What is an RPG?

[Bofferbrauer2]

Shtinamin_ said:

haxxiy said:

I'd argue for an originalist interpretation that any game whose main mechanics ultimately derive from Dungeons & Dragons is an RPG, and those who don't aren't. Simple.

Of course, these days, a lot of games mix and match genres, so... not as simple.

So Dungeons & Dragons is the original RPG. What are the core mechanics of that game?

Personally, I think the main core mechanics that are the foundation to D&D the following:

• Exploration
• Social Interaction
• Combat

Am I missing anything?

What have RPG's done to expand on these mechanics and anything outside these?

A levelling system, and that's one of the defining systems of the genre, if not THE most defining system. Otherwise games like The Legend of Zelda would also also be RPGs, but they're actually Action-Adventures.

Also, not all RPGs have social interaction. Roguelikes in particular often don't have any real interaction other than combat, especially older ones.

Technically, you could do an RPG without combat, instead levelling other tasks outside of combat. if you would remove the combat from Rune Factory 5 for instance but still keep the progression system in place, it would be an RPG despite not having any combat.

Edit: If you want to know more about what constitutes an RPG and the history of CRPGs, head right over to the CRPG Addict, who tries to play through every RPG in a more or less chronological order. He's currently (after over 500 games!) in 1993 apart from some odd missed older entries. But those odd entries keep piling up, he's been in 1993 for almost 8 years now...

Last edited by Bofferbrauer2 - on 19 February 2024