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Prove me wrong: All good CRPGs start with an open-ended mystery

Grauken

Gourd vibes only
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If you define open-ended mystery widely enough it can cover almost all stories so it becomes almost axiomatic.
If you narrowly define it though, there are lots of great cRPGs that don't start like that
 

Fowyr

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No. You always could start small.
For example, Dragon Wars start only with trying to leave Purgatory.
 

buffalo bill

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there are plenty of dungeon crawlers (especially roguelikes, e.g. Nethack or Doomrl) that don't have a mystery involved
 

Daemongar

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Codex Year of the Donut
There are only a few types of crpg intros:
  1. Mystery to solve at first. Who killed the king/emperor? Why is the metal in the mines brittle? Why is everyone in the desert suddenly fleeing and seeking refuge?
  2. A quest that leads to a larger world, more quests, unfolding the rest. Hey, I need you to deliver this platinum chip, investigate the agricultural center and hobo camp, or take this token to the next city.
  3. There is a big enemy afoot - Kill Mangar, Minax, Scotia, the Enemy, whatever. This guy needs to be beat, so go out and kill everyone who gets in your way until you get to him. You hear about him at 1st level or in the manual.
  4. (Rare) There is a problem that needs to be solved - you need a water chip, the people are suffering a malaise, the people need a hero. Not a mystery, your needs are direct, you just need to navigate an alien world to get a "mission accomplished"
While I lean towards 2 and 4, any and all are acceptable. Who knows, maybe in a “big enemy” game you'll find out the boss Urmech is misunderstood or such.

There is no perfect path, it just comes down to execution.
 

Nazrim Eldrak

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Forgive me for being so forward but what is the point of this thread?
The thread master has a "developer" tag, so I assume he's provocative with his bold statement to get the right people to get quality answers at the price of bullshit comments.
I guess he wants to deepen his knowledge on "what makes a CRPG great/good?" by narrowing the possibilities with "Open-ended Mystery".
 

smaug

Secular Koranism with Israeli Characteristics
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Insert Title Here
Giving me a big open world with tons of freedom is a great mystery in itself.
 

JarlFrank

I like Thief THIS much
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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Forgive me for being so forward but what is the point of this thread?
The thread master has a "developer" tag, so I assume he's provocative with his bold statement to get the right people to get quality answers at the price of bullshit comments.
I guess he wants to deepen his knowledge on "what makes a CRPG great/good?" by narrowing the possibilities with "Open-ended Mystery".

Good guess, but until he confirms it, the thread creator's intentions still remain a mystery.
 

Dorateen

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Dark Sun: Shattered Lands: The party fights to win their freedom by escaping the gladiator slave pit.
Pool of Radiance: Reclaim the city of Phlan from monsters, one block at a time.

There could be elements of mystery as part of the background, for example, in Pool of Radiance the identity of the Boss is not immediately revealed. It is better to consider such things as necessary unknowns, and certainly does not frame the adventure as a mystery to be solved.
 

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