Tomorrow’s RPG–Today!

by TitoPaul

The past seems to have a deathgrip on the RPG community, and to further complicate matters, as much as players trumpet their desire for newness or refreshing gameplay, sequels, updates and the status quo remain the norm. Roughly ten years ago (1993-1995) saw witness to a golden age of RPGs that are still widely held as demonstrative of the pinnacle of the format: FF VI/III, Phantasy Star IV, Secret of Mana, Chronotrigger, Lufia, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma, Tales of Phantasia. These games, almost all of which captured the attention of players by being well made, having a good story, interesting characters, etc, continue to enjoy a heavy influence, but often in restrictive and confining ways.

Part of the problem is that the GBA, for better or worse, is little more than a portable SNES. It is great that people can finally play snes Zelda on the go, but no one can argue that these ports are pushing the form forward to any sizable degree. Yes these games were and remain popular because they contain timeless elements that should often be emulated just as a classic movie or great album influences future generations. And I am all for retrogaming, in fact, I feel that it can stand to have a much bigger boost than it currently receives. If anything, past videogames are important to serve as a reminder of where games have come from, give an overall cohesion to the industry, and many of the games still display the principle that fun and gameplay outshines graphics in the longrun. Moving forward however, roleplaying games cannot remain backwards fixated, else they will decline in similar fashion to what currently plagues adventure games (and not too long ago had roleplaying games themselves teetering on the maw of its own abyss).

With that brief preamble out of the way, what foreseeable changes are in store for RPGs? Will another game like FFVII come along and change how every future RPG is made from here on out? I certainly hope so, but RPGamers can be a cantankerous group, overly critical of whatever is new, and overly nostalgic and forgiving of the old. For starters, I see online games breaking the console barrier. That is to say that as more gamers go online, it will become foolish to divide online RPGs from each console for the same game. Think of the tremendous possibilities of an online RPG that pits Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo fans against one another? It would dramatically change the landscape of gaming (though it could have negative consequences that might destroy game mechanics the way playerkilling or cheating has needed policing). Players might feel an allegiance to others from their console, band together, wage wars and otherwise create an epic, meta feel to the online universe.

Another step that will bring RPGs ahead is voice activation. The roots of RPGs are in communication and interaction. It is rather surprising that RPGs have done so well while being crammed into a controller format. This handicap has been accepted as the way things are, but such a shackle is neither intelligent to continue, nor does it remain an immovable obstacle. A controller does not need to be abandoned completely, and there would have to be a phase-in transitional period where voice-commands are optional because there will be resistance. Many of you reading this now are probably thinking this will never happen, at least not to you–and that self-enforced security might be reassuring. But think how much easier it would be in the thick of battle to say, “drink health potion” instead of scrolling through menus or setting up hotkeys (which are little more than placekeepers for the communication aspect of RPGs to begin with). There will always be a place for a controller—barring a complete virtual reality experience—because it is easier and more fun to perform many actions with a controller than say what you are doing (trying to speak how your character moves would be cumbersome and effectively kill the system). But my point is that beyond trashtalking or social interactions in an online arena, video game RPGs have remained silent for too long.

The third point may be the most difficult to accomplish: upgradeable content, changing conditions, and a self-actualized experience in the vein of Animal Crossing where each day is different or Creatures where uniqueness is the focal point; I foresee RPG’s truly realizing their potential as a custom tailored experience. Until Fable comes out, it will be unknown how difficult such a path will be to follow as well as how gamers receive the idea. But I think that everyone who plays FF, Zelda, or Xenosaga is getting the same basic experience. Sure you create your character, name him/her, accept sidequests to complete and come across moral choices, but the overall structure is very similar for everyone. And there are dungeon master utilities for games where you can create almost any aspect of an RPG. What I am proposing, though, is far more radical, in the direction of everyone receiving a unique playing experience that is unreplicable, even if you were to go back and make every choice the exact same before. A pipedream? Perhaps, but I think developers can accomplish it, for example, by using how often players play and for how long, what time of day they play, or even whether they slowly wander around towns, seek out extra leveling up fights or to try to beat a game as quickly as possible. The game will dynamically respond to each payer on an individual basis, which is ultimately the appeal of pen and paper RPGs and the function of the dungeon master. The goal is less replayability (even tho replayability would be on an insane level) and more focused toward achieving a customizable experience on a scale not yet imagined in video games and which breaks down the traditional boundaries of a video game RPG.

Alright, I have said my piece, if you disagree, try to explain why, or if you see the future of video games wandering a different path, let your visions loose upon the boards.