What exactly is an RPG??

#21 Thanks for the sheet eric...

#22 Would there be a market for a RPG that follows the pen and paper paradigm and the most staunch definitions of what a RPG is or is not... and features well... ummm... "vintage" :) graphics.... i was playing with some ideas dealing with East Indian Mythology ...

#23 Yes. Using East Indian Mythology would be unique. Its a terrific idea.

#24 I felt so too...:)

i am right now upto my head in design and implementation of our current game... i am trying to do the due dilligence for the next project....

*lisa simpson voice* I like to do due dilligence. I do a lot of due diligence *end lisa simpson voice*

:)

our current game draws heavily from the East Indian Philosophy of "Adweta" (The Theory of Oneness) which basically states that "I am the only REAL thing and the entire universe exists in my imagination"

#25 Sort of getting back to roots for me...

#26 The key to the 'pen and paper' paradigm is that you could do (or at least try to do) whatever you wanted. So the more freedom you give the player to try things, the closer you'll get to that.

For example, in a standard FPS game you might have a tree. What can you do with it? Well, you can hide behind, maybe even climb it - that's about it. In an RPG, you could set it on fire, chop it down to use as a bridge or kindling or whatever, carve a message on the trunk, make arrows out of the branches ... anything you can think of. So the more of that kind of freedom you can incorporate into your game, the closer you'll get to the true pen and paper paradigm.

#27

Quote:An RPG is any game in which the player assumes the role of a character.

Like Duke Nukem? Half-Life? Goldeneye? :)

Quote:Whack-a-mole with stats?

Seriously, a lot of the purists won't consider any of the games available for the PC to be a role playing game, since you usually can't create or play a role to any signifigant extent.

When these guys say 'RPG' they mean Dungeons and Dragons, or Vampire, or Amber Diceless, or whatever.

PC based 'RPGs' (especially the earlier ones) often had more in common with tabletop wargames than with the pen and paper games.

So, be aware that when you ask this question you'll get two sets of answers: one from the pen and paper camp and one from the video gamers.

I agree. Neverwinter Nights is the only CRPG that comes anywhere near tabletop RPGing AFAIK.

#28 So glen... what you are saying is... that the game has to score very highly on FreeForm Interaction / Open Ended Gameplay ????

@Jeff:

You forgot the hairy hands in Doom...lol

#29 I recently came across an article by Warren Spectre the guy behind Deus Ex... in which he says the Ion Storm guys had a violent battle over whether or not to call Deus Ex an RPG... in the end the purists won as they argued that a new character could not be created...and thus not an RPG... so it became as some one pointed out... "A shooter with RPG overtones"

#30

Quote:Seriously, a lot of the purists won't consider any of the games available for the PC to be a role playing game, since you usually can't create or play a role to any signifigant extent.

I consider myself a "purist" and while I agree there is almost nothing i'd consider a true RPG on the PC, Neverwinter Nights I do indeed consider to be a true RPG.

#31 I have played pen-and-paper/tabletop RPGs and still think computer games can rival them. Vampire The Masquerade: Redemption and Neverwinter Nights allow multi-player games to be run by a Game Master or Dungeon Master. Throw in voice technology like Teamspeak and your computer replaces the tabletop.

I have also had good RPG experiences in MMORPGs. Particularly on a very good Dark Age of Camelot roleplaying server, which was one of the best gaming experiences I have had.

#32 I found some good introductory material at this site

and this definition seems to encompass most of what you guys have already said very simply

Quote:
In my opinion, the difference between a token and a role-played character is this: Hypothetically, a person watching the game looks over your shoulder and suggests a move, and your reply is "No, my character wouldn't do that." If this happens, or is capable of happening, then at some level you are playing a role-playing game. This simple distinction puts a world of difference between RPGs and other games.

#33 Hi Saurav, I'm not saying so much that it has to be freeform to be an RPG - only if you want to be true to it's roots in the pen and paper form.

I would say that originally (i.e: pen and paper version) RPG's had two core areas of focus - character development and role playing. I think which was more important would depend largely on who was playing ... but I do think it was most fun when you got a group that could really get into the role playing.

When it was moved into the computer realm, the focus became character devolopment - role playing was largely dropped (probably because it was too difficult at the time). Lately though, starting I think with the introduction of MMORPG's, role playing has been making a comeback.

I can't speak too much for the latest RPG's though, as it's been a few years since I picked one up (sounds like I'll have to give Neverwinter Nights a try though ...). But I do think that if you want to create a RPG game that's true to it's roots, you have to create not so much a game as a world.

#34 @Glen: NWN is truly a revolutionary CRPG. I'm a twitch action junky so it's not my cup of tea, but you should check it out if you don't mind mouse-selection driven games.

@Joe Bird: yeah, I forgot about VTM.

The thing is, it's very hard to come up with a proper definition of RPG, and as stated above, RPG and CRPG are (so far) two very different animals. I give precedence to pen and paper RPG definitions, because they predated CRPGs.

It's much easier to work with examples and say why this or that game is or isn't an RPG, or to analyze the RPG elements of particular games.

I think to be a real RPG, a CRPG needs a Referee (Dungeon Master), which as pointed out already, only 2 games I know of have. Much of the roleplaying in an RPG is interaction between PCs and NPCs, the latter controlled by a human referee. How much real roleplaying can be done when NPCs are computer-controlled and amount to just conversation trees? I say none, really. Of course the players could all just talk to one another, but that leaves out the cast of thousands controlled by a referee in a pen and paper RPG.

I also think real RPGs need multiplayer. How anyone can consider a single player CRPG anything more than a distant relative of the true RPG is beyond me.

#35 @Glen: NWN is truly a revolutionary CRPG. I'm a twitch action junky so it's not my cup of tea, but you should check it out if you don't mind mouse-selection driven games.

@Joe Bird: yeah, I forgot about VTM.

The thing is, it's very hard to come up with a proper definition of RPG, and as stated above, RPG and CRPG are (so far) two very different animals. I give precedence to pen and paper RPG definitions, because they predated CRPGs.

It's much easier to work with examples and say why this or that game is or isn't an RPG, or to analyze the RPG elements of particular games.

I think to be a real RPG, a CRPG needs a Referee (Dungeon Master), which as pointed out already, only 2 games I know of have. Much of the roleplaying in an RPG is interaction between PCs and NPCs, the latter controlled by a human referee. How much real roleplaying can be done when NPCs are computer-controlled and amount to just conversation trees? I say none, really. Of course the players could all just talk to one another, but that leaves out the cast of thousands controlled by a referee in a pen and paper RPG.

I also think real RPGs need multiplayer. How anyone can consider a single player CRPG anything more than a distant relative of the true RPG is beyond me.

#36 I think talking about "real" RPGs is a frill. If the game's fun, it doesn't matter whether you call it an RPG or poop.

There's alot of vastly different games that are all RPGs by some definition or another.

#37 A RPG is a role playing game in which you, the player, take on the roll of a person in another world. This usually involves skills, items, and leveling up.

You might want to check out the FF series for more info...

#38 I actually think that there are two kinds of RPG's:

1)Usually something like MMORPG's or some pen and paper ones, where you ARE the character, and you "live" in this alternate reality.
2)You take on the role of another character, slightly varying the path in which a pre-set story can take.

But there may be no exact distiction between these two... depending on how much control of the character you have, and how much pre-set personality there is... so it can be in the middle somewhere.

#39 Hi saurav,

If your interested in delving a little deeper, we publish an RPG system that is easy to learn but very flexible and we intend to make an RPG/MMORPG for release in 2006. If fancy looking deeper or getting involved that email me :)

www.redravenrpg.com

#40 To me, RPG stands exactly like it means - Role Playing Game.

The Role part is the key.

As an example, picture you are a fireman. You have to be very phisically fit and prepared to put out fires. Most of the day you remain on watch as your normal everyday life, but when your called upon, it's your duty, your role's duty, to go fight a fire.

In a true RPG, your goal would be to live out the role of the character you play as, in this case, you ARE the fireman.

In false RPGs, you can do whatever you want for the most part, even make your character out to be just like you, ignore the whole duty thing like the fireman, and concentrate on reaching that next level for your own fame and fortune.

Now, on the contrary, if in fact you are playing as a character that represents you, you are indeed role playing because it's you that you play as.

This can easily confuse most people who look at it in terms of just a game. In a true RPG, you don't see yourself in a game, but as another being, trudging through adventures with him, facing their daily chores together, and always continuing a story that can only be completed by you both.

If you want the ability to play as yourself, try checking out http://www.runescape.com for a sweet and free MMORPG that will give you plenty of time to adventure.

But if your more interested in actually role-playing a character, your best shot is to pick up a D&D player's handbook, a pencil and paper (or player sheet), and go find a really good DM (Coffee Shops and Bookstores are the best places to look) and sit in on a game. Put yourself in someone else's shoes ;)

- Christopher "Ronixus" Dapo