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Re: What games are you currently playing?
Sorry in advance for any typos, posting in a rush and not proofreading due to interview prep and stuff.
I like to say actual chances to Roleplay is what separated an RPG from a game with stat based character progression. The problem is is that well...That doesn't really define RPGs too well either. i do dislike how "RPG Elements" is thrown around like a buzzword and it seems that every game has to have a stat and/or skill based level progression or class based progression element to it.
But even that seems a bit vague really. Look at Forza 3 and 4, they are full on RPGs that just happen to also be racing games. There is no narrative there, the ability to Roleplay is limited by your imagination sure but that is stretched to its limits and there are no skills and stats to it. But honestly it is hard to think of Forza as anything other than an RPG with a "Reputation System" when I play it.
Honestly it's one reason why I have given up putting games into specific genres for the same reason as I don't put music into genres any more. There are so many crossovers and mixes things tend to blend. Would you call Persona 4 an RPG, Dungeon Crawler or Dating Sim? You can make arguments for all three. Would you call Dynasty Warriors an RPG? A Beat em Up? A Hack and Slash? A Horseback Riding Simulator? What about Fallout New Vegas or Skyrim? FPS? RPG? Hack and Slash? Dungeon Crawler?
Related is why I argue that Silent Protagonists in RPGs went out a long time ago (and why Hawke being voiced didn't bother me, especially since DA2 had far more valid and objective criticisms one can make of it). There are plenty of RPGs where the protagonist is unvoiced but talks a lot. I know I bring up Persona a lot and make no apologies for that but you get plenty of lines as the protagonist in Persona 4 and the choice of dialogue lines on the Female route of P3P makes it one of the more fun roleplaying experiences out there. The protagonists aren't voiced but talk all of the time. Contrast to something like Pokemon and Dragon Quest which are basically the only mainstream games that use Silent Protagonists. Even Skyrim implies that the Dovahkiin talks a lot when you pick your dialogue choices. How can the protagonists in things like the SMT games, Eldar Scrolls, Dragon Age Origins etc be called Silent when they say plenty of things?
It is also why I completely and utterly disagree with the argument that "Western" RPGS and "Japanese" RPGs are two different genres. Since when did gameplay mechanics, stylistic choice and overall narrative style change what genre a game is in? it's like arguing that Super Mario Bros, Portal and Mirror's Edge can't be in the same genre because they are so different, even though at the end of the day they are still platform games. All three games have completely different styles, gameplay mechanics and narrative styles, but they are all in the same genre at the end of the day.
It is one of the main problems with genre debates and where to place a game. Trying to actually define a genre is getting more and more tricky as the lines blur. Things get even more hazy when you look at individual studios and their style and ways of doing things. Bringing up Atlus again, is SMT a Monster Collecting series? A Dungeon Crawler series? A Philosophy Lecture series? Just describing say SMT IV as an RPG doesn't describe it well. it's the same with Skyrim, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy etc.
Both Cid and BBQ are right when it comes to asking "What itch goes this game scratch?". It comes down to asking yourself, "What style of game do I want to play?". Sure I could say I feel like playing an RPG but which RPG? Tales of Vesperia, Fallout New Vegas, Pokemon Black 2, Nocturne, Baldur's Gate. I just named a series of RPGs that are vastly different but in the same genre. But what if I want to play something in set in the modern day? Well there's Persona but I'm not in the mood for that. Oh cool there's The Secret World!
I suppose I went off on a tangent there but the one thing I do agree on in the Extra Credits thing that genres are defined by why you play the game. As for "RPG Elements" yes it's a meaningless buzzword that Publishers love to throw around like "realism", "visceral combat", "appealing to a wider audience", "makes an arm reach out and give you a handjob", however...There really isn't a better term to give it and that is why the term "RPG Elements" just makes me shrug and look at what else makes the game fun if that is not why I'm playing it.
Sorry in advance for any typos, posting in a rush and not proofreading due to interview prep and stuff.
I like to say actual chances to Roleplay is what separated an RPG from a game with stat based character progression. The problem is is that well...That doesn't really define RPGs too well either. i do dislike how "RPG Elements" is thrown around like a buzzword and it seems that every game has to have a stat and/or skill based level progression or class based progression element to it.
But even that seems a bit vague really. Look at Forza 3 and 4, they are full on RPGs that just happen to also be racing games. There is no narrative there, the ability to Roleplay is limited by your imagination sure but that is stretched to its limits and there are no skills and stats to it. But honestly it is hard to think of Forza as anything other than an RPG with a "Reputation System" when I play it.
Honestly it's one reason why I have given up putting games into specific genres for the same reason as I don't put music into genres any more. There are so many crossovers and mixes things tend to blend. Would you call Persona 4 an RPG, Dungeon Crawler or Dating Sim? You can make arguments for all three. Would you call Dynasty Warriors an RPG? A Beat em Up? A Hack and Slash? A Horseback Riding Simulator? What about Fallout New Vegas or Skyrim? FPS? RPG? Hack and Slash? Dungeon Crawler?
Related is why I argue that Silent Protagonists in RPGs went out a long time ago (and why Hawke being voiced didn't bother me, especially since DA2 had far more valid and objective criticisms one can make of it). There are plenty of RPGs where the protagonist is unvoiced but talks a lot. I know I bring up Persona a lot and make no apologies for that but you get plenty of lines as the protagonist in Persona 4 and the choice of dialogue lines on the Female route of P3P makes it one of the more fun roleplaying experiences out there. The protagonists aren't voiced but talk all of the time. Contrast to something like Pokemon and Dragon Quest which are basically the only mainstream games that use Silent Protagonists. Even Skyrim implies that the Dovahkiin talks a lot when you pick your dialogue choices. How can the protagonists in things like the SMT games, Eldar Scrolls, Dragon Age Origins etc be called Silent when they say plenty of things?
It is also why I completely and utterly disagree with the argument that "Western" RPGS and "Japanese" RPGs are two different genres. Since when did gameplay mechanics, stylistic choice and overall narrative style change what genre a game is in? it's like arguing that Super Mario Bros, Portal and Mirror's Edge can't be in the same genre because they are so different, even though at the end of the day they are still platform games. All three games have completely different styles, gameplay mechanics and narrative styles, but they are all in the same genre at the end of the day.
It is one of the main problems with genre debates and where to place a game. Trying to actually define a genre is getting more and more tricky as the lines blur. Things get even more hazy when you look at individual studios and their style and ways of doing things. Bringing up Atlus again, is SMT a Monster Collecting series? A Dungeon Crawler series? A Philosophy Lecture series? Just describing say SMT IV as an RPG doesn't describe it well. it's the same with Skyrim, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy etc.
Both Cid and BBQ are right when it comes to asking "What itch goes this game scratch?". It comes down to asking yourself, "What style of game do I want to play?". Sure I could say I feel like playing an RPG but which RPG? Tales of Vesperia, Fallout New Vegas, Pokemon Black 2, Nocturne, Baldur's Gate. I just named a series of RPGs that are vastly different but in the same genre. But what if I want to play something in set in the modern day? Well there's Persona but I'm not in the mood for that. Oh cool there's The Secret World!
I suppose I went off on a tangent there but the one thing I do agree on in the Extra Credits thing that genres are defined by why you play the game. As for "RPG Elements" yes it's a meaningless buzzword that Publishers love to throw around like "realism", "visceral combat", "appealing to a wider audience", "makes an arm reach out and give you a handjob", however...There really isn't a better term to give it and that is why the term "RPG Elements" just makes me shrug and look at what else makes the game fun if that is not why I'm playing it.
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