Hay guys! Oblivion is a RPG! It really is!

[Llyranor]

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/inde ... pic=315667

Someone proceeded to edit the wiki subsequently, though

 

[Naked_Lunch]

anyone who argues that it isn't an RPG is a moron. The quality of it's RPGness is the only thing debatable (and it's been debated to death. Please stop).

 

[Vault Dweller]

lol

Before we go any further, let's get something clarified first. Here is an example of a game that is not a roleplaying game - the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

It is worth noting that Oblivion, 4th in the Elder Scrolls series, is not in fact an RPG.

An important note about the character development system is that despite its obvious importance, it should not become the central element of the game, pushing the plot, the setting, and the characters themselves to the background.

Oblivion does not feature this.

...
Oblivion does not feature this.

...
Oblivion features a lot of this, coining the term 'combat RPG' - were it a RPG.

 

[Tintin]

The stupidity that is wikipedia.

 

[vazquez595654]

Why the fuck was this ever debated when we have this:

role-playing game
n.

A game in which players assume the roles of characters and act out fantastical adventures, the outcomes of which are partially determined by chance, as by the roll of dice.

 

[kingcomrade]

Halo
n
A game in which players assume the role of teh Mastar Cheif (in a variety of colors and with many different sets of weapons) and act out fantastical space adventures, the outcomes of which are partially determined by chance, as the random spread of your bullets can sometimes cause you to miss.

 

[aweigh]

What was the Hivemind's final opinion on whether or not Oblivion is an RPG? I can't remember.

 

[kingcomrade]

Your tag says you registered in August of 2005. You joined AFTER the Hive Mind made its decision. Get with the program, stupid.

 

[bryce777]

anyone who argues that it isn't an RPG is a moron. The quality of it's RPGness is the only thing debatable (and it's been debated to death. Please stop).

Ok, because it has some swords and some tits it's an rpg?

lollercaust

 

[vazquez595654]

What was the Hivemind's final opinion on whether or not Oblivion is an RPG? I can't remember.

see my previous post.

 

[Sirbolt]

anyone who argues that it isn't an RPG is a moron. The quality of it's RPGness is the only thing debatable (and it's been debated to death. Please stop).

So, it's a RPG because it has... stats? "Freeform" gameplay? Or what?

 

[Vault Dweller]

It's not.

 

[Blahblah Talks]

There is no cRPG that is a pure RPG, certainly not an ES title. There are cRPGs that have a plethora of RPG elements, but certainly none of the ES titles. There are some cRPGs that have a modicum of RPG elements, and in this category I place the ES titles.

 

[Tintin]

It is an Action-RPG.

 

[vazquez595654]

Since when is it possible to openly defy definitions. If you have your own definition of what a RPG is then you're crazy. That's like having your own definition for what a shoe is.

If you have your own definition for what type of game Fallout or Torment is, that's fine, but no one can deny the definition of RPG simply because it puts two games they consider vastly different in the same category.

 

[Sirbolt]

It is an Action-RPG.

What the fuck is an Action-RPG? Seriously. Define it for me.

 

[elander_]

That wikipedia article makes a lot of sense. It's not for the wikipedia to define what a crpg is but to expose different views in a cronological perspective. It describes all perspepctives even those of pnp players who refuse to acept some pc games as crpgs. They also have a link to rpgcodex at the end.

Until Darklands, Daggerfall, Fallout, Balsurs Gate was there any crpg that wasn't heavy dependent on combat to solve quests? In Fallout there is reputation per town and you can influence the future of each town independently of the others. Even with all this freedom Fallout is hard like hell to finish by specializing in thieving and hacking skills but it is possible and it is a great experience. Baldurs Gate was the last crpg i know to provide a decent team turn base mode that allowed for having truly unique and specialized characters. Daggerfall offered role-playing by adding a load of guilds to the world and having each guild span templated quests that allow a thief, for example, to level up without having to go out of character and start stabing people in their backs.

It's hard to say that a game isn't a crpg but we can easly say that for the Elderscrolls standards Oblivion isn't one unless they have abandoned their own standards. Which woudn't be a suprise since this team has nothing to do with the Daggerfall team. These guys made Battlespire that was an Elderscroll versions of Quake, Redgurad that was an adventure game and Morrowind.

The Elderscrolls games originaly followed the trinity: Warrior, Thief and Mage (Scholar) and that principle was completely distorted in Oblivion despite that they have presented the image of the trinity in books, banners and chargen images in the game. Thief gameplay is completly screwed and Mage gameplay is just a variant of fighter. Not only that but reputation is reduced to fame/infamy. You can do all guilds no mater what your reputation is. You even get blocked from raising rank in a guild because of the linearity of quests. Something that never hapened before in Daggerfall. So i think we can safely say that Oblivion is less than a crpg by the ambitious Daggerfall standards.

 

[Roqua]

Since when is it possible to openly defy definitions. If you have your own definition of what a RPG is then you're crazy. That's like having your own definition for what a shoe is.

If you have your own definition for what type of game Fallout or Torment is, that's fine, but no one can deny the definition of RPG simply because it puts two games they consider vastly different in the same category.

\

By using other definitions in the words role, playing, and game I can exclude oblivion as a rpg. If my personal physical attributes have a large impact on combat (which the reviews claim to be the case with Oblivion) then I very well can’t be playing a role; if I’m not playing a role, can I be playing a role playing game? Can I play a master swordsman and not be able to be a master swordsman since my twitch skills, timing, hand-eye coordination, and hand dexterity suck? No, it goes 100% against the theory of non-contradiction and just general everyday common sense, as well as going against historical precedence.

This has nothing to do with liking or good. A game can be good and not be an rpg. There is no such thing as an action-rpg, just as there is no such thing as a cold-hot, or a light-dark. A rpg must be a rpg in order to be called an rpg. An action game with rpg elements is an action game with rpg elements.

So answer your question: since when is it possible to openly defy definitions? Either every game is an rpg or only rpgs are rpgs.

 

[Drakron]

Roqua makes a good point.

A issue with RPGs is that developers at one point have to realize that listen to FPS players when they are making a RPG will end up producing a FPS.

And that is what happening, they are too busy trying to please everyone they end up creating a inferior product in all categories.

 

[whitemithrandir]

It is an Action-RPG.

What the fuck is an Action-RPG? Seriously. Define it for me.

An RPG that focuses Choice and Consequence on the player avatar more than the game world.

 

[Roqua]

It is an Action-RPG.

What the fuck is an Action-RPG? Seriously. Define it for me.

An RPG that focuses Choice and Consequence on the player avatar more than the game world.

What the fuck does choice and consequence have to do with action? If you make the choice of clicking now and get your timing wrong you pay the consequence of missing? So now almost every game is an action-rpg then?

 

[Sirbolt]

An RPG that focuses Choice and Consequence on the player avatar more than the game world.

So i can make a turn-based RPG that has no hope for world consequences but a kick ass character system and it's an Action-RPG?
Is GTA San Andreas an Action-RPG? It has "stats", you can take over other gangs turf, thus changing the game world.

 

[whitemithrandir]

An RPG that focuses Choice and Consequence on the player avatar more than the game world.

So i can make a turn-based RPG that has no hope for world consequences but a kick ass character system and it's an Action-RPG?
Is GTA San Andreas an Action-RPG? It has "stats", you can take over other gangs turf, thus changing the game world.

Yeah. San Andreas is an action RPG.

At least I consider it to be one

 

[Naked_Lunch]

An action-RPG is an RPG with emphasis on "action" (hacking and slashing, ph4t l3wt, leveling et cetera).

Duh.

 

[Roqua]

An action-RPG is an RPG with emphasis on "action" (hacking and slashing, ph4t l3wt, leveling et cetera).

Duh.

So rpg's have an emphasis on inaction?