The Ideal RPG

by Haley Hop Wo 

Submitted by:	haleyhopwo@hotmail.com (Haley Hop Wo)
Spelling	2
Grammar	0
Coherency	1.5
Strength of Arguments	3
Presentation	2.5
Originality	1
Penalties	0
Total	10
Grade

RPGs today need to be are role-playing games not roll-playing games. Games with good graphics and full-motion-videos (FMVs) aren't necessarily great games. Graphics and FMVs aren't the basis of an RPG; a good plot and a reasonable amount of player choice makes a good RPG. Plots alone don't make RPGs, and neither do choices; too much plot makes for bad gameplay while too much freedom creates confusion. A balance between the story line and the amount of player decision makes the basis of an ideal RPG.

The story line is half of an RPG. The plot is more important than just the background and an interesting read though; the plot is the heart of the whole game. A developed plot allows for plot twists, leaving players on the edge of their seats. Political intrigue plus cloak and dagger gives the game suspense and drama. With the story ending not known, gamers will remain interested. What if a side-quest unexpectedly turns into the main story line? Such things should be done more often, for without the ending known beforehand, players won't know what to expect next.

Xenogears is a prime case study. Xenogears had a more than acceptable story with multiple plot twists. Who would suspect that Fei would end up where he does? There was nothing to point towards it. (Unless the player has read an entire walkthrough beforehand) The Gazel Ministry's ploy, the murder of the Emperor, Graf and Fei's father being the same person, Miang's hidden agenda, and Krelian's sinister plan; these strong points create an intriguing plot.

The other half of a great RPG is player freedom. Choices are what make the games exciting, holding multiple possibilities for the same situation. These decisions should play a factor in the story line; otherwise, they aren't really choices. The player's decisions should become intertwined with the story. How the player reacts to certain situations should change what will happen, for good or evil. Without player choice, the game would continue on a predetermined tedious path until the game ended. This reason is why player choice is essential to an ideal RPG.

Harvest Moon owes much to the ability to choose. The players choose what to do on the farm: grow turnips, milk cows or leave chickens in the rain. It allowed the possibility for even more choices though; it allowed players to spend extra money, to upgrade the house, and to court/marry.

Too much freedom will lead to confusion; the player will not know what to do, might get lost and will lose interest fast. In SaGa Frontier, there were too many places to explore, especially in Lute's Quest. In Lute's Quest, the player can fight the Final Boss right at the beginning, but basically has fight in optional dungeons. This is because there is no other mandatory dungeons except the last one, so a player has to build up in 'side' ones, or his/her party won't be strong enough. This overwhelms players by giving them too much choice and too little direction/plot.

On the other hand, a centralized plot with no choice makes for poor gameplay and a dull game. Final Fantasy 4 (FF4) has little player decision and hence has lost some of the RPG appeal. Instead of any choice whatsoever, the game chooses who is in the player's party, and ushers the team along the path until the very end. Kain was always allowed to join the party even though it was obvious that he was just going to backstab the party again. Another example of no choice is Goblez's dismembered hand casually grabbing the crystal and teleporting away. The plot is predetermined by the game and therefore does not allowing anything else to happen. In many instances throughout FF4, the game decided what was going to happen next, not the player. In an ideal RPG, it should be a combination of both the player and the game.

The joining of the two halves (story and choice) creates a game with a strong plot and moderate freedom. The plot should be unique, interesting and thorough. With a good understanding of the plot, players will have some foresight into what their choices might affect, and therefore making their decisions carefully. Such is the case in Fallout 2, a game with a complete and complex story line and an assortment of characters to react with. The Gecko Reactor Quest could be resolved in a couple different ways, with each solution having a different outcome with different results.

Even if a story cannot afford to have its plot changed by a player's decisions, there is still room for freedom in other areas. Character development is an area that can afford to be dictated by the player's actions because it only affects the story in minor ways. Character development can be considered the perfect blend of story line and choice when applied correctly; the player makes choices that affects the story line by developing the characters. Star Ocean the 2nd Story best depicts this feature by allowing the player to interact with the heroes and allowing them to develop in different ways. The heroes react to each other differently depending on how the game is played. The ending is dependent on the relationships of the heroes, thus allowing the player to determine the ending.

In conclusion, the balance of plot and choice is what makes a good RPG. An interesting plot that is well developed and original along with a fair supply of freedom makes for an exciting game. This symmetry also allows a player to enjoy the game more because he/she is involved in how the story evolves. It is this balance that creates a true role-playing game.

Notes:
I'd love to give this editorial a high mark. I share the sentiments within, and I think that the ideas within the editorial are very good. Unfortunately, it gains a C, and only just, at that, for a number of reasons.

The prime reason for the C is the grammar. There are many grammar mistakes within the editorial. In turn, this leads to coherency problems and rather broken flow when reading it out loud. Which unfortunately means the loss of points

In addition, editorials about what comprises the ideal RPG - in particular those relating to the new and old schools - are extremely common, and while this editorial is a good attempt to summarise the problem it is still very unoriginal.

All in all, a valiant effort but it falls short with too many problems.