What Makes An Rpg Good? graphics...IGMs...playability..or what?

[Arin Sky 0]

Personally i think that the plot of the game, and its playability are the two most important peices of an RPG. Grahphics are good, but they dont take the cake. a game just isnt good if you cant play it... and i dont enjoy it if it's predictable. What do you think?

[far3 0]

Definatley the community!

Im playing face of mankind currently, 100% player driven.

Face of Mankind is not a typical RPG: the most important difference is that you are the game. Your actions will affect the next available tactical decision for you and your fellow players. Your actions will affect the economic system. Your actions will determine the balance of power each and every second.
You have control over an intuitive First Person Shooter style interface. The cutting edge graphics engine will present a world of five huge cities on earth, 20 colonies in outer space and two special places.

Choose to join one of ten organizations. Be a soldier for the F.D.C. or a law enforcer of the L.E.D.. Fight for right and order, climb to higher ranks! Decide to be a clan member and find your way beyond the law! Or join one of the companies as a trader, miner or producer to control the complex economic system.

What ever path you chose, Face of Mankind will continue to evolve. You are only one player among many, but you can change the world. Your destiny demands it.

Notice from jlhaslip:

The quoted portion can be found here Credits should be automatically deducted. Warning issued.

[LocalSeer 0]

I think the plot has to be interesting, but simple without you having to read fifty books. A few dialouges like diablo 2 had, all you needed where a few sentences for each quest. Instead you should learn the story by short dialog and surroundings. The combat system should be tactical, not just stand and click, but moving around and dodging/aiming.Focus should be more on gameplay then story, and predictable I don't mind when I'm relaxing, but being unique is good, with new ideas for creatures and attacks and traps to stimulate your mind. Graphics should be stunning, to be really something you just stand in a place and say wow, kindof like the arreat's summit view in diablo 2 when you look down, or some of the sights in FFX.

[bucksta 0]

Mostly I like the storylines. This maes the game more exciting to play and experience. I play a couple of RPG games but so far, I know that the best RPGs are MMORPGs. Also some combat isn't bad and fighting and stats and levels. That's what seems to make any game better.

[Sizux 0]

Depends. It it's online, people generally don't care about the storyline (or graphics) but more about the amount of people and world size. Single player games, however, attract people most when there is nice graphics, a stable storyline, and detailed characters and their development.

[FLaKes 0]

I totally agree with the past posts. If the game is going to be a 1 player game the story definetely has to be engaging and really stick to the person, good rpg stories I have liked are the chrono trigger and ff7. If the game is going to be mmorpg, then its definetely going to be the community that are going to bring life to it.

[nevernight05 0]

i think a good RPG has decent graphics. that or the complexity of the character operation.

[cro-man 0]

The thing that makes rpg games good are :First of all a good story, something interesting to attract the people, then the options of choosing your way of playing the game , choosing will you take the mission or not, will you be a good or a bad guy. After that many secret places and a huge map so you can always play the game over and over and always find something new ... The grafics does not mather to me , as long as it is playable it is good ...

[sammaye 0]

What makes a rpg good by a person who has played every style of rpg you could ever dream up...(yes that is a lot of gaming lol):1. good story2. ability roam feely around the world (on some you cant)2b. I prefer hack and slash variaty3. I love on line rpgs...I jus love played sacred or guild wars with some other ppl and fight with real ppl and sutff...To give an example of decent rpgs:1. ruinescape (sometimes thou cos it can get boring and all the 12 yr olds make it really annoying)2. guild wars3. sacredand rpg based around these is likely to succeed I think...

Edited February 7, 2006 by sammaye (see edit history)

[Iriacynthe 0]

Personally i think that the plot of the game, and its playability are the two most important peices of an RPG. Grahphics are good, but they dont take the cake. a game just isnt good if you cant play it... and i dont enjoy it if it's predictable.
What do you think?

I'd have to agree with you - the plot definitely makes the game. I like to be able to sort of become part of the game and be there with the characters. Good graphics are a definite bonus along with easy controls...It's a huge turn-off when you're trying to play the latest game and you can't figure out the stupid controls. I'd have to say the Final Fantasy series is my favorite RPG along with Morrowind and Drakan.

[Cerebral Stasis 0]

For me, graphics help (I despise games such as Baulder's Gate in which everything is so small and I can barely tell what I'm looking at), but aren't everything (I love Neverwinter Nights multiplayer, and it has some pretty crappy graphics - the player-adjustable cam is a big feature in that game for me). When it comes to single player, a clever storyplot and interesting gameplay are the biggest factors in my mind. When it comes to multiplayer (again, as in NWN), it's all about the loyalty fanbase, power of the editor, and competence of the fans (not only for creating interesting modules, but also for acting mature and being fun to play with during multiplayer).

[sm00nie 0]

When I sit down to play an rpg game I generally expect too much .First, I'd like to see a solid story line that's not exclusively the only path to follow. There should be other things for you to do, instead of just following the main course.Secondly, if it's an online game, the community has to be a big driving force. RPG's try to keep you into character and with a community driven by l33t speakers and offensive names it really makes it diffcult to mesh. In single player games, the npc's take the place of non-npc's and thus need to be interesting and have some kind of backstory.Thirldy, graphics must be up to par. In keeping with your immersion into you character and the world around you, you must feel like your a part of it and are experiencing what everything is like around you. Great graphics and textures make this possible and further enhance your gameplay.And lastly, interaction with items must be well thought out. This means the physics as well as what you can manipulate in-game (including weapons, armor, keys, and other items to use).

[Zythrix 0]

When I play RPGs, things like graphics and the community aren't really a factor for me. I play Ultima Online so obviously I don't mind outdated graphics (I still like my old DOS rpgs). If it's an online rpg then good luck having people actually roleplaying (yes that's right folks, the 'rp' in rpg is ROLE PLAYING). I generally just ignore the online communities. What I really like to see with an RPG is a good full story line and extensive character development. Sure, most RPGs let you get different weapons and such and increase stats, but there is no actual character growth, just some numbers going up. If a character can't become a part of the story line then it just isn't worth the time.

[gameratheart 0]

I think what makes a good RPG is a storyline that doesn't give away too much, a good battle system, ease of use, and something that can always catch your attention. I want games to be good physically. I want you to literally THINK about the game and ignore everything else. I don't think graphics and music matter so much, as long as they are pulled off well.It's nice to see how people think, 'specially cos I'm working on my own RPGs. But it's also intresting to see how people think differently about these topics. I hope the one I'm working on now satisfies the majority of people.

[Earths Daughter 0]

The things I like in a RPG are: Interesting storyline.Different types of characters: good guys, bad guys, male, female, different races, different character classes.Not too predictable, the more original, the better.The ability to go off and do your own thing, or just explore the world. Hide some stuff to reward exploring. If you go back to the same place after accomplishing something, or something big happens in the game, the NPC's should not say the same thing you heard before. Even the most basic NPC's should have a little personality. They should not all say exactly the same greeting by default, for instance. A litle gossip from NPC's gives the game more flavor.There should be a few NPC's that have a bit more personality, to give the game more flavor.A lot of the game should not be taken up with sending you back and forth over the same territory. Too much familiar travel gets old really fast.Appropriate sound effects, not just constant music, silence or generic effects, add a lot of atmosphere. Rustling sounds when somebody walks through leaves, some puffing when running, dripping water in a cave, or squeaking bats, stuff like that. If it's raining, it should sound like it. There should definitely be weather that changes from time to time outdoors. If you start out in the spring and months pass in game time, there should be some snow eventually.If you steal from NPC's, there should be some consequences, like being thrown into jail for a while, lol.Besides the main storyline, there should be a lot of side quests that can be done or not, depending on the player's mood. These should be worth some extra experience or money, items, but don't have to be too rewarding. You should not be able to do the same quests over and over. have them not offered when they've been done by that character already.Side quests should not stop at low levels, have them for intermediate and high level characters, too.Characters should be able to improve throughout the game from experience. The best equipment should not be for sale, it should have to be earned.If there is some way of the character's actions affecting the world, it should be shown. So the character becomes a part of the world. Like if you save an NPC's life as part of a quest or the plot, the NPC could refer to you as their "brave friend" after that.The more flexible a character creation system is the better. Being offered the option of 4-8 pre-determined characters is not enough. A system that allows players to create some version of pretty much any type of character they can think of is better.