Is RPG Defined Too Broadly On Steam?

[swillfly]

Some like the outstanding Grim Dawn, Diablos are more isometric hack-n-slashers where rng is king. Others like Fallout & Elder Scrolls are first-person but have tons of options and customizing features. Then there are roguelikes that are rpgs that are 1st person, isometric, and 2d.

I like all of them because most rpgs are about adventure -exploring new areas, new challenges, new loot. But what about titles like Metro? It's sort of rpg-ish but more shooter; it fails the open-world criteria though. I think I saw some card games listed as rpgs too.

Maybe "rpg" is too broad. There's also hybrid overlapping titles that have various gameplay elements in them.

Anymore I just browse through all the games and I don't use the filters because depending upon how something is classified I may be missing out on a good game with elements of rpg but it's been classsified as something else.

[talemore]

Shooter can be Rpg while not all Rpg is a shooter.In Specs ops the line you use the gun as a pointer to choose the path and quick time actions is always present in shooters. Open ended and open world and semi-open are design on how much of the plot is taken into consideration. It's really hard to say one doesn't make you rpg. You play a role in the game or else it's a movie. There's movie games out there as well who are considered rpg but you aren't a part of the game playing a role and a spectator.

[White Knight]

Originally posted by DØC:

pen and paper is only TRUE RPG...

Abso-@#$%inglutely!

Steam took the term "RPG" and dragged it through public urinals until it no longer had any meaning. Now, there are generations of morons who think "RPG" means having the ability to assign a few skill points?

Role-playing games are about imagination and direct player involvement in the development of the storyline.

Video games, as awesome as they are, cannot compete. Nothing that has ever been created can legitimately claim to be a part of that. Steam should be ashamed of what they did to "RPG"s.

[Crazy Tiger]

RPG is defined by mechanics like story-telling/narrative, exploration, character development, immersion, loot. But it *is* a broad term. Hence why we have subgenres, like Isometric RPG, Action RPG, etc to further define a game.

Originally posted by DØC:

pen and paper is only TRUE RPG...

Been quite a while since I did one of those. Still have my D&D stuff somewhere in the attic.

[White Knight]

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:

RPG is defined by mechanics like story-telling/narrative, exploration, character development, immersion, loot. But it *is* a broad term. Hence why we have subgenres, like Isometric RPG, Action RPG, etc to further define a game.

No, Steam did that. That's the problem.

I met a guy on the street today carrying a sign that said "Do you want to play D&D?" I might just look those nerds up?

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by Parrhesiastes:

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:

RPG is defined by mechanics like story-telling/narrative, exploration, character development, immersion, loot. But it *is* a broad term. Hence why we have subgenres, like Isometric RPG, Action RPG, etc to further define a game.

No, Steam did that. That's the problem.

No, such things were already getting in place before 2003 and the birth of Steam.

[Gus the Crocodile]

Originally posted by Parrhesiastes:

Video games, as awesome as they are, cannot compete. Nothing that has ever been created can legitimately claim to be a part of that. Steam should be ashamed of what they did to "RPG"s.

Yeah this is not a Steam thing. People were calling videogames RPGs decades ago. It's also been entirely normal since then. There is no "legitimate claim" necessary, it's not like this is a legal matter. It's just genre, which has always been subjective.

[White Knight]

Originally posted by Gus the Crocodile:

Yeah this is not a Steam thing.

Sure it is. Steam is and always has been the go-to authority on video games. It's the one place that we have been coming to for our games for decades. There was no one else.

I know, the history of "Steam" is elusive, and the internet is full of crap, but I remember...I've been doing this for a long time now. For people who have wanted a place to go online to find new games, Steam has been the place forever.

[ハイイロギツネ]

Originally posted by DØC:

pen and paper is only TRUE RPG...

Wrong.

RPG is any game with stat gameplay.

[Crazy Tiger]

There were video games and genres before Steam, you know. Or do you think people waited till Steam existed to start calling Baldur's Gate a Fantasy Isometric RPG and Diablo an Action RPG, for example?

[White Knight]

Originally posted by CalistriX:

Wrong.

RPG is any game with stat gameplay.

Yeah, who needs "words" in a text-based forum...how stupid can things get? I mean there's eight whole comments before your contribution...who has time to read all those words?

[swillfly]

Even yesteryear pnp rpgs had "roll" playing and "role" playing. The interactive bit of real "role" playing cannot be done with videogames until AI's rule -which means never. Since job/family/health/life/etc. I acclimated to modern rpg vidiocy usage because most worthwhile pnp games required real people to coordinate together someplace.. tough to do with life commitments and time involved.

I saw the thread about an rpg game request but I really have no idea what kind unless they provided a point of reference -such as what types they enjoy/are looking for. That's why I thought "rpg" is vague.

[White Knight]

Originally posted by swillfly:

...That's why I thought "rpg" is vague.

No, "RPG" was perfectly straightforward. Then people like CD Prokekt Red tried to redefine the term and Steam helped them do it. Now it's all messed up and means next to nothing.

[tmwfte]

I would think "rocket-propelled grenade" would be straightforward. If it's not that, it's not an RPG.

[Gus the Crocodile]

Originally posted by Parrhesiastes:

Sure it is. Steam is and always has been the go-to authority on video games. It's the one place that we have been coming to for our games for decades. There was no one else.

I know, the history of "Steam" is elusive, and the internet is full of crap, but I remember...I've been doing this for a long time now. For people who have wanted a place to go online to find new games, Steam has been the place forever.

Ah, the pivot to 'I was joking all along'. Okay. Have fun.

[White Knight]

Originally posted by tmwfte:

I would think "rocket-propelled grenade" would be straightforward. If it's not that, it's not an RPG.

You'd think right? All it takes is some Eastern-block company to come along and screw the whole thing up. Now a "rocket-propelled-grenade" is anything that comes out of a tube and goes "boom".