I love role-playing games, both the tabletop kind and the video games. They are my favorite genre, but that will never be true for the majority of gamers. No one thing is for everybody, and what we like is ultimately subjective, but some things will always be more popular than others regardless of relative quality. Linear and uncomplicated games will always win out over RPGs, in the long run. It’s like any other aspect of pop culture where boy bands like the Backstreet Boys outsell bands like Iron Maiden.
Could you imagine the awesomeness of Fallout, Mass Effect, Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy or Dragon Age with the half billion dollar budget like Destiny had? We'd get a helluva lot more than a good online shooter in a big, beautiful and completely empty universe.
Sure, many of the mainstream franchises like Call of Duty, Far Cry, and Wolfenstein have incorporated RPG elements (mostly leveling up and a few perks), but that doesn't make them a role-playing game or mean that people are warming to the RPG genre en masse. All these games did was use RPG aspects to add an extra dimension to their Skinner Box so players won't notice the repetitive gameplay as much.
There are real reasons why Role-Playing Games will never be on top, like;
There are real reasons why Role-Playing Games will never be on top, like;
You have to be smarter than average to play RPGs
I'd like to start this one by saying that there are multiple ways a person can be smart. I think it was Einstein who said if you judged a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it would look like a retard. (paraphrased) The last thing I want is to sound like some sort of intellectual elitist or snob who dismisses anyone without a college degree. There are many, many ways a person can be intelligent and wise.
That said - RPGs, both tabletop and video game, require more raw intellect to play than other games. Even the more linear RPG titles require players to have more reading comprehension and memory than other games. You simply have to have a good degree of book smarts to get them. If you're one of those people reading this and thinking that RPG’s aren't that hard, it's only because they don't seem that way to you because you are smart. Strategy guides and online FAQ’s help this along, but handholding only goes so far. It comes down to simple statistics. The average will always outnumber the above average, making the RPG audience a minority.
You have to be more than smart
There are plenty of smart people who can't really get into RPGs. You also need a higher degree of imagination and intellectual curiosity, as well as lateral thinking skills. Being able to appreciate and enjoy the breadth and nuance a virtual world, and not get bored without a constant stream of bad guys to fight, isn't something everyone can do. And as RPGs become more and more complex, many gamers become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices and directions offered to them. Where RPG fans find it fun getting distracted from a quest by a random dungeon we find in an Elder Scrolls title, some gamers just can't handle it. These gamers might be smart and want complex stories, but they also have to have a more confined and linear narrative.
RPG players also have to have a bit more focus and patience than average. RPGs take time. Role-Playing Games tend to have deeper and more intricate storylines than other genres. That's not to say that other kinds of games don't get out there with their stories, just ask any Metal Gear fan, but those stories are given to the player in a straightforward manner. You play the game, and things get revealed through cutscenes and at designated points in-game. Very little is left to chance like in RPG, where players often have to take an active role in making the story unfold.
RPG players also have to have a bit more focus and patience than average. RPGs take time. Role-Playing Games tend to have deeper and more intricate storylines than other genres. That's not to say that other kinds of games don't get out there with their stories, just ask any Metal Gear fan, but those stories are given to the player in a straightforward manner. You play the game, and things get revealed through cutscenes and at designated points in-game. Very little is left to chance like in RPG, where players often have to take an active role in making the story unfold.
Role-Playing Games are harder to make
It’s not easy to make a video game. Thousands upon thousands of work-hours go into even the simpler ones. If a game is an AAA title, that becomes a developer’s next three lives all rolled into one cramped little deadline. Making an RPG adds even more work.
Most games have a fairly good, or at least detailed, backstory. Sadly, much of this is lost in the linear storyline, leaving the player to look through official wikis or whatever goodies are in the special edition if they shell out the extra money. RPGs will work most of that info into the final product. That takes lots of work. The dialog alone in an RPG dwarfs other genres, add to that the usual amount of text for the things you stumble across, and you have a library’s worth of words in there.
It all comes down to business, like it always does. RPGs require more work than games from another genre of the same caliber, meaning; making an RPG will cost more money, and have a smaller audience. Most companies will go for the relatively easy buck, leaving the harder to serve an audience for someone else. And speaking of harder to serve.
Most games have a fairly good, or at least detailed, backstory. Sadly, much of this is lost in the linear storyline, leaving the player to look through official wikis or whatever goodies are in the special edition if they shell out the extra money. RPGs will work most of that info into the final product. That takes lots of work. The dialog alone in an RPG dwarfs other genres, add to that the usual amount of text for the things you stumble across, and you have a library’s worth of words in there.
It all comes down to business, like it always does. RPGs require more work than games from another genre of the same caliber, meaning; making an RPG will cost more money, and have a smaller audience. Most companies will go for the relatively easy buck, leaving the harder to serve an audience for someone else. And speaking of harder to serve.
The RPG audience is more demanding
The internet and Geek Culture is full of critics. Gamers may complain about the new online shooter being the same as the last few titles, but PRG Gamers will tear a title a new one for the smallest thing. Expecting a high-quality product is a good thing, and so is holding companies responsible when they release a half-baked turd. But when death threats start to fly because of a bad ending, it becomes a disincentive for game companies to pursue that market. There has never been an edition war for Clue or Monopoly-like with D&D, and while a good deal Resident Evil’s original fan base wasn't happy with the shift from survival horror to action horror Capcom didn't receive an infamous number of death threats like BioWare did for the Mass Effect 3 ending.
Assholes and Internet trolls aside, the average RPG fan won't be happy with the way most game publisher handle titles. Slapping the next number on a slightly tweaked reskin of the previous title isn't going to cut it. If Bethesda tried to pawn off the Dragonborn expansion for Skyrim as The Elder Scrolls VI: Solstheim, saying that the shit would hit the fan would be an understatement. New titles have to be measurably better, improved, or notably different in some way. Because RPG fans are smart, it will take more to entertain us.
Assholes and Internet trolls aside, the average RPG fan won't be happy with the way most game publisher handle titles. Slapping the next number on a slightly tweaked reskin of the previous title isn't going to cut it. If Bethesda tried to pawn off the Dragonborn expansion for Skyrim as The Elder Scrolls VI: Solstheim, saying that the shit would hit the fan would be an understatement. New titles have to be measurably better, improved, or notably different in some way. Because RPG fans are smart, it will take more to entertain us.
Because RPGs Will Never be Top- RPGs Will Never be Top
It’s a Catch 22. Game publishers will only put so many resources into a game. That amount will never be more than what they think they'll need to make a profit. Since even the best-selling RPGs will never hit sales numbers like Call of Duty or Destiny, they will never get that level of resources poured into them. The anomaly that is World of Warcraft notwithstanding, RPGs will always be the industry's second bananas. Could you imagine the awesomeness of a Fallout, Mass Effect, Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, or Dragon Age title with the half billion dollar budget like Destiny had? We'd get a helluva lot more than a good online shooter in a big, beautiful and completely empty universe.
by Kell Myers | |