- I don''t mean to pick at anyone in particular, but the more people who like RPG''s describe them the less clear it all becomes what one is. The emphasis on "story" escapes me completely; you do not play a game for a story, and you do not read a story to play a game. Previous to RPG''s games did not need any sort of story except perhaps to explain the opening curcumstances of a video game, and for most arcade games they don''t even bother with that even now.
-And I''m not attracted to RPG''s it''s true, but I am pressing the point because I have asked before and nobody could describe to me exactly what an RPG is. I have a good idea of what a FPS/driving game is, and I have a good idea what an RTS is, but RPG''s fail me completely. Why is it that an RPG needs a story while no other game does? What is the story of checkers? - Lubb

http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=25374

quote: Original post by Lubb

- I don''t mean to pick at anyone in particular, but the more people who like RPG''s describe them the less clear it all becomes what one is.

I totally agree. I define cRPGs totally different than the way other people do. If you''re shopping, talking to people, and going on quests, you''re probably in an RPG. Not everyone accepts that as a basic definition, though.

quote:
The emphasis on "story" escapes me completely; you do not play a game for a story, and you do not read a story to play a game. Previous to RPG''s games did not need any sort of story except perhaps to explain the opening curcumstances of a video game, and for most arcade games they don''t even bother with that even now.

Lubb, dude, trust me. I''m on your side.

But there are folks out there that need the motivation and immersion that a strong atmosphere provides. It''s really a question of how drawn into your game you want to be.

Think about it this way: When you''re playing Counter-Strike, Starcraft, or Quake, you''re not the part you''re playing, no matter how detailed the game is. You''re just playing a game, and that''s all there is to it.

Some people want more. They want a world. And that''s why we have chocolate and vanilla.

quote:
-And I''m not attracted to RPG''s it''s true, but I am pressing the point because I have asked before and nobody could describe to me exactly what an RPG is. I have a good idea of what a FPS/driving game is, and I have a good idea what an RTS is, but RPG''s fail me completely. Why is it that an RPG needs a story while no other game does? What is the story of checkers? - Lubb

Or as the link above mentioned, the story of Tetris? Right.

cRPGs are weird because they have their roots in table-top RP''ing, which has its roots in wargaming.

RPGs started as wargames where players wanted to give more depth and personality to individual units. (You can see the same thing happening with RPGs today). Once the units had more character and life, some wanted to actually go out and adventure in that life. Thus we got away from the battlefield.

After Greyhawk, there was a huge push into adventuring in other ways: mysteries, puzzle solving, social interaction, and player acting. RPGs became much more about story than strategy, though you can see that they never really lost their combat roots.

The GM became the world simulator, and that''s what an RPG really is about: Adventuring in a world that''s simulated well enough to support a lot of different action types: Conversation, for immersion, acting, and information; avatar growth and customization; economic risk, choices, and tradeoffs (magic, shopping); and combat.

And thus you have the weird creature that''s an RPG.

(ps: anyone feel free to correct my history if I flubbed...)

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Just waiting for the mothership...

quote: Original post by Lubb
The emphasis on "story" escapes me completely; you do not play a game for a story, and you do not read a story to play a game.

Why not? If you like cake and you like ice cream, why not have them together?

Did you play pretend when you were a little kid? Some people never stop playing pretend. I know what it''s like to be me, I like to try being someone different for a while. It''s like doing improvisational acting. You get to feel things that you don''t usually feel because you can pretend you''ve done things you''d never really do, or follow a strict code of honor your everyday self thinks is ridiculous, or imagine people respect you because you''re a hero. And in a game it really is you that''s the hero, instead of in a story where it''s just someone you sympathize with. You remember saving the world - you saw it with your own eyes.

quote: Original post by Scouser In Exile

I have a quick question:
Why is it that most of the people who post to this site are designing RPGs?

RPGs, even the good ones, do not sell anywhere as well as FPS, sports games, racing titles and RTS''s. Is it just the fact there''s more of a story in an RPG, or is it because it''s easier to do something ''different''?

I''m not having a go at RPGs, I have a design for one myself, I''m just curious.

How many time can you stand to blast the same monsters in FPS''s I mean there is little or no story to it''s shoot and kill. As for sports games how many times can you play the same teams it kind of loses appeal after awhile and it quickly becomes dated. With racing games how many time can you stand to drive around the same tracks. At least with RPG there are more ending the win and lose and some of them have a good story line to follow. There are normally more than one way to get to the same or differant endings. And finally there just easier to design.

That does it. I''ve just removed another useless post from this thread, and it is now closed. Too close to a flame war.

People might not remember what you said, or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
Mad Keith the V.