Some sort of coherent knowledge base that you can explore using an interface that is at least partially player sensitive.

The answer is purposefully open-ended; I suggest you use the definition as a launchpad for reconceiving the traditional CRPG process.

After all, why have an artificial role to play unless you''re able to reconfigure your existing relationship to what you know?

PS. Try to add lots of explosions.

oops, that postscript shoudn''t be as sarcastic as it is, the explosions can be in many meaningfully different forms.

Wait, better yet: a good RPG is one in which you are able to do something good. Early Ultimas are still heralded for that because the decision to do something good was something you had to work for.

Thanks for the help guys.

If you want to see what Ive come up with, check out www.spectre-software.com and download the beta of my rpg. Please note that this is a single mission beta test, and so doesnt have much story... that will have to wait for the demo

Well, I think of an RPG as a kind of game where the character goes through a lot of changes. I personally don''t consider Zelda or Diablo RPGS. You don''t ever get to figure out the story behind the character and nothing really "happens" to them. But like in Final Fantasy III/VI, the main character Terra struggles to figure out so many things about herself, and what she is, and you find out more and more about her history as the game progresses. The thing that made that game so wonderful was that each of the characters had some personality caused by their history that gave them character. For instance, Terra was a half esper/half human. Sabin gave up his chance at being king of Figaro, and I can''t remember the rest of the game, but each of these, the characters had some background that caused the game to be very emotional and wonderful. Also, the whole "saving the world" theme is nice.

I''m not a designer, but here''s some things i''ve noticed with RPGs:

Freedom is great, as long as the background story is engaging. Morrowind is a great game for the freedom, but the main quest story line isn''t engaging enough to get you to stick with it and not just wander around exploring. Games like Icewind dale and baldur''s gate are very linear and follow plot progressions, but are still alot of fun in that the stories are engaging and you don''t mind being lead along.

Character creation is a fun aspect, but not important. Many RPGs give you tons of options for creating characters, but if they game setting doesn''t take advantage of the different kinds of characters then it''s a moot point. One of the best RPGs i''ve ever played was Half-life (i know its a FPS) you play the role of Gordon freeman and you have zero control of the creation of that role, but the story and atmosphere are so immersive that you find yoruself pulled into that role almost from the start.
Arcanum is a great example of wide creation options that don''t really lead to anything, making it more frustrating that fun.

the story is probably the most important aspect. all good RPGs, regardless of system, have that in common. Alot of game desingers seem to get lost in the graphics and the coding and forget that its the story and the setting that make it a great game.

quote:

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Character creation is a fun aspect, but not important.

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On the contrary, I think it''s by far the most important aspect of a RPG. It is the most powerful tool a player has to immerse themselves into their character - even if the options one gets to choose from have no impact (or even better, no apparent impact) on the game.

But then, I''m more in favor of playing/creating role-playing GAMES, not role-playing STORIES.

(Which, btw, is why I think Morrowind (on concept alone) is far superior to any Baldur''s Gate-ish game)

Perhaps the issue here is that people associate a number of different types of game with the TLA ''RPG''.

There''s what you might call a Story Playing Game, in which you are required to follow a plot to the end. In this kind of game you usually don''t have much freedom, although the use of sub-plots, and allowing people to take different routes that lead to the same plot elements can be used to mask this effect. In a SPG, the most important thing is the story, because this is what drives the action - if the story is bad, the player will notice that they are being lead around. Most games are like this, or aren''t any kind of ?PG.

The second is the true Role Playing Game. In this, you are still contrained because you are expected to play a role. However, you are not forced to follow a particular plotline. An example of this kind of RPG may be Frontier: Elite - you don''t have to follow any particular plot (in fact, there isn''t one), but your activities are limited by the role you take on (that of a trader and pilot). Some MMORPGs, MUDs and God games are like this.

The third is what I''ll call a World Playing Game. In this, you have any role you like, but are constrained by the world in which you are playing - so you couldn''t be a space trooper in a game with a Norse mythology setting. The problem with this kind of game is that (1) it is extremely difficult to make good plotlines for it that directly involve the PC and (2) it is extremely difficult to make the game world big enough for you to play in. MMORPGs are WPGs, as are MUDs, and, to an extent, some God games (like Simcity, which is extremely free-form).

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Just Plain Wrong

Personally, I feel a good story isnt important to an RPG as long as it is fun to play. The FF series is fantastic BUT do I ever play through any of them twice? Nope, I cannot be bothered. There are much better stories in the novels and films I own... the experience isnt "strong" enough and surprising enough to warrant a second investment of time. However... do I want to play Elite again? You bet!

Freedom gives replayability, and this applies to character creation too. The number of character class combinations I tried while finding the best combination in the Bards Tale was all definitely part of the fun!

Hey i know what makes a good rpg story, charcter, battle system
I m a good rpg game maker and player
I can help you with those and the graphics
FREE OF CHARGE
But you have to supply me with the programs MAYA OR 3DSMAX FULL VERSIONS
3DSMAX (Preferred)