R P G A M E R . C O M   -   E D I T O R I A L S

Lessons In Remembering What You’re Playing

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Chris Snyder
STAFF EDITORIALIST

Here at RPGamer, we frequently hold RPGs to higher standards than we do the games of other genres. The fact that we have an entire editorials section devoted to the analysis of and argumentation about the various characteristics of RPGs is evidence enough of this. However, I think there comes a point where these higher standards can interfere with our enjoyment of games. Sometimes games are inappropriately held to these standards. Specifically, fan editorialist Jesus Zamora’s desire to see the reasons for the existence of magic in modern and realistic/futuristic, sci-fi environments explained represents an overzealous and inappropriate expectation of seriousness and realism in games that, by their very nature, need not fulfill such expectations.

Magic shouldn’t automatically be forced to make sense in an RPG. When we play RPGs, we don’t usually expect to sit down and experience a realistic game. Indeed, most RPGs involve the use of a fantastic setting, with a few exceptions. In these environments, the rules that govern how the real world function are bent and twisted to the game creators’ desires, and a certain degree of lenience is asked of the player so that the player may become immersed in the experience of an RPG. That being said, it seems fairly clear that we should not be militant about demanding the reason why, for example, Shion can “magically” heal the party or engage in other seemingly “paranormal” acts. In the Xenosaga example especially, there is at least some reason given why Shion has these powers; all her ether based abilities aren’t really that magical. They’re all just fantastic representations of her technical expertise; Shion heals the party through first aid techniques, analyzes machines with her technological know-how, and performs status-boosting techniques, which are certainly less magical or less fantastic than the abilities of other playable characters. The brains behind Xenosaga gave Shion these abilities to make her usable in combat; it was an intentional move designed to promote utility and allow for more diverse gameplay. If they had not done this, only the characters who could use magic could possibly be competitive in combat (that is, if you believe magic was actually helpful in Xenosaga, but I talk about that in a different editorial), leading to very repetitive gameplay by virtue of gamers’ sole use of a handful of characters. In sum, I hardly think that the presence of Shion’s abilities in Xenosaga represent a “glaring plot hole;” it merely asks that gamers endure a slight stretch of the imagination so that gameplay might be made a bit more diverse and entertaining. As long as Shion’s abilities are not specifically integral to the story of Xenosaga and have at least a loosely described explanation, RPGamers should be satisfied.

As for the example of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the Mario and Luigi’s Bros. Points moves are artificially limited so that the game’s challenge might be preserved, and Zamora points this out. However, asking for this limit to be explicitly justified is asking for a bit much. Anyway, couldn’t the simple explanation for the limit on those abilities be that the Bros. Points moves simply require more physical energy out of Mario and Luigi? But why even get into this? Does it not seem a bit absurd that we’re demanding rationality and seriousness from a game that features two plumbers fighting against a mutant turtle?

Furthermore, I’m confused by any attempt to make “magic make sense.” Does this not seem to be a paradoxical proposition? In Zamora’s Shion example, he indicates that, if Shion were attributed with “ESP,” this would be an adequate explanation for her ether abilities. Does this explanation actually serve what is being asked, that games set in modern or sci-fi worlds have rational explanations for magic? How does the notion of extra sensory perception, which is almost as equally based in fantasy as the concept of magic itself, satisfy Zamora’s aforementioned demand? I surmise that what Zamora’s really asking for is that some explanation for characters’ abilities must be present in a game, and if this is indeed what he’s asking for, then my earlier explanation for Shion’s abilities would satisfy this request.

In sum, I don’t see why game creators should be forced to give explicit justifications for why seemingly magical gameplay elements exist in their products. Insofar as RPGs especially attempt to draw in the gamer and immerse him or her in the inherently fantastical world created by the RPG, RPGs should not be forced to give rational explanations for each of their unrealistic gameplay elements. If anything, Zamora’s editorial represents a different fault of RPG creators; the creators of Xenosaga and Superstar Saga were unable to draw him into the world they fashioned. As this is the primary task required of the creator of any RPG, perhaps this represents a more critical error. However, unwavering demands for realism in an RPG could skew the gamer’s interpretation of how successful an RPG is at absorbing the gamer. If the gamer refuses to harbor a single bit of leniency for fantastic situations, then game creators have a task before them that is impossible to complete.