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I find the term "RPG" to be a much too ambiguous term. My fiction is for most people (but not me), RPG = a character in a fantasy setting (were fantasy = sword
by asiachick 5y ago
I find the term "RPG" to be a much too ambiguous term.
My fiction is for most people (but not me), RPG = a character in a fantasy setting (were fantasy = swords, knights, wizards). The end. By this they categorize both every console Zelda game and every Final Fantasy game as "RPG". But the 2 series are not remotely similar to each other. The Zelda console series are skill based action games with puzzle solving. The Final Fantasy series is a menu based choice game with possibly some strategy in which choices you make and what upgrades you choose.
You could probably also argue that The Witcher does not fit in the same category as Wizardry or the original Bard's Tale for similar reasons.
And, almost like trying to define "sandwich", if you pick some criterion then you can find examples of games that fit that criterion that most people wouldn't consider an RPG. Consider if you claim "Zelda" is an RPG because you move a character around a large fantasy world and have inventory then by that definition "Ratchet and Clank" is an RPG.
Further, even the term "Role Playing Game", in a racing simulation I'm playing the role of a race car driver. So technically PRG fits. Same for a skiing game or skateboarding game or many other games were you "play a role".
I'd argue game genres should be defined by how they're played, not how they look. As such, Wizardry, Diablo, and The Witcher do not belong in the same genre.
- Aerroon 5y agoI think "RPG" means "you control a character whose stats and/or gear you can (significantly) improve". That's what almost all of these games have in common. It's also what the term LitRPG is about in fiction - statboxes, xp, and levels. Maybe the game also needs to have combat of some kind.
- CarelessExpert 5y agoSo I assume you don't consider, say, the original Legend of Zelda to be an RPG? Link has no stats beyond health you can improve nor much in the way of gear to enhance. To be clear, I'm not arguing one way or the other. But I suspect it wouldn't be tough to find games considered RPGs that don't meet the definition you pose here.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- Aerroon 5y agoI think that if it came out today it would probably be considered something like an adventure game, yeah.