Deepest RPG imaginable

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Content, not makework like having to relieve oneself. Hybrid Heaven wasn't very long but did let you level up individual limbs as suggested.

For the 'deepest RPG imaginable' though I'd prefer length. Have a complex skill system. After about the first third of an extremely long, multibranching story start introducing skills that make your current ones gradually become obsolete. After the second third, do it again with a third tier of even more powerful skills and equipment. Story-wise, have a time skip between each segment and multiple side quests and bonus dungeons in each one.

So basically three long RPGs stuck together with connecting characters and systems. Kind of like the Baldur's Gate Trilogy except all one game. In that one you kept your character all the way through, and by the end of the final part he was over Level 47+ and fighting advanced enemies that were still challenging to him. Consider that most D&D character sheets go up to 20.

 

[TheIronRuler]

Don't have a saving point.
That's all there is to it - live with your consequences, you can't reload.
That's a hardcore RPG experience.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Why don't you just invent a time machine, which basically is a RL save/load feature since RL is exactly what you're describing.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Dwarf For....oh...yeah, well that one.

http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/

http://rps.net/QS/Images/DW/map2.gif : Every character on that has a life track.

 

[xvbones]

I just have to ask: Why the hell would anyone name their fortress "Boatmurdered"??

It comes up with random names when you make a fortress oftentimes they are amusing so you just roll with it

^^

In the LP Archive are Succession LPs of other forts, including 'Headshoots' and 'Syrupleaf'.

 

[Jordi]

I would really like to play an RPG that has a lot of realistic elements like having to eat and drink, getting tired etc. However, I hate micromanagement, so something would have to be done about that. That's why I'm not so sure about relieving yourself, because it sounds like it would just be busywork. However, if it would have some meaning in game, I could get behind it. I imagine that the game could assume under normal circumstances that you took care of business like this (so you don't have to micromanage), but that if you are sneaking around a cave or house or something where you don't want to be detected, this might suddenly become a concern.

I would also like an inventory system that is more realistic in some ways too. It always kind of bothered me that killed opponents don't always drop everything they are obviously wearing. But on the other hand, it also kind of bothered me that it seems that you are pretty much assumed to take anything they do drop. If I were to kill a group of bandits that attacked me, my first idea would probably not be to strip them naked and sell all of their belongings for profit. A more realistic player encumbrance system might help, but it would be a shame if this got extremely tedious.

It also seems nice to me to have a slightly more realistic skill progression than most games offer. It makes no sense to me that a level 10 character is 10 times stronger than a level 1 character. I would say that level 1 should be a pretty fit young man, and that you should progress your attributes to maybe end up at a level slightly above the current human best (e.g. max speed means you are slightly faster than Usain Bolt).
Combat should be realistic in the sense that people don't have ridiculous numbers of hit points and that every blow counts. This basically means that if you can surprise attack someone, they are usually doomed. Which might be a problem, since it is never fun when such a surprise attack happens to the player.
Magic should be special and be about as powerful as it looks. If you can throw a fireball that explodes like a grenade, then that should kill pretty much anyone without magical defenses on the spot.

Finally, I want the world to go about its business even when the player is not there. In most games, villains politely wait to kidnap the princess, invade the town, steal the treasure, etc. What I want is for the game to plan event X in town Y and to just do that then whether the player is there or not. If the player happens to cross paths with any of the involved people or locations, he can affect the outcome. If not, things will go as "planned". It would be even more awesome if the player's actions in one "event" could affect what happens in other cases. So maybe if the player saves one guy from a prison, that guy will prevent someone from getting kidnapped (or if she does get kidnapped, he comes to the player for help because he knows him).

All of these things seem cool to me, but they might not work for most other people. I foresee many problems if anyone ever wanted to really implement the game I am envisioning, because I can see how things could easily get tedious, but I hope that one day someone succeeds.

 

[infohippie]

This sounds like it would be awesome, I'm fed up with all this so-called "streamlining" of RPGs. I want deep complexity, damnit!

However, as well as adding all these systems, I think there is one system that should be removed: levels. I really think it's time RPGs dropped leveling as a mechanic altogether. You should still gain experience of course, and this XP would be put towards improving your abilities in different ways, but a strict level-based ranking system is a kind of shorthand for character progression that I really feel we can do without these days.

Skills, powers, etc ought to improve directly through use, training, study, practice, whatever's appropriate. Eve Online has made a few steps in that direction with skills being the only thing to have levels, not player characters. Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu did something similar in a tabletop roleplaying system. I think it works much better than having character levels.

 

[electronicgoat]

I looked at the title and thought you meant the most profound storyline in any RPG.
But yeah, Dwarf Fortress pretty much has you covered in what you're looking for.
I found it a little ridiculous, honestly. There's retro, and there's unplayable. The game felt too complex to have shit graphics and no tutorial.