What constitutes an RPG

It's extremely hard to answer that question due to the fact that the term is used to describe a lot of very different games. In its essence, role-playing means to take on a character role and create your own or play out existing stories. Stats and stuff, they're RPG elements, sure, but in my opinion, RPG's are all about freedom - whether it's the open-ended gameplay, branching storylines, the ablity to create your own storyline, character customization, etc. Some people would go so far as to say that Japanese RPG's aren't 'true' RPG's since they lack heavily in most of these areas.

• Character Development and a Way to Advance Specific Character Skill Sets and even personality that have a direct impact on gameplay and interaction with the game world and the characters that populate it.
• Choice....whether it be in handling scenerios, dialogue options, and ways of interacting with the game world.
• Characters...ie Engaging NPCs....I think in order for an RPG to be memorable and good, you can't just create an environment and drop a player in and just have him running around like some sandbox games do...I think a good RPG also populates an open environment with engaging NPCs for the player to interact. An RPG that doesn't have engaging characters is simply shallow in my book.
• A Set Storyline or Goal that drives the character through the game world....though an RPG requires giving the player choice in both developing the character and interacting with the environment, I also think a good RPG has a specific plot, scenerio, or storyline that the player must play though....I think this is one of the aspects that helps set an RPG apart from a standard sandbox game.

The biggest thing I've noticed between most RPGs is no-skill combat. Basically knowing what to do is the vast majority of the battle. Most of the things you do is determined by numbers. The more twitch-based you make the game, the more it becomes an action-adventure sorta deal.AtomicTangerine

:lol:... you make both varieties sound lame.

[QUOTE="AtomicTangerine"]The biggest thing I've noticed between most RPGs is no-skill combat. Basically knowing what to do is the vast majority of the battle. Most of the things you do is determined by numbers. The more twitch-based you make the game, the more it becomes an action-adventure sorta deal.Funkyhamster

:lol:... you make both varieties sound lame.

Yeah, because it IS lame! Seriously, when I can't get good at a game then that is lame. Having my character get better is fun too, but where the real satisfaction comes in is when YOU get better. Most RPGs just have numbers determine everything. Even in Oblivion, where the combat is real-time, the only thing you control is if you hit them and if they hit you. Damge is all done by a computer rolling the dice.

Nothing is wrong with it though, and if you like it, great. However, just imagine how awesome KOTOR could have been if the combat was like Jedi Outcast and everything else was untouched...

When i sit and talk with my friends, i mistake some action/adventure games for rpgs. I was just wondering what it takes to consider a game an rpg? My usual take on it was, that the character must grow throughout the game, in either level or skill or etc. I don't think it necessarily has to be turn based, and there is a major direction that the character heads in but can have side quests. am i forgetting something?poisonrain87

The RPG genre puts an emphasis on character development through whatever means.

Genres are really defined by the games they started those genres. Genres tend to evolved as well. Look at FPS games, started as Wolf3D and Doom, and all in First Person, now even some games in third person are considered FPS at heart.

For RPG's it was traditionally taking those pen and paper RPG experiences and putting them on PC, but it evolved into JRPG's like Final Fantasy, and action RPG's or hack and slashes like Diablo.

It's games that mimic the style and mechanics of pen and paper roleplaying games. Of course, there can be many varieties. Action RPGs, MMORPGs, or whatever.nopalversion

That's about the best answer you can get. Technically, an RPG is a game where you and your friends sit around a table and act out a story as characters that you create. However, over the past two decades, more and more people have ceased playing RPG's, and started playing video-games that utilize elements of RPG's. To attract the "pen and paper" crowd, companies dubbed these videogames "Role-playing games", or more accurately, "Computer Role-playing games", or CRPGs.

Since videogames have become far more popular then RPG's, people have lazilly began dropping the "C" and now just call video-games with RPG elements "RPGs".

Some common elements that CRPG's have taken from Pen and Paper RPG's (which may justify calling the CRPG an RPG):

• Character Creation, Development, and Experience - Mimmicks the experience of creating a character (or role) for you to play, advancing that character through experience, and watching your character grow more and more powerful.
• Open-Ended Gameplay - Attempts to mimmick the sense of freedom that comes with Pen and Paper RPG's. Since Pen and Paper RPG's are controlled by a "GameMaster" and take place entirely within the group's imagination, there's no limit to what can happen in the story, and the choices the players can make.
• Dice Rolls and Character Stats - Since RPG's take place within a group's imagination, dice are used to determine success or failure of actions based off of a character's ability, not the players'. Many CRPG's out there have adapted this system.
• Themes and Settings - You'll notice most, if not all, CRPG's out there take place in either a sci-fi or fantasy setting, and this stems back to the idea that these two settings are traditional in RPG's.

I'm sure I could think of a bunch more if I really thought about it, but these are just a few off the top of my head.

The last two posts i think are as close to a perfect answer as you're going to get. I'd ask this then. please state whether you think these games should be classed as RPG or not (simple put yes or no after the name)

Oblivion

Zelda

Final Fantasy

Dark Messiah

Grand theft Auto (later additions)

Diablo

Mass effect

This should be quite interesting i think.

Some here have an extansive explanation, some I like, some I don't.

Simpler:

PROGRESSION. You character become a LOT stronger, and it isn't linked with your l33t reflexs. Anything which ruins this progression feeling, such as game balancing in a MMO already launched, must be considered carefully; as you risk losing everything.

The last two posts i think are as close to a perfect answer as you're going to get. I'd ask this then. please state whether you think these games should be classed as RPG or not (simple put yes or no after the name)

Oblivion YES, most RPG of the list.

Zelda MAYBE

Final Fantasy BARELY

Dark Messiah NO

Grand theft Auto (later additions) NO

Diablo YES

Mass effect KINDA (this is an angry yes, since they are going away from been a true RPG compared to their previous titles)

This should be quite interesting i think.

Joshy2004uk

I used to say barely for Diablo, but with the lack of RPGs in the recent years, I guess it promote Diablo to been a real RPG afterall. The "action" component of Diablo is far less annoying than the "action" component of Mass Effect for example. It is pretty hard to be too slow or react poorly in Diablo and died because of that...while in Mass Effect...

The last two posts i think are as close to a perfect answer as you're going to get. I'd ask this then. please state whether you think these games should be classed as RPG or not (simple put yes or no after the name)

Oblivion

Zelda

Final Fantasy

Dark Messiah

Grand theft Auto (later additions)

Diablo

Mass effect

This should be quite interesting i think.

Joshy2004uk

Technically speaking your list goes: Yes, No, Yes, No, No, Yes, Yes.

There are going to be people who say that Oblivion made your character a jack of all trades and all decisions in the game were meaningless (which they'd be right) but by gaming definition, it is still an RPG. Just not a good example of one. Same thing with Final Fantasy except in that game you have even less control of your character. Dark Messiah is more like Hexen with a few RPG elements, GTA has RPG elements but they take a backseat to sandbox gameplay. Diablo is an action/rpg. Zelda is an action adventure game and Mass Effect is an RPG.

I think its a blend of good characters, epic storyline and also good listening to your ears. My personal favorite is final fantasy 9. Now that's something unforgettable