Role–playing games (RPGs) are easily my favourite genre of video games. Video games as a platform are a perfect way of obtaining your daily fix of escapism, and not surprisingly, RPGs fit the bill better than platformers and multiplayer shooters. In this post, we go through five things that are needed to make RPGs great. In RPGs, you play a character who develops in some way as you play – perhaps their appearance, their abilities and their story. A good RPG can transport you to another world which you are able to interact with and shape. Examples include fantasy RPGs such as The Elder Scrolls series, sci–fi RPGs like Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect; and many others that don’t quite fit into either category, such as the indie gem Bastion.
In the history of videogaming, RPGs have seen a general shift away from lists of numbers (à la tabletop RPGs) towards more immersive, character and decision–driven experiences. Most RPGs are still all about the numbers, but these days they’re often hidden behind a glossy, expansive world or shiny, streamlined menu screens. Old–school ‘retro’ style RPGs are still out there – The Legend of Grimrock, released earlier this year, is a great example of a dungeon crawler RPG that is unashamed to have statistics and numbers at the forefront of its gameplay.
In an expanding market for gaming, RPGs have inevitably become more accessible for non ‘hardcore’ gamers. Whether this is a good or bad direction for RPGs to go in depends upon your personal choice – is it dumbing it down or the next best step for the genre?
In this column I will discuss the individual elements that are key for an RPG to become great, rather than good. I’ll also try to amalgamate these separate strands and pitch my ‘perfect’ RPG to you, dearest readers, to see what kind of game I’ll make my company of game developing slaves produce next. It’s unlikely that you’ll agree with everything you read – in fact, I’d be worried if you did. Opinions do not equal fact, after all…no matter what some on the internet would tell you.
Setting and non-player characters (NPCs)
The most important thing for me in an RPG is immersion. Yes, the ‘I’ word. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s an overused word in gaming spheres – “that skimpy armor is breaking my immersion!”; “where the heck is my battleaxe being stored? It’s breaking my immersion!”, and so on. Yet immersion is important – so long as you draw the line between gameplay and immersion at a sensible place, however. Having a non–player character speak in 21st century slang in a medieval fantasy setting is not okay. Having an NPC gain new funds every week in in–game time is okay.
If the setting is not immersive, then an RPG loses all its magic. It’s easy for a good game to have a poor setting. Endless copying and pasting of textures might save developers time and money, but at a certain point it becomes irritatingly noticeable, and past that it makes me lose all motivation to play the game. Why should I care about this map, this world, if the developers couldn’t be bothered to make it look different to the rest of the map? RPGs with large, ambitious worlds suffer from this problem most often. Look at The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a good game, but it’s immediately clear that 90% of their voice acting budget was spent on Patrick Stewart, who only gets a few minutes of speech; and Sean Bean, who didn’t even get to speak with his deliciously gruff northern accent. I mean, why employ Sean Bean if you’re going to make him lose his Yorkshire tones? Anyway, I digress. The NPCs in Oblivion are bland, for the most part. With only a handful of voice actors, a few different outfits and cookie–cutter conversations, connecting with these characters is difficult.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is an interesting example to look at here. Often lauded as the best Elder Scrolls game so far, most of Morrowind’s characters were far from interesting, and there were a great deal of areas that appeared to be replicated, but the landscape and culture of Vvarndenfell ensures that Morrowind is remembered as a game with a great, unique setting. From silt–striders to ash storms to Telvanni towers – it did not fall completely into the usual archetypal high–fantasy medievally type setting that we’re all used to. And that made it very special.
Uninteresting characters, bland terrain and unimaginative landscapes can easily destroy an RPG.
Character progression – stats
Here the ‘trinity’ of gaming presents itself: tank, healer, and DPS (damage–per–second). Clearly the trinity only features in games that are either multiplayer or where you can spec out companions (KOTOR, Wizardry 8, etc.), but most RPGs require a lone player–character to specialise to some degree. Specialisation is important, and adds to replayability value (more on that later), but here some RPGs can be unforgiving. With so many different attributes, especially in, say, Morrowind, it’s very difficult for a newcomer to know what to pick. In my first venture into Morrowind, I played as an archer with medium armor and a talent for certain magicks. Alas, by not investing in Security or Alteration, I had no way to open locked objects, which halted my progress in many of the quests I stumbled upon. I had a choice: to spend all my time and gold attempting to level up one of the aforementioned skills, or to reroll my character, selecting different major and minor skills than I would have liked.
That brings up a major gripe I have with progression in RPGs: being forced to play a certain way. There are two obvious ways developers can, and do, solve this problem. First, most simply, present players with ways to refund their spent attribute and skill points; and second, give the player several ways of tackling the obstacles in front of them. Neither of these solutions are perfect, yet both have their merits. Having companion systems helps reduce the problem almost entirely – Sten can tank, Morrigan can become adept at herbalism, and my character has a talent for picking locks and disabling traps. In games where lore, or purely the style of gameplay, only allow solo adventuring, a combination of the two points I presented at the start of the paragraph can reduce the chance of a player hitting brick walls. Give me a free points refund at level 10. Let me force my way through this door rather than standing there stabbing at the lock repeatedly (Morrowind players, that one’s for you). Give me a hand when choosing which skills to level up for the first time. Above all, don’t punish me for choosing my favourite playstyle.
Meaningful choices in a story I care about
Ever found yourself shouting those kind of things at a movie or TV programme? In a good video game, you should be able to make these kind of decisions yourself, to change your character’s story. This is especially applicable to RPGs, where you can quite easily get sucked in and become your character. A good story in an RPG should allow you to make these choices and for the impacts of your decisions to become obvious as the game progresses.
Choice can manifest itself in several ways. First, in open-world RPGs, the simple choice of the direction in which to explore is exhilarating. Should I follow the main quest, do a side quest, or just wander through the wilderness? The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim does this well. You can earn your fortune through the main storyline, clearing out dungeons, or even becoming a smith, woodcutter, or miner. Secondly, as mentioned above, having a choice of playstyle is a great way of doing this. In Bastion, choosing your weapons dictates your playstyle, but all are viable in most situations – it’s up to you how you play.
Lastly, in RPGs with a smaller, more linear world (DA: O, and to some extent MMOs like, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2, for example); choice may be presented through dialogue options. At a basic level, you can choose whether to respond kindly, coldly, or like a tool. On some occasions, a character’s fate rests in your hands. Do you forgive them or kill them? It is this kind of choice that I particularly relish. I love stepping into my character’s shoes. My first DA:O character was a wimp of an elf. Whenever I could, I’d choose the dialogue option that represented her fearfulness. Later on, my battle-hardened elf lost the cowardly edge and became naive, trusting all and remaining clueless and bewildered about Alistair’s romantic advances, making him more miserable than ever. The thing I love about Origins is that I can create a character that’s the complete opposite of my elf; perhaps a brute of a dwarf, with more swagger than Jagger (my apologies, that was a reference to a Cher Lloyd song), who’s a serial womaniser with a ruthless streak.
I cannot stress how much value increased player choice can add to an RPG. It changes games from having the feeling of ‘being on rails’ to becoming something like a sandbox, where the world is of your own making. Every modern RPG should strive to give players choice in many ways within the game.
Smooth integration of combat with story, user interface (UI) and the overall experience
A similar problem with RPGs is the integration of story with overall gameplay. A well-made cutscene is impressive, and certainly makes you pay attention to the story, but too often we see games which rely solely on cutscenes to tell the story. Shouldn’t I be experiencing the story, rather than having it spoon-fed to me? Bioware’s RPGs are well known for their interactive conversations. In DA:O, a character usually says a couple of sentences, then you’re presented with a choice in how to respond. You can cut short the conversation at any point, or you can delve deeper into the story, and possibly be rewarded for it. Equally effective are narrated RPGs. Bastion does this perfectly – a gruff narrator tells the story as you play, and, even better, his narration changes in response to your performance. If you do well he’ll tell you. Fall off the edge of the world, and he’ll make some wry comment about it. In the Trine games, the story is told through a mixture of short cutscenes, narration, and discussion between the three characters as you are playing. ‘Banter’ between NPCs conveys the story, lets you know about their relationships, and adds to the feeling of a living world. It can often add humour and light relief to even the darkest of situations.
In an RPG, story might not always come first, but it is important. I love games that make it feel like I’m living the story, writing it, rather than treading along a path that’s already been marked out for me. Having a clumsy, awkward combat system or frequent cutscenes getting in the way of story can ruin a game.
Replayability
Making a game fun is easier said than done, but for me I think it comes down to a good ratio between time, effort and reward. I’m quite happy to grind through some tedious, if tricky gameplay as long as I get a good reward at the end of it. Whether it’s better gear, a cosmetic reward or even the next snippet of story, as long as it’s interesting and worthwhile then there is some sense of accomplishment. It’s also important that player skill is rewarded – through higher rewards, hard-to-reach areas, or achievements.
Enjoyment is also enhanced through a game’s aesthetics. I’m not talking about graphics – I’m talking about art-style, and how well it fits with the tone of the game. Limbo, Guild Wars 2 and Bastion all get this spot on. A good soundtrack has the same effect. If I can enjoy the music and appreciate the art-style, I’m more than happy to go back and play through again to experience them.
Replayability ultimately depends upon all the other factors I’ve mentioned in this post and many more.
So, what is the perfect RPG?
For me, there must be a compelling story that is the primary focus of the game. The story should branch and change to reflect my character and their decisions. Ideally I’d like to adventure with a couple of companions, whether NPCs or other players. The world does not need to be huge, but it needs to contain a wealth of imaginative, original content. It needs to feel like there is depth to the world and consequences to my decisions. Finally, use music and art and story and voiceover and whatever else you can think of to get an emotional response out of me, the player. I don’t want it to feel like I’m playing the game – I want to become that character from the moment I open the game right up until I hit the Esc key.
Combat does not have to be, and in my opinion should not be, the focus of modern RPGs. It should not make or break a game. Maybe I’m just old fashioned, but an RPG should first and foremost be about telling a story, one that I can at least partially alter.
This post might read like a love-letter to Morrowind, Dragon Age: Origins and Bastion, but I still haven’t found the perfect RPG. Those three games come closest, but I’m looking for that one game to get it exactly right. Any game developers out there want to help me out?
Photos: Josh Nealey, Bethesda Softworks, Bioware/EA/Lucas Arts, ArenaNet/NCSoft, Supergiant Games