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Post InfoTOPIC: It depends on your definition of RPG...
Posted By: Black Magic Wizard

Posted On: Aug 13, 2002
Views: 554
It depends on your definition of RPG...

RPG is a term thrown around much too liberally. An RPG is a Role Playing Game. A Role and Playing that Role being the emphasis of that term. Most modern RPGs, specifically, many of the ones on console systems, are Role WATCHING Games. To say that one plays the role of a character who must follow a linear story and react to a situation by a script and not the choice of the player is a ludicrous statement. To believe that such a scenario is true role playing is to believe that Super Mario Bros. or Tetris are RPGs. You're a fat Italian plumber and then a Communist Pit of Blocks. Okay, so Tetris is a bad example. Diablo and Dungeons and Dragons are true RPGs; the player is given a situation to react to and they can do almost anything they want because their character(s) has/have no place in the game's script of events.

But, I get to my point now. The typical elements of fantasy and/or turn-based combat have become the only standards for RPGs. So, this poll is extremely biased depending on whether a person prefers a linear game which draws upon the personalities of precreated characters or nonlinear quests in which the characters are created independently of the game's plot.

And although I shall forever refer to that huge section of console games as "Role Watching Games," rather then "RPGs," I still voted for Characters as the most important element of RPGs. Let's face it --- Final Fantasy (to single out the most prolific series) games have never been extremely strong on plot when one boils the plot down to a single sentence. Every single FF game is, when simplified, "An evil organisation exploits a source of incredible power to rule or destroy the Earth." It's the characters of the FF series that people remember the most vividly.

Oh, and I love the Hell out of the FF black mages. They're just too much destructive power for such comical packages. So, they're part of my decision, hehe.


Posted By: The Duke

Posted On: Aug 14, 2002
Views: 548
RE: It depends on your definition of RPG...

Come to think of it, you're right! Has anyone played FFX? Definately a Role-Watching Game. Another Game where you control a hero that develops without much story is in Warlords Battlecry II


Posted By: RPGMaker

Posted On: Aug 17, 2002
Views: 538
RE: It depends on your definition of RPG...

You know, Diablo isn't a "true" RPG like you define it. The player doesn't have complete control like in D&D style games. It's really not any different than those "Role-Watching-Games" you mentioned. AND you forget to mention that even though you have more control, you lose a central plot and storyline suffers. And the "typical FF plotline" you mentioned only happens to be FFVII's plot. The all of other's plotlines differ from that one(except FFII). Also, that's only half of FFVII's plot you mentioned. And finally, All D&D style games I've ever played have a weak central story AND character development to them as well, and the majority of choices I got to make were pretty pitiful, ex. should I go left or right, or should I ask the gypsy to tell my fortune, or murder her.

None of this is meant to insult or offend, it's just my opinion.


 

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