I don''t know if this has been discussed before...so please ignore it this if it has... But why do so many of us seem to be developing RPGs? For get the specifics of what a RPG game involves...the term, just like "action movie", can be applied to a wide range of games..from Zelda to Diablo, to every Ultima and Final Fantasy clone produced...argueing this is moot at this point...RPG has become just another label... Er...what I''m trying to get at is why there are so few posts about games in other genres? Fighting, raceing, puzzle, and arcade games are made all the time...but it seems pretty rare when anyone posts something about them...Why is that? Do fans of the other genres feel more satisfied by the games they have available and we less? Do the RPGs we play inspire us to be more creative? If so then why do we seem to stick to the same fantasy settings? Sorry...starting to repeat questions posed by other posts...I guess it all boils down to: What drives RPG fans into trying to create games of their own, but yet doesn''t seem to effect fans of other game genres?

Probably because there''s still SO much room for improvement in the rpg genre.

Most of us have played some sort of rpg...
So it''s no wonder we all want to create our own.
Why? Well, because the games we''ve played... well, they just seem to lack that ''oomph''.

As far as the sports/racing/shooting games I''ve played... well, they''re usually on a higher standard (compared relatively to rpgs). High enough to not give me any dreams of improving much on them.

Silvermyst

Silver has a good point. Plus, it''s natural for people to be fans of something then try and recreate it if they can. It''s what people who play music do. They want to play songs that they like generally. Then, they want to take those ideas and make come up w/ an original concept that is usually influenced by their favorite types of songs. Same thing happens w/ games.

Also, I think that people who make games tend to be pretty serious, hard-core gamers. Most serious gamers are fans of what the media defines as RPG, FPS, and RTS. Not many hard-core gamers are really into racing games or puzzle games. They''re just usually too simple for hard-core gamers to really get into. I realize this is a generalization, so I''m sure there are exceptions.


""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

"All you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be." -Pink Floyd

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

Wel with regard to what was said about most hardcore gamers just playing RPGs (I realize that was a genralization that was made so it''s ok) I myself enjoy some racing games, but only the ones where you get really involved with the car itself, eg. Gran Turismo 2. That in my opinion is more complicated than some RPGs. I also enjoy some first person shooters, such as Perfect Dark which was an extremly good game. that is an example of where shooters can be improved upon. You see they (Rare) took 007 Goldeneye and made it much better from the graphic detail to the in game speech and sound effects, and not to mention the game''s AI. I also enjoy Resident Evil style games or the Survival Horror genere. Stratagy games such as Civilization are classics, along with puzzle games such as Tetris. I also enjoy the occasional fighting game such as Killer Instinct or Street Fighter. Another type that can''t be ignored are the Platform games such as Mario, Megaman, and Metroid. Then also whos to say that hardcore games just enjoy video games, Magic: The Gathering for example is much more complicated by far than any RPG I''ve ever seen, that is of course when you get into using the card combos and going strictly by tournament rules. That and does anyone play games such as Dominion Rules, West End''s Star Wars, or even Monopoly? It''s my opinion that you have to be able to enjoy all of these types of games to consider yourself a "hardcore" gamer, weather you program them or not.

-Sorry if this seemed like an illogical mess of ideas just remember: "Creative Minds Are Rarley Tidy" - Maurice Wiberg

I love Monoploly


""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

"All you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be." -Pink Floyd

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

quote: -Sorry if this seemed like an illogical mess of ideas just remember: "Creative Minds Are Rarley Tidy" - Maurice Wiberg

... does it also mean that it''s creative to don''t tidy up my room?

quote: Original post by ReDReaPeR

... does it also mean that it''s creative to don''t tidy up my room?

I think there''s some truth to that. A creative mind is too busy thinking to worry about stupid crap like cleaning a room. At least that''s my excuse


""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

"All you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be." -Pink Floyd

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

Great questions!

In GDNet, I''ve noticed a bit of a feedback loop going on. Lots of people talking about RPGs, so when you post about other things you tend not to get as many answers. Its not that way totally, but the GD forum seems to tend toward it.

I think one reason RPGs are so inviting is that they promise deeper gameplay than you can get in other genres. Your typical game is either about combat or puzzle solving. FPS and RTS games traditionally only give you the option to kill everything. With RPGs, there''s a chance of feeling like part of a larger game world, partly because there''s more stuff to do.

I think as far as players go, there''s a difference between audiences too. This isn''t across the board, but RPG gamers want to be in a world, whereas action / RTS gamers seem to simply want to beat the game.

This has a __STRONG__ effect on game content, technology, and presentation. RPG gamers appreciate and expect subtlety and nuance, but this seem to tick action / RTS gamers off. What I mean by this is that RPGs can get away with "crappier" graphics because the gameplay is often so diverse and rich that the audience looks past this. In this, they''re like empire / Civilization players or hardcore wargamers in general.

Now substandard graphics would be intolerable for the average RTS / action gamer. I think this is because the gameplay in an action / RTS has less depth and more adrenaline, so graphics, voice overs, and sound tend to be what''s used to keep them immersed. (There''s definitely a personality difference between types of gamers here, and between moods in some gamers like myself who like almost all genres).

BTW, this means that many FPS / RTS games are out of reach for the majority of us. The 3D graphics / sound / voice acting / etc. bar demanded by the audience is just too high (mods are an exception to some degree, btw)


As for me, I''m working on something that''s not an RPG! It hasn''t taken shape yet, but is science fiction and has some RPG, strategy, and sim aspects. But since I don''t know what to call it, I call it an SF RPG for simplicity''s sake.

--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...

Speaking of complex games. Has anyone here ever played Star Fleet Battles?

I remember MKV saying that the GD Corner is the closest that anybody is going to get to an RPG forum. I agree. The reason that I want to make an RPG is simpe:

It is easy to make an Isometric world (like Diablo), it is then easy to improve on the world from a mapping perspective. I think that I can come up with a better story than current RPGs, and I think I can include greater depth than most RPGs. Finaly, I would like to try out some of my ideas and some of people here''s ideas on how to improve RPGs.

Is that enough?

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche