RPG's

[Pop]

RPGs are great because you can play something you are not and be able to travel in a world that is not your own.

[Humodour]

It's all about interactive fiction for me, RPGs just tend to be the best example of this. It used to be adventure games.

 

I agree with this mostly. Although there is a stats/skills element to RPGs which my mathematical side enjoys.

[Magnum Opus]

Huh. Interesting question. Why the heck DO I prefer RPGs?

 

I'd probably have to say "possibility". It's not really about "being someone else" or "being somewhere else" that appeals to me so much as it's the enabling of those possibilities. FPSs are good for getting the blood pumping and the heart racing, but that's not what I want from a game. I want to relax and sort of open up that side of my brain that I don't get to use all that much otherwise. It's actually pretty similar to a good brainstorming session for me, just coming up with ideas about what's happening, why it's happening, and what might happen because of those outcomes, only it's more directed and the topic of the brainstorming is always shifting.

 

When I'm exploring a world, I'm imagining the things hiding over the ridge up ahead or lurking under the fog of war, in addition to whatever quests brought me out there in the first place: what if it's a dragon? What if it's a basilisk? What if it's a waterfall with a dead cat in it? Possibility. When I encounter a plot element, the revelation itself is good, but what I really like are all of the possibilities that such a revelation opens up. In combat, the "thrill of beating an opponent" is there, certainly, but there's also imagining what I'd do if I were the enemy in this situation, praying to high heaven that the computer isn't thinking the way I am, and then coming up with ideas on how to deal with whatever happens. Puzzles are a more focused form of the phenomenon: there's a limited set of possibilities, defined by the rules of the puzzle, and usually only one or two solutions. Even the bugs I encountered -- and RPGs are certainly the buggiest genre of game out there, even today -- opened up my imagination in that way: what could I do next time to avoid having to reboot? Was it that particular container that was buggy, or was it all of them in this area? What happened to the Windows page file this time? Sooner or later, I'd settle on a workable solution for whatever the problem was, in-game or not, and then... Victory!

 

RPGs were the genre of games that offered the largest number of sets where I could open up my imagination: exploration was there to satisfy the Indiana Jones in me, dialogue with interesting NPCs was there to play to my Freudian side, the stories that I like the most are much more exploratory in nature as well: I like wondering who's sending those assassins after me far, far more than I like knowing my enemy right off the bat.

 

Mystery, possibility, and the resultant imaginative process it sets off in my brain... RPGs offer the most outlets of any genre out there. And that applies to the numbers and rule systems as well. I love finding exploits in games... using them, not so much, since games are balanced well enough that using them invariably sucks all of the challenge out of them for me, but finding them is great fun.

 

The pace of a cRPG is also slower, or at least more varied, which helps out with the relaxation as well as the imaginative sides of the experience for me: I want to relax and to imagine -- not necessarily imagine anything in particular, but just to think about things in a different way and to consider everything that could happen -- and if the game is spamming enemies at me in real-time actiony goodness, there's no time for that.

 

Finally, there's the range of play experiences in CRPGs: I can fight it up if I want to and get a little bit of excitement going, or I can tone it down and go exploring just to see the sights.

 

I suppose I also like the artistry involved: there's a certain... je ne sais quoi involved in setting up an entire world that's meant to stand up on its own, rather than simply having it be there for the sake of the player and the game alone. Not many games have achieved that for me, but for those that did... wow.

 

So yep. In other words, it's entirely mental.

Edited December 11, 2007 by Magnum Opus

[Kaftan Barlast]

Why do I like RPGs? 5 words.

 

CARL GUSTAV RECOILLESS RIFLE, BITCH!

 

 

The Carlf Gustaf is an RCL, you tit!

[Enoch]

Several others have mentioned most of the salient points. Although the general theme of "exploration" needs more explanation. It's not just about exploring all the maps that the developers have drawn up (I did that in BG1, and it was frightfully boring). It's about coming to understand the gameworld as a whole-- the rules, mechanics, history, geopolitics, how my character fits in, etc. It's the process of simultaneously learning more about the gameworld, the storyline, the character-building process, new higher-level abilities, the NPCs, etc. (Note: the lack of mystery in the game mechanics is a main reason why I've gotten very tired of D&D/D20 based game. The point of magic is to be mysterious, dammit, not to be spelled out in detail in appendix III of the game manual!) Other genres have elements of this, but RPGs deliver the whole package.

 

Apart from that, the pace, as Opus mentioned, is a major selling point. I like being able to take time to figure out the best way to survive that hobgoblin ambush, or which suit of armor best fits my character's abilities. In fact, this puzzle-solving/efficiency-calculating element* is pretty key to my enjoyment of RPGs. In PnP games, I'm what has been referred to as a "mad thinker" type player-- I get the most satisfaction out of coming up with a creative, unexpected solution to help the party out of a tough spot (illusionists rule at this). Games that make me think I'm doing this (even though I know that all the possible options are pre-ordained) are very satisfying to me.

 

 

*-- I also enjoy turn-based strategy games for this reason, even though they lack many of the story and character exploration options mentioned above.

[Nick_i_am]

The Carlf Gustaf is an RCL, you tit!

 

What the hell do you think RCL stands for?

[Walsingham]

RCL? Carl Gustav = disposable anti-tank = Raaaagh! BIG SMASH!

[Kaftan Barlast]

The Carl Gustav is a recoilless grenade rifle, technicly not an RPG even though it works similarly. And Wals is thinking about the AT4

[Nick_i_am]

The Carl Gustav is a recoilless grenade rifle, technicly not an RPG even though it works similarly.

 

If we're getting technical, is the 'RPG' the launcher or the projectile itself?

[Tale]

The Carl Gustav is a recoilless grenade rifle, technicly not an RPG even though it works similarly.

 

If we're getting technical, is the 'RPG' the launcher or the projectile itself?

RPG is the entire weapon. It is both launcher and rocket. RCL rounds supposedly more closely resembles conventional artillary shells.

Edited December 11, 2007 by Tale

[The Owner]

RPGs! Great toys! Ammo can become too expensive though.

[Walsingham]

The Carl Gustav is a recoilless grenade rifle, technicly not an RPG even though it works similarly. And Wals is thinking about Natalie Portman, the AT4, and a bikini.

 

fixed

[Tale]

Now Tale is thinking about Natalie Portman in a bikini holding an AT4.

[Walsingham]

Now Tale is thinking about Natalie Portman in a bikini holding an AT4.

 

Who said anything about Natlie Portman wearing the bikini?

 

Also, what colour is the bikini? Answer:

blue

 

[Tale]

I'm a fan of the color purple.

[Humodour]

That's because you enjoy long romantic walks along the beach and sitting for hours staring into your lover's eyes.

[Tale]

That's because you enjoy long romantic walks along the beach and sitting for hours staring into your lover's eyes.

http://xkcd.com/120/

[Big Bottom]

I'm a fan of the color purple.

 

Yes, Oprah Winfrey was quite good in it.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

I like story in RPG's... but the only it can possibly get me hooked is with an "epic" feel and a great soundtrack.

 

Also, the idea of creating your own character and choosing WHAT you do is always fun.

 

EDIT: Oh, and it also needs to have lesbian sex scenes.

 

EDIT2: And boobies.

Edited December 12, 2007 by WILL THE ALMIGHTY

[SteveThaiBinh]

I usually enjoy the romance elements of RPGs, whether fully-developed or only hinted at. It's a logical consequence of games that, at their best, have very good characterisation and are long enough (at 50+ hours) for relationships to develop.

[Dark_Raven]

Romances? The only RPG romances I can think of is in BG2. Kotors were pretty poor as well as NWN2.

[Humodour]

Romances? The only RPG romances I can think of is in BG2. Kotors were pretty poor as well as NWN2.

 

Planescape: Torment had the best romances of RPGs so far (they were subtle, though). But then, I don't suppose you'd know that, right?

 

I wasn't even aware KOTOR1 had romances. KOTOR2's could have been good but they were as buggy and unfinished as the rest of the game. BG2's romances... well I guess there's kind of something for everyone? LOL except girls who just had Enema.

[Xard]

eh, K2 and PS:T has best romances so far.

[Humodour]

They just didn't feel complete to me, so I find it hard to describe them as anything other than "good" (KOTOR2 that is).

Edited December 13, 2007 by Krezack

[Xard]

Well, apparently, the very best of romances in CRPG's ain't nothing but "good"