Why Are They Called RPGs?

[Nutcase]

The Wikipedia article LazerLuger quoted about says it all. Many computer RPG's would be more accurately described as interactive movies. The telltale sign of those is that the non-story bits consist of inane filler which people tolerate only to see more of the story. (How many people do you think would play FF if you took out the story and switched the characters with generic ones?) The games where the in-between bits are worth playing for their own sake would be accurately described as light tactics and/or action games with a heavy story component.

Ultimately, a game is an actual RPG when it empowers the player to engage in role-play. That's a very fuzzy definition, but one such element would be having choice with long-term consequences that affect the story and that have no optimal outcome.

 

[Gyrefalcon]

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.

Listen to this man. He summed up my opinion before I had even thought of it. He's that good.

Yes, he's got it right. Psychologists also use "role-playing" to have people step into another person's viewpoint. It has nothing to do with dice. (The alternate term of "roll-player" is someone who doesn't get into character and is more into rules and stat tweaking.)

Compare these games to what was available before RPG's came out (and long before video-games). There were card games of the Hoyle variety, there were board games like Sorry! There were lawn games like horseshoes. There were military simulation/tactics games like Chess. And then there were sports.

When Clue came out we started approaching the idea of playing a character and performing a task. And then there was D&D where you made a character and chose what actions they would do. Then any genre you could find movie or books in you could find RPG's. Instead of watching a movie and going "don't open that door" you could decide whether you would or not in a given situation.

And yes, a lot of games have RP elements in them these days. But there is a big difference between Knights of the Old Republic and Pikmen. 'nuff said.

 

[Nargleblarg]

It's Role-Playing because in between attacks you usually switch roles while playing. And Game because....well it's a game suprisingly.

 

[Mutough]

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 full story is that in Dungeons and Dragons (which was advertised AS a role-playing game.) you had your own role. You had your own story, goals, appearance, specialties, and the like. It was YOUR role in the story, just like role play... In bed. Since every (AND I MEAN EVERY) RPG plays like Dungeons and Dragons, the name just stuck.

 

[Gamer137]

Now see I always thought it was ROLL PLAYING GAME. No wonder people always looked at me funny when I showed up with my dinner rolls and 20 sided dice.

Is that the truth or a clever joke? Hope it's the latter, because I just got my daily chuckle.

 

[RyQ_TMC]

OK, some people already said that, but to try and put it nice and simple:

When tabletop RPGs were created, there was a good reason to call them that. In most, if not all, games up to that point, the player would assume the role of a very specific character with a limited array of abilities, if a character at all. In tabletop RPGs, acting - role playing - became an important part. Since players weren't bound by strict rules as much as usual, they had to really 'be' their character to play effectively.

The first cRPGs were simply transplanting the tabletop RPG mechanics into a computer programme. Obviously, this implied some limitations, very heavy at first, then gradually lighter, but even the most sandbox games still put a lot of limitations - cRPGs will never be able to fully simulate the tabletop RPG experience. So, RPGs aren't called that because you play a role - they are called that because they explicitly use tabletop RPG mechanics and include the "metagame" aspect where the player is aware of the numbers behind the game.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

But there is a big difference between Knights of the Old Republic and Pikmen.

So, you are saying that games can only really be great if they do not fit into a certain definition of RPG? Like the modern perception of the RPG genre is something that actually kills good clean gaming fun for the sake of a perception of narratological legitimacy?

 

[Keshie]

It seems most people in this thread think of Dungeons & Dragons as the archetype of fantasy roleplaying games and they assume that all such games are class and level based.

Has no-one heard of Runequest??

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runequest)

 

[Kuchinawa212]

rapid pulse guns?
No but really, in a RPG you are allowed almost full control. Want to be a tanker? Pick health and damage as your main feats. Want to be a ninja? Take a few in stealth and speed. It's all up to you. Unlike some games, say mario, you NEVER change. it's always the same.

 

[veloper]

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]

[snip]

---------------------------------------------------------------
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).

WoD and gurps came late to the game, long after the term roleplaying was first coined.

Now Gygax originally called his genre Fantasy Wargaming.

It was the game Tunnels & Trolls that began using the term "roleplaying" before D&D did T&T used the words "class" and "role" interchangingly.

The "role" here is much closer to a role in the strategic or tactical sense, than as a role as in thespian.
Not suprising since the rpg was derived from wargaming.

 

[The_Night_Walker]

I always used to reply that RPG meant Rocket Propelled Grenade and i never figured out why everyone laughed at me - only worked it out 3 years ago

 

[Gyrefalcon]

But there is a big difference between Knights of the Old Republic and Pikmen.

So, you are saying that games can only really be great if they do not fit into a certain definition of RPG? Like the modern perception of the RPG genre is something that actually kills good clean gaming fun for the sake of a perception of narratological legitimacy?

No, these are both fun games but there is a big difference between them. I don't consider Pikmen to be an RPG. It's a strategy game. But by saying that RPG's "kill good clean gaming fun" I have to assume you really aren't a fan of them. Myself, I look forward to them.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

No, these are both fun games but there is a big difference between them. I don't consider Pikmen to be an RPG. It's a strategy game. But by saying that RPG's "kill good clean gaming fun" I have to assume you really aren't a fan of them. Myself, I look forward to them.

I'm not a fan of many of the current trends in RPG games but I could say that about most types of games.

 

[Gyrefalcon]

No, these are both fun games but there is a big difference between them. I don't consider Pikmen to be an RPG. It's a strategy game. But by saying that RPG's "kill good clean gaming fun" I have to assume you really aren't a fan of them. Myself, I look forward to them.

I'm not a fan of many of the current trends in RPG games but I could say that about most types of games.

Fair enough. I do think there will be some interesting experimental pieces coming out in the next couple of years in various genres that will be a breath of fresh air. I hope you find something good to pique your interest.

 

[Knonsense]

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.

 

[The Shade]

In RPGs you get a bajillion options thrown at you, and you make the game in your image by the choices you choose to make.

It's all about choices. Choices we make. People are the variable.

...

I miss Lost...

 

[Knonsense]

Now see I always thought it was ROLL PLAYING GAME. No wonder people always looked at me funny when I showed up with my dinner rolls and 20 sided dice.

Is that the truth or a clever joke? Hope it's the latter, because I just got my daily chuckle.

It certainly can't be the latter.

 

[Alex_P]

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?

"Play a role" is a pretty meaningless phrase.

RPG video games are the ones that are patterned after Dungeons & Dragons in some fashion. Historically this has come to mean XP, levels, and inventory systems. Modern gamers associate "roleplaying" with in-character dialogue, so that's often part of the genre, too.

Modern pen-and-paper RPGs are still defined by their similarity to D&D as well, though the term is broader than it is as a definition of a video-game genre. The fundamental aspect that sets RPGs apart from other games as a medium is an intense focus on the narrative of play.

-- Alex

 

[Woem]

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.