What defines a RPG?

[Scoobes]

Mnementh said:

Scoobes said:
I suppose for me it's a game where the player has a great deal of control in how to improve your base character(s). I don't think it has to strictly be stat based (I still count Deus Ex Human Revolution as an FPS/RPG) but it shouldn't be solely tied to in-game progress and there should be multiple elements you can improve/develop as you progress. For instance, the hearts in Zelda are for the most part, a result of game progression, or the in original Metal gear Solid where your health increases after defeating each boss; I don't count either of these as RPGs. 

Yes, you get my point. If the character-development is dependent on the game-progress and the player has no choices, than I wouldn't count it as RPG.

Scoobes said:

 However, I also feel that storytelling should play a bigger part in defining what makes an RPG. The ability to influence the storyline is usually associated with adventure games, but to me this also makes a significant portion of what an RPG should encompass; shaping your character not only in battle stats, but also in character/personality development. In games with a party system, this should include inter-party relationships.

Difficult part. I agree that at a table with a Pen&Paper the players influence the story strongly. Hell, they could decide that the princess shouldn't be rescued and help the dragon instead. But that is difficult on the computer. The computer/console is no human, it cannot come up with a new story to react to decision the player(s) make. Every story-path has to be programmed in advance. And no developer really wants to create 10 stories to put in one game, if in every playthrough you experience only one (hmm, such a game would be great, if I think about it). Yes, Bioware did that to some degree in Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age. You could influence some aspects of the story, although the main storyline was kept regardless of your actions.

 

Very difficult to do in video games which is why I'm usually pleased when a developer has managed to incorporate it with any modicum of skill. Dragon Age Origins is really the main example as you had 6 different character storylines depending on the origins of your character. This directly effected some of my choices later in the game as I would think "If that happened to me, how would I respond?". That's pretty much the best we can hope at this stage.

As you said, it's very difficult to do as no AI has been able to accurately put together a storyline based on player actions. AI seems to have progressed so slowly compared to graphics it seems decades away before we'll have anything close to resembling an AI capable of this story developing feat.

In some ways, the Bethesda games have managed to incorporate the feeling of personal story through sheer freedom. Although the story remains the same for all quests, the intricacies are largely determined by player choice. This essentially ends up as a "what order to do the quests and what to do between them" rather then actual story development although the player experience is somewhat personalised.