Mass Effect isn't an RPG?!

[HijiriOni]

If you loosely define RPG, which is simply Role Playing Game, then every game that you play a character in is an RPG. From Duke Nukem to Resident Evil to Final Fantasy. Because you technically ARE playing the ROLE of SOMEONE in these games.

The new thing with RPGs is to allow more freedom and freedom of choice, so people are seeing games like Mass Effect and KoTOR to be the current standard for RPGs. But InFamous has freedom of choice and Assassin's Creed also does.

 

[thirdsonsaburo]

Mass Effect is an RPG. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Just because the gameplay isn't turn-based doesn't mean it's not a goddamn RPG.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

I think for the most part the pure western RPG is dead in the water. Or at least, it's evolved and become more of an element of other genres rather than one all by itself. And even it hasn't happened completely yet it will in the next few years. Mass Effect 2 is a good example of this, of how RPGs seem to be slowly being pushed out of the circet, becoming elements of the over all experience rather than the main thrust.

Of coarse it's all very debatable. I don't think games should even label themselves as genres by their gameplay style anymore. 80% of games now-a-days have some sort of RPG element, many of them have puzzles ect. I suppose you could break it down into sub genres but then it just get's stupid. First person shooter role playing game, Massively multiplayer online role playing game, Massively multiplayer online first person shooter role playing game, ect.

 

[Knight Templar]

Roleplaying games are not solely about you creating a character and doing "choices". It's about putting yourself into the role of a character and living it out.

Which would involve a large amount of choices no? Unless being along for the ride is "living it out".

 

[omega 616]

RPG is a highly debatable term these days. Japanese RPGs did most of the foundations in terms of video game RPGs, and they did so by involving player stats and highly customizable battle/equipment setups. However, now that Western RPGs have come onto the scene, we have people claiming that the key element of role-playing is the ability to indeed play a role, making decisions and driving the story and personality of the main character. So it's hard to really know what an RPG is in the first place.

I say any of these elements counts as "RPG elements," meaning that a game that incorporates them as a huge aspect of the game is an RPG. The first Mass Effect is absolutely an RPG. THe second is more debatable, but I would still call it an action RPG.

It's a sticky subject, but some people have gotten really picky about it. For that matter, often people will make up a new definition specifically to exclude some kind of RPG they don't like (I'm looking squarely at you, JRPG haters). You can't let it bother you; disagree, debate it if you want, but it's a typical occurrence.

I have nothing really bad to say about JRPG's other then that there title is wrong. The games themselves are sometimes quite good but a menu system does not mean you "have RPG elements".

One of my fav games, Deus Ex, is classed as a shooter with RPG element. Other then a menu system It shared almost no resemble to RPG's. Still an awesome. But it needs a new genre.

If that was the case with JRPGS needing a new genre, then there would need to a whole host of sub genres to call various games and each genre would only contain one game or franchise.

Tad silly in my book.

Just call them WRPG or JRPG and move on, there are bigger things to worry about.

 

[Knight Templar]

Roleplaying games are not solely about you creating a character and doing "choices". It's about putting yourself into the role of a character and living it out.

Which would involve a large amount of choices no? Unless being along for the ride is "living it out".

Would you say that in game where you play as a Knight of the Templar Order where you live the role of an Templar isn't Roleplaying if you are to "ride along" as you put it?

I have no idea what you mean, sorry.

 

[Amphoteric]

Mass Effect 1 and 2 aren't role playing games, they're role games where all you do is choose what you want your character to say in the vaguest of senses of and then "fight" aliens by pointing at them and making one of your squad mates throw them across the room.

Yeah, pretty much. That's all you do.

Choosing your class? Your backstory? Facial features? What weapons you specialize in? What skills and abilities? How your character interacts with his allies which then defines how they act and think around you? Your preference of squad? Your preference of weapons, armor, and upgrades? How you think, how you act in such pivotal situations that ultimately define and shape the people and galaxy around you? Nope, none of that's in there. None at all.

None of it feels like it makes the slightest differance in game though. The characters feel quite shallow to me. I prefer KotOR because the characters are actually interesting.

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

Mass Effect 1 and 2 aren't role playing games, they're role games where all you do is choose what you want your character to say in the vaguest of senses of and then "fight" aliens by pointing at them and making one of your squad mates throw them across the room.

Yeah, pretty much. That's all you do.

Choosing your class? Your backstory? Facial features? What weapons you specialize in? What skills and abilities? How your character interacts with his allies which then defines how they act and think around you? Your preference of squad? Your preference of weapons, armor, and upgrades? How you think, how you act in such pivotal situations that ultimately define and shape the people and galaxy around you? Nope, none of that's in there. None at all.

None of it feels like it makes the slightest differance in game though. The characters feel quite shallow to me. I prefer KotOR because the characters are actually interesting.

Now, that is a matter of opinion vs. what is and isn't. Yeah, the characters didn't quite do it for you, but it's there. The choices you make are there. The way you impact their lives are still there. And, to some people, we enjoyed the characters and the decisions we made for them.

 

[Chunko]

It's not an RPG it's just a shooter with RPG elements. A really really good shooter with RPG elements.

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

EDIT: Sorry, browser fucked up and my post didn't show up.

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

It's not an RPG it's just a shooter with RPG elements. A really really good shooter with RPG elements.

What part did you disagree with in my post?

 

[Shilkanni]

The ability to make and direct the decisions of your character is hardly the only feature of RPGs. Video game RPGs are based on tabletop RPGs, which had many different aspects to them. The actual playing of a character role is only one of those; the statistics, battle systems, and customization are others.

I agree with this, features of a pen & paper RPG like D&D usually include:
- Character customisation on creation: Class/Race/Gender/Stats
- Combat system based around dice rolls and Stats, Abilities, Items, Spells
- Improvement of character through levelling, increasing stats, increasing skills, acquiring items.
- Role-playing, acting out the role of your character in the story.
- Freedom, having choices and having your decisions make an impact on the world.

I'm sure there's other stuff I've missed.

No Computer-RPG needs to do all of these things for us to call it an RPG. If it does a lot of these things we usually call it an RPG. If it does only a few of these things we might say it has 'RPG elements' especially if it plays more like another genre.

The way I look at it: Mass Effect is an RPG with shooter elements. Borderlands is a shooter with RPG elements. Final Fantasy might have no Freedom or character customisation... but everything it *does* leave in there (story focus, RPG-style combat) are traits of an RPG.