The future of Role-Playing Games

[samuraigaiden]

Exploration is one of the fundamental elements of a Role-Playing Game. and any game without exploration belongs in a different genre.

Please Elaborate.
If you mean exploration of behaviors and their roles (or other inner/mental experiences)then i agree.
If you mean outer/external/visual exploration consider/imagine the following:

A game that start with the player arrested by the police in a dystopian future with different rules and confined in the interrogation room/cell. there is no exploration worth to speak of except perhaps the seconds it takes the eyes to scan the room there could properly be no movement at all(aside the head area) depends on how handcuffed/confined the player is. There is the role of the cops, there may be the role of the lawyer, and the role of the player as suspect who will the role of either a free citizen or prisoner depending on how the game ends. how the event unfold, does the player manages to convince the cops of his innocence(if he was innocent to begin with) or not (with a limit time or not) all in one room. Here you have an example of a game that can be described as Role-Playing Game but without exploration. Yet according to you in would belong in a different genre, and what genre it would be? perhaps such form of Exploration is not as fundamental as your years of experience( so i assume) led you to believe/fathom/conclude.

I think you forgot to change account, Gahbreeil

 

[samuraigaiden]

Also, I can't believe I'm seeing somebody use the "it's a RPG because you play a role in it" argument unironically. In 2021.

 

[RPK]

Also, I can't believe I'm seeing somebody use the "it's a RPG because you play a role in it" argument unironically. In 2021.

does that make my job an RPG? Cuz that would be awesome.

 

[Tavernking]

Tech wizards should be paid equal to designers.

I cringed at this. I wish I could just sit back and design games and then see it get made, tell the programmer how to tweak it to make it perfect, and watch the dollars roll in. Like you, I'm more of a writer/designer.

No, you're probably going to have to learn how to code if you want to see this happen. If you hate coding, you'll probably still have to learn how to code so you can make a prototype that shows how brilliant your idea is and why 'tech wizards' should spend months of their life on your idea making the full product. Or be prepared to pay a programmer full time wages.

Also, cool idea. It sounds similar to my game. But I am actually making my game.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Please Elaborate.
If you mean exploration of behaviors and their roles (or other inner/mental experiences)then i agree.
If you mean outer/external/visual exploration consider/imagine the following:

A game that start with the player arrested by the police in a dystopian future with different rules and confined in the interrogation room/cell. there is no exploration worth to speak of except perhaps the seconds it takes the eyes to scan the room there could properly be no movement at all(aside the head area) depends on how handcuffed/confined the player is. There is the role of the cops, there may be the role of the lawyer, and the role of the player as suspect who will the role of either a free citizen or prisoner depending on how the game ends. how the event unfold, does the player manages to convince the cops of his innocence(if he was innocent to begin with) or not (with a limit time or not) all in one room. Here you have an example of a game that can be described as Role-Playing Game but without exploration. Yet according to you in would belong in a different genre, and what genre it would be? perhaps such form of Exploration is not as fundamental as your years of experience( so i assume) led you to believe/fathom/conclude.

Combat, exploration, and character progression/customization are all integral elements to the RPG genre; interactive storytelling is not, and an interactive story-telling game lacking combat, exploration, and character elements is far removed from being an RPG.

Spoiler

Oddly, the BRO symbol in the Dungeon Master manual is flipped relative to the in-game version

 

[bionicman]

Hi Gahbreeil, let me try to give you some constructive criticism.

Your game idea/design document reads kind of like an advertisement for a game or something you would find on the back of the video game box package, e.g:

The simulation game is a sandbox allowing for the type of freedom never before experienced in a video game.

So, for starters, maybe you could work in a PR/marketing department for some video game company?

However, if you'd like to be a designer you have to, well, design a game. What does that entail?

To design something is to plan something. You're not supposed to give vague directions as to what the game is supposed to be, that's probably the job of the publisher instead.

As a designer, you have to distill the game into the smallest elements, most rudimentary game elements, and loops, e.g. how does the combat work, *exactly*? How does the exploration work, *exactly*? What is the plot of the game (if there is a story of sorts) and what are the most important points in the plot? And not just the plot, let's say there is a small dungeon somewhere on the map in the game: what is its backstory/lore? What is its level design/architecture? What attributes/skills does the player get to utilize there? What are optional things that could happen in this small area? And for all those questions, your answers should be as detailed as can be, so that those implementing the game would know *exactly* what to do. You're not supposed to give vague directions, but fully describe the systems and structures of the game.

Some examples of actual game design documents from the industry:
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/f..._Prison.pdf/revision/latest?cb=20110718200059
https://www.scribd.com/doc/32182096/Planescape-Torment-Vision-Statement-1997

A suggestion I'd give you (and you've already heard this but it's worth repeating) is:
learn some programming language and make your own solo projects first.

It may sound daunting but, with the tools available to everyone for free today, just about anyone can make a game.
I recommend you learn Python and use something like Pygame, or alternatively Lua and use Love2d. Python and Lua are very simple scripting languages, and as a designer it would help to know those for your portfolio anyways.

Pygame: https://www.pygame.org/
Love2D: https://love2d.org/

 

[Gahbreeil]

I cringed at this. I wish I could just sit back and design games and then see it get made, tell the programmer how to tweak it to make it perfect, and watch the dollars roll in. Like you, I'm more of a writer/designer.

No, you're probably going to have to learn how to code if you want to see this happen. If you hate coding, you'll probably still have to learn how to code so you can make a prototype that shows how brilliant your idea is and why 'tech wizards' should spend months of their life on your idea making the full product. Or be prepared to pay a programmer full time wages.

Also, cool idea. It sounds similar to my game. But I am actually making my game.

End to beginning. I'm inventing a game, that sounds like a good idea. To explain myself further, the technicians would earn more. Why? Because the designers would finish before they do. Isn't this correct?

Your game idea/design document reads kind of like an advertisement for a game or something you would find on the back of the video game box package, e.g:

Yes, it is a pitch and is supposed to draw in someone.

So, for starters, maybe you could work in a PR/marketing department for some video game company?

I can PR a game, why not. I wouldn't be too bad it.

To design something is to plan something. You're not supposed to give vague directions as to what the game is supposed to be, that's probably the job of the publisher instead. As a designer, you have to distill the game into the smallest elements, most rudimentary game elements, and loops, e.g. how does the combat work, *exactly*? How does the exploration work, *exactly*? What is the plot of the game (if there is a story of sorts) and what are the most important points in the plot? And not just the plot, let's say there is a small dungeon somewhere on the map in the game: what is its backstory/lore? What is its level design/architecture? What attributes/skills does the player get to utilize there? What are optional things that could happen in this small area? And for all those questions, your answers should be as detailed as can be, so that those implementing the game would know *exactly* what to do. You're not supposed to give vague directions, but fully describe the systems and structures of the game.

I am doing just what you've said I should be doing. I'm working on the system, a dice roller the most I can as I write this.

Some examples of actual game design documents from the industry: https://www.scribd.com/doc/32182096/Planescape-Torment-Vision-Statement-1997

https://www.scribd.com/doc/32182096/Planescape-Torment-Vision-Statement-1997
Thank you, this will be an interesting read.

A suggestion I'd give you (and you've already heard this but it's worth repeating) is:
learn some programming language and make your own solo projects first.

I'd rather not learn programming and instead find someone proficient with it. And I don't get the latter sentence because this is my own project which I create alone so far.

 

[Gahbreeil]

 

[Johnny Biggums]

The man said you need to be able to explain the mechanics in detail. That means all of them. You've got some rolls and armor health (which sounds like shit, I've seen storyfag games with more interesting and tactical armor health systems, but whatever), and then X happens "based on realism," and "this is more or less where it is at."

 

[Gahbreeil]

-
Everything is taken care of, you just need to put some thought in it and it's a finite finished product. I understand some people might think I should not omit that armour has points of defence yet that is what it is, isn't it? Besides that items of use suggests whet stones or hammers to remove dents in your plate armour. I will still be working on it. Any criticism? It sure is shorter than the first post. If you cannot see the image, left mouse over the image so that it is selected. Right click and open in new tab. There you can zoom in and out.

 

[Gahbreeil]

The post above is based on percentages and the skills affecting those. Since then I've created an RPG system and I direct you to this thread to read about it. My work here is done. Game finished in a week. All I need to do is write the full game pitch document. It will probably be up to eight B6 pages long in font 10.

Thank you all for your insight and help. It has been a pleasure.

 

[Carpincho Pampeano]

Literally the ideas guy meme, i would say that you will never acomplish anything but Grimoire finally released after 20 years.

 

[Gastrick]

In future Rpgs the one playing the role will be the computer. The game will be you, and you will be the one controlling everything. You'll learn to like being the game and enjoy the company of the computer. Covid will cross over into reality from the imaginary realm, and isolation from humans will be eternal. The apocalypse actually has already happened and we are moving to life in a world remade by Isamu. I'll see you there, or rather, I won't see you there.

 

[Gahbreeil]

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Father, forgive me, I did not know what I was doing.

 

[buffalo bill]

Guys, I have an idea for a game: it is a good game. What do you guys think?

 

[Butter]

Guys, I have an idea for a game: it is a good game. What do you guys think?

Miss me with this decline shit.

 

[samuraigaiden]

Guys, I have an idea for a game: it is a good game. What do you guys think?

How good is it?

 

[samuraigaiden]

This entire thread reminds me of that scene from Mulholland Drive where the blond woman goes to a concert and the singer collapses but the music continues playing. “No hay banda. There is no band.”

 

[Elex]

Guys, I have an idea for a game: it is a good game. What do you guys think?

Look good.

 

[Hag]

Guys, I have an idea for a game: it is a good game. What do you guys think?

Already played it.

 

[typical user]

Guys I have cracked the enigma, I've won the 4D chess, I have solved the galaxy-brain level riddle:

Which games are RPGs and which are not?

Those which have different classes or roles and allow you to level them up to deepen differences. Dark Souls is an RPG-lite as it allows you to pick a knight and play as knight, it allows you to pick a wizard and play as a wizard or a thief who plays as a backstabbing thief with a tiny knife. Also choices and consequences which allow you to flesh out your character and make it truly yours. We have took the 'role' in role playing games to the letter when it meant playing a class rather than being an actor playing a character.

Is Call of Duty RPG? No, you play as a soldier and that's it. You can play as soldier medic or sniper but still you play as a soldier. You can't play as a wrestler with a bat or Nascar driver. Is Witcher 3 RPG? Sort of, you have levels, you can learn new skills and there are choices with some consequences. We bashed Twitcher as an action advanture because it has very light RPG elements, even Fable has more as you can specialize in melee or ranged and steal stuff from townsfolk but it's the choices which set those games apart from GTA and alike.

With all dogshit games like Dragon Age or Fallout 4 it's no surprise we forgot what is an RPG.

 

[Ol' Willy]

You can't play as a wrestler with a bat or Nascar driver.

Which RPGs allow that?

Therefore, BF1942 is an RPG.

 

[buffalo bill]

Guys, I have an idea for a game: it is a good game. What do you guys think?

Miss me with this decline shit.

You just don't understand how brilliant my idea is. Let me break it down for you.

Atmosphere: really good atmosphere
Gameplay: really good gameplay
Story: really good story
Graphics: really good graphics
Setting: really good setting

See? Obviously brilliant idea.

 

[Hag]

You forgot to put a copyright and a "confidential" mention on your idea. It is mine now. But you can develop it for me if you want.