What Defines the RPG Genre?

[King Crispy]

derill, I have some important advice for you.

Get out while you can.

Leave this accursed place, this most vile pit of derision; this wicked, loathsome tomb of rancorous and wholly unlikable filth.

You will be sucked in here and you will never escape. You still have a chance. Please, for the love of all that is purity and goodness, run.

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!

 

[Nicolai]

in before pizzabunny

 

[Nicolai]

 

[derill]

yeah. i think i'm just gonna avoid it. sorry about making a post about something that must've been asked hundreds of times. sorry for the bother. peace.

 

[Thrasher]

Another soul saved.

 

[King Crispy]

My work here is done.

 

[Fat Dragon]

derill, I have some important advice for you.

Get out while you can.

Leave this accursed place, this most vile pit of derision; this wicked, loathsome tomb of rancorous and wholly unlikable filth.

You will be sucked in here and you will never escape. You still have a chance. Please, for the love of all that is purity and goodness, run.

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!

Man, shut up with your lies. The Codex is a prestigious RPG news site and you know damn well that any bad attitudes are dealt with harshly by the moderators.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Ultima Underworld - The Stygian Abyss
Daggerfall
Betrayal At Krondor
Might And Magic III - Isles Of Terra
Might And Magic IV - Clouds Of Xeen
Might And Magic V - Dark Side Of Xeen
Wizardry 6 - Bane Of The Cosmic Forge
Geneforge 5

 

[Jasede]

This thread went well.

 

[Lemunde]

If the codex has taught me anything it's that trying to define RPG is an exercise in futility. Personally I'm a stat junkie so the "role" aspect isn't all that important to me, atleast not in the traditional sense. I like being able to define my character and make him all cool and menacing and shit but I don't really like going much beyond that. Or atleast I haven't found a game yet that makes that fun.

 

[Konjad]

I'm just getting into the RPG scene, and have been reading about what games define the genre. Some say anything with the infinity engine, some say diablo and its ilk-born clones, some say every rpg born before the 90's, some say roguelikes, some say jrpgs, and the list goes on ( mmorpgs, muds, etc ). What game defines the RPG genre to you, and why?

I'm merely asking to get a real feel for the genre. I missed out on the D&D games of my high school peers, and when I tried afterwards, I found that I was too nervous to speak in front of people ( I have social anxiety ), and then tried some MUDs. After that, I played through Planescape, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 + expansion, Neverwinter Nights, Dark Sun ( both Shattered Lands and Wake of the Ravager ), WoW. What else could I try? I've read about Arcanum, but is it worth sludging past the bugs?

I mean, anything on the Inifinity engine gives me a helluva fight with random stuttering and lags every so often, and I think it's due to Vista. Most good RPG games were released before Vista, and it causes some issues.

So, what can I do to better myself, in terms of RPG gaming? I thank you for your patience. I'm rather new to forum-etiquette, although I did try to search through the forums for an answer, but there were too many different answers, so I thought I might as well get them all in one thread.

Thanks ahead of time.

Derill.

If you have problems with old games on Vista you should try installing linux or Windows XP some new games like The Witcher or Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines. Good older games were already mentioned (for example Fallout 1 and 2 [but don't play Fallout 3, it's not fallout, I know it may sound strange]). While playing read forums and I'm sure you'll get into RPGs enough to know what to play next.

If you won't like one or two RPGs don't resignate, many RPGs are different from each other like FPS are from logic games.