Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 8177925" data-attributes="member: 177">Yeah, I'm sorry, but... the OP has some major flaws.Specifically, I want to call out &quot;Progressive Improvement&quot;.&nbsp; By that measure, if you play one session of a game, it fails to be an RPG.&nbsp; I reject that notion entirely as being nonsensical.I submit that RPGs are a genre of game.&nbsp; And much like genres of fiction, they benefit from an inclusive approach to definition.&nbsp; List a bunch of elements that are common in RPGs.&nbsp; If a game has enough of the elements (for some value of &quot;enough&quot;), it is an RPG.&nbsp; It does not need to have all the tropes.&nbsp; It may even be missing some that you personally feel are important.&nbsp; So, while progressive improvement is common, and even desirable, it isn't necessary.Also note that being an RPG doesn't mean a game isn't also something else.&nbsp; Just as in fiction, where you can have things like the &quot;space-western&quot;, games can fit multiple genres at once - they aren't mutually exclusive.&nbsp; Maybe an RPG is also a storytelling game, or also a board game, or also a computer game, or also a tactical wargame.This can remove a whole lot of angst from your conversation.&nbsp; Embrace the power of &quot;and&quot;, rather than &quot;exclusive-or&quot;.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 8177925, member: 177"] Yeah, I'm sorry, but... the OP has some major flaws. Specifically, I want to call out "Progressive Improvement". By that measure, if you play one session of a game, it fails to be an RPG. I reject that notion entirely as being nonsensical. I submit that RPGs are a genre of game. And much like genres of fiction, they benefit from an inclusive approach to definition. List a bunch of elements that are common in RPGs. If a game has enough of the elements (for some value of "enough"), it is an RPG. It does not need to have [I]all[/I] the tropes. It may even be missing some that you personally feel are important. So, while progressive improvement is common, and even desirable, it isn't [I]necessary[/I]. Also note that being an RPG doesn't mean a game isn't also something else. Just as in fiction, where you can have things like the "space-western", games can fit multiple genres at once - they aren't mutually exclusive. Maybe an RPG is [I]also[/I] a storytelling game, or [I]also[/I] a board game, or [I]also[/I] a computer game, or [I]also[/I] a tactical wargame. This can remove a whole lot of angst from your conversation. Embrace the power of "and", rather than "exclusive-or". [/QUOTE]

Verification