I've been working with the same concept, actually. The problem with CRPG's is that it's hard to replicate all of the possible diversity that a verbal game or text based MUD can have on a computer, using current methods. If CRPG's were designed with more dynamic concepts (the entire use of random numbers to 'simulate' combat is an example of the fact that RPG game engines are often too limited to actually perform the operations it would take to account for the variations in battle), then RPG's could have the same level of detail, or at least an approximate level. In an online game, you have the same situation as a MUD. If the game allowed for actions other than presets (e.g, a player could toggle a characters emotions on a sliding scale), which wouldn't be that hard to implement if the game already accounted for detailed animation (Source engine does this, characters, although not player controled, can show facial expressions that vary on the fly. If you put a player at the helm, and extended these animation to a variety of dynamic, maleable full body animations, you'd have the kind of paradigm shift neccesary to implement detailed interaction in RPG's, thereby creating an RPG in which you can roleplay.

I would like to restate what someone has said before, and elaborate - GM directed roleplaying.. In fact, you could even have a 'questing kit' distributed with your game (for a mmorpg type game) that allows you to place NPCs, enemies, and objects. A GM could OK the new quest, and make whatever modifications they see fit. (to prevent people from making an area with a billion of 1 enemy, just to train)

Finally, a 'magical portal' of some sort, with a sign bearing a description of the area appears, and groups of adventurers could go questing in any way they like. Plus, that will help with development. It's great when you can get players to spend hours working to improve your game with little benefit for themselves. *evil grin*

I like the idea of a questing kit. I think for roleplaying fun the player should have alot of emotions that the charter acts out. If the player wants to stumble in a bar drunk then they could change their emotion to drunk or make it more realistic by being able to get drunk by drinking to much lager. But if you get to many emotions then it could become to cumbersom controlling them all.

I think the quest should effect the characters more, I always thought it was stupid when you get quest like bringing an npc two certain mushrooms and there are 50 other people on the same quest. How many damn mushrooms does the guy need? Maybe quest like there is a castle with a rumored vampire in it. The first group to complete the quest finds out there is no vampire but opening the empty coffin turned them all into vampires. These people then have vampire stats and they are higher when in the castle, they can also change others into vampires, and control the NPC enemies in the castle. They can then go around the towns at night changing people over the vampires.
Others either a vampire or not can go on a quest for the cure, or a bad of people could go on a quest that unlocks a seal that cures everyone in the world. Then eventually people would say things like remember when the vampire curse was running rampant, or hey lets unlock that vampire curse again I got some good made alot of levels with my altered stats.

Also I think the idea to build would add alot make it so characters can own not only houses but also land. They could then build things like castles gain followers build bars and such. Maybe his followers get tired of his high taxes and decide to kill him and steal his deed and split the land between each other.
Online RPGs are a difficult thing to control though, I think people are to afraid to take risk because they are afraid of lossing customers. But I think when people try things others are afraid of and give the player more freedom it works for the better.

The idea of fooling players with a "dupe" quest and making THEM the vampires is a pretty good idea, both surprising and unexpected, but it won't fool them for long. After awhile the players will adjust and treat it like any other puzzle. If it were a one-time event then that would be more memorable, but that fits into the ever large problem of creating new content.

I think the biggest problem with online RPGs is the creating new content. I also think that the worlds are too small. An online RPG world needs to have more mystery, with caverns or temples that are hard to find or hidden. There needs to be mystery. Maybe if the game only provided maps of the main cities, and the rest of the world was unmapped. Of course there could be a skill at map making and players could make small area maps and they could buy or exchange them. There would need to be a teleport ability for players who get lost so they can get to a familiar place easily.
With the world unmapped it leaves most everything hidden and gives the world a mystery.
I also hate the idea of enemies spawning I think that also keeps you from getting completely into the game. I think a good idea would be to give enemies the ability to breed, then have enemies that are young, middle aged, and old. There doesnt have to be male or female enemies just that all enemies evenutally create offspring. You could make it more complex like animals that migrate to different areas durring different seasons and such but I think thats taking it abit far.

First - XenoG2 brought up a great idea of breeding and reproduction, which will be seen in will wright's Spore. I think a huge, living, breathing world is a great concept, but the amount of content required is incredibly hard to provide. Its a battle of graphics vs. content. If blizzard made a 2d rpg, I imagine it to be absolutly huge, and more than a enough content for any player to truly explore. However, first impressions matter, and many games are judged by their graphics. Fable is a great example of a huge world that needed to be cut down (to 1/15th the size) because creating all the content was impossible. However, as designers, we need to be thinking of new and innovative ways to create bigger, and richer worlds. One option is to use middleware like speedtree. Otherwise, your going to need a great programmer and a whole heap of time to design a full repoductive world.

Going to the first question, a true role play expirence is impossible in a single player rpg. The best one can do is give the player as many choices as possible, but it can never emulate true pnp roleplay. As I see it, the two ways of providing content and a roleplay expirence are:
1) Offer mod tools, such as seen in neverwinter nights, to allow usesr to create their own role-playing content. This answers what I said above more, but it does allow for more roleplaying, when more content is out there.
2) DM's are the only true way of doing it. Again neverwinter nights did this well. In the mmorpg environment, what might be a great idea is to allow instances where the DM controls the game. It isnt feasible for indie developers, but imagine going of on a guild wars romp designed by just for your clan.

Some fuel to feed the fire

I think there are two main threads here..

First I think that GM interaction is definitely needed. For our project, our coders are working on a GM/actor interface where the user can either jump into a specific character...to walk and talk and fight as that NPC...

but also they are coding an RTS-like interface so that the GM can control a horde of mobs and attack players/a guild/a lone player more realistically. Target the medic or the explosives guy...make an end run...etc.

Second, I think what is highly lacking in the MMO world are NPCs with real GOALS. Now in MUDs, NPCs migrate all the time and arent necessarily static. What needs to happen (what Dragon Empires and DnL both promised) was that if you kill goblins in ShadyThicket, their offspring will move to Mad River Glen.

This needs to be taken to a further extreme. The goals and wishes of the NPCs need to be outlined...and multiple ways to get them should be created. Then there need to be variations based on death, relocation, weather..etc so that the goals change.

In my mind, this actually bleeds into another subject which is something people might see as the opposite of roleplaying...computer generated quests. A computer cant write something from scratch, right? Wrong. There's a link somewhere in my other computer where a guy has written an engine for such a thing.

If the NPCs continually respond in a real way to changing circumstances...I am SURE that roleplaying will deepen. Why? Because you arent doing a task...you are living the role of the person you are playing.

Just my 2 bottlecaps.

Wrong! Computers are stupid, they only do what they are told to do. I think what you are describing about the computers "writing" quests is over exagerated. It's probably not as dynamic as you make it seem. Else the guy who wrote it, has something VERY revolutionary.
The guests a computer could "write" would be predictable and lack story content.

Its possible to write a quest generator. Its not possible to write a good quest generator. The only type of quests being pumped out of a random generator are ones like kill 10 wolves or bring the package to location x. Boring.

However, what I do think is interresting is NPC motives. In many games, npcs are seen as static objects. At most they walk around, or as in the case of fable, load goods to stores from the ships. The only npc who ever did something different was the enemy to the player, who was constantly moving. It could really deepend a game to have the npcs do more. But again, the more npc driven actions, the more advanced the ai, and the harder to do.

I dont have much faith in realm crafter, it sounds fairly buggy from reports of people who own it.

As a final note, I am talking specifically about the indie developers. I know for a fact that TES 4 will have a very advanced AI. Dragon Empires did have this planned as well, and dragon empires was really going to rock with mmorpg world with some of its ideas, but it got canned, and thats life.

Wrong. I'll find that thread about the quest generator. It can and is being done. Sorry to burst your bubble.