tell me What you think makes a RPG an RPG. you can select more than one vote pole

I will post my opinion later.

As long as it has a story
As long as it has level/abilities/specials
Battle system, yeah


Yep all them
A good story is really needed to get you into the game

yeah, but I am not saying "what makes an RPG good"

what I am saying is what makes and RPG 'period'

If you were orginizing games by genre and you came across an action RPG how would know that IT is an RPG.

It wouldnt be lvls/exp because ffx doesnt have that

its not story cuz lots of non rpgs have that

battle system well mortal kombat has a battle system

numbers what the hell do you mean numbers

so the choic would have to be other of course i dont know what that other is. probably a squaresoft logo makes it a RPG BWAHAHAHA!

what I mean by numbers is that Your stats, Attack, Level, Life and what not are represented by numbers.

I have noticed that every Rpg has an exeption for dogding something that all RPGs have, Sooo what ultimatly decides what an RPG is. What is that makers and raters look at the game and say

"It is an RPG" becuase to be quite honest I am not really sure how to define it. . . . *Lightbulb* *checks dictionary*

a farfetched idea but this is what I got from the dictionary. . . .

A game in which players assume the roles of characters and act out fantastical adventures, the outcomes of which are partially determined by chance, as by the roll of dice.

interesting. . . .any thoughts

i agree with the dictionary definition. computer RPG's leave out the dice for random computer generated luckness. of course, the player inputs his skill through leveling up, tactics, and finding hidden goodies, but he has no control over whether an attack hits or misses, whether his party can run away or not, or whether his party or the enemy will get a critical hit, etc etc

Originally posted by Nanaki XIII
It wouldnt be lvls/exp because ffx doesnt have that

Ja. FFX's sphere levels are forms of experience. Not all RPGs will have "EXP", but unless my assumption is off, all RPGs in some form or another have some kind of representation of character growth, be it in the form of numbers, hearts (Zelda), or some other visible indicator. The oldest and most common being numbers, from back in the days of pencil/paper RPGs.

That's what I'd say is a key element that makes a game an RPG.

But it couldn't be that alone, as even sports games have similar stats to represent character strengths and weaknesses. Strike "story" off the list, as just about every existing genre chucks out stories to give its respective games some background.

Hmm...


A game in which players assume the roles of characters and act out fantastical adventures, the outcomes of which are partially determined by chance, as by the roll of dice.


Assuming roles is a given, but the notions of "fantastical adventures" and outcomes being "determined by chance" seem like they're on the right track, as you're never really fully in control of your adventure in any RPG..

Even still, I guess it would have to be a combination of elements..
I can't seem to pin it down to just one thing..

To me what makes an RPG an RPG is an interactive story. If it were all about levels and experience etc, it'd just be a lot of pointless statistics.. Like mathematics. No point, just solve these predefined numbers :\. I do think that the levels and experience stuff do inhance RPG's and the game play. If it was just all interactive story it'd be too easy. Like those little kid computer storybooks.

Yes RPG is a role-playing game where you take the role of someone and play a game. makes sense right. except you take the role of someone in every game. I guess if i had to choose what makes me say this is an RPG is the hp/exp/lvls and so forth even though they change from rpg to rpg i get confused on if it is or not.

I like RPGs with good storylines, setting and characters so I voted that a RPG needs a story. Even though some people say the Final Fantasy games have no plot to them and are pointless I don't see it that way =P

Yep all them
A good story is really needed to get you into the game [/B]

INDEED

A RPG has to have a story otherwise you just some unknown person wondering around killing things for the fun of and somehow effecting the fate of the world in the process.

A RPG is more than a story, although RPG are known to have the best story elements FPS can have stories although usually not ones we're interested in.

A RPG must take your into another world that althought containing common ideas recognized in your world this world must be completely and utterly different from your own. It must include a story telling what happen in this world to make it what you see now. Also without a point of view the story is like reading a book about how to program a vcr without the vcr. In the beginning you introduce to main character. The ultimate villain does not necessary have to make an appearance until the very end. (Ex: FFT)

It does sound like correct english but "No one thing makes a RPG".

He didnt say what does a RPG need, he asked what makes a RPG. If you see a game and say it has a story, it must be an RPG. Metal Gear Solid has one of the greatest stories ever told, so now you consider that an RPG?

An interesting debate. So far most people seem to think a story has a lot to do with it. I think a battle system might be in every RPG. almost every game has battles, but I mean battles based on numbers that are unique to other games (i was giong to vote number and battles but forgot. . .)

to get a little more personal. I started this thread becuase me and my frined were having a debate on wether a starwars game was an RPG (jedi power battles to be more specifc) he siad it was an RPG and I disagreed.

I was pionting out it was missing many aspects that an RPG contians. Yet, he insited that all RPG's have something missing that other RPG's do. So I started this to see if anyone else had an idea of what made an RPG. You could take almost anygame and it would have at least one aspect that an RPG has. So how come they say that it isn't an RPG.

the only reason i play rpgs (or any video game, for that matter, because rpgs is basically all i play) is for the story. it's sorta like reading a book only with cute characters you can control.

^^

<font face="lucida calligraphy" size="2">No point in having two of the same thread open at once, so use the newer thread for more discussion, umkay?

Thanks. ^^