Things a good RPG must have.

A poll to see what you think a good RPG game should have besides the ability to role play. If you pick other please post your opinion. The pole is multiple choice.

We do not seem to have the ability to limit the number of answers to you can pick all but it would be nice if you limited your answers to the five you feel are most important.

Vote changing is allowed.

What kind of RPG are you talking about? Because in action based RPG there is no need for plot really.

Good question, RYUchan. I think of games like Baldurs Gate as true RPGs. I know there is a lot of argument over what a RPG is. I should have included the ability to crate your own character. I don't think that is essential. Prince of Qin I consider a role playing game although the character is set. You play a paladin. You do have choices as to what he does but in D&D he is good alignment.

Plot is essential to me. The Elder Scrolls are fun to play but I do not consider them true RPGs. You can role play them but you have to work at it.

I just got to wondering what people here thought.

Story, quests, choices, dialogues, interaction are all needed for a "real" RPG.

I'm a huge pen and paper RPGs fan and I find CRPGs are still lacking in these domains.

The thing that I love about roleplaying is the ability to think out of the box and come up with unexpected things that make the game and the story much more interesting. That's why I love being a Game Master. I love improvisation and taking up a player's idea and making it my own by adding to it so we can all have fun with the story.

Computer games are different but at least some of them try to implement meaningful choices and moral ambiguity.

I believe that without real choices you can't have any roleplaying.

I think roleplaying and RPG are two different things right now. Roleplaying is a process, RPG is a PC gaming genre(with specific criterias). If you say "I roleplay in a game" it doesn't nessesary have to be an RPG game. In fact it can be a game of any genre.

To put it simply if there are RPG elements in a RTS or FPS game then we all now what does this mean and there is no confusion. Personaly I can roleplay in any game be it RPG or not.

Anyway I got the question now and I I'll add my opinion on what is important in RPGs tomorrow

Great poll idea btw

RYUchan wrote:

I think roleplaying and RPG are two different things right now. Roleplaying is a process, RPG is a PC gaming genre(with specific criterias). If you say "I roleplay in a game" it doesn't nessesary have to be an RPG game. In fact it can be a game of any genre.

Well said! Imagination can indeed make up for the shortcomings of videogames.

However in my mind the term RPG is first and foremost associated with "pen and paper" roleplaying games (real role playing games). Videogames are poor substitutes which is why I prefer the term CRPG for computer roleplaying games.

The fact that game publishers define RPG as a videogame genre is by itself a terrible misnomer because computer roleplaying games are adventure games with roleplaying elements thrown in (and this statement applies to my favourite games like Baldur's Gate or Fallout).

Videogames limit your imagination whereas pen and paper games encourage you to find your own voice and paint your own imaginary worlds. Computer games may get the hack and slash part right but they can't compare to an awesome gaming session with some good friends.

An MMORPG may be closer to an actual roleplaying experience but there are still limitations. No computer can replace an imaginative Game Master.

I would definitely say the best RPing experiences I've had on the computer were in MMORPGs. A lot of fun of RPing comes from how your fellow players react to your character choices. It's fundamentally a social activity. Single player CRPGs merely attempt to simulate that experience.

So I tend to prefer single player CRPGs which do a fairly good job of simulating that social dynamic, and that largely boils down to characterization and dialogue. For me, characterization is really important. That's why I'm a big fan of Obsidian, but tend to feel let down by Bethesda. I like for characters in the game to react and acknowledge my character choices (and, of course, the game must give me character choices in the first place).

I know that a CRPG can still be an enjoyable experience without things like story, characters, or plot. I play the occasional roguelike, but they don't tend to hold my interest for as long as games with a rich narrative and characters.

What I find frustrating is the fact that these games don't allow you to come up with your own lines. More often than not the options are something that my character wouldn't say and that's where it stops being true roleplay for me.

The PnP games were fun but I was the wrong age to really get into them. Most people my age when the mention those games relate them to their children. I have done a few forum based RPs PbP. If you have a good group of people who know how to play off each other they can be fun. Tried to play a D&D game in FAI but the time difference made it hard.

One of the major things I loved about BG I & II was the interaction of the companions. more in II than in I.

When it comes to CRPGs I can role play even if the character is set. It is a form of acting after all. When I create the character the alignment tends to be chaotic good or chaotic neutral. Smart "evil" is also a possibility. I can have a lot of fun with that.

I like RPGs for two main reasons

The first one include a great story, great characters their adventure and your interaction with the.
So it would be:
- Good story
- Interesting quests
- Colourful NPC characters
The second reason is a challenging combat, because if RPG doesn't have a great combat sytem it has to have a lot of charm to be a good RPG for me - like Planescape Torment. However even in PS:T combat system if not polished an ballanced is indeed satisfying.
It woud be:
- Intelligent enemies
- Great combat mechanics

I've never ever played PnP RPG so I can't comment on that but it sure does sound interesting.

You should give pnp a try, all you need is some friends who share your interest for great stories and roleplaying.

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The PnP games were fun but I was the wrong age to really get into them.

Gary Gygax (the co-creator of D&D) was born in 1938 but I get what you're saying.

I got into pnp RPG at an early age (I was 8 when I first got my hands on the original D&D rulebook) and I've seen roleplaying games evolve from an "occult" and hermetic hobby into a household name.

I can remember a time when people were saying that D&D was associated with satanism and dark magic and it's amusing to consider that it is now part of popular culture.

@Carabas

Well you can't measure things for what they used to be or how they have been viewed.

Coca-Cola had cocain in it before it became a popular drink. Heroin was a medicine to cure cold and Heavy metal was a music from Satan

As for PnP I would gladly try it, but I've never ever heard about such thing in my country when I was a kid. We even didn't have any DnD games with cards and etc. Among people I know again I've never heard anyone even mention something about PnP My best chance I guess is to find a special club dedicated to it, or travel to a foreign country where it is popular.

If you have friends who may be interested it wouldn't be too hard to set up a simple gaming session. You can find some free to play games on the net and there are podcasts and videos that can give you some ideas. I can also help you set up your first game. Like I said all you need is two or three friends who are motivated and willing to spend a few hours talking and having some fun. It's a social activity.

Quote :

Well you can't measure things for what they used to be or how they have been viewed.

Perhaps but you can still gauge the evolution over the years.

Quote :

Heavy metal was a music from Satan

It still is for some people.

Talking about PnP RPGs has anyone played Drakensang? I ask because there is currently an offer on play.com for the 2 video games and an extension that may be well worth looking at:

Drakensang - The Dark Eye, The River of Time and Phileasson's Secret

I've played Drakensang - The Dark Eye and can highly recommend it. I've got The River of Time waiting to go, but the extension is new to me. Game Banshee recommend playing Phileasson's Secret in with the main game as this works better than as a stand alone. As computer RPGs go these have definate links to the Drakensang PnP games and may be worth a look. They also fulfil most of the tick boxes people have chosen. The movement and combat mechanics are fine once you've adjusted to them.

Drakensang is a tragedy of my PC

I had a copy but no matter what I did or how hard I tried it refuses to start. I googled all over the internet and after a couple of days just gave up.

I haven't played Drakensang (yet) but when I was a kid I was a big fan of Das Schwarze Auge, the German pen and paper RPG. It was a very nice way to get started. The basic ruleset was much more convenient and easy for beginners (truthfully I still love D&D but the rules have always been confusing).

If only for nostalgia's sake I'm pretty sure this is a game that I would love.

My favourite French RPG, Rêve de Dragon, which has been translated in English as "Rêve: the Dream Ouroboros" is another landmark in my early years as a roleplayer and quite frankly I can't possibly imagine anyone ever making a videogame that would do justice to the poetic setting or the thematic depth of this game.

I voted on: Story, Choices, Dialogue and NPC interaction along with Other.

For Other I've got to say one of the biggest things for me is Character Development - A character needs to alter and grow along with the storyline to be a true RPG instead of an RPG in name only

I agree with your other. Glad you mentioned that.

I voted for :

- The story, which is paramount. A game will hold my attention for a maximum of 5 minutes if the story is not engaging enough (exception made for Elder Scrolls or Fallout, because exploration replaces the story). While not an incredibly well written story, I thought DA II sucked me in to that effect.

- The ability to interact with NPCs. I want to have meaningful interaction with the NPC that you meet. I want companions that you can talk to and get to know, that give you feedback and that will challenge your decisions.

- Choices that matter. I like it when you have to choose something (can be more than two choices) which will generate consequences, whatever the choice. See Mass Effect 3 as a case in point of have choices that don't really matter in the end.

- Interesting quests. One of the worst thing in a game is the same quests over and over and over. In that aspect, the Elder Scroll series has some flaws. The number of quests is overwhelming, but a lot of them are so similar that it's getting boring. I like it when quests or mission takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you do stuff that you've never done.