Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Pic of the moment More pics from the gallery

Site Navigation Main    News    Forums Games    Games Database    Top 100    Release List    Support Files Features    Reviews    Previews    Interviews    Editorials    Diaries    Misc Download    Gallery    Music    Screenshots    Videos Miscellaneous    Staff Members    Privacy Statement   History of RPGs Part 4 at Gamespy Posted by Rendelius @ Thursday - April 04, 2002 - 07:04 - Top The fourth part of the History of RPGs is online today at Gamespy. Today, they talk about the genre blending that has been going on for some time. Here's a bit: So, what makes a game an RPG anyway? Jeff Vogel, an RPG designer himself, puts it this way, "[T]he whole RPG thing is very bipolar. On one hand, there's this intricate, psychological, build a character, tabletop side of role-playing. Computers don't do this well. On the other hand, there is the underpinning numbers and rules framework, which provides a context for the character building. Computers do this wonderfully." Todd Howard simplifies this concept saying, "Any game where you play and develop a character. That's my definition. I prefer you get to create that character yourself too, but the 'develop a character' is the main part." BioWare's Greg Zeschuk agrees, "I think RPGs require character progression -- that could mean an increase in stats, knowledge, or even experience (not the numerical kind). I think a lot of games have RPG features, but few have the character progression as the focus as the game. The games that do focus on character progression are the 'pure RPGs.'"

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