Poll: Are RPGs getting 'dumbed-down'?

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Yes, totally. I want games where I have to think about the outcome of my actions, not just have to worry about picking 'Good' 'Neutral' and 'Evil' in the dialogue options. I also want to have to think to finish the quests I'm on, work out puzzles and riddles, etc - rather than what we tend to get these days which is 'Go to quest arrow. Now click on quest arrow. Now go to new quest arrow.'. That (for me) doesn't create a great gaming experience.

RPGs these days aren't really RPGs anymore - they're first or third person hack'n'slash games that have RPG elements tacked onto them in an effort to 'be more accessable to a wider audience'. Which is game dev PR speak for 'making a game so bland that everyone buys it and we can all afford Ferraris.'.

 

[NoNameMcgee]

Yes, and I consider it to be a good thing. Though I would rather use the term "more accessible" and tentatively (and with flame shield held high) use the term "actually fun and not a chore"

The only RPG's I have ever enjoyed are as following: Mass Effect 2, Vampire Bloodlines, Oblivion (heavily modded) and Fallout 3 (heavily modded). Because, while having those nice RPG qualities; they play like action games, not math equations.

The thing is I CRAVE for more RPGs that fit into this category and I am really glad that in the recent generation we have seen some of them. I absolutely love branching conversation choices, decision making, and having some effect on the world around me; actually designing my character and giving them a personality.. Stuff like that. But I don't like the old RPG model that is based heavily on your stats and where the gameplay is basically an afterthought. To be truly immersed into a game I need to enjoy the action and really feel like I am part of the action on screen and not just watching from the sideline and giving orders. This frustrates me.

While I have yet to play an RPG with completely polished gameplay, I am hoping this is the next step for the genre and we see more games like Mass Effect 2 which is my favorite RPG, and has reasonably decent gameplay that kept me involved and entertained at least. Less of those top-down borefests of the past with that retarded D&D style of gameplay that I despise.

 

[SimuLord]

I've played Fallout 1 and 2. The combat mechanics are a bit impenetrable, the controls obtuse, and the faithfulness to pencil-and-paper means a lot of the advantages of a computer for making the game more fun are simply left by the wayside.

Contrast Fallout 3---I know I'm in the minority here but I think that game is leaps and bounds better and more fun than its predecessors, largely because it uses Bethesda's simplified approach to WRPG design. It's a delight to play and IMO the third-best game of all time (behind Rome: Total War and Alpha Centauri).

If that's "dumbing down", then just let me sit here drooling and saying "HURR".

 

[Ickorus]

Yes but I wouldn't use the words 'Dumbed down'; these games are being made far more accessible to a much larger audience and whilst I know that is their way of making more money it also means the devs get their story out to more people which is what I think is the most important part of an RPG.

 

[AVATAR_RAGE]

Yes RPG games are getting simpler, however this may just be to make them easier for new gamers to get into.

I suppose cost is also an option as well.

Though tbh I did like Mass Effect 2 with out the "intense" RPG stuff from the 1st game, I just wish that I could customise my team more, like pick their armour and such. The lack of weapons was also a let down too

 

[Snacksboy]

Didn't you get the memo? It's called streamlining, not dumbing down.

 

[TPiddy]

Sorry, but 1 player in your world does not constitute an MMO... 'data' left by other players in your world does not constitute an MMO. Fable 2 did that already and it's not an MMO.

Ah but that's the beauty of Demon Souls as you are indeed playing with a large number of players. The hints are dropped by multiple players and you view the most popular/well liked hint which are approved via a vote system that's done in real time. Not to mention as you play through the level you can see ghost images of all the other players playing through that area and see what they're doing and more often than not they provide much needed clues and warnings. You can see some ghost images go through walls which hints at secret rooms or see another image fall over and die which can show upcoming dangers such as traps.

Players often describe the game as a "single player MMO" or a game that blends many MMO experiences into a single player game to re-enforce its themes of loneliness and atmosphere.

Again, something that Fable 2 already did.... MMO implies that all players involved are playing in the same persistent game environment.... this is not true in both Fable 2 and Demon's Souls. I'm not trying to take anything away from Demon's Souls, it's a great game, but you try to tell someone it's an MMO and then they actually play it and they'll probably be pretty upset with you.

 

[Blackality]

:looks at System Shock 2:
:looks at Bioshock:
:looks at Fallout 1 and 2:
:looks ar Fallout 3:
:looks at Daggerfall:
:looks at Oblivion:

Maybe not all kinds of RPG but thanks to the popularization of FPS mechanics on consoles now every FPS/RPG seems a little dumbed down.
Remember the cool inventory in SS2? In Bioshock, puf... gone!

The difference is that SS2 was a PC exlusive. And a keyboard has a lot of nice and shiny keys, a gamepad does not.