BioWare On The Question: "What Is A Role-Playing Game?"
What is an RPG? ...wait, we'll give you a month - or a year - to get back to us.
BioWare, one of the premier role-playing developers, has admitted that the lines are becoming blurred between genres, and the definition of "role-playing game" is...complicated.
In speaking with VG247, BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk talked about how the RPG genre continues to blend with other categories of gaming. Unfortunately, he also says the term itself is becoming less relevant as a direct result of this mixing:
"It’s funny because the RPG in the context of the current world is – well, it’s not specifically irrelevant, but it’s becoming less relevant in and of itself. It’s more a function of ‘hey, this game has a great story’. For us having that emotion but also having other great features like combat and persistence of character progression and stuff."
As a frame of reference, BioWare Austin has been cranking on a new MMO called Star Wars: The Old Republic and it's a game that also boasts single-player elements. Oddly enough, Zeschuk says they "work:"
"We were working on [the single-player elements] for a long time. What’s interesting is that it really does work. It was challenging to make it smooth – we went through multiple iterations – there were points when we weren’t sure if we were going to do the voice thing – we were saying well, we’ll see how it goes – but at a point we committed to it and pushed it. Beyond doing it solo there’s also the multiplayer conversations where collectively you’ll be talking to someone. It took a long time."
Oh yes, we can go on and on about how the RPG has changed over the years. And the purists will just keep saying that only D&D actually counts as "role-playing" while Final Fantasy was never an RPG. Then you've got the crowd that wants to turn everything into an RPG; i.e., Zelda. Everyone has their own definition these days and it's becoming harder and harder to point to something and say, "Yep, that's a role-playing game."
Tags: bioware, dragon age, mass effect, rpg, role playing game
8/23/2011 8:48:37 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (99 posts)
Jawknee
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:00:17 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:04:27 PM
Jawknee
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:09:55 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:14:49 PM
LegendaryWolfeh
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:28:55 PM
Fane1024
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 4:38:08 PM
LegendaryWolfeh
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 9:45:27 PM
Reply
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 9:48:28 PM
LegendaryWolfeh
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 9:52:02 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 9:54:52 PM
Reply
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:17:05 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:20:54 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:39:44 PM
Geobaldi
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:41:25 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:42:40 PM
Geobaldi
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 11:02:12 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 11:06:52 PM
Geobaldi
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 11:12:17 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:00:10 PM
Jawknee
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:01:43 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:06:17 PM
Jawknee
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:13:13 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:18:38 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:23:30 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 1:04:25 AM
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:06:54 PM
Reply
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:12:20 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:19:41 PM
Temjin001
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:21:39 PM
Reply
Well, there's my best in a 5 min nutshell =p
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:24:33 PM
Temjin001
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:32:06 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 10:41:28 PM
-Talking animals
-Magic
-Some form of turn based gameplay
-Multiple people forming a party that you have control over
-Made in Japan
-A dash of grinding, hell let it pour
-World to explore with towns to visit
-Item management
-Leveling up system
-Well over 60hrs of gameplay
-Multiple twists in the storyline
-No Multiplayer PERIOD
-Bigass swords and itty bitty guns
-Preferably Final in the title.
Last edited by LimitedVertigo on 8/23/2011 10:41:44 PM
Ludakriss
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 5:43:08 AM
I do however notice the way those things (which you explained) are performed are delivered in a game in a very particular mannerism. It truly does hold it's own ground, the genre.
Temjin001
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 9:48:16 AM
I started thinking some more about it and I think y discription allows for games like Infamous to he considered RPG.
Looking at Infamous and Oblivion I see that both games have full realtime action genre components as a basis for the movement and interaction components within the game world. I see the difference being that only one game makes it requisite for the attribute distribution to have a majority factor in determining success against obstacles. It is not inconceivable that a player through their own dexterity and cooridination acould finish Infamous (even God of War) but in Oblivion or any RPG the attribute properties acting against each other determine the majority of your success. You get owned hardcore in Oblivion when facing higher leveled encounters. This, and Oblivion has talking animals and Infamous does not =p
I also see why ME2 is thought of as not so much of an RPG, strictly combat speaking. It's because dexterous or highly coordinated actions can and do play a heavy role in determining the outcome of obstacle encounters.
Related
Last edited by Temjin001 on 8/24/2011 9:49:39 AM
Temjin001
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 9:52:10 AM
Fane1024
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 4:52:44 PM
But I prefer to be inclusive.
However, it's totally absurd to argue that the turn-based JRPG are the *only* valid kind of RPG, just because *your* first "RPG" experience was a JRPG. History proves otherwise.
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 11:28:41 PM
Claire C
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 11:33:39 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 11:41:21 PM
Claire C
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 11:47:17 PM
LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 11:52:00 PM
Claire C
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 12:07:09 AM
LimitedVertigo
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 1:24:42 AM
Claire C
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 1:39:36 AM
AcHiLLiA
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 12:30:54 PM
Warrior Poet
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 2:25:58 AM
Reply
Warrior Poet
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 2:29:32 AM
Lawless SXE
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 3:46:09 AM
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WolfCrimson
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 4:33:54 AM
Reply
Ludakriss
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 5:47:41 AM
Ultimadream
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 4:36:10 AM
Reply
Bioware, in my opinion with Mass Effect and Fallout have not made RPG'S. The're what I call PAG's - Personal Action Games. Fallout for examples combat rely's too heavily on the gameplay system of a 3rd person shooter, While the enemies have health bars, there is no mathematically figures to pin point strategic elements. As you create your own character, The character has no written part in the story, you just make descisions. While it can make the game more personal, I cannot help but find the character bland due to no script work, unlike Final Fantasy for example where Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus all had stories written for them.
While Fallout has RPG elements, an open world, detailed weapon and equipment system. It's theme of survival was more prominant than being an adventure, which is what RPG's should be at heart. As for Mass Effect, I have not played it due to them not releasing ME 1 on the PS3, It's getting cheaper, so I might pick it up sometime soon if nothing else comes my way that I can afford by Septmeber. Then I might be able to tell exactly what it is.
Geobaldi
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 4:58:47 AM
Ultimadream
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 5:10:05 AM
Crabba
Thursday, August 25, 2011 @ 7:28:31 PM
___________
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 5:10:10 AM
Reply
to me a RPG is a game where you play a role, but a small role in a much larger universe.
it has to be fully customizable.
it has to let you play the way you want to play.
it has to have multiple ways to solve each situation.
it has to have consequences, make you say thank god i chose that over that, or dam i wish i did not.
but most importantly it must have a big involving universe, with lots of deep interesting yet realistic characters.
it must make you feel like a fish in the sea.
one reason why mass effect is so popular is because it does all of those, and it does the most important part so well, so well in fact it does it allot better then any other game!
the immersion, you really do feel like your a fish in the sea, you really do feel for the characters, you really do feel like one day you could shoot into space and run into a reaper trying to blow shepards head clean off!
thats why i love mass effect so much, simply because of the history.
your constantly having characters walk up to you and say hey your the guy....... and recount some event that happened in the past that you dont get to see.
that really makes it feel real, you have characters that are so emotional, reactive, and you have such amazing deep relationships.
its the history thats built into the series that makes it so amazing!
so i guess you could say the genre has pulled a 180, because really no old school RPG has any of those, but thats the point.
thats why i hate calling them RPGs because were stuck in this stereotype of old fantastical adventure games.
when you say RPG you think of old guys with beards, massive swords, magical spells, dragons, wizards, the whole fantastical world.
where its really not that any more.
sure we still have those things slightly, but the RPG is no longer the total fantastical world it use to be its evolved so much further then that!
Ludakriss
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 5:55:53 AM
This could also be relevant in Action RPGs. But the things you listed in the "has to have" part some of 'em are a very West take on how you should be finishing a game, if at all. You get me?
I mean I saw absolutely a perfection when it's a book "you're playing"(Final Fantasy games, Legend of Dragoon, Dark Cloud) rather than a form "you're filling out" when it works like - oh, I went that way. "for this reason skip/not experience pages 3 through 7 and go straight to page 8"(Fallout, Oblivion, Mass Effect). I know the analogy might be crap but consider the point mmk?
Last edited by Ludakriss on 8/24/2011 5:58:49 AM
___________
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 10:37:25 AM
tis why i said i hate using the term RPGs because those requirements i listed certainly would not adhere to a eastern RPG like neir or deamon souls.
like it or not the days of eastern styled RPGs are over!
Ludakriss
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 12:31:25 PM
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
TheOldOne
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 7:28:01 AM
Reply
Last edited by TheOldOne on 8/24/2011 7:28:32 AM
TrophyHunter
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 8:45:56 AM
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TrophyHunter
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 9:02:18 AM
Cole
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 9:25:41 AM
Reply
One of the things I loved most about old school rpg's was getting my butt kicked by a tough boss because I was underleveled or ill equiped to handle the fight.
I would then spend hours level grinding, outfitting my party with the right tools for the job and then return to wipe the floor with that very same boss. It was always immensely satisfying.
But that satisfaction just isn't present in most modern rpg's. It used to be that you actually had to work to complete them, but now you can get through most of these games by just doing the minimum.
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 9:30:10 AM
Reply
These aspects are -NOT- what makes an RPG an RPG. Just because you "level up" means nothing. All that implies is that other games are using elements from RPG's and that character progression is present.
To me, because you can't say -everything- is an RPG (I mean, for gosh sakes, CoD levels up in multiplayer...), RPG is defined by it's gameplay.
Furthermore, RPG is the most important genre to include it's own sub genres. sRPG's, wRPG's, jRPG's, actionRPG's, etc. -ALL- give me a completely different idea about what to expect from a particular game.
Action RPG's is sort of the weakest definition of RPG of the entire genre. (No offense to Claire. Just hear me out as to why.) The reason is because you can come dangerously close nowadays of calling any action game an actionRPG. I personally feel actionRPG's shouldn't be called RPG anymore. ActionRPG's used to be identified as things like Baldurs gate or Dragon Age (would have been actionRPG back in the day), but now we identify those as westernRPG's. They are definitely RPG's, but they are also very different from what we think of when someone says "actionRPG".
When someone says "actionRPG" I think of things like Crisis Core and Kingdom Hearts now. Or even the dream that is FFversusXIII. But lets be honest here now... those games aren't all that different from games like inFamous or God of War. Not at their core. It's why we so willingly allow Mass Effect to be called an RPG now. We're actually starting to see a -NEW- sub genre: ShooterRPG. Just like when actionRPG split to become action RPG and Western RPG, actionRPG is splitting yet again to yield the Shooter RPG!!
RPG's were king once for a reason. They had key elements that engage the player and place that player into the game's world and makes them an active part of their character's relationships with other characters. How many times in conversation have you said, "I got -MY- character to etc. etc. etc." See? -MY- guy, character, whatever. Other genres have taken aspects of RPG's to make themselves more full and more immersive for players. As a result we're slowly seeing more and more sub-genres added over time. Now we've hit a time when no one even knows what an RPG is anymore. When you and I hear, "new RPG", admit it.... I have no clue what that means. Now I need loads of details to know what the hell they mean by RPG. When someone tells me they made a platformer, a shooter, an adventure, a puzzle, etc. game, I have a pretty clear idea on what direction the game is taking in terms of gameplay.
But RPG? Who flippin' knows.
The industry really needs to do a better job of defining what that means. Even if it means splitting the sub genres. Since every action game could potentially be an actionRPG, actionRPG's should be stripped of the RPG label. It was complicated enough just having jRPG's, wRPG's, and sRPG's. Now we have shooter and action as well. It's over complicated, and dev's take shortcuts to call their game whatever the hell they want to draw in a larger fan base.
The negative part, of course, is that lets say a system like 360 releases an RPG by traditional standards, and they all fail... then someone else like Mass Effect or some "action RPG" comes along and is amazing and calls itself an RPG... and it does well... what sort of "RPG" do you think people are going to make? Ah, but that Microsoft killing the jRPG topic is for another day.
To end off a long post, the industry needs to stop being so whimsical about the RPG label. No one know what the hell anyone means when they say RPG anymore. They really need to get back to basics, and label things, not in a way they want to be understood, but in a way that accurately tells people what to expect. I think that's completely fair to ask.
People should know by know... RPG's have influenced the industry in a huge way. So much so, that elements of RPG's are incorporated into -EVERY OTHER GENRE-. It's tragic that RPG's now are forced to suffer the consequences of the biggest gray area in the industry.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 8/24/2011 9:36:07 AM
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 9:38:00 AM
AcHiLLiA
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 10:20:15 AM
Claire C
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 12:22:16 PM
Fane1024
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 5:09:07 PM
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 10:35:52 PM
My beef with your conclusion is that there is still no attempt to clearly tell me what I am looking forward to. For as long as people want to describe what a game is like, there will always be labels. Get rid of them now, and more will pop up again in the future.
People are more complex than video games. And each person is still their own unique person. (They are their own "it") But people still have labels that describe who they are, despite being a million times more complex than games. For example, if you are Jewish or African, or whatever, there is always an identity and sense of pride about who you are and from whom and where you came. It even becomes a part of your identity.
Like it or not, games will also have labels to describe what they are, quickly, as well. My motion is to clearly label the direction of a game.
The obscene freedom of the RPG label is as atrocious as allowing Eminem to be called an African-American or Mel Gibson a Catholic.
Fane1024
Thursday, August 25, 2011 @ 6:53:16 AM
I'm just a big proponent of convergence in game design. I think it makes for richer experiences than rigidly conforming to genre tropes.
I hope for the day when "genre" means "Sci-fi" vs. "Fantasy" (or "Western" or "Romance") rather than "RPG" vs. "Action/Adventure".
I can't speak regarding FFXIII as I've not played a lick of it, but I totally agree that each IP should provide a consistent, but evolving experience. Changes like ME > ME 2 or DA: O > DA 2 are risky at best.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 8/25/2011 6:57:49 AM
Geobaldi
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 9:34:43 AM
Reply
Last edited by Geobaldi on 8/24/2011 9:36:22 AM
TheOldOne
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 9:43:21 AM
TrophyHunter
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 10:34:40 AM
SaiyanSempai
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 10:57:28 AM
Reply
Personally, turned based combat, hit points, and leveling was what defined an RPG for me. I mean, that's D&D style, right? The true definition of RPG! Your turn comes up, you choose what you want to do, then role some dice and hope for the best. Then it's another character's turn. For me, THAT'S what defined the genre.
The term RPG has somehow been associated with "freedom of choice" or some sort of karmic meter. To me, that's just the definition of an action/adventure game. Go where you want, choose your own adventure!
Games like Mass Effect, Fallout, Borderlands, etc want to parade around with the RPG tag? Not acceptable. You might as well call God of War or Infamous an RPG - since you can level up those weapons you acquire after going through various dungeons! They are no more RPGs than Zelda or Darkstalkers - and NO, those aren't RPGs.
What I consider RPGs are now called JRPGs for some reason. Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Legend of Dragoon, Xenogears, etc. Those are the RPGs I grew up with, what defined the genre for me. Now you want to call them JRPGs? Whatever. I don't know when that started happening, but all of a sudden there was that distinction.
Consequently, I've stopped getting excited when I hear a new RPG is coming out, because most often after I see gameplay I say, "oh...it's a WESTERN RPG. aka action/adventure game.
Fane1024
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 5:23:16 PM
If you had to assign one set of games to one category and the other set to the other category, that is.
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 10:45:26 PM
You need to pick an argument. No labels at all, or games like ME are true RPG's. You've said both, and I'm not sure how to discuss the topic with you since you have two very different views.
My issue with the first argument I addressed up a little higher. With the second argument, my problem is that your suggestion only further muddies the definition of what an RPG is, and it inevitably will become a label that tells the gamer -nothing- about it.
Fane1024
Thursday, August 25, 2011 @ 7:17:50 AM
RPGs were established in the past, but (contrary to the beliefs of many here) not just or even primarily in the form of JRPGs. Western RPGs come from a longer tradition than does FF and they generally strive (but fail) to replicate the core RPG experience, which is a group of people working together to create a story by *Playing Roles*.
IMO any game which attempts to give the player power to create his or her own story better deserves the label "RPG" than one which doesn't. Words have meaning. If labels are to be used, they should likewise have meaning. Usage does not trump meaning. "I could care less" is still wrong regardless of how many people say it. RPG = Role-Playing Game.
But you are absolutely right that no "computer" game can possibly provide a truly flexible narrative...not without a reactive, inventive human mind controlling it.
PS3 browser won't let me add more text.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 8/25/2011 7:32:23 AM
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 11:54:04 AM
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Underdog15
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 12:50:33 PM
Highlander
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 1:38:03 PM
Cole
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 1:47:53 PM
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 2:04:04 PM
Highlander
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 1:48:36 PM
Reply
It's almost as if games from other genre were trying to steal some of the shine than RPGs once had. But as time has passed it's changed to the point where people now quite aggressively argue that what were once action games are now somehow RPGs, and the traditional genre standard bearers for the RPG, especially the JRPG are termed old fashioned, cliched, technically inferior, and any number of other disparaging comments. Each time it happens, each action game that claims a little more RPG status, shifts the definition of RPG further away from the original genre. Each disparaging comment or review cuts at the old RPG genre a little more.
Traditional RPGs, and JRPGs in particular are thus enduring death by a thousand cuts, and the genre's fans are similarly suffering. You don't see other game genre literally being redefined out of existence, so I can't help wondering why the RPG is. Perhaps it's a lingering prejudice against the geeks that played the original RPGs like D&D? perhaps it's the style of play, or the pace, or the deeper story, or the difficulty of the puzzles, or the art style, or perhaps it's all of these things. Perhaps it's just that many of the newer gamers see the sexy, glossy action graphics and the acronym RPG and associate RPGs with that style of presentation?
Whatever the reasons, I hate it. It's like revisionist history, I find it abhorrent. Action games are action games, they are *not* RPGs. End. Of. Story.
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 10:38:31 PM
Warrior Poet
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 @ 11:57:15 PM
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Ludakriss
Thursday, August 25, 2011 @ 4:34:15 AM
Can you see that by this, well, word of mouth maybe even the outlook of some articles would change. It's like the positively instigated "definition revolution" by the gamers for the sake of gamers xD Maybe then, the action games would just be action games and the good ol' 3 letters would be left alone. Shining, creative, different. It'd be nice.

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LimitedVertigo
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Tuesday, August 23, 2011 @ 9:38:23 PM