First I'm going to post several definitions of the CRPG genre I just searched out on the web:
Role Playing
Games in which players create or take on a character represented by various statistics, which may even include a developed persona. The character?s description may include specifics such as species, race, gender, and occupation, and may also include various abilities, such as strength and dexterity, to limited degrees usually represented numerically. The games can be single?player, such as Ultima III: Exodus (1983), or multiple?player games such as those which are networked. This term should not be used for games like Adventure or Raiders of the Lost Ark in which identity is not emphasized or important, nor where characters are not represented statistically. -
http://www.robinlionheart.com/gamedev/genres.xhtml
Computer role-playing games (CRPGs or simply RPGs) place the player in a fantasy or science fiction setting. Most of these games are similar to traditional role-playing games played with pencil and paper (notably D&D) except, in this case, the computer takes care of all the record keeping and nondeterministic elements such as die rolling. Most of these games have the player acting in the role of an "adventurer" who specializes in a certain set of skills (such as combat or casting magic spells). These skill sets are normally called "classes" and players can normally control one or more of these characters. Since the emergence of affordable home computers coincided with the popularity of pencil and paper role-playing games, this genre was one of the first in video games and continues to be popular today. Though nearly all of the early entries in the genre were turn-based games, modern CRPGs have introduced a real-time aspect, thanks largely to the success of Diablo and similarly designed games. Thus, the CRPG genre has folllowed the strategy game's trend of moving from turn-based to real-time combat. -
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.c ... me%20genre
RPG
Roleplaying Game. A game that is usually based on controlling one or more characters to finish some large and more minor quests while fighting and gaining experience points. -
http://www.gamedev.net/dict/search.asp?Term=RPG
In fact, the only one I found who comes close to the definitions found around here is this guy:
http://www.ringsurf.com/info/Entertainm ... enres.html
And he clearly doesn't know what he's talking about since he uses Final Fantasy games as examples of what you guys are saying!
For dojoteef here's some Adventure definitions from the same sites:
Adventure
Games which are set in a ?world? usually made up of multiple, connected rooms or screens, involving an objective which is more complex than simply catching, shooting, capturing, or escaping, although completion of the objective may involve several or all of these. Objectives usually must be completed in several steps, for example, finding keys and unlocking doors to other areas to retrieve objects needed elsewhere in the game. Characters are usually able to carry objects, such as weapons, keys, tools, and so on. Settings often evoke a particular historical time period and place, such as the middle ages or Arthurian England, or are thematically related to content?based genres such as Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Espionage. This term should not be used for games in which screens are only encountered in one?way linear fashion, like the ?levels? in Donkey Kong, or for games like Pitfall! which are essentially limited to running, jumping, and avoiding dangers (see Obstacle Course). Nor should the term be used to refer to games like Dragon?s Lair, Gadget, or Star Trek: Borg, which do not allow a player to wander and explore its ?world? freely, but strictly limit outcomes and possible narrative paths to a series of video sequences and linear progression through a predetermined narrative (see Interactive Movies). -
http://www.robinlionheart.com/gamedev/g ... #adventure
In the terminology of console video games adventure, games are games which involve exploration of, and interaction with, the environment as a main facet of gameplay. -
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.c ... me%20genre
Adventure Game
A genre of games that typically are graphics, character and story based. The player usually has to solve a series of puzzles while being given a deep story. Examples of this genre would be many of the LucasArts such as Grim Fandango, the Monkey Island series, and many of the Quest series from Sierra Online. -
http://www.gamedev.net/dict/search.asp?Term=Adventure
while you could make a case for FFX being an Adventure title under the first definition, it would be much harder to do so with the other two. Though you might be able to make a case for Arcanum to be an Adventure title under the third... heh.
Ok, now I'm going to try another tack... one which I wish I had thought of a while ago! Stay tuned...
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http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic ... &start=100
