Role-playing video game . Also known by the acronym in English RPG ( Role Playing Game or even role-playing game , literally RPG , Role Playing or game-playing in Spanish ) is a popular genre of game that uses elements of RPG traditional to add a feeling that the player not only directs the elements of the video game under their control but can also decide how they progress.
Summary
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- 1 Definition
- 2 Emergence
- 3 Gameplay
- 4 Subgenres and types
- 5 Benefits of playing
- 6 Some RPG examples
- 7 See also
- 8 Sources
Definition
Role- playing videogames, like their predecessors , traditional role-playing games , consist of playing the role of one or more characters that during the course of the game vary (generally increasing) their abilities and characteristics according to the player’s achievements. Also characteristic of this type of video game is the social interaction with Non-Playable Characters (NPC), a translation adapted from the English Non Player Character (NPC), are characters created and controlled by the game itself with which the player must interact. The relationship can be friendly, neutral, or hostile, but it generally contains a social background. An inn keeper who provides lodging, a bandit who must be defeated, or a walker who offers information are all tangible examples of an NPC.
Another characteristic of this genre is the elaborate elaboration of the central plot and the subplots, which in 90% of the cases, usually take place in mystical environments, full of fantasies or in medieval times ( Diablo , Neverwinter Nights , Final Fantasy , Pokémon ). The remaining 10% tends to be set in futuristic or post-apocalyptic contexts and to a lesser extent with contemporary realistic settings ( Parasite Eve , Mass Effect , Star Wars ). It is important to note that both the main plot and the subplots are presented to the player as missions or assignments that must be carried out, although the subplots are almost always optional.
Due to the large number of characters and missions, role-playing video games have another uniqueness: items, articles, accessories or possessions. Mainly constituted by armor, potions, weaponry, magic, crystals and a myriad of fantastic or realistic items that make up the group of accessories that the player character can access to obtain benefits during the game, either by using them directly, giving them away to obtain favors from NPCs or by exchanging them for other items or resources in the in-game currency.
Finally, many video games include the possibility for the player to decide, in the same game, to change the paths to follow and cause different situations that cause different outcomes in the story. Thus allowing to achieve a completely different experience according to the decisions that the player makes throughout the game. It is important to note that the options are never completely open, but only a subset of the possible decisions to make for each situation and that have been included in the game by the programmers. It is this main disadvantage of this type of entertainment compared to traditional role-playing games , current technology does not allow complete freedom of decision.
Emergence
In the world of video games, the emergence of a new genre is subject to several factors, including: the creation of accessories, the change of technologies from one generation to another, the daring imagination of developers and even the socio-cultural changes of populations.
The first role – playing game to be released to the market was an adaptation of the video game Dungeons & Dragons ( D & D ) , which also was the first RPG table modern. The video game was released in 1975, a year after its publication as a tabletop role-playing game .
The first embryos of the genre that emerged in the United States , during the 19th century , between the 70s and the early 80s, with games such as: Moria ( 1973 ), Akalabeth ( 1980 ), and Ultima ( 1981 ); that, despite not yet having all the basic elements of a modern RPG, they already had some such as the progression of the characters. However, it would not be until the late 1980s and early 1990s that a major outbreak occurred in Japan due to the use of this genre. A situation that, when the 16-bit era arrived, achieved unprecedented international fame, when games likeSecret of Mana , Terranigma , Super Mario RPG , Lufia and the first chapters of the Final Fantasy saga , overflowed the extensive catalog of the then queen of consoles: the Super Nintendo .
Gameplay
One of the main attractions pursued by fans of this kind of video game can be seen precisely in the gameplay of medieval combat that is increasingly complex and realistic in certain aspects, such as in the most natural human movements and features in general, goods virtual weapons that are possessed (especially enchanted or magical weapons and effects of war, which facilitate the game remarkably, or are simply presumed), the detail in the statistics that the adventure throws and the recognitions to the time invested in the video game (levels of the skills achieved, which defines the respectability or fame of the player before other fans).
The duration of a single set of these is very time consuming; it can vary greatly for completion or end by the average user. If it is played at a healthy and detailed pace, it is not uncommon to observe a period of several months and even more than a year (it will depend on the veneration that each player dedicates to a certain video game and if he abandons it for periods of time). The game can be mixed with another genre like RPG and adventure .
Subgenres and types
Generally the RPG is often mixed and sometimes confused with adventure , platforms , strategy and other genres, a product of very similar characteristics between them. As a result of this merger, ranking categories for RPGs have appeared.
- Action RPG: RPG Action , is probably the most hybrid type of RPG and its undisputed leader is the exclusive saga of Nintendo: The Legend of Zelda (The Legend of Zelda) . It is basically an adventure and platform game with some role-playing elements such as character progression.
- Turned Based RPG: Turn Based RPG , is the typical traditional Japanese RPG. The best known member in this category is the Final Fantasy series . The combat takes place in turns, although each game establishes its own rules in this regard. Some allow a certain number of actions per round; others give more importance to action indicating the precise time to act, etc.
- Battle RPG: it is a mixture of classic strategy and role. Most of these games base their development on a succession of battles linked to the plot that are carried out in a strategic mapping (generally by grids). Unlike the previous cases, in this one, the battles can and usually last hours. Among its most prominent titles are Advance War and Fire Emblem .
- MRPG: Multiplayer RPG , began as an optional game mode of some RPGs but later became a genre of its own. The characteristic is that several players can (and in some cases must) play interconnected in the same game, collaborating with each other to achieve the objective of this.
- MMORPG: Massively Multiplayer Online RPG , it is an MRPG but it allows the interconnection of hundreds (and in some cases up to thousands) of players in the same game, collaborating or competing with each other. The most famous example is the world famous World of Warcraft .
Benefits of playing
The RPG, as well as other video games, originate socially positive values for the players who play them, despite the fact that today a large majority consider that video games in general promote violence and negative values. This criterion commonly comes from people who do not know the subject well and give credence to alarmist news from the press and the media.
- Educational Contribution:in terms of education, the benefits of this genre are really greater than those of other groups. Within the role, the teaching process is fundamental, since the quality of learning is based on the practical utility provided by the knowledge itself, so that the player accesses the information in a meaningful way. It also develops speed of mental calculation, expressive richness, fixation of knowledge and the ability to take notes. Another significant educational contribution is the prominence and promotion of reading as a recreational and educational medium, which greatly favors this habit, especially among younger users who do not read due to lack of motivation.
- Social contribution:according to psychological studies, the Role sows empathy, communication and tolerance by promoting mutual support and relationships on equal terms. As has already been said: these are not competitive games, but cooperative ones.
- Contribution to health: thanks to therapies created with role-playing video games, set in a fantastic context, it was possible to help socially maladjusted children between 8 and 9 years old to develop mutual cooperation capacities. Meanwhile, a personality test carried out on regular players of this genre did not reveal any anomaly in personality, except an increase in factors such as experimentation and freedom of thought. In addition to these studies, an investigation was carried out whose final result showed the positive value of RPGs with fantastic themes as a strategy to develop creative writing in primary and secondary school children, because they expanded their vocabulary and organization of verbal structures.
Some RPG examples
Touring the RPG museum, you can see the greats who left a deep mark on the history of this genre and also those who mark the present and will be glories of the future.
- Terranigma: its development was in charge of Quintet-Enix and when it came out in 1996 it was the bomb of the year. It is an RPG with an excellent story that hooks from the beginning to the end and its content offers a large number of hours of gameplay. The graphics device is one of the best existing for SuperNintendo and it is worth mentioning the pompous, very realistic 3D-style map. The gameplay and handling of the weapons are very simple and taking full control of the game takes a matter of minutes. Music also travels along the paths of excellence, since sound and image effects are well achieved and are not repeated too much.
- Secret of Mana: the search for an ancient source of energy: Mana, serves as a pretext to start a fabulous story where three characters will be conducted simultaneously. Without a doubt, it is an emblematic title among role-playing video games that lavishes attractive graphics, good music and great gameplay, and this is one of the most outstanding aspects. It is worth noting that the fights are not turn-based and this allows several players to participate in the same game. It was released in 1993 .
- Final FantasySaga : it was 1987 when the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) hosted Dragon Quest , one of the first RPGs programmed by the Japanese Enix, in its extensive catalog . For its part, Square , a small company that was practically bankrupt, decided to launch an RPG as the last play of hope and thus Final Fantasy was born, a game that made a fool of Dragon Quest’s simple two-goal storyline of rescuing a damsel and killing a dragon. His argument was much more complex, absorbing and based on a prophecy in which four warriors: The Knights of Light, would save the world from four terrible 2000-year-old beasts led by Chaos, a beast that deflects time to achieve His plans. One of the most attractive new features of the game was that the manageable characters, that is, the Knights of Light, did not have a name and the player had to assign one to them, a function that made the user more familiar with the story. Another surprise was the inclusion of extensive scenarios in order to awaken interest in the investigation. The music was of an excellent quality. Despite its popularity inJapan wasn’t until 1990 that Final Fantasy came to America . Since then, the saga has not stopped growing to become one of the most influential cultural icons within the gaming community around the world and its twelfth edition arrived at the end of 2005 , reaping new successes and delighting its followers.
- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door: And of course that mustachioed plumber would put his “M” on RPGs. From Super Mario RPG : Legend of the Seven Star, a game created between Nintendo and Square for the Super Nintendo . Then going through the refreshing Paper Mario from Nintendo 64 , it appeared during 2004its second part developed by Intelligent Systems. In the story, whatever the genre, Mario must always save his beloved Princess Peach and for that he will have the help of his classic friends Yoshi, Toad and company. The graphic apparatus that gives life to this world of paper is simply exquisite in detail, not only in the settings, but also in the characters and their animations. Special mention should be made of Mario’s animation, who on that occasion and thanks to his composition, will learn new arts such as becoming a plane, a little boat, stretching, shrinking, wrinkling, etc. Participation in the game is original and fun. The battle mode similar to a theatrical work stands out, with a curtain and an audience. For the battle system various strategies such as Crystal Star mode,
