Raven Crowking
First Post
As the thread title suggests, are computer role-playing games really role-playing games? You are allowed multiple answers.
Are CRPGs really role-playing games?
- Thread starter Raven Crowking
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BiggusGeekus
That's Latin for "cool"
Don't we have a thread about this already? Not that I'm going to read that thread, its far too long at this point.
Yes. A CRPG is a single-player RPG with a rather bad DM who has good visuals.
And I must say, I've been in pen and paper RPGs that I've enjoyed less than Planescape Torment and Knights of the Old Republic. Though I think those games stand out as exemplary and are certainly not average.
Yes. A CRPG is a single-player RPG with a rather bad DM who has good visuals.
And I must say, I've been in pen and paper RPGs that I've enjoyed less than Planescape Torment and Knights of the Old Republic. Though I think those games stand out as exemplary and are certainly not average.
Raven Crowking
First Post
BiggusGeekus said:
Yes, but everybody loves polls. Next to answering telephone surveys, they are the most fulfilling things a person can do with his or her time.
What?
Although it might be a fairly small sample compared to the sheer number of computer games out there, my personal experience has been that CRPG are quite a different animal from a pen and paper RPG (or even live action I suppose).
The game that seemed like it might make the cut was NWN but for me it never quite delivered on what I percieved to be the amazing potential of the Solstice Tool Set.
Some games that were never even close included EQ1, WoW, DnD Online etc. The best role playing feature of these games was Teamspeak not the game itself. If I wanted to role play over a phone I wouldn't need to pay Blizzard $15.00 per month to do so.
Not that I am trying to say these games weren't fun, quite the opposite they were tons of fun just not RPGs.
The game that seemed like it might make the cut was NWN but for me it never quite delivered on what I percieved to be the amazing potential of the Solstice Tool Set.
Some games that were never even close included EQ1, WoW, DnD Online etc. The best role playing feature of these games was Teamspeak not the game itself. If I wanted to role play over a phone I wouldn't need to pay Blizzard $15.00 per month to do so.
Not that I am trying to say these games weren't fun, quite the opposite they were tons of fun just not RPGs.
Wik
First Post
I think, for an RPG to really be an RPG, you need a few factors:
1) Control over your own character's appearance, attitude, and (even loosely) control over your character's abilities and role within the game.
2) Interactions with NPCs that evolve over time, and are unique based on character input.
3) Your character's actions have an impact on the game world.
4) You have interactions with other players, at least in small amounts
So, with that said, most MMORPGs are *not* RPGs, in my opinion. You're fairly limited in just what your character can *be* (and one elven paladin is going to be more or less like every other elven paladin, down to appearance - when I played EQ for a bit, you could tell someone's class just by how they looked!). If I talked to an NPC, I got the same response as if you were to talk to the NPC, and the same output from said NPC. And, in an MMO, even if I killed King Gongbladder the Eighth, or whatever... he was back next hour - and wouldn't recognize me if I killed him again.
Now, some single player CRPGs fulfill all these criteria, except for the last- and if you are playing a game by yourself, I really think it's kind of missing the point. It's sort of like the difference between sex and auto-erotic activity - both can be fun, but...
1) Control over your own character's appearance, attitude, and (even loosely) control over your character's abilities and role within the game.
2) Interactions with NPCs that evolve over time, and are unique based on character input.
3) Your character's actions have an impact on the game world.
4) You have interactions with other players, at least in small amounts
So, with that said, most MMORPGs are *not* RPGs, in my opinion. You're fairly limited in just what your character can *be* (and one elven paladin is going to be more or less like every other elven paladin, down to appearance - when I played EQ for a bit, you could tell someone's class just by how they looked!). If I talked to an NPC, I got the same response as if you were to talk to the NPC, and the same output from said NPC. And, in an MMO, even if I killed King Gongbladder the Eighth, or whatever... he was back next hour - and wouldn't recognize me if I killed him again.
Now, some single player CRPGs fulfill all these criteria, except for the last- and if you are playing a game by yourself, I really think it's kind of missing the point. It's sort of like the difference between sex and auto-erotic activity - both can be fun, but...
Thornir Alekeg
Albatross!
Maybe some exist, but I haven't encountered one yet. It is primarily the NPC interaction which makes me say that.
No. I can't have a conversation with the shopkeeper, I can't convince Baron McYmuck to change his policy toward the Gophermen and even if I complete the quest to behead the Bandit Lord, the Bandit Lord and his minions are always a part of the world, doing their banditry and waiting to be (not actually) foiled by another band of adventurers on the same quest.
Absolutely not a role playing game. Fun perhaps, but not a role playing game.
Absolutely not a role playing game. Fun perhaps, but not a role playing game.
crazy_cat
Adventurer
Are play by post RPGs, play by e-mail RPGs, and RPGs played using virtual tabletop/online systems - real RPGs? Is a tabletop RPG still an RPG if its played with some players at remote locations using webcams or other technology?
What makes the game an RPG - the medium you play it in, or the game itself?
What makes the game an RPG - the medium you play it in, or the game itself?
Wik
First Post
crazy_cat said:
Absolutely - after all, you still have a character that is more or less controlled by you that reacts to DM forces. You still interact with other players. And your character still interact with NPCs, and has a lasting impact upon the game world.
Hell, I'd almost say NWN is an RPG, because it hits all those criteria. Although, I generally find that once your character is controlled by a mouseclick, few people engage the character the same way they'd be engaged in an RPG.
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