The Nature of RPGs

[Hurlshort]

A PnP game, at its heart, is really just about a storyteller giving a group a choice of where they want the story to go. The levels, the combat, the gear can all change depending on the setting or the GM. So if a CRPG is just a PnP where the GM is replaced by a computer, then it is very much about story and choices.

[Orogun01]

A PnP game, at its heart, is really just about a storyteller giving a group a choice of where they want the story to go. The levels, the combat, the gear can all change depending on the setting or the GM. So if a CRPG is just a PnP where the GM is replaced by a computer, then it is very much about story and choices.

So the formula translates to:

 

Storyteller=Developer

 

GM=Computer

 

And everything else remains the same.

[Jaesun]

[Mamoulian War]

Can anyone think of an RPG without a main character or with multiple main characters(in the same playthrough)?

 

That would be Final Fantasy VI

[HoonDing]

A game where you play a role.

[jero cvmi]

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned that yet.

For me, a key word in defining CRPGs is detachment. In CRPGs, the players and their skills are detached from their character and his/her skills. You're not playing yourself, you're playing someone else, and his/her choices are not necessarily your own.

 

That enables you to roleplay characters with abilities and traits you don't have, for example you may be a fat old man and play a female ninja, or a total dumba$$ and play a nuclear scientist. This may happen to a degree in other games, but usually some player skill is attached to an avatar skill, for example you may be playing DOOM and not be a space marine (duh) but you still have to have good aim and reflexes (like your on-screen avatar).

 

Come to think of it, detachment is the opposite of immersion.

 

Also, detachment is something CRPGs do better than PnP RPGs, because for example it's really hard to come up with what your character would say, if your character is smarter than you, isn't it?

 

From that point of view, an CRPG in its purest form would play like Football Manager: It would let you do all the strategic and tactical decisions, like dialog choices, inventory management, skill points alignment and battle formations, and auto-play the rest.

 

Actually the game Tigranes posted a while ago with the Dragons was kind of like that, all you did was choose your dragon's stances and it told you the outcome. I think it's the CRPGest CRPG i've played.

 

Can anyone think of an RPG without a main character or with multiple main characters(in the same playthrough)?

 

Dungeon Keeper. It was everything an RPG is, except you played the dungeon.

[Gorth]

Can anyone think of an RPG without a main character or with multiple main characters(in the same playthrough)?

 

That would be Final Fantasy VI

Icewind Dale?

[jero cvmi]

Can anyone think of an RPG without a main character or with multiple main characters(in the same playthrough)?

 

 

also, Wasteland. IIRC you controlled all your squad members equally, there was no main character.

[Oner]

Can anyone think of an RPG without a main character or with multiple main characters(in the same playthrough)?

 

That would be Final Fantasy VI

Icewind Dale?

Enchantasy, fools!

[Hurlshort]

I read this article and it made me think of this thread:

 

http://kotaku.com/5476217/imaginary-triump...le+playing-game

[I want teh kotor 3]

A game where you follow a character's progression, usually from a common dude to an epic badass.

[Calax]

not entirely sure what teh is saying, but like others said in the thread, really anything is a rpg. It's just that what is considered the current RPG genre is based around what used to be the territory of pnp. Really anything in terms of genre is just a magic pigeon-hole you stuff a game into. Anything falls into "action adventure", and while FPS's are designated by their perspective, are they really that different from third person shooters?

 

I think what we consider as an RPG is a choice/story driven game where YOU are the primary protagonist. And the Story is a MAJOR part of the game, not something that's tacked on to lead you from point a to point b (like in some FPS games, they're getting better now, but they generally don't meet the level of an RPG) also, most people want something akin to an open world (akin, not necessairly gta style run from anywhere to anywhere on the world map, but the ability to run back to previous locations is almost a requirement these days) in their RPGs.

 

And really those are the only two major connectors between each of the rpgs in what we consider the RPG games.

[crakkie]

I've played plenty of RPGs that had a tacked on story that led me from point a to point b. It didn't stop them from playing and acting like an RPG in every other respect, just with a story and plot progression that could have been much better. And a precious few RPGs have had an open world.

 

Story involvement and backtracking and open world and C&C are all nice aspects of any game really, especially RPGs. When folks talk about a game having 'RPG elements' they aren't referring to it having a protagonist who's the main character of the game's story or even whether you can do something to affect the story. They're talking about:

 

having a selection of abilities, upgrades, and customizations that you can pick from and that alter what the PC can do and how well he can do it;

 

the progression of your character's abilities throughout the game to a level more powerful than where he began.

 

Recreating the PnP experience in a game is impossible, and that's never really been the point of CRPGs. And as for a literal interpretation, you play a character that has a role in the story in most games. So just rename CRPGs to character customization and progression games. That way you can define the character-building strengths separately from having a great story that involves the character, choices that affect the plot progression and outcome, great writing and characters, and exploration. All of these are nice to have in any game, but having one of them in any game will not prompt anyone to claim that your game has 'RPG elements'.