The RPG Distinction
In the earlier years of the gaming industry, titles fell into one category or another. Action games pitted one or more players against hordes of opponents, sending them along a linear and often repetitive path until the conclusion. Adventure games followed a similar format, but added elements such as puzzle-solving and exploration. Then, upon the induction of the role-playing game (RPG), players did all of the above. In addition, they could manage whole teams of characters, which included keeping track of individual statistics and keeping inventory. The greatest distinction between RPGs and other genres, however, was that the gameplay worked within the context of a fully developed storyline.
In today’s market, that distinction is not as clear, as games of every genre employ some type of storyline to enhance the experience. After all, what better way to justify fighting legions of enemies than to adopt a cause like saving the world from evil or carrying out a vendetta? Even racing games are incorporating so-called Story Modes (see Namco’s R:Racing Evolution) to differentiate themselves within a genre of clones. Players are able to identify with the characters they control, creating a whole new level of immersion. Not only do RPGs no longer hold the exclusive rights to telling a rich story, but the plots in games of other genres sometimes do it better.
So where does this leave the RPG itself? For that matter, how does one even define a game as an RPG with so many games utilizing its once exclusive elements? It seems to be something that gamers “know” intuitively rather than something they can rationalize.
There are games that seem to have one foot on each side of the dividing line, while the line itself has become blurred. There are games like Deus Ex, which superficially is a first person shooter, but has such great depth of gameplay – including character building, skill management, and story paths – that one would have a hard time classifying it as anything but an RPG. What about the legendary Guardian Heroes for the Sega Saturn, which not only had customizable statistics, but branching story paths? Does the fact that it plays like a Beat ‘Em Up disqualify it from RPG status?
How about the renowned Legend of Zelda series? Each installment has a main story complete with side quests, an upgradeable main character, and inventory management – all elements common to RPGs. Yet many people would say that it does not qualify? Why? The only reason I can think of is its platforming elements, which usually place it in the action-adventure category. But what about Kingdom Hearts, which in essence plays like a simpler version of Zelda, albeit with a more complicated story and a deeper character customization system. One could say that it was an RPG by association due to the label of leading developer, Squaresoft, and the cameos of established characters such as Cloud Strife (FFVII) and Squall Leonhart (FFVIII), whose games were undoubtedly RPGs.
RPG Purists, by which I mean those who trace the genre back to its roots in paper and pencil gaming (such as Dungeons & Dragons), may raise a different argument. They may say that it is the extensive character building and open-ended scenarios which make a game a True RPG. Dice rolling for stats, character classes, and non-linear story progression regulated completely by player decision were once the defining characteristics. As it stands now, the line between these old formula RPGs and the newer more linear and less interactive games, is the same line that divides “console RPGs” from “PC RPGs”. The purists would argue that by definition, an RPG is a game where one plays a role, which means that the character’s destiny is entirely in the player’s hand – that the character is in fact the player him or herself. Console-style RPGs, on the contrary, places the player in the position of a third-party overseer of sorts, guiding them along a pre-established path. While there may be some room for diversion from said path, these games for the most part are scripted like movies or books, in accordance with the vision of the developer rather than the choices of the player.
Could this be the difference, then? Are console RPGs not really RPGs at all, but rather simply story-driven games of another type? While this argument can be made, I don’t think too many people are willing to dismiss every console RPG from the genre altogether. The purists’ “True” RPG is a dying breed, as many PC game developers are recognizing the success of the console format. Now, the open-ended formula where every development is based on player choice has been left almost exclusively to yet another sub-genre, the Massive Multiplayer Online RPG. MMORPGs, however, seldom have any real storyline to speak of, and the actual role-playing element is missing entirely, changing the games into level-gaining races, rare item scavenger hunts, or chat rooms with GUIs (Graphics User Interfaces). “A/S/L? LOL! WTF?!” Indeed…
Whereas before there was a set of criteria that clearly identified a game as an RPG, the boundaries dividing genres have become flexible. Furthermore, the genre itself has begun diversifying, undergoing a branching evolution, and exploring a wide range of formats. From this division comes an excess of sub genres: Action RPGs, Strategy RPGs, Shooter RPGs, and Farming RPGs, to name a few. Then there is still the standard RPG, which is usually only distinguishable by having a turn-based battle system.
For the sake of discussion, however, let’s take a look at that list now:
- Complete storyline – where the plot moves clearly from premise to conclusion; usually includes extensive dialogue and pivotal points where player choice may render different paths to said conclusion or even multiple endings.
- Player’s Choice – leaves key character decisions to the player, even to the point of altering the flow of the storyline.
- Character Building – player customizes various aspects of the characters, such as physical appearance or the balance between various statistics; this process continues throughout the game
- Character Development – where the storyline either delves into the characters’ pasts for the purpose of showing how they’ve changed, or where it shows the character changing in real-time as a result of what they experience
- Micro-Management – the player manages various small details, such as inventory, money, equipment, character skills, and party recruitment and selection.
- Battle System – usually entails a complicated method of combat, as opposed to simply pressing buttons in repetition. Battle systems usually involve a breadth of options such as attacking with various weapons, casting spells or employing special techniques, and using items. It most often involves a menu of some kind, and places the player in control of multiple characters.
- Puzzles – obstacles to game progression which require the acquisition of certain items and/or the permutation of the environment; the best of these fit within the context of the story and present situation.
- Exploration – the incorporation of different environments to which the player can travel, where they can search, interact with other characters, or engage enemies in combat.
- NPC Interaction – the ability, and often requirement, to speak to and engage non-player (i.e. CPU controlled) characters, some of which may then become player characters.
For every game that debatably is or isn’t an RPG, arguments can be made for either side. Some RPGs may have all of above features, but most are missing at least one. Some games which aren’t classified as RPGs may have more of these features than others that are placed in the genre. It may just be that we have to settle for the plethora of hybrids that have risen from the genre overlap, treating the term “RPG” merely as a suffix. After all, who knows what lies on the horizon? Racer RPGs? Sports RPGs? Music RPGs?
For that last one, I can see it now: You take control of a rising star, choosing what type of performer they’ll be (rapper, pop star, rock guitarist), what kind of image they’ll present (national sweetheart, trendy heartthrob, angry rebel), which of their abilities you’ll develop (e.g. dancing, singing, instrument-playing). You’d guide them from novice performer to international superstar, provided that you have the skill to sustain their marketability. All of this could be superimposed upon a touching rags to riches story or perhaps one of fierce competition where you control the underdog.
The possibilities are limitless, as is the potential for the RPG to continue to branch in many directions, spreading its influence across genre lines…