When did the "C" drop from CRPGs and when did "TT"RPG spring up?

[uzirath]

I remember being baffled when people started assuming the term RPG referred to video games rather than real role-playing games. (Bias intended.) I don't think I noticed this until the early 2000s, but the shift may have come earlier.

 

[chuckdee]

CRPG is a genre,not a technical description.

What is a quality of CRPG? I don't think there are any genre specifics to it that wouldn't be in others, are there? When they first came out, all of them were called CRPGs, I believe. I could be wrong, but I remember when that just meant it was an RPG on a computer, even when they had some of the same aspects as JRPGs, just not the anime.

 

[Von Ether]

I did a search and as far back as EN World goes, people were using TTRPG specifically to differentiate it from CRPGs and more importantly MMORPGs. There is a bunch of discussion using the term with regards to 4E, before and after it launched.

So the early aughts then.

 

[Reynard]

So the early aughts then.

That is when it was here. I did not go digging deeper. RPG.net might have older archives, and you could certainly check usenet. In other words: the differentiation is pretty old.

 

[Reynard]

What is a quality of CRPG? I don't think there are any genre specifics to it that wouldn't be in others, are there? When they first came out, all of them were called CRPGs, I believe. I could be wrong, but I remember when that just meant it was an RPG on a computer, even when they had some of the same aspects as JRPGs, just not the anime.

CRPGs specifically indicate party based adventures with tactical combat, usually in a top down format, often turn based but sometimes not. ARPGs grew out of real time CRPGs with singular protagonists, and then sort of split off between isometric and first person. the former eventually turned into Diablo, while the latter became Skyrim. JRPGs wre turn based too, but less tactical (usually relying on ranks as opposed to a full grid battlefield). there was also a distinct style of storytelling compared to western CRPGs.

Of course, there are always games that blur the lines, and forms evolve, and more recently the line between RPG and action game and rogue-like are very fuzzy. That isn't even to mention souls-likes (which can be either RPGs or action games). "RPG elements" have come to infuse lots of different game types, because leveling up and customizing toons is fun. And then you have games like Darkest Dungeon which take all the definitions and put them in a blender and create something weird yet awesome.

The less aid about Dwarf Fortress and Caves of Qud the better.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

My mind keeps a mental table of acronyms and their likely maps. This is always evolving (especially now I have started working in the medical data world -- so many acronyms!). For me there has been a slow evolution of the default mapping if RPG:

• Up to about 1990: RPG = Rocket Propelled Grenade (I played unit-level war games a lot)
• 1990 - 2010: RPG = Tabletop Roleplaying Game
• 2010 - Now: Roleplaying Game that might be computer or tabletop
• Future: Robot Piloted Game? (If AI optimists are correct)

 

[Willie the Duck]

I'll disagree with the "always" on TTRPG, it wasn't even a thing for over a decade vs always. And I still petition that the original hobby shouldn't have a nomenclature in honor of being the original.

e.g. One doesn't call a wrench a Manual 1/2in wrench to differentiate it from a ratchet wrench, a hex wrench, an adjustable wrench, or a power tools.

I would posit that there is no consistency on that when applied generally.

Starting with the wrench example as going one way, a counter is Star Trek. Some 1966-69-era star trek fans insist that their thing is just plain Star Trek, not 'Star Trek: the Original Series,' but anyone trying to discuss the IP as a whole without confusion finds that an unreasonable demand.

Counter back the other way, vehicles. Normal airplanes are indeed just 'planes' and special types become 'seaplanes' and such. Similarly case with 'taxis' and 'water taxis,' 'bus' and 'city bus,' 'van' and 'conversion van,' etc.

Counter but slightly distinct (since it is 'ordinary' instead of just no prefix), but people that insist on calling High Wheel/Penny Farthing bicycles 'ordinary' bicycles are laughed out of their hipster juice bar.

 

[Count_Zero]

A JRPG is still a computer RPG if played on a computer. the J is just a subset of a computer RPG, in my estimation.

Agreed (not to mention a lot of Japanese RPGs started on computers - heck, everything made by Falcom (Ys, Legend of Heroes, Xanadu, etc.) was developed for computers first, and for the longest time the console versions of those were ported by different people.

 

[aramis erak]

CRPG is a genre,not a technical description.

Hard disagree.
Also, Final Fantasy is widely considered the most quintessential of JRPGs on consoles.

 

[Reynard]

Hard disagree.
Also, Final Fantasy is widely considered the most quintessential of JRPGs on consoles.

I mean, you can disagree all you want but in video gaming industry and fandom, CRPG, JRPG, ARPG, and Action RPG are all distinct genres..