Thoughts on the status of the PC RPG

[TrinireturnofGamez]

  RPGs  have come a long way from the text based adventures of the past  ,  they have gained a degree of depth and quality due to advances in technology, 2d graphics replaced text, and later on 3d graphics have begun to replace 2d . Game storage media can now hold voice acting for all the characters in these games , as opposed to relying just on text and MIDI audio in older games , but it seems to me that there is a serious lack of RPG games these days, especially for the PC ! And only a fraction of these are quality games , eg. KOTOR , Vampires bloodlines.
  Too many have begun to imitate others in the storyline  or gameplay and leave no room for innovation , how many games have you played that are based in some way on the  gameplay of Baldurs gate ( Kotor !) or final fantasy 3/6
( pokemon! ) . How many storylines seem like a rip off of some book, movie or game you have seen before? 
   In my opinion the RPG genre as it stands for the PC is quite dead,  most of the focus nowadays is on MMORPG's that still lack good gameplay in my opinion , the classic story driven RPG as we know it is experiencing decline . Though the same cannot be said of the console RPG scene , with powerhouses like Squaresoft churning out a new Final Fantasy  every few years , and most of these releases bieng of high quality , it encourages competition , and originality .
   I would attribute this to the fact that consoles lack the connectivity and infrastructure for MMORPGs  based on a private/company server , unless you pay a monthly fee for Live! subscription or the like . And also, the RPG controls make it clunky for fast paced First person shooters  , or real time strategy (staples for PCs)  .    So it leaves only platformer games,  racing, or turn based / platform RPGs to fill the gap . And look at what great games the consoles have for these genres , Grand tunismo , Ninja Gaiden, God of War !
    In conclusion, the only way for a single player RPG lover on a PC to be truly satisfied, is to get a console , or to resort to emulation ( like i have ) .


<<< screenshot from final fantasy 6 for SNES... running on an emulator   ( yes i do own it ) .

[TriniXaeno]

not quite true.

Look to games like Spellforce: Order of Dawn (and it's two expansions)


Arx Fatalis. (The heir apparent to Ultima Underworld, the best fps rpg of all time imo)

Morrowind

Silver

Neverwinter nights

My theory is that the RPG fan base seems smaller than those of the more accessible genres and gets less attention as a result. If you want a run away hit, your game must be an FPS or an RTS.

Could simply be that RPGs just don't command the market figures on the PC platform. (which would be a shame, since it is my fav genre on the PC!) Just not as hype worthy.

As for innovation, I won't look for much and nor do I need it. Any of those games I called above are more than adequate for a good story telling adventure in RPG land. That is the one good thing about roleplaying games, they aren't as technology driven as their rts/fps counterparts. Chrono Trigger was insanely fun and engaging on the snes.

A great story, great gameplay, and average graphics can still make for an out of this world rpg experience.

We need to keep a sharper eye out for these gems when they present themselves. The script work is far more demanding and they won't come to market quite as often as other games. Celebrate when they do!

[rb]

A great Dreamcast rpg was on the pc.. Grandia 2. This is one of my favorite games of all time. Battle system was too sweet. Seems like the Koreans and Chinese are the only ones that get the good stuff on pc in terms of console style rpgs.  I want Magna Carta and YS Ark Of Napashtim.

[TrinireturnofGamez]

 I played morrowind..... it had good gameplay but lacked an epic story , Neverwinter nights also .
   Never played spellforce ,  not sure if i even heard of it before. 
  Never got around to playing ultima , but i plan to get it after  i finished the entire Final Fantasy series for the PSX . 
   Morrowind / Never winter were more open ended RPG's ,  final fantasy is alot more linear , though i appreciate the story more .  Games like KOTOR and Vampires are truly revelutionary in that they maintain a good linear story, and replayability in choosing different paths , Dark side/Light for Kotor ,  or 3 political paths in Vampires .

[Crixx_Creww]

exactly.
goood point laertes, kotor cant be seen as linear since it has many paths to choose, oxymoron indeed. Story line does not progress linearly because choices you make affect  many different outcomes.

I dont think you should count out MMORPGs either, earth bound 1 and 2 are great mmorpgs with great storylines.

Lineage is a great mmorpg, less of a compelling storyline but what it lacks in that, it makes up in the fact that yu grow rather fond of your characters and your allegiances.

WoW is even better at that.

Guildwars comes along now and merges the great storyline of rpgs whilst providing you with that attachment to characters and environments that mmorpgs provide.

And from what your saying trini, your letting your age and lack of experience show by saying that strong rpg titles dont exist on the pc, most evidently is by saying yuve never played ultima but ur already ready to count out all the rpgs on pc.
Pick it up, as well as myst (if u have real brain cells to fry) and black and white the time killer.

[W1nTry]

Well I think that other games are starting to take on  RPG like story telling. Take for instance Warcraft III and its expansion. The all had a level up system as well as optional quests. Again feature I think are original to RPGs. It strikes me that alot of the newer RTS games are taking on an RPG style to better emerse the player in the storyline. So if u ask me, the traditional RPG on a PC may be wanning, but the integration of its techniques of story telling are spreading. Even Underground 2 had a RPG like style to it with the optional races and comic like story telling.

[TrinireturnofGamez]

i'd say KOTOR's story is still alot more linear  than Morrowind , in KOTOR the whole game progresses towards the same points eg. battling Malack twice, ballista turning to the dark side  and Taris blowing up . its open ended in that you can choose your own conclusion,  and most of the characters that fight with you .

[ProtoJoe]

Yea, as far as KOTOR goes, its good cause of things such as the fact that its a star wars game, the graphics are pretty good, and the dialogue is pretty good! But as far as the story line goes, its a bit too slow, and much preditable.

But there are "innovative" rpgs out there, such as Vampire bloodlines, so far it has been going pretty good, and as far as the bugs go, after the first patch was released, it has never crashed on me yet!

And , its kind of hard to come up with new ideas for games, cause most of it has already been taken, and if someone does come up with an idea, chances are its going to be similar to something else. But I will admit, final fantasy is one of the few games that doesnt fall under that catagory, cause what really does captivate me is the big jump in FF games, were there is a major turn in pace as well as atmosphere of the game...

Well finally, dont cout out pc rpgs just yet, we are not moving into a whole new breed of games....so we have alot more to see!

[TrinireturnofGamez]

   KOTOR is a great game ... i admit i used 'linear' out of context ,  a well defined story like KOTOR cannot help to have some constraints .....   
   KOTOR II is supposed to be even more open ended... but i haven't got my hands on a copy of it yet..

[TriniXaeno]

I think open ended is a double edge sword.

on one side, it promises less restrictive gameplay, more choice

on the other, no sense of purpose, lack of drive.

Striking a balance between those two is key. So you want a driven story, with characters that hold a sense of purpose throughout the game while still given enough choice and freedom to really enjoy the world and feel as though you truly participated in solving problems. Not just sat on a rail being guided around like a roller coaster. lol

Quest for Glory seemed to have got it right, with multiple endings, a plethora of choices to solve problems (whether by brawn, wit or wizardry) and all wrapped inside a tight storyline that seldom felt neglected.

Don't see much like those often.

As great as ultima 7 was, you didn't feel the urgency to get down to business with the storyline. You'd go off for days just wondering the country side, baking bread and helping peasants, neverminding the impending doom of the world. lol

It made for a great game yes, but the story did seem trivialized at times as a result.

[Zard]

also be on the look out for dungeon siege 2!!

i liked the first version, so hopefully this one is worth a play too

[TriniXaeno]

dungeon seige II  is going to have my next baby!

been drooling over that one since seeing the trailer last year.

[Kaizen]

hmm im not new to rpg pcs but i use to play baldurs gate etc look for heroes of might and magic v and its glorious debut to 3d and also morrowind has a new game up its sleeve as well lets not forget myst was a rpg as well just not to the full extent there are so much game terms that come up with the word "rpg" personally i dislike ff after its ps 1 debut or so on i like that Bioware etc are there if anyone has an xbox get jade empire Bioware has outdone themselves with this game and Neverwinter Nights 2 and Dungeon Siege 2 ah im just reapeating what they said in the next couple of months the glorious pc rpg genre will be revitalized lets hope there all worth the wait

[steveunderwood0]

I'm still hoping that the new AD&D MMORPG (if it ever makes it out of the gates) will have a true storyline.....