Pssst. Come here. I have an axe to grind. In fact, it's a +4 Axe of Kiss My Ass and I have a burning desire to wield it on every person who feels the need to complain about whether a game is really a roleplaying game (RPG). Over the years, I've had countless debates with people over what defines an RPG. Some people will swear on their D&D handbook that if they can't create a character from scratch, then it's not really an RPG.
Here's a thought... Shut the hell up already. Okay, okay... sorry. They're entitled to their opinions too, I suppose. But here's how I see it:
Believe it or not, a game doesn't have to enable you to create a hot Elf chick and name her "Boobs4U" in order to be considered an RPG. It's perfectly fine to play a game with an existing character created by the game designers. For example, back in 1995, I got into a debate with a guy over whether System Shock was really an RPG. His reasoning was that you couldn't create a character and name him and that you didn't earn experience during game play with which you could build stats. My response was that creating and naming a character was trivial, and while many players may have gained an extra level of emotional connection with their own character, it hardly took away from the gameplay that System Shock provided. Besides, you did earn skill points as you progressed through the game with which you enhanced your character's skillset.
But nooo... thanks to D&D, there's always been a section of the gaming population who equates roleplaying with physical stats, skills, and experience. Anything short of that is not a true roleplaying game. Bullshit.
Roleplaying in a computer game is about immersion. It's about losing yourself as the main character in a story in an interesting setting. Take Bioshock, for example. You play a character who unwittingly stumbles upon the fantastic underwater world of Rapture. You don't get to name him, you don't have any physical stats to track, and you don't even earn experience. My God... it's an outrage. This can't be an RPG! It's a first person shooter (FPS). Look... it's got a first-person perspective! And you shoot stuff! It has to be an FPS.
Wrong. It's an RPG... and a fantastic one at that. When I played the game, I was that guy. When faced with the decision of what to do with the Little Sisters, I had to stop and really think about it. My actions had consequences. I felt it... and that's roleplaying at its best.
To clarify: a definition of RPG should include some tangible character progression through a game. For example, Doom 3 is *not* an RPG. You do nothing to improve your character. However, in Deus Ex, System Shock, and Bioshock, you receive some type of point pool in order to buy skills to customize and improve your character. To me, that qualifies them as RPGs.
So, the next time some stat geek tries to tell you that Bioshock or Mass Effect aren't really RPGs, remember this. Roleplaying is about becoming someone, or something else, for just a little while. It's not about the camera angle, or how much action there is. Combat mechanics do not define a roleplaying game. The ease of how you become someone else, does.
Update: I just read the press release from 2K addressing the release of Bioshock on the PS3. The release refers to the game as a "'genetically enhanced' story-driven action game." Can someone please tell me what the fuck genre that is? I hate marketing people.
By Garret - Posted on 28 May 2008
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Pssst. Come here. I have an axe to grind. In fact, it's a +4 Axe of Kiss My Ass and I have a burning desire to wield it on every person who feels the need to complain about whether a game is really a roleplaying game (RPG). Over the years, I've had countless debates with people over what defines an RPG. Some people will swear on their D&D handbook that if they can't create a character from scratch, then it's not really an RPG.
Here's a thought... Shut the hell up already. Okay, okay... sorry. They're entitled to their opinions too, I suppose. But here's how I see it:
Believe it or not, a game doesn't have to enable you to create a hot Elf chick and name her "Boobs4U" in order to be considered an RPG. It's perfectly fine to play a game with an existing character created by the game designers. For example, back in 1995, I got into a debate with a guy over whether System Shock was really an RPG. His reasoning was that you couldn't create a character and name him and that you didn't earn experience during game play with which you could build stats. My response was that creating and naming a character was trivial, and while many players may have gained an extra level of emotional connection with their own character, it hardly took away from the gameplay that System Shock provided. Besides, you did earn skill points as you progressed through the game with which you enhanced your character's skillset.
But nooo... thanks to D&D, there's always been a section of the gaming population who equates roleplaying with physical stats, skills, and experience. Anything short of that is not a true roleplaying game. Bullshit.
Roleplaying in a computer game is about immersion. It's about losing yourself as the main character in a story in an interesting setting. Take Bioshock, for example. You play a character who unwittingly stumbles upon the fantastic underwater world of Rapture. You don't get to name him, you don't have any physical stats to track, and you don't even earn experience. My God... it's an outrage. This can't be an RPG! It's a first person shooter (FPS). Look... it's got a first-person perspective! And you shoot stuff! It has to be an FPS.
Wrong. It's an RPG... and a fantastic one at that. When I played the game, I was that guy. When faced with the decision of what to do with the Little Sisters, I had to stop and really think about it. My actions had consequences. I felt it... and that's roleplaying at its best.
To clarify: a definition of RPG should include some tangible character progression through a game. For example, Doom 3 is *not* an RPG. You do nothing to improve your character. However, in Deus Ex, System Shock, and Bioshock, you receive some type of point pool in order to buy skills to customize and improve your character. To me, that qualifies them as RPGs.
So, the next time some stat geek tries to tell you that Bioshock or Mass Effect aren't really RPGs, remember this. Roleplaying is about becoming someone, or something else, for just a little while. It's not about the camera angle, or how much action there is. Combat mechanics do not define a roleplaying game. The ease of how you become someone else, does.
Update: I just read the press release from 2K addressing the release of Bioshock on the PS3. The release refers to the game as a "'genetically enhanced' story-driven action game." Can someone please tell me what the fuck genre that is? I hate marketing people.