What makes an RPG good?

[Master Cilander]

Forgive an ex morrowind and oblivion fan for his ignorance, or not, but I'd really like to know. Today I was completely disenchanted at The elderscrolls forum, treated like trash by the moderators after spending my good money on the refuse that is oblivion.

I was wondering what makes a real rpg in the average opinion of the posters around here.

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, I've understood oblivion was shit for quite some time. it was just the treatment I received at their forum that put me over the edge.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

Dungeons.

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

The consensus might amount to "choice and consequences" - or not...

Check the stickied "Monkey project" thread - it has links to various "what is an RPG" discussions.

 

[Master Cilander]

Monkey project? I thought of checking into that before I made a thread I was sure has been made 500 times. >_>

EDIT: I want bethesda to go bankrupt.

 

[ad hominem]

prostitutes. it's definitely not an rpg without prostitutes.

 

[Master Cilander]

Which board can I go to where I can whine about my hatred of Oblivion non stop without annoying someone? Is it this one?

I also hate Oblivion fanboys. It's like choosing to be a fanboy of shit.

 

[Voss]

A few things.

One- this topic has been beaten to death 'round these parts. Take a search through old topics. Using more or less the exact title you used for the post.

Two- people will give you a lot of bullshit to answer your question. Ignore it, most of them are idiots. Take the phrase, break it down into the basic english meanings of the words, compensating slightly for the fucked up nature of the computer game industry, and there you are.

Three- If you really have to fixate on other people's opinions, accept the fact that its subjective and pick one you like. Also realize that people will mock you for whatever you pick. Me, I like choices, and I especially like consequences. Therefor, I am utterly disappointed with anything labeled CRPG that has come out in recent years. (In case you weren't paying attention, choices in games are largely illusionary when present at all, and consequences are exceedly rare to non-existant, and never meaningful).

Four- Constantly mentioning your sudden dislike of Bethesda/Morrowin/Oblivion is an obvious and lame way to try to gain acceptance among people that are either complete sheep or don't give a rat's ass about you or your opinions. You're on a message board. Don't try to make friends. Take what ever nuggets of info and insight you find, and treasure them like the exotic rarities they are. Expecting reams of wisdom and enlightenment is a path to pain, bitterness and disappointment.

Five- Beware the tubgirl. BEWARE!

 

[Master Cilander]

I understood all that beforehand. I was really trying to understand the codex view of rpgs. I'm not stupid. Heh. My hatred of oblivion is just extra today, after being served a plate of sarcasm at their message boards.

And tubgirl, yeah... I saw it before. Had trouble eating for a few days.

EDIT: There, I modified my stupid topic title so it is actually relevant.

 

[Jason]

Tubgirl makes all your dreams come true.

 

[Master Cilander]

Tubgirl makes all your dreams come true.

I had to view it along with goatse, and the harlequin fetus to pass a sort of membership trial when I wanted to join a forum.

 

[Kraszu]

Just find some old threat like GhanBuriGhan said, hard to take your topic seriously if you can find answer by sticky.

 

[bryce777]

Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and hear the lamentations of their women.

 

[Data4]

...and if you need some sort of order and place for your Oblivion and/or ESF bashing, the Best Thread Ever threads are generally aimed at pointing out examples of the idiocy of "Bethesda's Target Audience™", though I'm sure showstoppers from other reviled forums are appropriate there, too.

-D4

 

[Rhombus]

Which board can I go to where I can whine about my hatred of Oblivion non stop without annoying someone? Is it this one?

I also hate Oblivion fanboys. It's like choosing to be a fanboy of shit.

I'd say you've come to the right place atleast..

Afterall, that's all we do... whine about how Oblivion wasn't the perfect cRPG.

 

[Claw]

Which board can I go to where I can whine about my hatred of Oblivion non stop without annoying someone? Is it this one?

That would be Afterlife.com. You'll want to go there as quickly as possible.

 

[Imbecile]

I'm not 100% convinced that there's not a Codex school of thought that sees “What makes a good RPG?” and “What makes an RPG?” as interchangeable.

You can see it in some of the answers in this thread, and repeatedly in the dismissive put downs of games that the poster doesn’t like. Why say “Its not a good RPG” when you can go the whole hog and simply say “Its not an RPG”.

It makes a good insult, but more often that not it doesn’t make a good point.
]

 

[Romanian_Dude2005]

Wellcome to the forums buddy, I would give you a goatse (Codex fucked up version of the fishy stick), but I realy don't think you'ld like to see a mans anus right now.

Anyway this topic is too diverse to explain it all, so I'm just going to give you a list of games that you should play. A good RPG must have:

Choices and consequences (Arcanum, Fallout, Ultima 5-8)
Multiple solutions (Arcanum, Fallout, Ultima 5-8)
Strong dialogue (Planescape: Torment)
Consistent, imaginative setting (Morowind, Planescape: Torment, Arcanum)
Deep characters (Planescape: Torment, Baldur's Gate II)
Good tactical combat (Temple of Elemental Evil, Wasteland, Prelude to Darkness, Fallout, Mount&Blade)
Fun quest structure (Prelude to Darkness, Fallout, Arcanum and Oblivion if you ignore the hand holding)
A detailed, flexible character creation system (Fallout, Arcanum, Prelude to Darkness, Daggerfall)
A dynamic breathing, living world (Gothic, Arcanum, SR2, Ultima VII)
An original story (Fallout, Arcanum, PS: T)

 

[serch]

A good system, set of rules that serves to calculate the output of your choices. That is important for me, the rule lawyer. No personal abilities, no reflexes, no coordination required from you for your PC to relate with the world. Just rules.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

Why only Ultimas 5-8? 4 offered a bucketload of choices and consquences, along with multiple solutions.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Good content.

 

[elander_]

I think what we need is a crpg scale:

Oblivion <--------------------> Fallout

Anything in the middle is more or less a crpg. Abything less or equal to Oblivion isn't.

 

[Master Cilander]

I'm embarassed that I made such a stupid topic...

Let it die. >_>

 

[Imbecile]

I'm embarassed that I made such a stupid topic...

Let it die. >_>

Stick with it, at the very least it'll provide some entertainment; Remember:

Old Codexers never die; they just bitch away.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

You know, with overly generic, often posed questions like this, my answer remains the same:

Full frontal nudity.

 

[Master Cilander]

You know Imbecile, I never knew Cody was that ugly I saw your avatar. Final Fight is a fun game.