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A lone figure appears on the horizon- as he approaches, the citizens of Hamelin
cease their productive lives only to begin shuffling back and forth, worrying a
worn path into the clean floors of their homes and shops as their minds blank
into limited lines of looping dialogue. Another town has fallen to the Piper.
There is no u in roleplaying games
Part of the beast of the single-player roleplaying game is, well, only one
person is playing. Perhaps when you power down the system, the gamizens awaken
from their trances and lead normal lives, proving that they do not need you to
exist. But once that game is loaded, you become the sun in this heliocentric
world, exposing every explorable crevice as you root out evil. Yes you, and only
you, will ultimately triumph (forgetting for a moment that this scenario will
play itself out with countless other gamers at the helm), but is there also not
a price for your actions paid by each and every NPC?
Turning a deaf ear to the madness
Indeed the entire world revolves around you, the piper; every citizen is aware
on some level at some point in the game of who you are, what you are up against
or what you have accomplished. Many have blind faith in what you can achieve
and those who do not are eventually convinced of your ability. Further,
townsfolk are almost always extremely generous with their time, and forgiving of
any excesses your character partakes in, including, but not limited to: raiding
the family treasure chest(s), breaking decorative pots, jumping on tables and
chairs, exploring private quarters or just being an overall nuisance as a
houseguest. Occasionally some poor soul will meekly voice protest over your
destructive habits, but sadly to no avail—perhaps realizing that this is the
price he must pay for the existence of the hero. He must watch as you purchase
the best food, the best weapons and armor, immediately enjoy the favor of the
local townhead and draw all the best people (and attractive females) to your
cause once you leave. Those who are irreversibly against you must be evil and
rarely is any important character truly ambivalent.
In the fairy tale, the piper eliminates free choice, or rather, the choice of
the townspeople to stiff the piper his payment results in the piper removing any
future free choice from the children.
And in the meta department are not you the player also the pied piper, playing
your controller or is it reversed and the game has you in its fiendish grasp,
playing an addictive tune that requires your undivided attention? Do you
normally feel compelled that a game must be finished or a foozle needs beating,
no matter how tedious or painful completion is?
How appropriate that many RPGs have you start off by killing the lowest of the
low (the rats!) who seem to be your natural enemy, attacking you before any sign
of aggression has transpired. In fact, all creatures are caught up in your
spell, realizing you are the piper and must be followed into battle as they take
up the mantle of enemy. Sometimes party members will join your group, only to
wander off for a chapter- but they inevitably return. The main character is
like a drug that no one can get enough of—even the main villain is often so
addicted to this presence that he avoids ending the confrontation, as it is the
hero who must break the cycle. And once the final game over flashes onscreen,
symptoms of withdrawal begin setting in.
With a grain of salt lightly placed upon the tongue and that tongue firmly
planted in the cheek, of course an RPG will revolve around the main hero or
group you control and of course the focus of the game will be on your hero and
his adventures throughout the world he explores. The great games will always
leave you hungry for more, or sad to part ways. No matter how silly or
contrived the fictional world of roleplaying games might be, the best piper
knows just how to play to gamers’ addictions.
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