Why Are They Called RPGs?

[Jirlond]

role playing is also known as roll playing - the ol' D+D systems.

most role playing games have some sort of stat system - depending on your stats you can had harder, cast magic faster and/or take certain routes in the storylines.

Its called role-playing because you have a say in how your character develops i.e. I want to hit hard so I will maximise STR etc.

thats the simplest way to explain it me'hinks

 

[Daedalus1942]

I've just got a quick question - why are RPGs called RPGs? It's an acronym for 'Role-Playing Game'... why? Don't you play a role in Prince of Persia or in Tomb Raider? In fact, in many RPGs you are some sort of omniscient being controlling a party of people trapped to do your bidding forever... the only RPGs I would consider true 'Role-Playing Games' are games like Oblivion and Fallout 3, games where you actually play the role of a character in first person. So back to my original question, why RPGs?

The level of customization is far superious to any other game you play a role in. Ie, RPG'S tend to let you create yourself as you are, in a gaming environment.

 

[blood77]

Ok by now there has already been a number of good examples of what an RPG is. However there is one aspect of the "true" RPGs that make them so, randomness. When you play an RPG it shouldn't be exactly the same as it was on your first run, or in most cases nothing like it.

Basically with games like God of War or Tome Raider, if you play through it enough times you eventually remember where everything is. All the enemies, power ups, and secret stuff. Where in most RPGs not everything is guaranteed to be where it was before.

Also RPG has been know to stand for Random Player Generation as well, which only lends itself to my first statement.

 

[clicketycrack]

You tend to create your own role in RPG's.

You make your name, weapons, skills etc. The idea being that you create yourself in the fantasy world. As well as your own adventure.

In Prince of Persia you are given the character, you are not taking on the role, you are commanding him like a puppet. He is not you.

That is my assumption anyway. I have never been much of an RPG player myself.

Except you can't really do this because the thing is that you're supposed to place yourself in a post apocalyptic wasteland or a fantasy world filled with goblin caves, but you can't really put your own personality into the game. Karma systems try to do this but fail miserably because they only give you generic goody goody two shoes option A or fucking asshole from hell option B.

 

[lwm3398]

Stands for Rocket- Propelled Grenade launcher.

you are full of epic and deserve a cookie and hi-five.

 

[KaiRai]

Because they're grenades, and they're rocket propelled, honestly, some people....


But I think it's because RPGs are (mostly) indefinite, you create your own role, and you play it...and it's a game. Simplistic if you think about it. Whereas in games like COD it's pretty linear.

 

[NeutralMunchHotel]

Action RPGs are derived from previous Computer RPGs.

Computer RPGs are derived from pen and paper RPGs.

Which are basically derived from D&D. In which you definitely play a role to a greater extent than most preexisting games.

Which existed before computer RPGs or action games, etc. and which derive themselves from the sort of role playing games that psy(colog/chiatr)ists use as well as wargames, etc.

In other words, the term RPG is defined by tradition.

Your insight is refreshing. Here are more details on wargames [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax#Wargames] and how they formed the basics of the first Dungeons and Dragons.

Rest in peace Gary Gygax.

Erm... why did this come up again? I think we all realised that I know nothing about acronyms and their origins .

 

[Blow_Pop]

I've just got a quick question - why are RPGs called RPGs? It's an acronym for 'Role-Playing Game'... why? Don't you play a role in Prince of Persia or in Tomb Raider? In fact, in many RPGs you are some sort of omniscient being controlling a party of people trapped to do your bidding forever... the only RPGs I would consider true 'Role-Playing Games' are games like Oblivion and Fallout 3, games where you actually play the role of a character in first person. So back to my original question, why RPGs?

Actually, Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider are Action Adventure games.
Or something like that.

Prince of Persia is actually more platforming but semantics really...

Anyways as everyone else has said a role(roll) playing game involves dice and leveling up a character. It is where as long as the DM is not railroading decisions, you can make conversation choices and choices to fight or run you're not trapped like you are in say *insert good game for comparison*(i haven't had sleep yet so cut me some slack)where if you don't defeat this monster/boss you're stuck til you do.

 

[Woem]

Because in the other thread people were talking about how point-and-click adventure games were also RPGs, I went in search for someone with the decency to provide an accurate history of role-playing games. And Knosense did so

 

[ohellynot]

When the RPG was first coined, "role" meant CLASS. Nothing more. That's class as in playing a paladin or a rogue or wizard.

They might aswell have called it a Class Playing Game back then.

People eventually read "roleplay" in it and the meaning of RPG has changed and has become very muddled over time.

Actually, according to wikipedia:
--------------------------------------------
A role-playing game (RPG; often roleplaying game) is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters.[1] Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization,[1] and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines.[2] Within the rules, players have the freedom to improvise; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the game.[2]

Most role-playing games are conducted like radio drama: only the spoken component is acted. In most games, one specially designated player, the game master (GM), creates a setting in which each player plays the role of a single character.[2] The GM describes the game world and its inhabitants; the other players describe the intended actions of their characters, and the GM describes the outcomes. Some outcomes are determined by the game system, and some are chosen by the GM.[2] There is a variety of role-playing game in which players do perform their characters' physical actions, known as live action role-playing games (LARP).[3]

A genre of video game is also referred to as role-playing games. Although these games do not involve the playing of roles,[1] they take their name from the settings and game mechanics which they inherit from early role-playing games.[4] Due to the popularity of video games, the terms "role-playing game" and "RPG" have both to some degree been co-opted by the video gaming industry; as a result, games in which players play the roles of characters are sometimes referred to as "pen and paper" or "tabletop" role-playing games,[2] though neither pen and paper nor a table are strictly necessary.[2]
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It has nothing to do with having a set "class", and games like World of Darkness and Gurps don't even have classes, asking the players to decide their own strengths and weakness. Combat isn't even required. An entire game built around diplomacy can be just as interesting as a hack and slash dungeon crawl (Which video games do far better anyway).

Ah yes, copy paste.
The lazy man´s best friend

 

[hermes]

It gets some elements from pen and paper RPG, mostly stats based combat and character progression...

 

[hermes]

Since everyone has already said why an RPG is called an RPG, I want to know why a JRPG is considered a JRPG. In all the final fantasys you are given an already made character and a linear storyline, which is why I don't consider them RPGs at all. An american RPG which gives you much more choices are RPGs. The real only JRPG I know is probably crystal chronicles and even that is pushing it.

Good old JRPGs vs WRPGs...
JRPGs are called RPGs because the characters are part of a party, and their skills are based on stats and levels.

 

[hermes]

Since everyone has already said why an RPG is called an RPG, I want to know why a JRPG is considered a JRPG. In all the final fantasys you are given an already made character and a linear storyline, which is why I don't consider them RPGs at all. An american RPG which gives you much more choices are RPGs. The real only JRPG I know is probably crystal chronicles and even that is pushing it.

Good old JRPGs vs WRPGs...
JRPGs are called RPGs because the characters are part of a party, and their skills are based on stats and levels.

Plenty of games ve that but they aren't called RPGs, people just say they have RPG elements.

True, but that is still accepted as its core... I guess they are called that way out of historic reasons; but, then again, which other game can you name with both caracteristics at its core gameplay?
In the begining there was no proper name for Final Fantasy type games, as they where not exacly adventure games. So, they stick to the RPG because it was the genre that fits better to them. Now, trying to separate them of the RPG genre beyond what is considered JRPG would create more confusion than help, so they stay there... The same would go to try to clasify Call of Duty as an RPG because you level up.

 

[NathanS]

Gygax himself probably a gave a good definition of the distention in his book Role-Playing Mastery:

"Certain games claim to have a basis in role-playing while in fact all they offer is an aspect of role gaming. These designs feature role assumption. That is, you are given a game persona - you do not create and personalize the character you are to play. Typically, the situations you find the character in are also prescribed by the game."

So most video games like Mario and such can be thought of as role assumption games.

 

[Da_Schwartz]

I think it simply comes down to the idea of some sort of roleplay-esq combat, hp/mp, numerous items for buff/debuff/status effect armor and weapons, some sort of leveling system, and more then likely plenty of dialogue. It's just the way it is and always will be. The rpg's themselves have evolved overtime to be more like action games and action games as well sorta just merged a lil into an rpg style. I dunno I wouldn't really look to far into it. It's just how it is.
If you wanted to go even further we play roles everyday even in RL. The role we play at work, or as a parent..yuadda yadda yaddda.

 

[Sebobii]

Quoting myself from another thread here...

"People seem to assume that "RPG" means a game thats just that, a role playing game. A game where you play a role. As many people pointed out, if thats the case, just about EVERY game is an RPG. Here's the fact though, not every game is an RPG. Choose your own adventures aren't RPG's in the slightest, for example, because playing a "role" is only the most incredibly vague and baseline assumption of what an RPG is.

What makes a game an RPG is that there is some sort of character building aspect to it, usually handled with leveling, and that there's an adventure aspect to it. This is what the RPG genre is. Playing a character role is just what people have perverted it to mean because of the ambiguity in the name of the genre. In an RPG, you have a character. Either pre-made or one you made yourself. As you play through the game, you get to customize/advance this character's stats and customize their equipment. There's also quests to go on, and usually monsters to slay. These are the few things that have remained true to the genre from the beginning, JRPG or otherwise. Having dialogue trees or being able to choose what quests you go on is NOT inherent to the genre, its just something thats become commonplace in recent WRPG's and most JRPG's not made by Squeenix.

Going back to the very origins of the genre, you did very little outside of the main quest except maybe looking for specific ways to improve your character so you're better prepared to handle the main quest. And this wasn't because of limitations because of the systems. This was because you were there to play through the plot thought up by the DM. Sure, you'd have the odd opportunity to do what you want along the way unless he or she was railroading the plot, and you'd have your choice of how to handle the situation and potentially, but in the end you're killing monsters, gaining levels, and eventually going up against the big bad. This is whats at the core of the RPG genre. The typical open world style gameplay of current WRPG's is just a new direction some companies have been taking it. Doesn't make them any more or less an RPG than JRPG's are. So long as you can loot, increase stats, customize your equipment, and maybe save the country/world/whatever, it's an RPG.

By the way, I also want to pose the idea that "role playing game" doesn't necessarily even mean what people think it means. People assume it means playing a character role, but what if the original definition was more about, say, playing a role in a party? That was a big part of the original RPG's (ie. D&D) afterall. Each character had a role to play in the party, and without a proper balance the party would probably fail. So it was a very important factor in these games. Just a little food for thought."

To summarize, I think people get too caught up on the "role playing" part of the genre title. Any game can be a "role playing" game, so its important to consider what makes a game actually part of the RPG genre itself. Looting, adventuring, and customizing stats/equipment are essentially the core basis of the genre regardless of what RPG you're playing.

Got me thinking with the last part. Nice post!