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

[Akisa]

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?

 

[Cherry Cola]

Oh god not this again...

Look, learn what a JRPG is, then make this thread.

Actually, no, don't make this thread.

Just do something more constructive.

Like watching Clerks.

 

[Akisa]

It's not just JRPG, but also some games like Diablo

 

[Axolotl]

Because RPG doesn't mean roleplaying game (at least non-PnP ones don't) it's merely used to refer to games that owe their gameplay concepts to DnD and attempt to emulate the tabletop PnP feel.

 

[manaman]

Oh god not this again...

Look, learn what a JRPG is, then make this thread.

Actually, no, don't make this thread.

Just do something more constructive.

Like watching Clerks.

I don't think he even understands what role playing is.

Cause technically all games are role playing games, you don't play as yourself do you.

Funny that traditional western RPGs are the games that come the closest to actually allowing you to set up and have the character act like you would in that situation, yet they are the true RPGs in many peoples mind.

 

[DuplicateValue]

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.

Choices are not what makes an RPG.
In Final Fantasy, you play the role of a character on their quest and, while you don't get much choice in the path you take, most things are customisable. You choose what weapons to bring, what armour to wear, and who to bring in your party.

Western RPG's have spoiled you.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Because RPG means both more and less than what you think it means. Obv.

 

[Sevre]

/facepalms.

I'm going to pretend this thread never happened. I'm going to refer you to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_video_game

and I will now disappear.*POOF*

 

[sms_117b]

It's not just JRPG, but also some games like Diablo

Don't forget with Diablo, it's old, so the options for choice haven't really begun. The code is to long and complex for a CD.

More over, older games and JRPG's allow you to role play as another person, you might not be able to make the important choices, or any for that matter, but your still role playing another person.

 

[HentMas]

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?

you are wrong in your definition, the JRPG´s are letting YOU play a ROLE, wich is preset by the game itself, the thing is that the choices you make in game change a few aspects of it

its not as broad as say your average western RPG, but it does lets you play a role.

 

[Akisa]

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.

Choices are not what makes an RPG.
In Final Fantasy, you play the role of a character on their quest and, while you don't get much choice in the path you take, most things are customisable. You choose what weapons to bring, what armour to wear, and who to bring in your party.

Western RPG's have spoiled you.

That would mean Halo is a RPG because you take the role as Master Chief (or an elite, or an ODST), Tomb Raider must be a RPG because you play the role of Lora Croft.

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

To attract more people and make them thing the game is deep, or that the game is not just another mediocre fps. Of course Japanese rpg's are different, because its a different type, they prefer becoming a character and letting the game guide them through some awesome cutscenes, while western rpg is about creating yourself as a character and playing the game through your eyes. What i hate is when they put inventory and skill upgrades into an fps and call it an "action rpg" .

Basically this. Even if Borderlands was awesome.

 

[Axolotl]

Don't forget with Diablo, it's old, so the options for choice haven't really begun. The code is to long and complex for a CD.

Diabalo came out in the same year as Fallout so age is not an excuse.

As I said earlier RPG merely means that the games roots are in DnD.

 

[Gladion]

It's not just JRPG, but also some games like Diablo

Don't forget with Diablo, it's old, so the options for choice haven't really begun. The code is to long and complex for a CD.

Play some Baldur's Gate before making such a statement. The RPGs of the mid-90's have the reputation of having much more 'choice' than today's RPGs.


OTT: Other question - why do some people care, when they really shouldn't? Make your own defintion, or choose one, don't live by the ones made by others.

 

[GethinPetrelli]

It's because the idea is that you have a leveling up system which allows you to customise the characters abilities so that they can (at least hypothetically) be catered into different roles. If you look this up on the internet and elsewhere it is generally accepted that pen and paper role play and computer game roleplay are pretty different and that the later only borrows on the concept of character development and skill building of the former. However there are games that are a lot closer to pen and paper than other roleplay video games but even the most faithful are usually a lot less expansive in terms of the different roles and characters you can create (as they are essentially just different ways of completely the exact same story arch, whereas pen and paper is only really limited by your imagination and the rules of the game universe). Games these days however are taking a few petty major steps towards achieving at least an illusion of greater choice. But you have to bear in mind that the definition of an rpg is pretty loose anyway.

 

[manaman]

It's not just JRPG, but also some games like Diablo

Don't forget with Diablo, it's old, so the options for choice haven't really begun. The code is to long and complex for a CD.

More over, older games and JRPG's allow you to role play as another person, you might not be able to make the important choices, or any for that matter, but your still role playing another person.

Games more like what he considers a traditional RPG far out date Diablo. Say for instance Daggerfall. An elder scrolls game. It is a sandbox game like the others, and was released in 1996 and has a footprint of about 150MB.

 

[Aethonic]

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/

 

[shadow skill]

You need to go learn what roleplay actually means. I've already discussed this at length in another thread so I will just post a link to the definitions given by various dictionaries:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/role-play