Can’t believe this is the first time I hear the expression “Wernher von Braun club”, fantastic.

Queijo

“With Copilot, creating issues…is now faster and easier,”

I mean, yea, they’re not wrong

Not all games use that type of system. Masks, for example, along with a few other PbtAs give players Exp/Potential when they fail a roll. That’s an incentive for trying riskier actions, as well as not power-gaming and only use the attributes/labels you excel at since failure has its own reward - besides being fun.

When you’re trying to think about how to distribute/grant exp, its not just about how characters are growing, but also why. Sure, you can have that TES-like system where you need to train Lockpicking, but how many opportunities will a GM have to present enough situations where a player can lockpick for Exp? Imagine every time someone played Skyrim and forged a hundred daggers because they needed to level up blacksmithing and how that would translate to a ttrpg (or not, since its a particularly bad system by itself)

I believe RPGs often benefit from narrative exp, and to use your Burglar example, they could have exp triggers that involve deception, forgery, stealing, etc. So whenever they lie to someone for self-profit, use their skills for ill gain, steal without clear necessity and such, they’d gain Burglar exp, and eventually perfect those moves or learn new ones.

It was an interesting game. Came out at a time we were going through a bit of a fast paced FPS drought and was one of the - relatively - big name reboots, but curiously one that didn’t have a lasting impact. I had fun at the time, even with the comically awful fall damage (dashing and dying from going down the stairs was equal parts frustrating and hilarious), and hold no nostalgia for the old games. There were fun guns and cool enemies to kill, as well as a story that landed with one of my favorite bittersweet endings.

At the end of the day, I think “enjoyable” would be my final mark; save for the big, busy arenas during the final levels, the game didn’t feel as high octane or thrilling as future releases like DOOM and Titanfall 2, and from the little that I played of the first sequel they really lost their way.