnt play them. They have to be a little bit more than online chat tool! Any multiplayer online game will allow for inherent strategy and disparity because no two players are exactly alike. But, there are faults or bugs in games that allow opportunistic players to take advantage of the game in ways the creators didn't foresee. When a game has more unintentional strategic opportunities than intentional in-game strategic opportunities, the game is more susceptible to cheating.
The most simple and direct solution for eliminating crowding and a lack of diversity which comes from narrow play choices in games is simulation. And I am a big fan of simulation. When a game developer tries to balance races and classes, they're doing a disservice to the simulated environment. When a game is developed to allow for opportunities inside the play environment, gameplay can be much more rewarding. FPS games are highly Sim-oriented, but they're simple enough that character balancing is acceptable.
FFTA was good, but short.
