What is a role-playing game, anyway?
Written by Jason Tocci at 1:42 pm on January 5th, 2012
Original illustration by Craig Henry
Once upon a time, role-playing games were about taking on the guise of a fantastical avatar to live out a life you could only dream of. Not necessarily so, today. As of this writing, the top games in the iPhone app store’s “Role Playing” category are a World of Warcraft clone and a Grand Theft Auto/Mob Wars clone. My point, however, isn’t about the originality of ideas, but that there’s a pretty broad range of what we categorize as role-playing games, dipping into a shared pool of commonly reused mechanics. And more often than not, it seems that the mechanics we used to associate with role-playing games don’t necessarily include any actual playing of roles.
Role-playing games now represent such a broad category, with so many games integrating the elements formerly associated with a narrow genre, that the term “RPG” is now practically useless (unless you’re talking about rocket-propelled grenades, in which case, carry on). To help sort through this mess, I’d like to propose breaking down RPGs into their component parts, perhaps even generating some new genre labels.
Housekeeping Games
Sometimes, games don’t even need any pesky “gameplay.” They just need to keep us busy. This is where housekeeping games come in.
Often times, this means pressing a button and waiting for something to happen – buildings to finish being built, farms to finish producing crops, characters to finish “training” – just like turning on your dishwasher. For a more interactive experience, the game may require you to sort through items in an inventory with limited space, deciding which to keep and which to sell. It’s kind of like being a guest star on Hoarders.
Ironpumping Games
Games in this genre allow you to perform a series of repetitive, time-consuming tasks that will gradually make your character more powerful. Whether this represents a boost to Strength, Intelligence, or Charisma, the “grinding” process is pretty much the same as hitting the gym for some weightlifting, only less sweaty (hopefully).If people left their money out in a safe, they’re practically asking to have it stolen.
You may start out a wimp, but eventually you’ll get to kick sand in the face of whoever made you feel inadequate before. That’ll teach that guy to steal your special lady friend. And since there’s so little actual “role-playing,” you get to skip right to the satisfying rewards without the part where the woman you “save” explains that she isn’t just property to be won in a contest. Level up!
Grand-larceny Games
In this genre, the name of the game is acquisition without consequences. Steal everything that isn’t nailed down. If your inventory includes a hammer or pick axe, you may even be able to steal that stuff, too. If people left their money, foodstuffs, weaponry, or garbage out in a barrel, cabinet, or safe, they’re practically asking to have it stolen. That goes double for anything left in a breakable pot or wooden crate.
No hard feelings if you have to throw most of it away later anyway (see housekeeping games, above).
Serial-killing Games
No, just kidding. This would include way too many games to make a useful category. Kind of weird when you think about it, huh?
Busybody Games
If you fantasize about butting into other people’s business and offering to solve their problems, this genre is for you.
Approach everyone you see in the hopes that they won’t just repeat the same one to three lines of prescripted dialog back to you. It doesn’t matter how personal it is; you’re qualified to handle extremely uncomfortable family dramas. Really, it doesn’t even matter what they’re asking you to do. (No, really. A friend of mine once beat the Ranma ½ RPG in Japanese this way.) Just go do it and report back after you’ve fetched or killed whatever is on the agenda.
In Conclusion
Hopefully this entirely earnest and sincere list will be helpful to critics and designers as we discuss how games truly work. More often than not, the only “role” we’re playing in role-playing games is ourselves – the ideal selves we wish we could be, or the most horrifically sociopathic sides of ourselves we don’t get to show off as often as we wish.
There may even still be some room in role-playing games for actual pretend, too – but probably that’s just for nerds with no personal or social skills, right?
You can contact Jason Tocci at the following address : doc@pocketnext.com
Comments
Related Posts
The Hard Sell
By Jason Tocci
Jan 28th, 2012
The Other Kind of Brainwashing
By Jason Tocci
Feb 14th, 2012
Five Things I Didn’t Learn From Free Games
By Jason Tocci
Jan 31st, 2012