What is and what is not RPG?

Article history
  This articles was written before 4 years for one European not English web, before few years was translated to English and forgotten on my hard drive, until now. I think that is still pretty actual, only think which i would change are actual games names in examples, my opinion is still consistent.
   Disclaimer: Translator wasn't native English speaker, sorry for that.
 
Introduction
 Quite often I meet statement, that one or another game is / was awesome RPG. Mostly they talk about action RPGs. Interpretation of this term, especially in connection with computer games, is quite bad, and situation isn’t better when you read description of this term on Wikipedia, where you can find some statements, with which I cannot agree.

Discussion - How it works on paper (PnP)

  Preliminary I should for sake of clarify explain what means RPG, Role playing games. This shortcut was originally used for playing tabletop pen & paper games and was reused for computers RPG as well. In Czech we meet wicked translation of this term “playing a heroes" which was founded by local clone of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons named "Dračí doupě". Man behind this project Martin Klima is now boss of Warhorse (Kingdom Come Deliverence) studio and as far know i he still using still misimpression, what a pity!

   Author of translation term "playing a heroes" should deserve at least, have cut his tongue with blunt knife :).  But if we come back to our problematic and try to translate term role play, that the most accurate translation of role play, would be “play a role” I would variegate this term in Stanislavskij style, to “imagine to be in position of your character, and play it” or even better “imagine to be in position of your character, and live it”. Here I could take as model the first representative of count Dracula Béla Lugosi, who lived his character so much, that they say he slept in a coffin long time before movie was made. Nevertheless it is extreme case, but if we ask ourselves, what should RPG give us, the answer would probably be this intensive experience, chance to enjoy many events from another view, which should richen us, and maybe entertain us. Why only “maybe entertain us”? In my opinion, giving fun to first place often leads to downgrade to movies and books, by which you won’t laugh, but you mark them as valuable. As simple example of, imagining being in position of, I can use playing drug addict, where you can see that with those “junkies” it isn't’t easy at all, and mostly they only choose lesser evil.

   Nevertheless I would like to go back to problem, “imagine to be in position of" and “playing a heroes” are two completely different things.  Of course that movie characters are sometimes called “heroes”, but this term is rather edging, and there are more exact terms like “characters” or “story protagonists”. And if I add warrior, who killing dragon with one meter long sword, to writing “playing a heroes”, then you can’t be surprised, that result is degraded to game level for little children, which are playing game in hack & slash / grinding style.

   Even that in other countries they don’t have our mistaken translation, many players thinks that RPG is in that "heroes" style, so as some desk fight game, where it is mainly about good choice of combat strategy, luck with throwing dice, and chase to best score. Score is called in this case experience (skill points, for which you later buy skills, and raise stats of hero).  For experience points you buy other megacool skills faster than other players (paper games are mostly played in groups), so you can kill even better. On this degraded view, taking a share also today’s computer games, so we can close eternal circle of connections (loop). Many players were grinning even in "paper age", so I don’t think computer games are main culprit. These conclusions, that they are, are too easy and not true, but to some group of people it come in handy.

   Correctly is shortcut RPG most similar to playing theater character. Even better improvisation in body of that character, because words that you ate saying, you have think up yourself. They aren’t written in advance like in theater / movie script. The better is your ability to feel yourself in someone else’s feelings (empathy) and verbalization skills (expression), the better you play. Result can be evaluated like in figure skating, but for good evaluation, you can’t buy new skills, (More abilities and skills of your character) but there are systems which play on this chord. In my opinion is buying skills (with honorably exception, like butchery) bad for good playing your character. Rewarding players, which are good at feel into character, is mostly described as motivation, that players act as characters. This reward looks like duplicate to me, because if players don’t act as characters, than they would suffer, because of it, in game. They have to use skills which aren’t typical for their characters, so their character doesn't’t excel in that, of course with exception of disadvantages like stammer (There isn't’t any discussion about that. Player choose disadvantage, and he has to respect it, either he don’t play).

   Other penalty for "bad" role-playing is, that for other players will be this player bad actor, thus bad RPG player. Bad playing of character should lead to mental unbalance (character doesn't’t know what he want, don’t seem to himself, regret his actions a lot => has “mess” in head) which should be trouble for player. This principle is worked in most of RPG, whether in form of sanction for bad playing of your belief (AD&D) or don’t respecting, of chosen values (World of Darkness). Goals in RPG surely isn’t contest in math, and effort to overplay system. That is style of playing chosen by those, who can’t play their character, and try to prove themselves, that they are better players than others. Of course ideal is to play your character as good as you can, and use its abilities, but only when it is right, which makes believable homogeny complex. Good player, when he find “hole in the system”, given rule change (after agreement with other players), that system is balanced again.

   We have to discuss one more term, which is “RPG system” thus system, by whom paper games are played. Set of rules, which describe, how to solve concrete situations, like combat, possible character development or spell casting. Main purpose of RPG system is to support role playing. Unfortunately many players don’t realize this main idea/vision, mentioned RPG disappear from game, and torso which left can be hardly called RPG system, but its only game mechanisms (RPG system can be termed as specific set of game mechanisms).

   Above we discuss “how it’s going on paper”. Now’s the time to aim for promised computer games. I start widely though. What are advantages and disadvantages of computer processing, against paper?

Discussion - Computer Games application (Paper to computers transition) in theory
I will be describing all from idealized view, without bigger insistence into technology, because technological boundaries are still moving, and for our article isn’t necessary to go into excessive details.

 Difference between computers and paper RPG

 Main disadvantage of paper playing is, that one player must be Game master (Dungeon master, Lord of the game, The Highest etc..). GM arrange story for other players, plays for NPCs and monsters, which players meets, and describe world to players. Of course that GM must be the best possible actor. To be GM is very time-consuming for preparing before actual game (except if you don’t completely improvise, which can only do well little of us), because GM must either create his own world, story, and locations (some GMs creates whole virtual worlds with thousands of characters, and it takes the years) or he must study somebody else’s creation, which he retell. For GM game isn’t as funny as for players, because he knows every secret in game, but he can enjoy role play. (He plays a lots of characters and monsters) GM should be someone, who didn't’t mind, that he prepares fun for others in long terms (let’s admit, that there aren’t many people like that). Other disadvantage is, that on bad player can ruin game for others. I think that it is the biggest disadvantage of paper playing. Lesser is immersion (amount of being dragged into game).

   With this opinion is related one dogma – uniqueness of imagination of every single individual, reputedly means bigger game experience. But every player interpret scene, described by GM, differently, because description used to be quite inaccurate. Example: “You enter small room, approximately 3x4 yards, with roughly hewn stone walls and dirt floor. In southeast corner you see pile of strange junk mixed with debris. Some of it shimmers. “It is similar like when you read book with illustrations which are on next page after characters first description. Reader is furious with words: ”My hero looks differently than one on picture which is ten pages after his description.” Or if some non illustrated book is cinematized, and people are angry that their Aragorn, Conan, Lancelot, Beowulf did look differently and someone is trying to steal their imaginations. But as I mentioned above, if you give to reader at first contact with character its image, then this negative falling off. Computer processing has advantage of using sight, our strongest sense.

   Thanks to this, we have much stronger feeling in computer games, that we are actually given character. This feeling is something completely different, than looking to party of friends, pretending that they are someone else, and on GM Joe, who pretends rut Dragon. If you want proof of strength of visual processing, than it is for example fear of some people to play game or watch movie with same story, with which they haven’t problem in text form. Simply rate of fear grows thanks to intensively merging with character. Of course when it comes to games, it depends on graphics processing. If you see main hero in isometric view, or if you look on the scene with his own eyes.

   Now let’s say something about disadvantages of computer processing from players view. From developers view it is of course more exacting work, and time consuming than on paper. Playing area is lesser, because it needed to be elaborated in detail in advance. In paper RPG, you will point your finger on map, and GM mostly has some basic notes, and he can quickly improvise and think up some incident. Size of playing area isn’t so much of problem, because even in dungeon you can spend days. But there is some feeling of constraint. Player says to yourself: “They put rocks there, so I can’t go there, because they were lazy to do another locations”. This feeling of constraint is a little obstacle to feeling game fully. Other disadvantages are worse cooperative playing, because game mechanism, especially concerning storytelling, quests, and changes in game world isn’t pretty much handled yet, but I think it isn’t something technologically impossible. Compared to “paper” there is one advantage: on paper group should hold together when they playing coop.

   Computers can remove this disadvantage, and you meet other player characters, only when are in mood, or they are trying to pester you when you don’t aren’t in mood. Least disadvantage of computer processing is some flatness of NPC (non player character, which are played by GM on paper / are controlled by pc), there can be any improvisation, and dialogues, are wrote in advance, because there are too many combinations, and there are lined up only vital situations, and NPC reacts badly or not at all on some players. This is probably the biggest mistake of today’s games. It is related to computer intelligence, which is not much advanced, however, work on this field proceed. Designers and programmers are trying to find ways, how to vitalize NPC – by searching its surroundings, evaluation of situations in dependence on NPCs nature, values, and then conclude of some action or changing long term plan of behavior. These smarter NPCs should be capable of react on events generated by player, which aren’t given by author of story (trying of this you can find for example in Far Cry 2 or Fable 2). Authors of story never catch all combinations, and this is maybe only possible way to better interactivity. Reaction itself, on easy situations isn’t problem, but thinking in wider context is. Program writing of information from NPC past itself is big problem, and to record generated events in form of information is even harder.

  Theoretically one day, games could be made that way. Say, you put characters with certain nature, opinions, and past on playing area, and they will adapt on game environment, and create whole story by themselves. Designer’s job will be to create this characters interesting enough. But back from utopia of distant future to today. I hope I didn't’t choke you with these technical pearls of wisdom. Last disadvantage of computer processing is lower interactivity of environment. On paper you will take any activity, and you can do it. But possibility of interaction in computer games is limited with predefined actions so far, and you can’t just climb on tree /cut down a tree / built a ship / invite NPC from neighborhood to dinner / tell arbitrary sentence to NPC / tickle NPC / throw ball on NPC so it catch the ball and continue throwing with you / write something to wall, so NPC will understand it, etc. rate of interactivity is fortunately growing up, and furthest we are in very “crafting” from example with ship building. Developers trying to break in these elements since time of Ultima Underworld (1992), we could saw them a little twisted in adventure system “use everything on everything”. You can try the highest level of crafting I ever seen was in game Stranded 2. If you get discouraged because of graphics, it will be your foolishness.

   Perhaps now I can go to what I want originally write. The introduction is pretty big in the end, but introduction to problem is necessary.

  Concrete games vs. true RPG definition - it will hurt

   Fits it to dungeons - Dungeon Master vs. our RPG definition?
  Thanks to my age, so I don't start completely in archaic times, but by very famous game Dungeon Master (FTL, 1987 on AtariST). Dungeon master belonged to the group of games, which was represented as "dungeons", later people started to call them RPG and they was sorted in this group. Do we have a possibility to play character in this game? In overwhelming majority not. And where is our freedom and interactivity? We can only go everywhere we want in labyrinth, collect and throw away things we find, kill monsters by different way, sometimes by spells sometimes by sword. And can we say, that choosing of our combat tool is RPG? No. Than Quake or Hexen would be RPG too. That’s what left is development of character, in dependence of combat successes, therefore simple mechanisms, which has nothing to do with character development. Summed and underlined, DM is not RPG at all.

   Here comes weird question: Are adventures RPG?
 Well there are dialogues, which we missed in DM. Adventures, which you only clicked in form of interactive movie which was on 7 CDs, and where you missed choose various alternations in dialogues, that we can set aside right now. To have given only one choice in dialog in advance isn't RPG too. But we have adventures, where we  had possibility to choose our answer, but in these games we miss something too. Namely mentioned freedom. Possibility to solve situation with fight, and also we missed nature of main hero too, its variability and dependence of dialog answers on these elements. I should add, that adventures are, in overwhelming majority, against freedom of main world. Most of cases you can solve only one way, and there aren't possibilities to express yourself. (Like what character will wear) There is missing higher level of interactivity, and side quest (because rewards for it would be useless in this game system) .

Role playing strategies - like Warcraft III meant to be
   So if I gotten to adventures, I can stop by so called and again modern role playing strategies. First of such games should be Warcraft III, than concept was pretty truncate, and now we awaiting our salvation from hands of new Warhammer, which should extend this genre. Story is told here by form of cut scenes. In Warcraft we even can't choose where we attack (this was possible in Dune, and will be in Warhammer too), and we can't choose what our hero say and don’t bear fallouts of our words, so again no RPG.

Diablo like action RPG case
   Back to "RPG" games analysis then. Big discussion about what is and what is not RPG was led about  game Diablo. Again, there is a little of dialog without possibility to choose from various variants of answers. In game there is only very complicated combat system (but again, there isn't many freedom to self realize. This possibility came up in part two). Thanks to combat system, your character work on system of high speed flow-heater. It drinks liters of potions, and when they run dry, it's game over. Not so much sophisticated character development system, don’t have much common with RPG too, and it's only game mechanisms. After this game there is named whole genre of action "RPG", which name is absurd. Action RPG can exist, but not without RPG, and between action RPG can be placed basically all later truly RPG (see bellow).

Hail to the Kings, true RPG
  So what are true RPG, which fulfilled definition from start of this article? Here is small list of games - Vampire: Bloodlines, TES: Oblivion, Gothic series, Fallout and Fable. They are still pretty action, because count with possibility that you will solve most of meetings with combat (they are filled with combat thirsty monsters/NPCs). To satisfy historians, according to great forgotten guru, with which a was once talking on ICQ , first game that fulfills these real RPG criteria was Ultima 4.

Sad summary

   I would mention, that development of character is in computer games very overestimated compared to paper. Computer games usually mean several days of playing time, let's say maximally 2 weeks. In such short playing time are "paper characters" developing in their statistics within advanced RPG systems, as GURPS or his clone World of Darkness, quite minimally. On the other hand, in computer games, statistics go up by hundreds of percents within every stats, and during short amount of time, you will became superman. NPC didn't’t have this possibility of brutal development (except in Oblivion, where this choice wasn't’t accepted by players so well), and that again lowers believability of game. Of course it is needed to ensure that player will not die after first blow, for example with super suit (like in Crysis or Half Life) or with special, exceptional supernatural abilities (World of Darkness), but nothing mustn't be exaggerated. And awareness of avatar weakness can dramatically help to progress of RPG gaming, because not everything can be solved by brute force. Life of a hero is more colorful then, and he has more friends either :)

   This whole problematic make impression, that incredible grow of hero stats should help, to keep playing even less capable players, which just sit, and it takes them max a half lager time than more capable ones. Similar problem is experience points for quest that I mentioned above, which player spend of stats, with which quest had nothing to do. This can't be done on paper either (everything must by based on actual using of skills and approved by GM). Same case is constant chase for better items, so we gain "Mega super master sword of fire poison damage - Messerschmitt". There can be found a lots of dumb players, which playing those "Diablos" again and again, and this primitive system of rewarding works on them. This is even partial reason of failure of some games, like World of Conan, where they say, that it don’t depend on what items and skills you have. And that game is sold under rating 17+, which means, that it should be played by more mature individuals. Yes, even such games as Diablo has its place on sun, and it isn't bad to play them for their graphics, music, atmosphere, story and combination exercises, and not non exist RPG elements.

Appendix: Multi-player RPG
   This whole article was about single player games yet, so that I would follow today's trend, I have to make quick stop by online games. Here you can find even more stupid NPC than in single. Possibility of choosing answer is offered only in style of I want/ I don’t want quest, or I want gloves, not staff as reward. Only thing that last is reacting to other players. But it takes only one word about football, dinner, school and atmosphere and role is gone. This word don’t have to be necessary from you, but from anyone of hundreds of players on server. But what is most important, is that player isn't rewarded for role play, or on the contrary penalized for violation of it. Except for bunch of very hardcore servers, but even there is role play restricted by it, that you can't do something to other player if you don’t like his behavior in game. If you catch him on steal, cheat, murder, you can't. Of course you can be villain, and hate good heroes, but in the end, problems with role play are similar. Even if guards attack villain, because they saw him, doing something, thus after 15 minutes is everything ok. On the contrary, you can't hurt this player much, you can only kill him, but he will rise after 10 minutes. But here is no chance, that you can take every item from him, broil his horse, burn his house. If you defame player somewhere, that it doesn't’t matter, because game didn't’t have mechanisms, how to hurt some infamous player, and show him, that you truly don’t like his act => very flat role play. Next thing you have to has in view is, that average player plays 10 hours a week, so even true information about, from your view, bad behavior, is very badly gossiped.          

  In my opinion, solving of role play in online games isn't such technological thing as in single player games, where problem is AI, but more thing of wanting and integrating of role play mechanisms to game system. Features like kicking out of guild, isn't much, we need much more, like set character in prison, not ridiculous crime punishment.
  Other important note: In right role play, in game didn't’t exist words as aggro, buff, +2 sword, which only "preach down" the game and should be punished.

   What to say in the end? Fortunately, it the world are pretty much games, which could be called RPG by this criteria, and there is much to do, that they will be more RPG. I wish to us all, so there will be utmost of them, and also they will be developing quickly, because RPG are kings genre, the nobility of games.