luj1
You're all shills
Few things,
- This post-modernism where anything can be whatever is a big turd, fuck that shit
- Classification should be examined independently from quality (I am a Dork Souls hater but I can accept the first game is probably good regardless of genre; or that Disco has a good art vibe, etc., so talking strictly about genres)
As far as I'm concerned,
- Games where player skill (reflexes, twitch) carries significantly more impact than character skill cannot be RPGs. These are usually realtime action games with stats (Dark Souls, Borderlands, etc.) I think you can complete Skyrim or Deus Ex without stat investment, so I would be hesitant to call them RPGs. I believe Cyberpunk is close too.
- CYOA games with limited gameplay masquerading as RPGs. These have no gameplay other than reading, perhaps some barebone exploration, but are presented and/or marketed differently. Disco Elysium, Pentiment, Gamedec, etc. It is a joke to call them RPGs (it is a joke to call them adventure games even, but that is another matter).
- Cross genre games where hefty system bloat overshadows core RPG systems. Vagrus, Titan Outpost, etc. These games usually don't know what they want to be (hell, I'd even put half of WotR there). I think they do have RPG elements, but they are not fully developed or are cluttered by strategy elements, macro, 4X, survival, base building or whatever.
- Games that are like interactive movies or walking simulators. Will add more info here later
So the crux of the matter is - take Need for Speed and add stats, does that make it an RPG? Is Pro Evolution Soccer an RPG because every player has stats? Some people like Soyer would say yes, but we know they lost their mind. For me, nope. I used to have a theory that RPGs were not a genre per se, but... a 'quality' or attribute you graft onto another genre. I was wrong. That is just character elements or stats. CRPGs are a distinct genre, they ought to be a digital analog of a tabletop session with miniatures and terrain. It doesn't have to be isometric (ergo, blobbers) but the rest of the criteria must be upheld.
- This post-modernism where anything can be whatever is a big turd, fuck that shit
- Classification should be examined independently from quality (I am a Dork Souls hater but I can accept the first game is probably good regardless of genre; or that Disco has a good art vibe, etc., so talking strictly about genres)
As far as I'm concerned,
- Games where player skill (reflexes, twitch) carries significantly more impact than character skill cannot be RPGs. These are usually realtime action games with stats (Dark Souls, Borderlands, etc.) I think you can complete Skyrim or Deus Ex without stat investment, so I would be hesitant to call them RPGs. I believe Cyberpunk is close too.
- CYOA games with limited gameplay masquerading as RPGs. These have no gameplay other than reading, perhaps some barebone exploration, but are presented and/or marketed differently. Disco Elysium, Pentiment, Gamedec, etc. It is a joke to call them RPGs (it is a joke to call them adventure games even, but that is another matter).
- Cross genre games where hefty system bloat overshadows core RPG systems. Vagrus, Titan Outpost, etc. These games usually don't know what they want to be (hell, I'd even put half of WotR there). I think they do have RPG elements, but they are not fully developed or are cluttered by strategy elements, macro, 4X, survival, base building or whatever.
- Games that are like interactive movies or walking simulators. Will add more info here later
So the crux of the matter is - take Need for Speed and add stats, does that make it an RPG? Is Pro Evolution Soccer an RPG because every player has stats? Some people like Soyer would say yes, but we know they lost their mind. For me, nope. I used to have a theory that RPGs were not a genre per se, but... a 'quality' or attribute you graft onto another genre. I was wrong. That is just character elements or stats. CRPGs are a distinct genre, they ought to be a digital analog of a tabletop session with miniatures and terrain. It doesn't have to be isometric (ergo, blobbers) but the rest of the criteria must be upheld.