The Early Days
It all started in 1974, when a couple of guys named Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson decided to make a game. Not a video game mind you, but a pen and paper dice-rolling game called Dungeons & Dragons. This is the game that really popularized the role-playing genre; the rules were relatively easy to learn, and playing meant having a good time with your friends around the table. The game in of itself is very fun, but I believe the most important thing about D&D was the legacy that it left and continues to leave to this day. This game was an inspiration for multitudes of RPGs to follow; many games even used modified D&D rules for their systems such as Bioware's critically acclaimed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. D&D set the stage for everything that was to come, whether it was a video game RPG or not
The Renaissance
The mid 1980s through the 1990s are what I consider to be the "golden age" of role-playing games. This is finally where the technology (for the period) caught up to what the storytellers were wanting to accomplish. Out of this period came masterpieces such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, which are still series that are going strong today. A lot of the great RPGs during this time were from Japanese developers, so this is also the time when the distinction between "western" and "eastern" RPGs began to crop up. Speaking of the west, a little company called Bioware released a game called Baldur's Gate in 1998, a Dungeons & Dragons game in fact. I'll be coming back to them later.
The Modern Era
Today, pretty much every game will try to shoehorn in some RPG elements, whether it be leveling mechanics in a First person shooter, or skill trees in an action game, but even if the genre is somewhat saturated today, there are still quality RPGs out there, especially when it comes to giving players meaningful choices. There are three franchises today which I believe encapsulate the modern quality of the RPG; Mass Effect, The Witcher, and The Elder Scrolls. Each of them present meaningful choices which a lot of the time inhabit a moral grey area for the protagonist--especially in the case of The Witcher-- and on top of of that they are of the highest quality in terms of design, gameplay, and art. Games such as these will be the focus of this blog, and I hope you stay with me as we explore the dilemma of player choice in Role-Playing Games.
NEXT TIME: Bioware's early attempts at choice
Resources
Wizards of the Coast. (2007). What is d&d?. Retrieved from https://www.wizards.com/default.asp? x=dnd/whatisdnd
Schreier, J. (2012, August 8). What in the world is final fantasy? a beginner's guide to the biggest rpg series on the planet. . Retrieved from http://kotaku.com/5931304/what-in-the-world-is-final-fantasy-a-beginners-guide-to-the-biggest-rpg-series-on-the-planet
Dragon quest(series). (2014, March 18). Retrieved from http://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_(series)
Harris, J. (2009, July 2). Game design essentials: 20 rpgs. Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20091109154652/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4066/game_design_essentials_20_rpgs.php?page=10
I never considered specific time periods as the "Golden Age" of RPG's, but you certainly nailed it haha! I'm curious about your thoughts on Fallout—the game that is a bit of a mix of RPG and shooter/swashbuckling. There was the option to be evil or good based on karma, and the gameplay changed based on the decisions the player made. Very interesting topic!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Kristin! And as for Fallout, you'll be pleased to know that this week I'm doing a 2-part series post on Fallout 3!
DeleteAs far as player choice in games go, wouldn't the Fable series also be a good example of an RPG where every new choice will effect how your character's story can be played out? Also the design, gameplay, and art in the series are essentially "high quality."
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