Guiding questions: what is an RPG, is gameplay important, and are games fake??
The topic of the importance of role-playing in video games was prompted by a number of seemingly unrelated questions that periodically arise among players. Among user-generated materials, for example, the following is regularly raised: “What is an RPG, and where is the line that distinguishes a real role-playing game from others?”. And the reasons for the popularity of the request are obvious — today RPGs are represented by very diverse projects, the common features of which are difficult to find.
Maybe branching dialogues? But jRPG and Diablo are linear. Maybe an opportunity to play a social role? Or act out the class? Or the presence of deep leveling determines the role-playing game? In general, bright minds will continue to search for the philosopher’s stone, there is no doubt about it. What is more important for us now is that this question is raised very often, and one of the answers given by the authors of such materials is most often the presence of roleplay.
I’ve also often noticed comments claiming that in video games, since they are interactive media, the gameplay comes first, when everything else is not so important. At first glance it seems logical. After all, it seems that games differ from other works precisely in that they are interactive. Therefore, it is this aspect that should be placed at the forefront. Is that so?? Of course not, but more on that later.
The third point, which is somehow related to the topic of role-playing, is related to the very concept of the game. Once I came across a text by a person who took the definition from a book. It was, in general, correct, but one thing confused me — the author called the games “fake”. It is clear what was meant, but this particular part of the wording seemed to me not sufficiently accurate. If the games aren’t real, then why is the gamepad broken after playing a rated fighting game?? Truly broken.
Then everything fell into place.
What is "Game"?
With a number of exceptions, almost any game assumes, first of all, a certain space within which the gameplay takes place. Football requires a field, its boundaries, a ball and a goal. To play a board game you need a card, figures and a dice. A computer game requires a platform where the game will be launched: space on the hard drive and compliance with the technical specifications to run it.
Secondly, the game involves a set of rules and tools, within which the player must achieve a certain goal: score as many points as possible or defeat the dragon.
And the last part of the definition, but not least — the game implies a role-playing aspect. Almost always and everywhere. Perhaps you can find examples of games where the role assumed by the player will not be obvious, and most often these are some very old or competitive games, but today we have such a picture that 100% of games offer the player to find himself in a specific role. In chess, the player takes on the role of a commander, and in Tetris, a builder. In number-based riddle games, the player gains mathematical experience, i.e. role-playing mathematics, etc.d. The chain of examples can be given endlessly.
I suggest compiling the definition of games. A game is a certain space within which the player has to achieve a goal with the help of given rules and tools, and also implies the adoption of a certain role. And the last point here is decisive.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say we work as a crane operator. We have a specific task to transfer construction cargo from one point to another, and we also have a set of tools to achieve the goal — levers and pedals in the cabin. In fact, this activity will be nothing more than a game, if you follow the definition. But, of course, she is not. But if we launch a computer version of this very activity, a kind of crane operator simulator, then everything becomes clear.
The concept of acting in this context is no less interesting here. In the everyday understanding of the word, taking on a certain role, playing a certain character, is not a game, but it is called. However, the dominance of the role aspect over others is clearly expressed here.
Role-playing aspect in video games
As I wrote earlier, in 100% of modern projects the role taken is specific and tangible. Let’s take shooters for example. Doesn’t matter if it’s first or third person. People who usually come to this genre are those who are interested in the fact of shooting enemies in a video game format. Firstly, because it is an action game, and this is in demand not only in games, but also in other media. And, secondly, the military theme, even if it is slightly changed, futuristic, realistic or arcade, people like it. It’s beautiful and aesthetically pleasing.
The same applies to various racing games. If a person doesn’t like driving cars, changing gears on the fly, tuning the engine and body, winning races, then it doesn’t really matter to him how cool the game is in front of him. He is simply not close to the role model that car simulators offer. Most likely, he will prefer something else that is simply closer to him.
Another great example would be Death Stranding. Gorgeous graphics, excellent plot and production, famous actors in the main roles and the great Hideo Kojima at the helm. What could have gone wrong, why such an ambitious project did not sell millions of copies and, in general, was received ambiguously by the public? Because the importance of the role aspect was underestimated by the authors. Not every person wants to live the experience of a loader in a video game format. Especially in an expensive blockbuster. This one nuance jeopardizes an outstanding piece of work because, forgive me, food delivery people, such a role model has virtually no aesthetics.
What cannot be said about the aesthetics of silent passage, about stealth, the author of which was also Hideo Kojima. Most likely, in Death Stranding he also wanted to invent something new, and he even succeeded, but the foundation of the project was not the most interesting topic. Yes, the gaming experience is new, but hardly interesting for the mass player. As a result, in order to enjoy the game, I personally had to simply come to terms with the fact that in the game I was doing the notorious carrying of loads. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who had a stage of reconciliation.
Role, gameplay and plot
Is the gameplay the most important thing in video games, and is the plot really secondary?? Back to the patently misleading statement.
Position number one — only games are interactive. I hasten to disappoint, but no. Both films and books also have interactivity, because any work of art, and especially if it is a work of art, is created for the purpose of self-expression, as well as to appeal to those who get to know it.
Game design, metaphors in literature, cinematography, directing, acting, lighting on the set, editing — all the principles of these, without a doubt, defining things in the format of a work are dictated by human psychology. For example, fast editing and a shaky camera are suitable for action films. Because with the help of these techniques you can complement the meaning of the action scene. On a psychological level, this is exactly how it works. And psychology, in turn, is important, because cinema appeals to the viewer, and he needs to convey its inherent meanings in a language understandable to humans. This is also called film language.
Since a work has meaning, it means it is open to dialogue, to deconstruction. Just like in the case of video games, you need to apply effort to understand and master it. Only in one case we press the control buttons, and in the other we reflect on what we read/saw. Moreover, just as in games you can simply fail to pass some stage, so other media have an entry threshold. They’re interactive too.
Therefore, we conclude that the interactivity of video games is not their feature, and therefore the development of this aspect cannot be fundamental. Yes, there are a huge number of games where the gameplay prevails over other content, but the point is that it is also dictated by the role-playing aspect. A trivial example — for shooters, that is, for roleplaying a shooter, classic shooting mechanics, cover mechanics, health restoration, etc. are best suited.d. Although developers have options to create a shooter differently, for example, using a text quest or in a clicker format, it’s not just that a shooter is usually understood as taking the enemy into the crosshairs with all that it entails. Because such dynamic gameplay is more suitable for roleplaying as a shooter or fighter.
I’m not saying that gameplay isn’t important in games. Not at all. I want to say that deep and interesting gameplay in a video game format is completely equivalent to high-quality narrative content. It cannot be said that in games the most important thing is the gameplay, just as it cannot be said that the plot is more important than anything else. This is simply a misconception. The games are different, and they focus on different things.
But we can say for sure that it is the role-playing aspect that largely determines the gameplay.
Regarding the plot and narrative, the situation is similar here. But before we get into it, let’s return to the original question: is roleplaying a key element of role-playing games?? Other questions have already been answered.
The intuitive answer is yes. This is a role-playing game, so it turns out that role-playing experience comes first. But the correct answer is of course not. We have already understood that roleplaying is an integral part of games, not just role-playing ones. Genres are formed by tropes: plot, gameplay and visual. And the boundaries of these same genres are very vague. That’s why people ask genre questions.
Returning to the topic of the material. The plot in games, to roughly round it all off, is a continuation of role-playing. It, like the gameplay, includes functions that in one way or another affect the perception of the role assigned to the player. It gives you the space you need to play out.
Simple example. We play as a warrior and destroy mobs. They drop some kind of sword with good characteristics. In principle, this corresponds to roleplaying a warrior. But if you add meat to these actions, that is, write a more detailed plot, the role-playing experience will be richer. Now we are not just a warrior who destroys mobs, but a chaotic good warrior Valentin, who noticed strange smoke on the way to the local king. It turned out that it was a gang of robbers robbing the village. Valentin bravely chopped up his enemies, and as a reward, the village head thanked him with a gift — a family sword that can cut stone!
Roleplaying a warrior in the second option will be clearly more complex and interesting.
Thus, it turns out that both https://888ladiescasino.co.uk/login/ the narrative and the gameplay are inextricably linked to the role that is assigned to the player. Their form and content are determined by this very role, and the quality of one or another aspect characterizes the gaming experience received by the player. That is, it also characterizes role experience, because this is essentially the same thing.
You need space to play a role. The plot and gameplay are designed to give it.
Classic of the genre or classic of the role
What’s good about Hitman: Codename 47? Stealth existed before it, and regdoll animations are hardly the reason for popular love. The plot also could not be called exciting, serious or deep. Gameplay remains.
And that’s right! But as we found out, the gameplay is dictated by the role model. And if he is unique (and he is unique), then, most likely, the proposed role will also be unique. And so it goes. Social stealth, although it is stealth, is fundamentally different from what Metal Gear offered. In one case we hide in plain sight, in another we hide in the shadows. Accordingly, the mechanics of Splinter Cell or Metal Gear are not suitable for playing the role of an agent who works undercover. The heroes there were, in principle, not recommended to come into view of people.
This is essentially what made Hitman: Codename 47 a cult classic.
And this is not an isolated example. If you track all the iconic games of recent years, you can identify a pattern. Dota, Battle Royale, CCG (Collectible Card Games), Souls-likes — all these trends have left their mark on the industry. At one time, they all offered something new, and often this meant a new role model.
For example, Dark Souls is a classic action RPG, but with one exception. She loved to strangle the player, testing his adaptability and resilience skills. In fact, we were still playing the role of a warrior, but not a great, not a classic warrior. And a warrior who will be mercilessly killed at every corner.
The same goes for battle royales. The described conditions, when on the same map with hundreds of players you need to survive, the cost of a mistake will be death, and resources are very limited — are unique enough to offer the player a new experience.
It turns out that the role offered within games shapes not only genres, but also, in principle, characterizes the gaming experience gained.
Conclusion
Roleplaying is underrated.
And this is interesting, since there are a lot of review materials on the Internet, but it is precisely this attribute of games that is not given due attention, but no attention at all. Although the proposed role model determines, as we found out, quite a few aspects in video games. This is, one might say, an eminence grise. Incredibly important, but operating from the shadows.
Best comments
Not negatively, of course, but it all looks like the ravings of a madman.
With a number of exceptions, almost any game assumes, first of all, a certain space within which the gameplay takes place. Football requires a field, its boundaries, a ball and a goal. To play a board game you need a card, figures and a dice. A computer game requires a platform where the game will be launched: space on the hard drive and compliance with the technical specifications to run it.
Where is this “place” when playing Rock Paper Scissors? And when playing mafia? And in Darts? The target can be painted on the wall. And at the shooting range? The gun itself? Goals? The gun can be replaced with any other throwing weapon, and the targets can be anything at all, even apples in the orchard.
In chess, the player takes on the role of a commander, and in Tetris, a builder. In number-based riddle games, the player gains mathematical experience, i.e. role-playing mathematics, etc.d. The chain of examples can be given endlessly.
Chess is the most abstract game that has NOTHING in common with reality. Horses don’t jump in an L shape, towers don’t move at all, the queen is not an uber-weapon that destroys everything in its path. What kind of commander are you playing there?? Tetris has nothing to do with construction.
Golden Quotes Foundation. Whom? Math teachers? Mathematics professors? Doctors of Mathematics? There is no such profession, and there is no such designation in principle.
And again, what role do I take on when playing Rock Paper Scissors?? And at the shooting range? And in the mafia, role-playing is prohibited, because if, after you have been appointed maf, you light a cigar and start speaking with an Italian accent, everyone will immediately understand who you are and the game will end.
And then you just start twisting the facts.
Another great example would be Death Stranding. Gorgeous graphics, excellent plot and production, famous actors in the main roles and the great Hideo Kojima at the helm. What could have gone wrong, why such an ambitious project did not sell millions of copies and, in general, was received ambiguously by the public?
Well, actually sold out. Even on PC the game made good money at the box office. Ambiguously accepted because the project is controversial and unusual. But now on Steam, 32 thousand reviews of which 92% are positive.
Position number one — only games are interactive. I hasten to disappoint, but no. Both films and books also have interactivity, because any work of art, and especially if it is a work of art, is created for the purpose of self-expression, as well as to appeal to those who get to know it.
You are confusing the terms interactivity and involvement. No matter how much I worry about the main character of the film, I cannot influence his fate. In games, the protagonist’s life completely depends on me. If I don’t shoot at enemies and heal in time, he will die. I can turn on a movie and generally fall asleep, but the movie will go on as usual and end without my participation. If I fall asleep with the gamepad in my hands, the game will not advance one iota.
To empathize with the hero, I don’t need to ROLE UP him. When I play Hitman, I don’t imagine myself as a bald assassin, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the game. I have nothing in common with the 50 year old alcoholic ex-cop, but I still felt for Max Payne during the playthrough.
Even a bleeped swear word — the note is buzzing.
And what the hell is this? =)
In chess, the player takes on the role of a commander, and in Tetris, a builder. In number-based riddle games, the player gains mathematical experience, i.e. role-playing mathematics, etc.d. The chain of examples can be given endlessly.
This owl can be pulled on the globe endlessly. And here you have examples of abstract games in which there is no role. In chess you are not a commander, in Tetris you are not a builder, and a stick in the yard is not a pistol. All this is already a game within a game.
Since a work has meaning, it means it is open to dialogue, to deconstruction. Just like in the case of video games, you need to apply effort to understand and master it. Only in one case we press the control buttons, and in the other we reflect on what we read/saw. Moreover, just as in games you can simply fail to pass some stage, so other media have an entry threshold. They’re interactive too.
What is interactivity and what are you trying to put into it? These are different things. Interactivity is the reverse interaction of the player/viewer with the work, and not another understanding of it. If after 100+ viewings the content of the film has changed, then you should go to a psychologist with suspicion of schizophrenia, and not say that the films are interactive. =)
It cannot be said that in games the most important thing is the gameplay, just as it cannot be said that the plot is more important than anything else. This is simply a misconception. The games are different, and they focus on different things.
Can. The narrative in games is “written” by the gameplay, without it we drift into other media — mainly films.
No, just completely appreciated and alive. And this blog shows that abstract games are extremely unpopular, the same auto battlers and CCGs palm off a hero/role so that the player has something to associate himself with. When was the last time you played, so that you decide what you play, what piece you have in your hand and what it means (using the example of chess). It turns out that the lack of roleplaying is underestimated. =)
Hmm… perhaps love is taken out of context and gives rise to such inconsistencies?
“Interactivity is the reverse interaction of the player/viewer with the work, and not another understanding of it. If after 100+ viewings the content of the film has changed, "
The narration is written by the scriptwriters’ pens.
Let me tell you the mafia game. And you can tell me how the developer wrote the script for the Among Us party. 😉
Some associate themselves, indeed, some do not. I don’t blame you, but a character is still a character.
It’s a matter of immersion. But even a detached person will not be able to completely abstract himself and plays the role of a “puppeteer”, and then nothing will change. =)
Well, think for yourself. Personally, it makes me sad to regurgitate obvious things. Even in conversational games you can’t play without a friend, like, say, mafia. It also requires a means of conveying information — cards, sheets of paper with pens. A place where people will sit, for example. Next on my own. Soryamba, I’m not going to sit and describe every game in the world.
I’m playing the first Masik right now. Salarians do not exist, people do not know how to throw bolts of energy, and space ships do not move between space systems. And also, as far as I know, people don’t know how to change clothes in a couple of seconds, like the same Hitman.
A person who solves a math problem.
Yes, there is no profession of rogi from Divinity either
In games, the protagonist’s life completely depends on me
He is a screenwriter and game designer. You have nothing to do with it either.
It’s a shame, in the canon the developers will then write “Someone died, this is the end of the story of General Kirill”!»
When I play Hitman, I don’t imagine myself as a bald assassin, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the game
I didn’t write otherwise, lol.
I missed the answer, it turns out. Well yes lan
a stick in the yard is not a gun
In the war game is
If after 100+ views the content of the film has changed
That is, with age, or during re-watches, you never noticed anything new in films? Didn’t rethink any scenes or lines? People see different things in the same movie. Strange, but the content is the same. How it turns out
The narrative in games is “written” by the gameplay
The narration is written by the scriptwriters’ pens.
Popular take. Some associate themselves, indeed, some do not. I don’t blame you, but a character is still a character. In my case, through it you can express some thoughts, empathize or otherwise interact. But don’t associate. There are simply interesting role models, and they will be interesting for obvious reasons, and there are not the most interesting.