So why are some games called RPG when they're not?

[ZeroDotZero]

Jesus christ, the ignorance in this thread makes me want to rip my hair out. The three main 'pillars' of RPG are as follows:

-Statistics
-Choice
-ROLE PLAYING

There's other stuff that helps too, like customisation and loot, but those three are the big ones.

 

[Axolotl]

JRPGs were before what you know to be RPGs: it's that simple. Western RPGs like Mass Effect, the ones that really offer you choices and character customization and such, spawned out of them. Don't complain.

No. The first computer RPGs were western, modern Bioware games cn trace their roots back almost purely using western RPGs.

 

[Akisa]

And no I don't care what the box or some stupid Award Shows say ( http://www.spike.com/event/vga2009/page/vote/category/34727 )... if you have a gun and run around in first person and shoot stuff with it for 90% of the game it's a damn FPS and not an CRPG xD

I don't know about that, Fallout 3 you can run around like a FPS but I still think it's more of a RPG then most "RPGs".

 

[Axolotl]

I don't know about that, Fallout 3 you can run around like a FPS but I still think it's more of a RPG then most "RPGs".

What? Compared to most RPGs Fallout 3 is fairly light on RPGness I do feel it is an RPG (more an FPSRPG but leaning towards RPG).

I swear if I see many more ignorant posts/threads about RPGs then I'm going to write a rouh history of RPGs just for something to point at in threads like these.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I found an article that was written by an angry man that addresses this topic better than I could:

http://insomnia.ac/commentary/on_role-playing_games/

Just read the article, and I highly recommend it to anyone here who thinks that endlessly tinkering with arbitrary numbers which somehow make swords hurt more is the same thing as role-playing.

Funny. I just read the article, and I recommend it to anyone who needs a laugh at someone conflating pen-and-paper and video game RPGs, who thinks the latter's stories are inherently idiotic because there's less than four paths they can take.

You can sum up that entire article with "Video game RPGs are not like pen-and-paper. Except MMORPGs, which suck."

 

[Akisa]

I don't know about that, Fallout 3 you can run around like a FPS but I still think it's more of a RPG then most "RPGs".

What? Compared to most RPGs Fallout 3 is fairly light on RPGness I do feel it is an RPG (more an FPSRPG but leaning towards RPG).

I swear if I see many more ignorant posts/threads about RPGs then I'm going to write a rouh history of RPGs just for something to point at in threads like these.

To me most games labeled RPG are not RPG. Granted games like Diablo and Final Fantasy are good but they're just stat and item driven strategy games.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I don't know about that, Fallout 3 you can run around like a FPS but I still think it's more of a RPG then most "RPGs".

What? Compared to most RPGs Fallout 3 is fairly light on RPGness I do feel it is an RPG (more an FPSRPG but leaning towards RPG).

I swear if I see many more ignorant posts/threads about RPGs then I'm going to write a rouh history of RPGs just for something to point at in threads like these.

To me most games labeled RPG are not RPG. Granted games like Diablo and Final Fantasy are good but they're just stat and item driven strategy games.

Then call them that. Try not to be confused when people don't know what you're talking about and point out that you just described not only all video game RPGs, but most PnP as well.

 

[WestMountain]

I don't know about that, Fallout 3 you can run around like a FPS but I still think it's more of a RPG then most "RPGs".

What? Compared to most RPGs Fallout 3 is fairly light on RPGness I do feel it is an RPG (more an FPSRPG but leaning towards RPG).

I swear if I see many more ignorant posts/threads about RPGs then I'm going to write a rouh history of RPGs just for something to point at in threads like these.

I think he meant "RPGs" with emphasis on the "", so many game developers call their games RPGs but they are often just shooters where you can only upgrade how fast you can run and how powerful your weapons are etc.

 

[dreadedcandiru99]

I don't know about that, Fallout 3 you can run around like a FPS but I still think it's more of a RPG then most "RPGs".

What? Compared to most RPGs Fallout 3 is fairly light on RPGness I do feel it is an RPG (more an FPSRPG but leaning towards RPG).

I swear if I see many more ignorant posts/threads about RPGs then I'm going to write a rouh history of RPGs just for something to point at in threads like these.

To me most games labeled RPG are not RPG. Granted games like Diablo and Final Fantasy are good but they're just stat and item driven strategy games.

Then call them that. Try not to be confused when people don't know what you're talking about and point out that you just described not only all video game RPGs, but most PnP as well.

You know, that's a good idea--change the name of the genre. That'd pretty much end my main quibble with those titles; namely, that the "role-playing game" label promises something the games generally don't deliver.

So what should we call them instead? I'm kind of partial to "statistical strategy games," or SSGs. Would that work, you think?

 

[NeutralDrow]

I don't know about that, Fallout 3 you can run around like a FPS but I still think it's more of a RPG then most "RPGs".

What? Compared to most RPGs Fallout 3 is fairly light on RPGness I do feel it is an RPG (more an FPSRPG but leaning towards RPG).

I swear if I see many more ignorant posts/threads about RPGs then I'm going to write a rouh history of RPGs just for something to point at in threads like these.

To me most games labeled RPG are not RPG. Granted games like Diablo and Final Fantasy are good but they're just stat and item driven strategy games.

Then call them that. Try not to be confused when people don't know what you're talking about and point out that you just described not only all video game RPGs, but most PnP as well.

You know, that's a good idea--change the name of the genre. That'd pretty much end my main quibble with those titles; namely, that the "role-playing game" label promises something the games generally don't deliver.

So what should we call them instead? I'm kind of partial to "statistical strategy games," or SSGs. Would that work, you think?

We should call them RPGs. Most people who haven't been avoiding video games for the past 30 years are perfectly aware of what that promises.

 

[The Austin]

... How is Diablo not an RPG?
Do you even know what an RPG is?

 

[Slycne]

Ultimately there are two big problems here. Genre is not binary. Why do you think the term "rpg elements" got penned? A game does not have to fall into one exclusive bin. The second problem is simply that currently we simply don't have the technology to replicate the experience of sitting down at a table with some friends and playing a tabletop role-playing game.

So when it comes to video games though, for me at least, it all comes down to your sense of identity in the world and to the character. I may play the role of Gordan Freeman in Half-Life, but I am not role-playing as I would be in say my character in Dragon Age: Origins.

So while many games, JRPGs for instance, might be branded as RPGs. I do not believe they are in the original sense of the term. They can however be defined as such in meaning that has cropped up as it relates to video games.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I noticed that a lot of games get called RPG even though there is no Roleplaying in them. Some offenders of this are the Final Fantasy series, in the versions I've played you follow a set character where the only choice there is do you want to complete side quests or not. When you're presented with a choice it's usually an illusion, as it's either a loop until you choose the correct answer or which reward you want.

So my question is why are some games called Role-Playing Games when they leave out the Role?

RPG are not just about RP they are also about the game thus why Final Fantasy games are RPGs. Since RPG is Role-Play-Game one could argue that every game is a RPG. A RPG is not a RPG because of choice it is a RPG because of mechanics like leveling. In Final Fantasy you do Role Play as the characters and JRPGs are more main story driven than WRPGs. More back to my other point when a game says it has Role Play elements it doesn't mean you get to name a character or choose what it looks like it means there is some sort of level or grind system it in with charcter skill or build customization. So by this logic Final Fantasy games are RPGs.

 

[Axolotl]

... How is Diablo not an RPG?
Do you even know what an RPG is?

It's not an RPG from the point of view of a purist or hardcore RPG gamers. It lacks many of the qualifying traits, there's little freedom and almost no interaction with the world except killing. It's purely a loot based hack and slash ala NetHack. Purely a more graphics focused roguelike. An RPG from this point of view would be more a succesor to games like the Ultima series, the Gold Box games or more recently titles like Baldur's Gate or Fallout.

 

[The Austin]

... How is Diablo not an RPG?
Do you even know what an RPG is?

It's not an RPG from the point of view of a purist or hardcore RPG gamers. It lacks many of the qualifying traits, there's little freedom and almost no interaction with the world except killing. It's purely a loot based hack and slash ala NetHack. Purely a more graphics focused roguelike. An RPG from this point of view would be more a succesor to games like the Ultima series, the Gold Box games or more recently titles like Baldur's Gate or Fallout.

It had Character Skills, Armor Stats, and the loots.



So it's an RPG.

 

[Akisa]

... How is Diablo not an RPG?
Do you even know what an RPG is?

It's not an RPG from the point of view of a purist or hardcore RPG gamers. It lacks many of the qualifying traits, there's little freedom and almost no interaction with the world except killing. It's purely a loot based hack and slash ala NetHack. Purely a more graphics focused roguelike. An RPG from this point of view would be more a succesor to games like the Ultima series, the Gold Box games or more recently titles like Baldur's Gate or Fallout.

It had Character Skills, Armor Stats, and the loots.



So it's an RPG.

And lacks Role-Playing in Role-Playing Game

 

[The Austin]

... How is Diablo not an RPG?
Do you even know what an RPG is?

It's not an RPG from the point of view of a purist or hardcore RPG gamers. It lacks many of the qualifying traits, there's little freedom and almost no interaction with the world except killing. It's purely a loot based hack and slash ala NetHack. Purely a more graphics focused roguelike. An RPG from this point of view would be more a succesor to games like the Ultima series, the Gold Box games or more recently titles like Baldur's Gate or Fallout.

It had Character Skills, Armor Stats, and the loots.



So it's an RPG.

And lacks Role-Playing in Role-Playing Game

Let me reiterate, because clearly you didn't understand me:

IT HAD CHARACTER SKILLS, ARMOR STATS, AND LOOT.

All those things=RPG

 

[Akisa]

... How is Diablo not an RPG?
Do you even know what an RPG is?

It's not an RPG from the point of view of a purist or hardcore RPG gamers. It lacks many of the qualifying traits, there's little freedom and almost no interaction with the world except killing. It's purely a loot based hack and slash ala NetHack. Purely a more graphics focused roguelike. An RPG from this point of view would be more a succesor to games like the Ultima series, the Gold Box games or more recently titles like Baldur's Gate or Fallout.

It had Character Skills, Armor Stats, and the loots.



So it's an RPG.

And lacks Role-Playing in Role-Playing Game

Let me reiterate, because clearly you didn't understand me:

IT HAD CHARACTER SKILLS, ARMOR STATS, AND LOOT.

All those things=RPG

AND? It still lacks Role-Playing, there is not even an illusion of choice, no one responds to your character actions, no form of interaction aside from quest getting, kill and loot. If the game lacked character skills, armor stats and loot but has character and npc reactions, npc respond to your character actions it would be a RPG (a non traditional rpg, but a rpg nonetheless).

 

[Korten12]

I noticed that a lot of games get called RPG even though there is no Roleplaying in them. Some offenders of this are the Final Fantasy series, in the versions I've played you follow a set character where the only choice there is do you want to complete side quests or not. When you're presented with a choice it's usually an illusion, as it's either a loop until you choose the correct answer or which reward you want.

So my question is why are some games called Role-Playing Games when they leave out the Role?

*facepalm.*