What is an RPG?

[Jools]

One could argue that a game with behind-the-ass camera, like the Gothics and NWNs are less RPG than games where the player only sees what the character sees.

And what would be the argument based upon?

Because if you are truly role playing a character, you should only see what the character sees.
I'm not saying the POV determines if a game is RPG or not, only that 1st person POV gives a better role playing experience. After all, role playing (in a broader sense) is often used to make people see things from another persons perspective.
Of course this only applies to single character games.

Bethesda got it right when you have an option to switch between 1st and 3rd person.

I see your point clearly, but do you see mine, from my previous post? In my opinion a BTA/OTS camera is actually closer to the way we perceive our surroundings IRL, therefore enhancing the immersion and making the roleplaying experience better to me.

But yeah, option to alternate between the two is actually quite welcome. In fact, in games with such an option, I find myself often cycling between the two cameras, according to the situation: I usually use BTA for "generic exploration" and 1st person for interaction (dialogues, shopping, interiors, etc...).

 

[commie]

This question can best be answered by the question: "What ISN'T an RPG?"


Clearly sniffing Liberal's G-string is not an RPG, neither is squeezing your pimples onto a mirror or masturbating into your hand. Once you continue on discovering things that are not RPG's a clearer picture will emerge about the true nature of the RPG.

 

[octavius]

it's about the IMMERSHUN!!

So? BTA (Behind The Ass, definition borrowed from Octavius) camera better simulates peripheral view and surroundings awareness, IMHO. I like it better and actually find it more immersive than 1st person in RPGs. 1st person feels like walking around looking at the world through, forgive the pun, a camera's sight or binoculars.

OK, I can see your point. 1st person POV can be too restrictive, since it's hard to simulate periperhal vision.

But third person gives you a "God's view" which is fine with simple fighting games, but it takes away an important gameplay aspecrt; hearing where enemies are. I'm a sucker for "immershun" and I prefer playing thief/assassin/sniper characters.
To me the best single character games are those where you have to use both sight and hearing, and where I am the hunter. That's why Thief 1 and 2, Deus Ex and heavily modded Oblivion are among my favourite games, although Thief and Deus Ex lack the stats and character advancement needed to classify them as CRPGs. Oblivion also has mods that give you a greater POV and there's even mods that give you a dynamic depth of field.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

An rpg is that which makes the most money when it is marketed as such.

 

[Johannes]

Not to mention that you can't see your character's tits in first person mode, rendering all those Fallout3Nexus modders unemployed, undesired and unrated. Third person is simply the way to go, even when it makes the game completely impossible to play.

Definitely FP view should show tits when looking down.

 

[Xi]

...[/size]

Let's pretend that this hasn't been happening for numerous years already and that true RPG scholars aren't already so jaded that they just don't give a fuck anymore.

 

[Serious_Business]

sup in this thread faggots

 

[Jaesun]

sup in this thread faggots

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Not to mention that you can't see your character's tits in first person mode, rendering all those Fallout3Nexus modders unemployed, undesired and unrated. Third person is simply the way to go, even when it makes the game completely impossible to play.

Definitely FP view should show tits when looking down.

I still think Jurassic Park Trespasser's health bar was really funny. It's like yeah yeah yeah health bar whatever just let me holy shit tits!

 

[Raghar]

An RPG is an abbreviation with a on purpose ambiguous meaning. It means either Roleplaying game, or a Roll playing game. While the later is a mockery for certain storyteller gaming session, it's completely correct meaning.

RPG basically means a game where a character acts in the gaming world by using his own skills with accordance to the rule system. Because the world is real from point of view of the character, items that are available outside of game should behave entirely correctly in the rulesystem as well.

RPGs are actually games that depends on an imagination and ability to write stories. Considering they depend entirelly on player's creativity, creating a RPG system means implicitly giving up author rights for a derivate work.

People who are entertaining themselves by these activities are rather rare, traces of similar activities could be found as long ago as Frankenstain.

The source of a term roleplaying game is actually quite hard to find, however majority of RPG developers were overly educated. In psychlogy there is a term roleplaying which means a certain very retarded group activity. Taking this term and adding a term game, thus changing it's meaning from boring activity to incredibly fun activity, is something which many of these RPG developers were more than capable and willing to do.

Computer RPGs are just a poor attempts at PnP RPGs. Majority of game developers don't even try to create a proper computer version. They started to distile gameplay elements, then they continued until the distilate was a pure alcohol (water?) without traces. The result is one uninspiring and bland game after another.

Yet all these simplification resulted in few RPG subgenres.
Puzzle games which Black cat likes. These are basically derivate of that old playing style. Lets try to skin characters alive, whcih was often countered by an inventive tactic these character did when they were in pinch. The most famous DnD module can be radically simplified by sending several tent of cows into dungeon before characters would try to sneak just after them.

Second were hacks and slashes (Diablo likes). Obviously a beat them ups without items are somehow bland, thus an action RPG found its clientele.

Then there were attempts to make something close to old RPGs. It was too much work and they failed.

And then there are also these games which screams we want to be in movies and believe when we would make something like movies, movie industry would notice us. They don't know movie industry would look down at them with disdain even when they would make something superior to AA movies. (The problem is of course with movie industry. Also what retard would want to go into movie industry, when they can make something superior? But a lot of people were bombarded by TV and movies when they were children, or they are subject of a certain psychology problem.)



Considering this is my day of, and I sucessfully fought of all urges to try few algorithms, type lines of source code... I wonder If I'd last until night. If I'd use correct grammar and write something more detailed than bullet points which would look somehow like a work, then definitely not.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Despite the typo (You don't even know what don't know) it's pretty worthy.

 

[Imbecile]

This again. Have a mildly interesting link on the subject.

http://sinisterdesign.net/?p=785