The Future of the RPG

(Note: not that kind of RPG. I just couldn’t resist. Punning was once the highest form of humour, you know. There’s a good reason it’s not anymore.)

The videogame has been around for a little while now, and it’s evolved considerably from its roots in the arcades. Games of today are mind-bogglingly complex compared to what they were even as little as ten years ago. Who knows where they’ll be in another ten years? Well, no-one, but I’d like to put forward a few ideas as to why the future of video games may be very closely tied in to the RPG. Current trends suggest that games are trying to be more “cinematic.” This to me makes no sense: why try to be like an existing media? Especially one as established as the cinema. Surely, the videogame industry needs to take what separates games from other media and expand on those elements, elements which I believe are mostly present in the RPG genre.

Other genres

Firstly, I’d like to point out a growing trend, which is that many other game genres are borrowing liberally from the RPG. Most visibly is the RTS, with games like WarCraft 3 and Dawn of War 2 including persistent characters in both single- and multi-player, with earnable experience, upgrades and weapons. Even shooters have had their share of RPG elements, with games like Modern Warfare 2 incorporating experience-based rewards within the multiplayer suite. Games like Batman: Arkham Asylum use an experience-based progression system to gradually improve the character’s abilities, and even driving games like DiRT and Forza use an experience and level system for recording progress. These RPG systems have multiple uses, but generally the idea is to provide a sense of progress, as well as allowing the player to have a level of input towards that progression.

Conversely, RPG’s often incorporate elements of other genres, demonstrating a hybridisation of genre which is increasingly necessary to keep games fresh. Examples are Oblivion and Fallout 3, both RPG’s played from the first-person perspective. A very relevant example is Mass Effect, particularly Mass Effect 2, which, more than incorporating third-person shooting elements, basically is a third person shooter. While RPG players may complain that the RPG elements have been “dumbed down” for shooter players, ultimately the important stuff is still there: characters, quests, conversations and choice. These are things which, I believe, may eventually be present in the majority of story based games.

Open Worlds

The open world game is becoming increasingly popular as hardware is getting powerful enough to support it. Games like Oblivion and Fallout 3 in particular are essentially one huge level that the player can explore at will. The classic mission structure native to most games obviously still has a place: individual missions offer far simpler replay value (easier to replay a mission than to play through 40 hours of open world RPG to get to the bit you actually wanted to play again). Further, these missions bring to mind classic arcade games, as players try to top previous scores. However, open world games definitely increase immersion, and games like Batman: Arkham Asylum demonstrate that the system is feasible outside of RPGs and Grand Theft Auto.

However, open world games will never fully replace a level structure: can you imagine Modern Warfare 2 as an open world game? FarCry 2 was an admirable attempt to create an open world FPS, but unfortunately fell apart due to the lack of structure. This is the biggest problem with open world games: by giving the player the opportunity to what they want, when they want, the narrative loses any sense of urgency. Oblivion suffered from this, as well as Dragon Age: there is an approaching apocalypse that must be stopped by the player at all costs, yet there’s plenty of time to clear rats out of old ladies basements. Hmm. Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is interesting in that it cleverly creates the illusion of an open world by helicoptering you and your team between missions, this generates the immersion of an open world while driving the story forwards using a linear structure. Mass Effect 2 seems to be the closest to proper balance, giving players a mix of exploration and urgent missions, built around a solid structure. As you can probably tell, structure is the important factor here, as a good narrative needs a solid structure to function. Ultimately, despite a few shortcomings, a living, breathing world that you, the player, are free to explore, is something that cinema, television and literature cannot offer.

Choice

As games become more and more cinematic, they must conversely distinguish themselves more from the cinema. The nature of the videogame means that the player has an input, and consequently can change events. Very few games actually make the most of this most basic function: games like Call of Duty, as fun as they are, are nothing more than shooting galleries. Modern Warfare 2 came painfully close to offering a genuine choice in *that* airport level, but ultimately just didn’t. On the other hand, games like Dragon Age and particularly Mass Effect 2 offer something that is more unique to each player, where important choices affect the game in different ways. Mass Effect 2 especially takes that to the next level, offering the chance to import the players choices from Mass Effect 1, so that the galaxy in ME2, from the outset, is unique to the player.

Conclusions

Overall, what I’m trying to get at is that there are elements of RPG’s which I believe will eventually make their way into all story based games. Games are increasingly becoming a legitimate way to tell stories, but developers and gamers need to aim higher than just “cinematic.” Modern Warfare 2’s story mode, for example, while fun, and certainly cinematic, doesn’t really amount to much. Of course, there are different kinds of games, and Modern Warfare 2 is really all about the multiplayer, but even here we see elements of RPG’s. As for story modes, games need to do things we can’t see in the cinema, or see on TV, or read in novels. The ability for players to truly change the story and game world based on important choices is the ace up the sleeve, as it were. Hopefully, that’s the next element of the RPG to make its way into other genres – upcoming PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain is evidence that this is, indeed, the case.

Short URL: http://thegamershub.net/?p=3413

Posted by TomDann87 on Feb 4 2010. Filed under Philosophy and Gaming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry