In response to Cliffyb's question on the future of RPG's

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Scruss

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Edited By Scruss

Cliff Bleszinski recently posed the question “The future of shooters is RPG’s, what is the future of RPG’s?” via twitter. It got me thinking, as do most things he says. My quick response was that RPG’s will coexist with shooters, that there won’t be an RPG as we know it now ten years down the road. I think I’d like to rescind that statement as I may not have thought it completely through.

RPG’s as we know them now will exist ten years down the road. I can’t say there won’t be a day when they cease to exist, but for the foreseeable future they’re here to stay. Having said that I think they’ll go through some changes. I think a lot of them will start to incorporate more co-op options as the online space continues to grow and increase in popularity. Gamers have spoken and we want co-op, even in our 50+ hour RPG’s. Hopefully the upcoming Hunted: Demons Forge can fuse the two in such a way that gamers rejoice and developers learn a valuable lesson.  

The question as it was asked was "The future of shooters is RPG's" but shooters with RPG elements have been around for a while. More and more games incorporate elements more commonly found in RPG’s. Off the top of my head, Bioshock stands out as a great example. Even games like Madden are becoming increasingly more like RPG’s and less like football sims with the ability to level up and manage teams in far greater detail than they were 10 years ago. The best example may be Call of Duty with the inclusion of perks and weapon loadouts. The multiplayer is, in the strictest sense of the word, an RPG. You grind to gain levels and unlocks. It’s genius and as sales figures can attest, extremely popular.

So my final answer? We’ll see the marriage of RPG’s and shooters come to a head. I think games like Mass Effect and its sequel go a long way in showing how well the two can exist as one. It isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely a stepping stone in the right direction. At the same time RPG purists won’t be left by the wayside. They’ll have their fill, but maybe not as often as they’d like.    
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Scruss

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#1  Edited By Scruss

Cliff Bleszinski recently posed the question “The future of shooters is RPG’s, what is the future of RPG’s?” via twitter. It got me thinking, as do most things he says. My quick response was that RPG’s will coexist with shooters, that there won’t be an RPG as we know it now ten years down the road. I think I’d like to rescind that statement as I may not have thought it completely through.

RPG’s as we know them now will exist ten years down the road. I can’t say there won’t be a day when they cease to exist, but for the foreseeable future they’re here to stay. Having said that I think they’ll go through some changes. I think a lot of them will start to incorporate more co-op options as the online space continues to grow and increase in popularity. Gamers have spoken and we want co-op, even in our 50+ hour RPG’s. Hopefully the upcoming Hunted: Demons Forge can fuse the two in such a way that gamers rejoice and developers learn a valuable lesson.  

The question as it was asked was "The future of shooters is RPG's" but shooters with RPG elements have been around for a while. More and more games incorporate elements more commonly found in RPG’s. Off the top of my head, Bioshock stands out as a great example. Even games like Madden are becoming increasingly more like RPG’s and less like football sims with the ability to level up and manage teams in far greater detail than they were 10 years ago. The best example may be Call of Duty with the inclusion of perks and weapon loadouts. The multiplayer is, in the strictest sense of the word, an RPG. You grind to gain levels and unlocks. It’s genius and as sales figures can attest, extremely popular.

So my final answer? We’ll see the marriage of RPG’s and shooters come to a head. I think games like Mass Effect and its sequel go a long way in showing how well the two can exist as one. It isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely a stepping stone in the right direction. At the same time RPG purists won’t be left by the wayside. They’ll have their fill, but maybe not as often as they’d like.    
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HitmanAgent47

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#2  Edited By HitmanAgent47

The future of rpgs is shooters, or shooting elements like mass effect. Or simply better shooting mechanics or sword fighting mechanics almost like an action game retaining it's rpg design.  
 
What if cliffy b was wrong about saying the future of shooters is rpg?

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#3  Edited By Dany
@HitmanAgent47 said:
"

The future of rpgs is shooters, or shooting elements like mass effect. Or simply better shooting mechanics or sword fighting mechanics almost like an action game retaining it's rpg design.

"
So to put simply, they need to make their games better or cover the rpg with shooter and sword mechanics?
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#4  Edited By HitmanAgent47
@Dany: i'm not psychic, so I don't know what the future will bring for the genre, however I believe that's true. For example, dragon age orgins and oblivion could use better sword play mechanics right? They tried to improve the action gameplay with dragon age orgins 2 (hopefully oblivion skyrim will improve alot too) while still retaining the tactical map pausing stuff in dragon age 2. Look at fallout 3, the shooting mechanics were absolutely horrible and in the future, it probally will improve. So it's not just some wrpg with tacted on shooting mechanics. Mass effect 2 gets this right though with their rpg elements and also their cover system. Also you might see oblivion games or dragon age games in the future with mechanics that are nearly as good as devil may cry 4, yet in an rpg world. That's my opinion, I can only speculate.
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Sin4profit

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#5  Edited By Sin4profit

RPGs, or at least open world games, serve single player DLC better then linear shooters so it only makes sense that the future would cash in on that market formula.

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jacksukeru

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#6  Edited By jacksukeru

You can't turn a game into a shooter if it doesn't have guns.

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Scruss

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#7  Edited By Scruss
@HitmanAgent47: @HitmanAgent47: He may be wrong, I don't know. I'm responding to his question as if it were true. A hypothetical if you will.
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deactivated-57aaaa9329732

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the future of RPGs is more user/player interaction and less cut-scenes and menu driven combat.  

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#9  Edited By Scruss
@odintal: I would appreciate that a lot. I don't mind cut-scenes but they detract from epic quests. I mean, if I'm playing an "ok" RPG I don't mind cut-scenes as they break up the monotony of the terrible game-play or narrative. But as far as a good RPG goes, I don't want anything interfering.
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iam3green

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#10  Edited By iam3green

more games are becoming RPG or have elements in them. i think there will be more things with them. there are going to be more online things going on with that also.

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#11  Edited By Gizmo

I'm totally OK with RPG's 'dumbing' down, the people who want them to stay the way they have been been for decades can enjoy their Eastern Bloc RPG's, while the rest of the gaming world, you know, progresses and improves the genre.

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adoggz

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#12  Edited By adoggz

The future of RPG's is fighting games. Just wait untill Bioware finally releases Jade Empire 2 and revolutionizes how people think about both genres *hope*

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#13  Edited By ClamFTW
@RockmanBionics said:

" You can't turn a game into a shooter if it doesn't have guns. "

Cover based shooter with crossbows, arrows and blowguns, hooooooooo!
 
EDIT - Didn't I hear on a podcast that there is actually a fantasy-themed GoW2 clone in development?  Brad had mentioned it.  Not that it's a good idea, mind you.
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#14  Edited By Lautaro
@Gizmo said:
" I'm totally OK with RPG's 'dumbing' down, the people who want them to stay the way they have been been for decades can enjoy their Eastern Bloc RPG's, while the rest of the gaming world, you know, progresses and improves the genre. "
That is such a condescending comment.
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#15  Edited By Gizmo
@Lautaro said:

" @Gizmo said:

" I'm totally OK with RPG's 'dumbing' down, the people who want them to stay the way they have been been for decades can enjoy their Eastern Bloc RPG's, while the rest of the gaming world, you know, progresses and improves the genre. "

That is such a condescending comment. "
I was reading Dave's blog about this issue, and he is a hell of a lot more eloquent on the matter. There are things I like about CRPG games, but there are more things I dislike about them... 
Borderlands, for example, takes the loot and gear equipping systems from the RPG genre, which are some of the main things you go to a RPG game for, right? It certainly isn't the gameplay. If I could get Dragon Age with Two Worlds 2 style game play without having to manage a party, or simplify it to giving commands in real time, I would prefer that. 
 
It's 3am and i'm probably talking rubbish, so I don't mean to offend any hardcore CRPG people.
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#16  Edited By Video_Game_King

I'm hoping the future of RPGs is strategy RPGs, à la Bahamut Lagoon or...Ogre Battle? That's the closest analog I can muster.

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#17  Edited By Palaeomerus

The future of rpg's is probably expanded dialogue options, lot's of crafting, custom building characters by filling slots with skill points but doing so in a non-obvious matter,  and "match 3 puzzles" (or other minigames like lockpicking) representing skill rolls.  Bethesda, Obsidian, and Bioware are all well ware of this. So is Irrational(who technically are not rpg people). That's why their latest and upcoming games are attempting to developing these features extensively.