When does a rpg stop being an rpg and become an action game?

Is this even possible or is there a limit one can go before an rpg turns into a complete action game? I ask this because I am a big fan of mass effect and in the traditional sense it an third person shooter like gears of war, but it contains a level of depth that action games don't have. It is a strange thing to me and I could use a lil help.

It happens when you take out the role playing?? Since in action games you are playing a character that does not have a level associated with him and there is no character development.

When? Simple..when your own skills becomes more important in deciding the outcome of suituations than the skills and stats of your character. This is when it stops being rpg and turns into action game

I don't know it is a weird question interesting I was just thinking star ocean in battle and dynasty warriors are quite simpilar but i would'nt say dynasty warriors is a RPG sure you Lvl up but its not an RPG, for me an RPG has to have a kinda Lvl system and emm I don't know its a hard question

Look at Oblivion. Just barely an RPG and more like an Action/Adventure game. Still a good game, just not a very good RPG game.

Bioshock had RPG elements inplementedt into it but still its a FPS, Fallout3 is suppost to be an RPG but felt like an action game

When? Simple..when your own skills becomes more important in deciding the outcome of suituations than the skills and stats of your character. This is when it stops being rpg and turns into action game

AdrianWerner

When the game becomes alot more linear.

Is this even possible or is there a limit one can go before an rpg turns into a complete action game? I ask this because I am a big fan of mass effect and in the traditional sense it an third person shooter like gears of war, but it contains a level of depth that action games don't have. It is a strange thing to me and I could use a lil help.

jayz96

a game stops being a role playing game when it losses the atmosphere that an RPG has.

actiongamesplace emphasis on adrenaline and combat, generally the story is weak (at least in comparision to a good RPG)

the length of a game isnt really an indicator. Panzer Dragoon Saga is a fairly short RPG (15-20 hours) and is fairly linear, but its an amazing RPG.

RPGs place emphasis on story and the combat is slower paced and less of a rush

A RPG becomes more of an action game when it is linear as opposed to open-ended. A good example of this would be a JRPG. You spend the majority of a JRPG in melee combat, whereas with an open-ended RPG you are allowed to extend the actual role-playing aspect of the genre. You cannot in all truthfulness role-play within a JRPG.

In Oblivion, you can actually role-play. For example, one can (1) totally ignore the Main Quest, and (2) if you desired to simply be an alchemist who gathered plants, made potions, and sold them to merchants, you can actually accomplish that inOblivion.

Look at Oblivion. Just barely an RPG and more like an Action/Adventure game. Still a good game, just not a very good RPG game.

Jekken6

Although there are some absurdly linear RPG's out there (mostly JRPG's), I think RPG's have a more fleshed-out sense of exploration than action games and they focus more on character customization and character development (action games can focus on these things, but they usually don't do it as elaborately). I think what distinguishes Fallout 3 (an RPG) from Bioshock (an action game) is that Bioshock doesn't have the sense of scale that Fallout does even if you can upgrade your character in an RPGish way. It doesn't have the same amount of freedom and you don't have as much autonomy in Bioshock when it comes to your character and your actions. There's a clear path and you follow it in Bioshock, whereas you're left to your own devices in Fallout 3.

As far as those absurdly linear JRPG's are concerned (Final Fantasy X is a good example), the combat systems, storytelling and character development is really the only think that makes them RPG-like. IMO, these kind of games arelinear, are limited, and hold your handto the point that they are much less of a "roleplaying" experience than games like Fallout. In fact, I only like a few JRPG's, Skies of Aracadia (which is one my all time favorite games) being one of them. I also love Valkyria Chronicles, but it's an strategy RPG and thus a different beast all together.

Well I see your point, but didint devil may cry four have to level up your weapons and skill? If by the logic of some that makes DMC 4 an rpg and that is something i can say is not true. Well thanks for help, I guess it will go down as an Unsolved Mystery :o

hmm... I would say "when you lose the freedom to make your own choices, (and I am NOT talking about being good or evil). And when stats becomes an afterthought (which ironicly puts Mass effect in that category for me :S).

when you can not direct the evolvement of the character you choose, it will at best of times be a Diablo kind of thing, and at worst of times pretty much be an actiongame with some stats.

Also I think Pacing has a place in the destinction, for me a True RPG is a slower paced, when you explore, learn about the world, understands it, and becomes a part of it like a single part of a much larger picture, where you start to think based on the input you get from the world. (Horror games tend to share this part)

Actiongames a fast furious, and often very story light... Bioshock for me was no where Near an Rpg, you had no choice (shoot all that moves) nor did it present a world you felt a part of, I had a huge disconnect with my character and the world around him.

Oblivion kinda bridge this gap for me, it felt like a very light RPG, and a very Light Actiongame, mixed with an adventure game, but it still retained most of the above.

The moment you put it in the disk drive...lol

wow :lol:

It's always kinda funny to me when people say JRPGs aren't really role playing games... and the reasoning is that it's because you're playing a role.Senor_Kami

It's always kinda funny to me when people say JRPGs aren't really role playing games... and the reasoning is that it's because you're playing a role.Senor_Kami

i think the border is where hitting an enemy with a direct attack is dictated by probability

When the game becomes alot more linear.

Oakfront

I'd say somewhere shortly after 2005.

When character sheets went from 12 or more attributes to 2 or 3 and skill choices went from 250 to 10 or 20 and 90% of those were the same skill with increased numbers.

It's always kinda funny to me when people say JRPGs aren't really role playing games... and the reasoning is that it's because you're playing a role.Senor_Kami

Explain. That didn't make sense.