When is a RPG not a RPG?
Devin Cambridge, 2004-05-18

A friend once told me that the current trend of combining other game genre's with a role playing game equates to the color beige. Beige will not offend anyone. Beige will appeal to the lowest common denominator. Beige will sell stuff. However, beige is boring. For a long time, reasonably priced computer cases came in beige. The publishing executives decided that games could be made beige by simply telling people that the game is an RPG. In the quest for a beige colored game, they compiled teams of marketing people who quickly went out to find out what people liked about Role Playing Games. As a digression, I like marketing people. They make me laugh. Whenever I think of marketing, memories from the Funzo Simpson's episode pop into my mind. In the episode, a marketing team from a toy company takes over the local elementary school in order to provide market research for their upcoming product line. The result of off the cuff comments by the kid's results in FUNZO, a Furby like character that says it loves you while systematically destroying all the other toys and entertainment devices it perceives as competition.

The current "RPG" market contains lots of FUNZO's. We could blame the marketing people. Sure, it could be said some possess no real knowledge about the items they sell.  In their defense, Diablo and Gauntlet blurred the RPG line; however, let me go on record by saying that not everything is an RPG. For example, Raven Software's Xmen: Legends  bills as an RPG but in reality is an arcade adventure. You choose a team of four X-men to run around, kill things, pick up dropped items and "level up." Leveling up allows you to increase power and statistics for the individual characters. But the game looks and plays like an arcade game. The game looks very simular to Luxoflux's Shrek 2 Game. Is Shrek an RPG?

It begs the question, "What is wrong with the Adventure genre?"  There are plenty of high selling adventure series. Tomb Raider made millions and the upcoming Devil May Cry III has already gained industry buzz and an award at E3. Why co-opt the RPG moniker? The reason lies in the numbers. List the game as an RPG adventure and you attract a cross section of two markets. You get the brown mixed with white. You get beige. At some point the development team will even buy into the marketing mantra. The Raven employee who showed X-men: Legends mentioned that the fans asked Marvel to produce an X-men RPG. Those fans will be disappointed. The title will most likely do well. X-men is a popular brand and the title will be released on X-Box. But Legends is not the game RPG'ers want.

RPG Characteristics:

I will venture to state what I believe is necessary to label a game an RPG.

1) Customize a character from scratch: In games like X-Men Legends and Sudeki, you are forced to play a character or characters with set characteristics. For example, Legends forces you to pick from a pool consisting of Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm and the rest of the X-men from the comics. In a true RPG, I would be able to create a mutant from scratch. I could choose the type of mutant, customize the look, and combine powers to create an entirely new mutant in the X-men universe. I could even create something similar to the original X-men. How many times have we seen clones in comic books? I would name the character and (s)he would get to interact with the professor and the other mutants at the mansion.

2) Branching dialogue: This is important. A storyline must be fairly dynamic. The NPC's should respond to character development, skills and actions. Troika and Bioware are masters of the branching dialogue. Take a look at Fallout (produced by Interplay with the Troika founders in lead roles), Baldur's Gate, Arcanum or the upcoming Vampire: Bloodlines. They provide excellent examples of branching dialogue.

3) Mini-quests with variable outcome: Quests should account for success, failure, and sometimes the odd outcome. It is alright to have a main storyline, but don't force the players to follow the storyline at a set pace. An RPG should be about exploring the story and area. The best games provide a large world to explore and affect. A good designer will allow players to abandon quests not vital to the main storyline and will also provide hidden areas with unique rewards for the hard core adventurer.

4) A good story: Shooters, simulators, and real-time strategy games don't require a story. A story may even detract from game play. However, in an RPG story becomes a top priority. Investing in good writers who know how to write RPG storylines should be the first stance. It would be nice if someone who worked on the top RPG titles would write a book on RPG writing. Just as film, television, comic books and novels all require unique writing techniques in order to create an effective product, RPG's possess their own unique format. Don't expect a comic book writer to write an effect RPG storyline.

In the quest to create the new "latest and greatest thing," a lot of game makers attempt to blur the line. These game makers should refocus. Some of the best games understand that the primary goal of a game should be to create a product that is fun. So, on the off chance that someone in the industry is reading this, remember to focus on fun and less on buzz words like "RPG."

I don't think that X-Men: Legends is a bad game. It seems like a fine arcade adventure. I just think the sell is misleading and dishonest. I ask our readers to take the time to open up a thread on the discussion list. Should there be new labels for the new games coming out? What would you call some of the hybrids? Are there any other criteria you would say are necessary for a game to be called an RPG?