Technology's Metamorphosis of the RPG

I am a bit late on submitting my last blog entry.  I truly apologize for that.  The thing is, I haven't been really sure what to write about.  Throughout my previous entries I've spoken about obscure and questionable material, such as dating sims, visual novels, and the social systems on message boards I've been on.  Well, I'll briefly talk about RPGs, my favorite genre in games that has really changed because of technology.

A character record sheet for Dungeons and Dragons where the player keeps track of their character's stats.

Role Playing Games (RPGs) have been around for decades, dating back to the original table-top RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons.  However, it wasn't until around the time of video games that RPGs became more accepted.  Sure, there is still the stigma that people that play RPGs, "grinding" for endless hours to attain specific levels or acquire specific items, are nerds, but the video game made it less of a hassle to get into an RPG.  With Dungeons and Dragons, one must have a group of friends in order to get a good game going.  Also, there needs to be a dungeon master who creates all of the plotlines and controls all of the events.  It's a daunting task, which I haven't yet been a part of a successful Dungeons and Dragons group.  However, with video games, you don't need to come up with the plot, it is written for you.  You don't need to play with friends, the player often has control over his "party members", or allies, or there might be an artificial intelligence in place.  You don't need to calculate what level your character is at, you don't need to keep track of what items you may or may not have, and you are less likely to get in an argument with anyone over problems that might pop up.

Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra, an RPG for the Playstation 2.

Granted, video game RPGs do take away some of the creativity of table-top RPGs.  In video game RPGs you are given a specific role, a specific quest, and very little say in the matter, though that depends on the specific game.  RPGs such as Mass Effect and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion really try to give the player that they have control over the events that transpire throughout the course of the game.  Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) further go back to the table-top roots of the genre, allowing players to inhabit a world filled with other live players, customizing their characters and choosing quests as they see fit.  And games like the RPG Maker series gives the player the roll of dungeon master with a, mostly, easy interface to do so.  And even though you may be playing alone, the story and characters in an RPG can be presented so well that you might find yourself attached to the characters you follow in a video game.

Because of technology, RPGs have split off into two different categories: video game or table-top.  There are fans of both and those who choose to stay to one.  I find it interesting that technology has caused such a distinction in play styles for a single game genre.

-Tyler Trosper