For the purposes of this article, in using the term RPG I am referring to all the aspects and rules that comprise a complete game system -- the rules, the dice, the game world, the player characters, and all the other elements that are necessary for a total package.
In order to earn the title RPG, I propose that a game must have all of these elements:
- Full player character generation. The player must have the ability to create his or her own character from start to finish. If the game forces the player to choose from options, like Diablo or Nox, or lets the player adjust the statistics of one and one alone, like Planescape, it fails to meet this criterion, and may not be classified as an RPG. Many games are mistakenly classified as RPGs because people have been too tolerant in allowing games that fail this test to creep in. The ability to make these choices is an extremely important characteristic of pen and paper, and thus, computer RPGs.
- Character actions affect environment with choices, including dialogue with other characters and interaction with objects. In other words, the game must react and respond to the role the character is playing -- a female character with a true neutral alignment should not get the same treatment as a male character of a chaotic evil alignment, for example.
- Must be able to assign experience to the character along the way, to indicate evolution of the character.
Some people incorrectly assume that in order for a game to be an RPG, it has to have an epic story line set in a land of mystical elves, dwarves and other fantastic creatures. While Tolkienesque landscapes are certainly a significant part of the genre, they are certainly not the only game in town. Indeed, one of the most successful game settings in the pen and paper world is White Wolf's World of Darkness , a dark Gothic-Punk style that includes their Changeling, Hunter, Mage, Vampire, Werewolf and Wraith lines. Other examples include science fiction RPGs like the Star Trek and Star Wars licenses. Even if every chronicle did take place in a high fantasy game world, an epic story line is by no means required to qualify as an RPG -- I'm sure many of you have played a "hack and slash" campaign from time to time, just for a little variety.
The criterion I anticipate the most fuss over is the first one-- full character generation, so some additional explanation is in order.
Although RPGs are a subset of adventure games, adventure games are not a subset of RPGs. In other words, an RPG may be an adventure, but an adventure does not necessarily involve role-playing. Let's use Tomb Raider as an example.
In Tomb Raider, you assume the persona of Lara Croft, intrepid adventurer and archaeologist. You have no other choice -- it's Lara or nothing. The game and game world are designed around her -- any item interactions are performed using her body, any cut scenes involve people speaking to her. But Tomb Raider makes no pretense of being other than what it is -- an adventure game. Contrast that to Planescape-Torment, which bills itself as an RPG. In it, you control the Nameless One, and the whole story revolves around uncovering the mystery surrounding his identity. Again, no choice about what character you play -- it's the Nameless One or nothing. Sound familiar?
These games should never be classified as RPGs because the player is essentially a puppeteer, with no choice whatsoever as to the puppet he or she may select (though from time to time in Gabriel Knight you may switch between the two puppets of Gabriel and Grace). Like the film Being John Malkovich, you control a character in that character's world, and you can only interact as that character, consistent with actions that character would take. Oh, you can force certain actions, just like in the movie -- career changes, picking blue towels instead of green ones, but you will always be interacting in the body that has been assigned to you, and no other.
Compare this to the standard that emerged as one of the defining aspects of the pen and paper games -- the ability to create a character! Playing a predefined character is not customary in these systems -- character creation is a primary element, a selling point that differentiates RPG systems from acting, where you are cast as a character and assigned to interpret that character. They are different terms, and they mean very specific, different things. (We are not including LARPs for the purpose of this analysis, as they are a separate category.)
Thus, in order to match the elements of the pen and paper gaming model, a computer RPG must provide the player with options to select race or type categories for the character he or she has designed, as well as gender, hair color, magic use, armor, and other specializations that may exist in the game setting. If a game fails to do this, it fails to earn the title RPG. There is no shame in that. There's nothing wrong with a good, honest adventure game. The only shame is when companies try to market a game as something it is not, and gamers suffer for it.
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