What is "Modern RPG"?

[Reapa]

 

[DalekFlay]

Genres are dead.

 

[Reapa]

Genres are dead.

when did that happen?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

RPG genre didn't exist until Fallout and stopped existing shortly after Fallout.

 

[Child of Malkav]

A piece of shit.

 

[Reapa]

A piece of shit.

so is pathfinder:kingmaker a piece of shit or is it not a modern rpg? but then what is?

 

[Child of Malkav]

A piece of shit.

so is pathfinder:kingmaker a piece of shit or is it not a modern rpg? but then what is?

That game is an exception. Maybe a few others too but the vast majority of them are, well, crap.
Not every RPG that comes out is great, some are good, yet none surpass the classics. And if they can't do that, with today's tech and knowledge? Guess what, they're

Spoiler

shit

And you didn't mention what kind of RPG we're talking about here: CRPG, ARPG, JRPG etc.

 

[Reapa]

i summon felipepepe and Darth Roxor to shed some light on the matter. maybe they know something.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

A piece of shit.

so is pathfinder:kingmaker a piece of shit or is it not a modern rpg? but then what is?

It runs like complete shit that's for sure.

 

[Cleric of Asmodeus]

Pathfinder Kingmaker and Disco Elysium would have melted the brains of people from 1990. Too powerful for the primitive 1990 brain.

 

[Reapa]

A piece of shit.

so is pathfinder:kingmaker a piece of shit or is it not a modern rpg? but then what is?

That game is an exception. Maybe a few others too but the vast majority of them are, well, crap.
Not every RPG that comes out is great, some are good, yet none surpass the classics. And if they can't do that, with today's tech and knowledge? Guess what, they're

Spoiler

shit

And you didn't mention what kind of RPG we're talking about here: CRPG, ARPG, JRPG etc.

since we don't have a ARPG forum and we do have a JRPG forum there's 2 things you can conclude: we don't differentiate here between CRPGs and ARPGs (not my fault) and we do not talk about JRPGs here.

 

[Reapa]

i feel Lacrymas may also have a strong opinion on this mater.
is Witcher 3 a modern rpg? is it modern because it was made for console?

 

[luj1]

We are already living in the age of post-modern CRPGs

Modern CRPGs = Fallout, BG, ToEE, etc.

 

[Skene’s Gland]

Been lurking for years but this is such a goddamn interesting question that I just HAD to create an account in order to weigh in on this. Modern RPG, indeed the very pinnacle of the RPG games genre = Disco Elysium.

 

[Lacrymas]

i feel Lacrymas may also have a strong opinion on this mater.
is Witcher 3 a modern rpg? is it modern because it was made for console?

Let's start off by saying the Witcher series aren't RPGs. With that out of the way, I don't think there's a difference between the Fallout era and now in terms of ...anything concerning the genre tbh. Contemporary RPGs mostly imitate what was done before (and better) while the foundational principles of the genre are intact. D&D hasn't changed much in 70 years, with the various editions only changing the severity of bloat. The only game which aspired to innovate and tinker with the systems was ironically Pillars of Eternity, but they were deathly afraid of straying too far from Baldur's Gate/D&D and we got what we got as a result. I'd say the RPGs from the 90s still feel fresh and modern, and even more relevant than what comes out now. I doubt any upcoming RPGs are going to radically break from tradition in order to push the genre forward/somewhere. This is not a localized phenomenon, art in general is currently stagnant and the best we can hope for is great offerings using the already established formulas (in RPGs, that would be Age of Decadence and UnderRail). A curious exhibit is the D:OS games, and later BG3, in the sense of co-op. However, I don't think they are doing anything revolutionary or all that new because only the presentation changes and not the content or the way we interact with it. It is popular, true, and as one art philosopher/critic once said, great art creates the taste with which it is to be appreciated. But does that mean it's modern or new? Maybe, but I don't really have a concrete answer to that. The fact I'm singling them out is noteworthy in itself and this could be turned into an essay on its own.

We are already living in the age of post-modern CRPGs

Modern CRPGs = Fallout, BG, ToEE, etc.

Postmodern would mean we are skeptical the genre exists, or that the way we conceptualize an RPG is misguided/wrong/narrow. I don't think that's the case.

 

[Reapa]

i feel Lacrymas may also have a strong opinion on this mater.
is Witcher 3 a modern rpg? is it modern because it was made for console?

Let's start off by saying the Witcher series aren't RPGs. With that out of the way, I don't think there's a difference between the Fallout era and now in terms of ...anything concerning the genre tbh. Contemporary RPGs mostly imitate what was done before (and better) while the foundational principles of the genre are intact. D&D hasn't changed much in 70 years, with the various editions only changing the severity of bloat. The only game which aspired to innovate and tinker with the systems was ironically Pillars of Eternity, but they were deathly afraid of straying too far from Baldur's Gate/D&D and we got what we got as a result. I'd say the RPGs from the 90s still feel fresh and modern, and even more relevant than what comes out now. I doubt any upcoming RPGs are going to radically break from tradition in order to push the genre forward/somewhere. This is not a localized phenomenon, art in general is currently stagnant and the best we can hope for is great offerings using the already established formulas (in RPGs, that would be Age of Decadence and UnderRail). A curious exhibit is the D:OS games, and later BG3, in the sense of co-op. However, I don't think they are doing anything revolutionary or all that new because only the presentation changes and not the content or the way we interact with it. It is popular, true, and as one art philosopher/critic once said, great art creates the taste with which it is to be appreciated. But does that mean it's modern or new? Maybe, but I don't really have a concrete answer to that. The fact I'm singling them out is noteworthy in itself and this could be turned into an essay on its own.

We are already living in the age of post-modern CRPGs

Modern CRPGs = Fallout, BG, ToEE, etc.

Postmodern would mean we are skeptical the genre exists, or that the way we conceptualize an RPG is misguided/wrong/narrow. I don't think that's the case.

why you suck dick?
your examples of good contemporary rpgs are wrong, which makes your whole post very low effort. you're telling us Witcher 3 is not an RPG but AoD and Underrail are good RPGs. Really? RPGs with no party? established formulas? with no party?

 

[Falksi]

Sandbox games with cut-scenes.

 

[Lacrymas]

why you suck dick?
your examples of good contemporary rpgs are wrong, which makes your whole post very low effort. you're telling us Witcher 3 is not an RPG but AoD and Underrail are good RPGs. Really? RPGs with no party? established formulas? with no party?

RPGs don't need party members to be RPGs lel

I'd add Tales of Maj'Eyal to the good list too.

 

[Serus]

RPG genre didn't exist until Fallout and stopped existing shortly after Fallout.

Another storyfaq (?) who believes that Wizardries, M&Ms, later Ultimas, Gold Box, Darklands, etc... were not crpgs.

 

[mondblut]

RPGs don't need party members to be RPGs lel

Only to be good ones.

 

[Gastrick]

The first question is "What is an RPG". Until that riddle is solved we'll never go anywhere with more advanced questions.
The smartest people have all tried to tackle this question and have repeatedly failed, but one day someone will find out the answer. "What is it that makes an RPG an RPG!?" "How does this even exist!?" "I can't anymore."
Until then we poke around in the darkness, before one of us finds out and says, "This, is an RPG".

 

[Lacrymas]

I'm sure you people realize that in tabletop, you play one character, not a party.

 

[Cleric of Asmodeus]

The first question is "What is an RPG". Until that riddle is solved we'll never go anywhere with more advanced questions.
The smartest people have all tried to tackle this question and have repeatedly failed, but one day someone will find out the answer. "What is it that makes an RPG an RPG!?" "How does this even exist!?" "I can't anymore."
Until then we poke around in the darkness, before one of us finds out and says, "This, is an RPG".

I have a PHD in RPG Phenetics and have applied the neighbor-joining algorithm to the problem. I will not share the answer because it would cause mass suicide of rpgcodex.

 

[mondblut]

I'm sure you people realize that in tabletop, you play one character, not a party.

That's why CRPGs were invented in the first place, so that you could play the same game about a party of adventurers running dungeons and killing monsters without having to mingle with assholes.

 

[Lacrymas]

I'm sure you people realize that in tabletop, you play one character, not a party.

That's why CRPGs were invented in the first place, so that you could play the same game about a party of adventurers running dungeons and killing monsters without having to mingle with assholes.

Except not really, most of the first computer RPGs were "roguelikes" in which you play a single character. That doesn't matter, however, playing a whole party instead of a single character is a perversion of tabletop RPGs anyway. The important bit is definitely not whether there's a party or not, but that you indirectly (i.e. non-action-like) control (a) characterized individual(s) with their own strengths and weaknesses represented by stats and abilities.

Even if we theoretically say we need a party, then there are no great contemporary RPGs (what would you call AoD and UnderRail though?), but my actual points still stand.