Dhruin has been running these great little editorial asides called Side Quests, and I thought I would jump in and offer my two pence.  In his last article, he talked about stats and their importance to the genre.

On occasion, and I’m sure it has happened to you before, you’ve had to explain to someone what a role-playing game is, especially if you like to dress up like vampires in the park.  When referring to RPGs of any type (pen and paper, live action role-play, computer RPGs, and console RPGs) I simplify the concept as make-believe with rules.

One could contend that a RPG is defined by character development, but without quantifiable stats, how would we measure such development?  Some suggest a story is necessary to be a RPG, but that would disqualify classic dungeon romps and rogue-likes.  Others offer up stepping into the role of another as the primary means of being classified as an RPG.  Well playing Splinter Cell not only offers a deep story, but allows me to step in the shoes of Sam Fisher.

Time and time again I fall back to the notion that the only real definition of the entire genre is stat-based gameplay.  Sitting around a table and role-playing without dice or rules is really no different than simply playing make believe.  LARP without stats and rules is really no different than improvisational theatre.  And a cRPG without stat-based gameplay just doesn’t make the cut.

I'd like to reuse Peter Berger's quote from the previous article:

The future of the CRPG as a genre depends on those pushing past the "show the user a spreadsheet full of numbers that slowly gets bigger over time" model of interaction. The best possible case is probably the disappearance of the genre as a separate recognized class (except among retrogaming fans), and for its best attributes to simply be absorbed by mainstream games, leaving the drudgery, such as inventory management, behind.

This raises a question, which now divides my definition of stat-based gameplay into two groups.  Does having character progression alone make a game a cRPG, or does the primary gameplay mechanic have to be driven by stats?

Character progression in and of itself opens up the genre to real loose definitions.  In the Zelda titles, you gain new equipment which has varying degrees of power, new armor and heart containers which increase your maximum health.  Numbers do not scroll across the screen, and some could argue Zelda has RPG-elements, but stats do not affect the main gameplay elements.  Your ability to swing a sword is based solely on arcade reflexes.  I personally would not classify Zelda as an RPG, nor does Nintendo.

If a game has stat-based gameplay, then the RPG distinction is clear.  I have yet to see a game where the main gameplay mechanic was stat-driven and the game was not classified as an RPG.  In classic RPGs, dice were rolled behind the scenes and that controlled our success and failure.  There is a comfort mechanism in knowing that your build of the character, and thus strategy was ultimately more important than reflexes when playing the game.

There are a few games that do really bend the barriers between RPG and non-RPG such as Deus Ex.  Stats do impact your ability to shoot, but are not the sole mechanic driving gameplay.  The upcoming Elder Scolls IV: Oblivion follows a system where you have a Blade skill, but your ability to hit is actually completely reflex-driven.  I can only imagine the Blade skill governs damage.  Stats affect the gameplay mechanic, but do not solely drive them.  If Oblivion is seen as a clear RPG, then why is Deus Ex not?

As more and more action and FPS titles start to implement RPG-elements, we see more and more RPG houses actually simplifying cRPGs at the same time.  I think that Peter is right that the two will blend, and that the cRPG genre might start getting thinner.  However, I do not believe this has to be case.

Peter’s quote equates character progression to reading a spreadsheet.  Apparently he doesn’t feel it is very fun.  Given the mass appeal and popularity of level-grinding in various MMO’s, I don’t think that stat-based character progression should be so easily discounted.  On paper it may sound silly or stupid, but how many times over the years have you delayed putting down the mouse or controller until you gained one more level?

He also calls inventory management a drudgery.  I wonder if RPGs are really his thing.  I don’t mind if developers make games that don’t cater to me, but I don’t understand why RPGs should stop catering to RPG fans.  As titles like inXile’s new Bard’s Tale have completely eliminated the inventory system entirely, I think they have only served to alienate the RPG audience who enjoyed the previous titles in the franchise.  Some may see such management as drudgery, and others see such mechanics as an opportunity to flex mental-muscles and apply strategy to better one’s position within the game.  While the mechanic of swinging a sword to squash a monster may be repetitive, each new swing might offer up a new reward in the goody it drops.  Swapping and collecting each of these pieces of gear may seem like a chore, but to others it is a challenge in and of itself that provides its own entertainment and replay value.

Though it seems developers more and more are eliminating the real heart of cRPGs (in my opinion) as stats no longer drive the main gameplay mechanic.  Just as archaic yet once-popular turn-based gameplay only seems to exist in pure strategy games or indie-rpgs, I forsee the entire industy stepping away from stats controlling the action.

I am not attempting to nay-say or suggest that PC gaming or RPGs are dying out.  Stat-based gameplay is still popular in many JRPGs, though the new Final Fantasy is throwing much of their classic battle system out the window in favor for a more action-oriented system.

I think the solution is to purchase and play more classic cRPGs that you may have missed, pass over games that you feel simplify to a fault, and express your opinion to developers who have community forums.  We operate in an economic democracy, and you cast your vote every time you spend your money.  Perhaps if we support the RPGs we feel are best offering the style of gameplay we desire, we’ll see more of it.