How close are cRPGs to Pen & Paper Games, really?

[Dirigible]

There is little true interaction between characters; since the games are meant to be played by a single players, you have only scripted NPC interaction, and most of that is terribly superficial and rather dull.

Play Planescape : Torment.

CRPGs do not do a good job with emotional content. Oh you might get frustration, even anger, along with some Three Stooges-level humour, but rarely (if ever) do you get wonder, horror, joy, misery, sadness, simple pleasure and the full range of human emotion.

Play Planescape : Torment. The only computer game that has ever come close to making me cry. And it got most of the other emotions in some measure.

Most plots I have run across have felt grossly contrived

More contrvied than, say, 'you all meet in the tavern'? Play Planescape : Torment.

This brings up probably my largest gripe against crpgs -- they are all about killing. Oh there will be the occassional episode in the game where you are not supposed to kill something, but this is an extreme rarity, usually meant to trip you up

As Zappo says - you can kill the final boss AT LEAST THREE WAYS by talking to him. Admittedly, there are only a few other times in the game you can get away without killing things (but far more than, say any BG games).

Still; you're right that a CRPGS cannot compare witha good (or even average) face to facer.

 

[Wombat]

Well, that's three votes for Planescape.

Only problem?

I really, REALLY hate the Planes of D&D....

It's a personal problem, I'll get over it.

 

[Speaker]

Reinstalling Planescape: Torment as we speak.

Yeah, it's no PnP game. But at times, when the game begins to infiltrate your brain... as your throat tightens...

It's the next best thing out there.

And until I find a new group out here, it's what I'll be playing .

Cheers.

 

[takyris]

I waited for NWN for years, posting on the boards, giving input, getting excited -- and it ended up being a pretty good CRPG, but not what I had been waiting for as an RPG.

When they get a bit better at modeling entire worlds, so that when I slap a room together, it automatically gives me the climb dc for the wall, the hardness and hp of any given wall section, and so forth, then I'll head back into CRPGs as something more than an occasional trip. NWN has some good hackers with some decent workarounds for things like that, but really, I'm an English major. I'm never going to be a great hacker. I don't care that much. I can hack javascript when I have to or occasionally make things compile, but I want to write a good story, and I want to do it in an engine that's built to support more options than those that NWN currently gives me.

 

[Hand of Evil]

I think we are close, maybe one more generation, no more than two, and cRPG will have everything you have at the table top, swiming, climbing, flying, the party interaction, etc. The biggest issue is going to be world creation, while more and more games are providing ways to make your own gaming area, they require time and effort, they don't change and grow, they are not interactive only scripted.

 

[Dugite]

The two arn't very close at the moment table top play is still superior.
However when speech graphics and easy world creation become possible.
A computer environment will be the prefered medium.
Table top play is only better because of the group interaction and the dm's quick response times.
Of course no need for expensive computers either.

When you have easy in game communication via speech and a dm on site with a suite of heads up menus where the dm can dynamicaly change the envirnoment act the parts of npc's, but not necessarily all the time.
eg have the computer handle grunt npc's monsters ,simple scripted encounters

With a good 3d engine, first person of course preferably with a 3d headset combo (starting to dream) that wont hurt your eyes/neck.
You will then have a properly rule driven gaming environment which table top usually isn't, in fact never is really
With all the social interaction with your friends.
roleplaying of course as always will be optional.

 

[Zappo]

If someone is going to play Torment for the first time, I *strongly* suggest to get high Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma, and get trained as a wizard. Those stats are needed to unlock the most interesting dialogue options, and the spells are wonderful.

 

[Praeco]

Well, that's three votes for Planescape.

Only problem?

I really, REALLY hate the Planes of D&D....

It's a personal problem, I'll get over it.

Maybe you could look at Fallout and Fallout 2 then... they are not quite as advanced as Planescape but offer a pretty freeform experience.

 

[Pants]

If someone is going to play Torment for the first time, I *strongly* suggest to get high Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma, and get trained as a wizard. Those stats are needed to unlock the most interesting dialogue options, and the spells are wonderful.

Wonderful idea.
The first time I played through PS:T, I played as a Fighter, which is extremely boring. Go the mage route.