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What's your favorite element of an RPG?
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RPGDot Forums > CRPGs General

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Namirrha
Noble Knight
Noble Knight




Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 218
Location: Utah County, Utah.
   

A RPG is a package with lots of thrills. So that includes story, atmosphere, NPCs, characer development, combat, and a whole lot of other things. I don't place as much emphasis on graphics, but they should be decent and clear. I don't need Doom 3-quality graphics. I don't have specific preferences for single-character or party-based games--they have different strengths and weaknesses. Neither is inherently wrong or right.
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Post Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:25 am
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Secret Agent Lawanda
The last thing you see...
The last thing you see...




Joined: 23 Oct 2003
Posts: 1041
Location: World of Darkness (LA)
   

I think I agree with Val on the humor.
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Post Tue Nov 11, 2003 9:38 pm
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Korplem
Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler




Joined: 23 Dec 2002
Posts: 853
Location: Pearl Harbor, HI
   

I think Story and Atmosphere are my top two. Humor would be third I suppose... Even if a game isnt meant to be funny I'll find something to laugh at, so having a game that actually intends to give the laughs is nice. Div Div, I think, had all three but the combat got boring pretty quick...
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Post Thu Nov 13, 2003 1:50 am
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Arch-villain




Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
   

1. Character Generation

2. Story

If a game has at least one of those set at 'good' or better, I will enjoy that game. If it's got both then I'm even happier (This is why Freedom Force is among my favorite games... great character generation, great story).

I've played games with a solid story but a weak character generation and I'm ok with them. I've played games with great character generation and weak story and I'm fine with them too.

Only when both are poor (*cough*Poolsofradiance2*cough*) do I truly dislike a game.

If I could add a third it would be Pacing. A game with good character generation and a good story does no good if there are 20 hours of random encounters between story points...
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Post Thu Nov 13, 2003 4:33 pm
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LoneWolf
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 15 Jun 2003
Posts: 23
Location: Knocking on heaven's door
   

good question:
1. Fantasy setting. I'm not too fond of rpgs that take place in a scifi environment, although i liked playing FF7.
2. Third person perspective. I like seeing all the cool armor and weapons on my character. Guess i don't really have that good of an imagination.
3. Good story, but not to the point where i feel like i'm reading a novel, ie. Planescape Torment. I don't mind reading texts inorder to progress the plot, but too much text makes a game too tedious sometimes. Sometimes i'd rather see cutscenes.
4. Character leveling system similar to NWN.
5. Good npc interactions. Kinda sucks when all the npcs say the same things all the time.
6. Multiple endings depending on paths that you choose. I would like to say open endedness, but morrowind, although a good game feels almost overwhelming. It's nice to have a clear and defined goal.
7. THE ABILITY TO PLAY AN EVIL CHARACTER. Although most games allow you to play one, you still have to do "good" deeds.
8. Lots of easter eggs.
9. Likeable avatars. Although i liked playing FF7, i hate the fact that i'm some little kid. Baldur's gate had much more interesting characters.
Post Thu Nov 13, 2003 11:24 pm
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Munka
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 15 Nov 2003
Posts: 8
   

I have had a real hard time finding RPG's that I really like and enjoy coming back to play it again and again. I am waiting for the day when someone develops something more than just a game. Mabe a living breathing world where the re-play value is endless and you have very little chance of doing the same thing twice. I found temporary salvation in Morrowind for 2 years, and still have an active account with Ultima Online after almost 6 years. But still, repitition is there, and you can expect to see and do the same thing over and over again. It gets old after awhile, exspecially when your my age, and was around to see the dawn of computerized gaming.
I come from the old tabletop days, where your imagination was the limit and the bounds and rules where there cause you set them there. Anything was possible then. Now days, it's scripted for us, our guide lines are set and the rules are predefined.
So many good games out there, so many flirting with the idea that games can be more than just "a game". And yet very few dare to take that step into virtual-realizim. Perhaps one day, someone will take chance. Mabe "Fable" will live up to it's hype, and offer what many are searching for.
Post Sat Nov 15, 2003 6:45 am
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ShadowWolfe
Noble Knight
Noble Knight




Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 205
Location: In the northern mountains of the western continent.
   

customization ... of everything ... i loved in nwn how i could create my own armor and weapons and import them into the other campaigns ... brilliant absolutely brilliant ... love having a sh!t load of character customization too... I want my character to look like i want him too , you know? ... and good char developement ... like in KOTOR when you are evil your character reflects it ... ie, beard, pointed eyebrows, looks like he could kick some major alien butt... but then again out of all these things ... my fave games do virtually none ... gothic... :S meh ...
cant forget an engaging story either ... I want to be glued to my seat with my girlfriend threatening to leave me if i dont take a break
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Post Mon Nov 24, 2003 5:28 am
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Madigan
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 13 Sep 2003
Posts: 22
   

Exploring a new world, Discovering whats around the next corner or whats in that cave or dungeon, Making it to a destination, usually the Next large town, where you can hang your hat, rest awhile and talk to all the interesting npc's to further the storyline. Adventure!!
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Post Mon Nov 24, 2003 6:34 am
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Zebulon
Eager Tradesman
Eager Tradesman




Joined: 05 Aug 2003
Posts: 44
Location: dark hills
important in RPGs
   

IMHO character development is most important (and finding the best possible equipment:-))
So games like some earlier M&Ms (which spend LOTS of expoints)
gave lots of room to develop.
Adventuring is important too.
I like huge worlds to explore,wandering away from the main plot, killing animals and running away from ogres.
I liked the many hidden caches in Gothic 2 and liked the very fresh look of the world. but it was small and the animals never respawned.
So the topics are growth (including STATS) ( this is why i dislike ToEE) and exploring(MW was great, but it was an old world and the colours make me depressed)
Post Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:58 am
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Northchild
Fearless Paladin
Fearless Paladin




Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 232
Location: New York, USA
   

Atmosphere. My favorite game is Silent Hill 2 - a wonderful example of a game world that doesn't let go. Another favorite game of mine is ICO. MYST, Riven, and URU are all very immersive to me. My favorite RPGs include KOTR, Planescape, and Final Fantasy 7.

The very best games of any genre, in my humble, are the ones that keep the story, combat, character development, etc. out of my way for long enough for me to *feel* something.

An exception to my "rule" is Morrowind. I'll probably never be really sure as to why I didn't like Morrowind at all.
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Post Fri Dec 12, 2003 12:50 pm
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Lord Chambers
Eager Tradesman
Eager Tradesman




Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Posts: 29
   

A few of you are basically saying "My favorite traits in a girl are (1)physical attractiveness, (2)mental attractiveness." Well, way to cover all the bases.

Like with most people, game development is a trade-off. For instance, a game that promotes play as different character types (thieves, diplomats, fighters) is less likely to a very deep stealth, fighting, or dialogue system than a game that is primarily about being stealthy (Hitman 2), combat (Gothic II), or dialogue (that one game that no one played whose name I forget).

Overall, a game is oriented either toward having a pleasing experience of playing it, or having by having a compelling urge to complete it. So for a game like Temple of Elemental Evil where it is light on story and heavy on combat, you'd better enjoy the actual play of the game itself, the combat, otherwise you'll not like it. On the otherhand, a game like Arcanum has a horrible combat system, a horrible sneaking system, and dialogue that isn't anything spectacular, so really the only enjoyment comes from unraveling the story.

Games like the ToEE are about the play, the systems and gameplay itself, while games like Arcanum are about (unfortunately enough) getting through the gameplay issues so you can enjoy the story, atmosphere, environment, and whatnot.

Naturally the great games are the ones that manage to combine the two elements of compelling and gameplay.


That said, I think I'm pretty much on the fence. I never finished Arcanum because it was so flawed, even though I loved the world and the story was interesting. But on the otherhand, I never finished Wizardry 8 because the story wasn't prominent enough to keep me sludging through all the battles, even though they were pretty fun. As with all things, it seems that what's best to me is a moderate mix of the two, embodied in a game like Gothic 2. The combat gets kinda boring after awhile, and wouldn't be enough to keep me playing, but it's got a decent story that I want to finish, although it doesn't interest me as much as Arcanum's.


Last edited by Lord Chambers on Fri Jan 16, 2004 9:22 am; edited 1 time in total
Post Thu Jan 15, 2004 6:11 am
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Lintra
Elf Friend
Elf Friend




Joined: 23 Apr 2002
Posts: 9448
Location: Bermuda, the triangle place with SANDY BEACHES
   

Three and 1/2 basic items:

1. Story - a strong atmosphere can make up for a lack of story, but there is *nothing* like a good story involving charcters you care about.
2. Atmosphere - Or world. How well put together is the world? Gothic 1&2 did this better than almost any other game.
3. Characters - Character advancement has to be good to get me to establish a link w/ the party/main character.
3a. NPCs - They should be 'real' in that they have agenda of their own and are not just givers of quests and ways to turn loot into gold and gold into spiffy new toys.

There are a host of other things that can aid in the experience (interface, graphics etc) but I can overlook most of them if 1 through 3a are really well done.
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Post Thu Jan 15, 2004 1:16 pm
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Joeman
Protector of the Realm
Protector of the Realm




Joined: 03 Jan 2004
Posts: 254
Location: USA
   

Sex and violence.

I like the naked woman taking a bath in gothic.

I like to see your enemy's body explodes. I like it when Aerie shoots her sling for one point of damage, and her enemy's body splatters.
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Post Fri Jan 16, 2004 1:36 am
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mkreku
Keeper of the Gates
Keeper of the Gates




Joined: 22 Oct 2003
Posts: 112
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
   

Imagine a game that consist of one long corridor, that has a great story, great atmosphere and believable NPC's standing along the walls telling jokes all day. Great fun, huh. (Final Fantasy comes to mind)

To me the game world (or universe) is the most important aspect. It has to be large, it has to be free and it has to be varied and interesting. I just love to enter a whole new world and explore every pixel of it, trying to find all those secret hidden caves, chests or laserguns.

Second most important is probably character development. It's incredibly satisfying when you get beat by an ugly orc while you're still level 2, reload, gain a few levels somewhere else and can return several hours later and act out your revenge on that stupid orc. (Guess which game!) I just wish every RPG had an equally great character development system as Wasteland did..
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Post Fri Jan 16, 2004 2:59 am
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