Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games, also known as computer role-playing games, comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement. Role-playing games almost always feature combat as a defining feature and traditionally used turn-based combat; however, modern role-playing games commonly feature real-time action combat or even non-violent forms of conflict resolution. Further, many games have incorporated role-playing elements such as character advancement and quests while remaining within other genres.
Role-playing video games have their origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same terminology, settings, and game mechanics. Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player-character development, and elaborately designed fantasy worlds. The electronic medium takes the place of the gamemaster, resolving combat on its own and determining the game's response to different player actions. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences.
The first RPGs date to the mid-1970s, when developers attempted to implement systems like Dungeons & Dragons on university mainframe computers. While initially niche, RPGs would soon become mainstream on consoles like the NES with franchises such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Western RPGs for home computers became popular through series such as Fallout, The Elder Scrolls and Baldur's Gate. Today, RPGs enjoy significant popularity both as mainstream AAA games and as niche titles aimed towards dedicated audiences. More recently, independent developers have found success, with games such as OFF, Undertale, and Omori achieving both critical and commercial success.
Characteristics
Role-playing video games use much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics as early tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.Players control a central game character, or multiple game characters, usually called a party. These characters are controlled by issuing commands, which are then performed by the character at an effectiveness determined by that character's numeric attributes. Often these attributes increase each time a character gains a level, and a character's level goes up each time the player accumulates a certain amount of experience. Usually, the characters attain victory by completing a series of quests or reaching the conclusion of a central storyline. Players explore a game world, while solving puzzles and engaging in combat.
Role-playing games are traditionally divided into turn-based RPGs, which rarely challenge a player's physical coordination or reaction time, and action-based RPGs, which do the opposite.
Role-playing video games typically rely on a highly developed story and setting, and characters are typically designed by the player. Role-playing video games also typically attempt to offer more complex and dynamic character interaction than what is found in other video game genres. This usually involves additional focus on the artificial intelligence and scripted behavior of computer-controlled non-player characters.
Experience and levels
In order to be considered a role-playing game, characters have to become more functionally powerful by gaining new skills, weapons, and magic. This creates a positive-feedback cycle that is central to these games: the player grows in power, allowing them to overcome more difficult challenges, and gain even more power. This is part of the appeal of the genre, where players experience growing from an ordinary person into a superhero with amazing powers. Whereas other games give the player these powers immediately, the player in a role-playing game will choose their powers and skills as they gain experience.Three different systems of rewarding the player characters for solving the tasks in the game can be set apart: the experience system, the training system and the skill-point system
- The experience system, by far the most common, was inherited from pen-and-paper role-playing games and emphasizes receiving "experience points" by winning battles, performing class-specific activities, and completing quests. Once a certain amount of experience is gained, the character advances a level. In some games, level-up occurs automatically when the required amount of experience is reached; in others, the player can choose when and where to advance a level. Likewise, abilities and attributes may increase automatically or manually.
- The training system is similar to the way the Basic Role-Playing system works. The first notable video game to use this was Dungeon Master, which emphasized developing the character's skills by using them—meaning that if a character wields a sword for some time, he or she will become proficient with it.
- Finally, in the skill-point system the character is rewarded with "skill points" for completing quests, which then can be directly used to buy skills and attributes without having to wait until the next level up.
Story and setting
The premise of many role-playing games tasks the player with saving the world, or whichever level of society is threatened. There are often twists and turns as the story progresses, such as the surprise appearance of estranged relatives, or enemies who become friends or vice versa. The game world is often rooted in speculative fiction, which allows players to do things they cannot do in real life and helps players suspend their disbelief about the rapid character growth. To a lesser extent, settings closer to the present day or near future are possible.The story often provides much of the entertainment in the game. Because these games have strong storylines, they can often make effective use of recorded dialog and voiceover narration. Players of these games tend to appreciate long cutscenes more than players of faster action games. While most games advance the plot when the player defeats an enemy or completes a level, role-playing games often progress the plot based on other important decisions. For example, a player may make the decision to join a guild, thus triggering a progression in the storyline that is usually irreversible. New elements in the story may also be triggered by mere arrival in an area, rather than completing a specific challenge. The plot is usually divided so that each game location is an opportunity to reveal a new chapter in the story.
Pen-and-paper role-playing games typically involve a player called the gamemaster who can dynamically create the story, setting, and rules, and react to a player's choices. In role-playing video games, the computer performs the function of the gamemaster. This offers the player a smaller set of possible actions, since computers can't engage in imaginative acting comparable to a skilled human gamemaster. In exchange, the typical role-playing video game may have storyline branches, user interfaces, and stylized cutscenes and gameplay to offer a more direct storytelling mechanism. Characterization of non-player characters in video games is often handled using a dialog tree. Saying the right things to the right non-player characters will elicit useful information for the player, and may even result in other rewards such as items or experience, as well as opening up possible storyline branches. Multiplayer online role-playing games can offer an exception to this contrast by allowing human interaction among multiple players and in some cases enabling a player to perform the role of a gamemaster.
Exploration and quests
Exploring the world is an important aspect of many RPGs. Players will walk through, talking to non-player characters, picking up objects, and avoiding traps. Some games such as NetHack, Diablo, and the FATE series randomize the structure of individual levels, increasing the game's variety and replay value. Role-playing games where players complete quests by exploring randomly generated dungeons and which include permadeath are called roguelikes, named after the 1980 video game Rogue.The game's story is often mapped onto exploration, where each chapter of the story is mapped onto a different location. RPGs usually allow players to return to previously visited locations. Usually, there is nothing left to do there, although some locations change throughout the story and offer the player new things to do in response. Players must acquire enough power to overcome a major challenge in order to progress to the next area, and this structure can be compared to the boss characters at the end of levels in action games.
File:Computer rpg no automap.jpg|thumb|Example of a dungeon map drawn by hand on graph paper. This practice was common among players of early role-playing games, such as early titles in the Wizardry and Might and Magic series. Later on, games of this type started featuring automaps.
The player typically must complete a linear sequence of certain quests in order to reach the end of the game's story. Many RPGs also often allow the player to seek out optional side-quests and character interactions. Quests of this sort can be found by talking to a non-player character, and there may be no penalty for abandoning or ignoring these quests other than a missed opportunity or reward.