Why do people love RPGs so much?

I've noticed that in recent years, there's been a lot of praise and talk of RPG games, mostly action-RPGs. You know, Dark Souls, The Witcher, Fallout, Elder Scrolls. Games like that. Gamers love talking about them all the time, and most gamers these days choose RPGs as their favorite genre. Why is that?

I've played some of these games, and to be honest, I've always preferred the more traditional action games, like GTA, Uncharted, Infamous, Bayonetta and games like that.

I'm not saying you can't like them, but I personally just can't really get into most of them, both action and turn-based. Maybe I just prefer my games to be more arcadey.

Why to people like chicken so much?

They just do!

Because they do 50X more damage than a gun. Oh wait, not the RPG you're talking about. lol :P

Anyway, I'm not nearly as big on them as I used to be, too time consuming for me these dayzzz.

RPG is probably the most boring genre of all time. only RPG i love are Deus Ex and System shock 2 but they are blend with FPS.

be it witcher, be it fallout, be it mass effect, be it dark soul. what they have common? they all have terrible combat.

the lenghty dialouge system always bored me.

RPGs have a root in table top Dungeons and Dragons.

So the older core fans of RPGs are/where D&D players.

Over the years in the past because of this reality the sales figures suggested that people wanted RPGs (because of the older generation or role play gamers).

Businesses do not change when the sales figures look appealing, even if the gaming demographics change.

Once a product is considered the companies 'target' they pump massive amounts of money into marketing.

leaving the next generation of gamers inundated with advertising and what many of us know, people like what they are told to like and that is that.

that is the story, a lot of parts I hope I illustrated them to a point of understanding.

Yeah, that's why I don't like them. I find them boring.

I guess this is the main reason we have different ‘genres’ within gaming. They give different people with different tastes a chance to enjoy games that they like.

If RPGs was all we had it would be awful or the 12 games that ghost4ever likes.

I like traditional RPGs that rely on RNG more than action RPGs. It's fun to be able to take your time and plan your next move. Some action RPGs are still fun, but they would be better as straight action games without the leveling system, imo.

The only thing I see wrong with RPGs nowadays is they're so very rooted into the medieval swords and shields (plus magic) theme.

I love RPGs that are set into modern (or futuristic) times.

yeah that is an artifact of table top dungeons and dragons which is likely most of the early gamers.

its soo over done now though

@tryit: It’s also due to the Dungeon and Dragon cartoon that was around in the 80’s. People loved that.

I played a lot of D&D back in the 80s and I have no idea what cartoon you are talking about.

The history of the why is how i have described it.

@tryit: The cartoon had a little unicorn and bunch of kids that went on a fairground ride and ended up in Dungeons and Dragon land.

It’s part of the history as well. Most people who got into Dungeons and Dragons was because of the cartoon.

I can't speak for all RPG fans, but I would say it has a lot to do with freedom and immersion that comes from player agency to really interact with the world around them, where the story experience is heavily player driven rather than linear and entirely scripted. And sure there can be times when there are guided moments, but usually not without some measure of player freedom.

When done right the character is essentially an extension of the player, that they can define the character not only in appearance (always a fun in customization) but in expression of how they approach situations and interact with their party and other inhabitants of the world, creating an experience of being your own character in the story rather than simply steering someone else's, that deepens the player engagement.

This also leads to the fun in exploring diverse character builds; in skills, combat styles, class combos, or any way there is to come up with an original/unique mix of skills and specializations... a feature which affords a wealth of replay value in trying the game in new ways.

In a medium that's defined as interactive, RPG's provide the best tools for an interactive experience in mechanics and narrative engagement.

do you ever get bored with this?

Yeah, FPS games were oversaturated last gen, and this gen, it's RPGs.

@tryit: Yeah, most people didn’t watch it for that long and got bored of it.

given the technology itself allows for expression that far exceeds movies, TV, novels by a large margin I really wish the industry would start to explore different ideas more often then it does.

I like them when they are done right. I like story telling and progression. If I can get lost in a world and get rewarded with deep lore and rare itemsfor digging into every nook and Cranny... I'm happy.

I also enjoy the faster paced games. There is a time and place for everything.

Different tastes? I don't even like most of the RPGs TC listed as I'm mor einto JRPGs. I'm into anything where you have to think, really. Turn based Strategy games, RTS, SRPGs, turn based JRPGs and then some action oriented RPGs.

Well you could say it's the fact of RPGS being one of the first popular genres whenever these gaming consoles first established. As well it requiring from my pof, much more skill which defines you as a gamer...

There's plenty of room for both but RPG as a genre is really defined more by its mechanics as a means to create player driven engagement. And this core gameplay isn't tied to any setting or theme.

While medieval fantasy is predominant from the D&D roots, we have seen futuristic sci-fi,... even the blend of the two such as radically advanced technology as the implementation of reality manipulation, what's usually referred to as "technomagic". Or dark futures where magic arises out of the fall of technological civilizations, derelict cities and machinery as a backdrop to the worlds history that's part of a mythology to the present day generation of sword and magic wielders, either knowing or speculating what happened to the old city builders. I actually really love those.

Ultimately, as mechanics and design aren't tied to any particular setting, there's plenty of themes for RPG's to explore; be that vampire (like Masquerade), steampunk, cyberpunk, western, samurai, witchcraft, Victorian England, Mythologies of the Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Babylonian... if the developers would just think outside the D&D box, sky's the limit.

They do?

even in the late 80s and 90s there were some table top RPGs that were not fantasy based. I was a fanboi of Traveler in fact.

but your right, they need to be braver about experimenting.

Honestly, I wish they had more creative Baldurs Gate-like Dungeon and Dragons RPG adventures.

FPS get old after awhile. Love a good strategy game though.

Have you played Divinity Original Sin, either the first or second?

I used to be really big on longer RPGs, but nowadays prefer shorter arcadey action games.

I grew up playing RPG's. They were always my favorite genre because of the world building and characterization. Games like FFVII, The Legend of Dragoon, Shenmue, Skyrim, The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, etc. all felt like I was getting an experience that I wouldn't get anywhere else. My friends used to be bored af trying to watch me play RPG's and they'd ask why I was willing to do so much reading. I let them know that any game that I'm playing should have good characters and a deep storyline because I need to know the characters and what they're fighting for.

Because they afford me a steady sense of progression, oftentimes of my own custom characters.

@TAMKFan:

If you're not a fan then you'll never understand. I treat them like books and it's easy to get immersed in them when you play as much as I do. Not only are their stories much larger in scale but there's just so much depth you can get that you just can't from adventure games or any other genre.

It's not the mechanics I'm thinking of as much as the setting. It's the developer's perogative to choose what the setting their RPG would be in. I don't play many games and I can't think of many recent RPGs that are in a modern/futuristic setting. Some of the more obvious ones I can think of are the Bethesda Fallout games and even they get questioned as to whether they are RPGs or not. Personally, if I take away the combat mechanics, they still are RPGs.

I'd love to see an RPG set in the Battletech/Mechwarrior universe. It seems to me Bethesda would be in the best position to create one, considering they already have many of the pieces in place.

RPGs are my favorite genre. There's usually a variety of things to do, not just the same thing over and over. I also like building up characters and tailoring them to my style of play, not just grabbing a gun and pulling the trigger over and over. RPGs tend to be open world, much more fun to me than linear play. I like the thought process of crafting systems and again, tailoring a character to how I want to play the game with crafting as well. I also like good looking armor and weapons.

But the best part of RPGs is getting lost and immersed into the world, lore, story, characters (including the one you've built) and being able to do that for sometimes over 100 hours.

Because yo mama

@AdobeArtist: Right on my brotha!

And others find Point and click FPS games boring too? Especially single player ones where you litterally just walk around an on-rails theme park waiting for the next shiny explosion. "But but the feels when generic marine/commando sacrifices his life to save the protaganists again! and that QTE final face off with the baddy!"

Uncharted? oh look, dated shooting mechanics and climbing... climb, shoot, climb shoot.. maybe solve a baby's first puzzle.. climb so more.. "OH NO THE LEDGE IS LOOSE AGAIN, my heart is pounding!!! /s"

Grand theft auto? pretty much just driving around, with dated Shooting mechanics and playing Google Map simulator? Where most of the missions ended up being boring because the devs take the game too seriously now compared to earlier ones.... so you end up with a google maps test sandbox with a b grade crime comedy/drama.

Dues Ex? terrible absolutely TERRIBLE combat mechanics, pretty ironic in this discussion.... (the original 2 anyway) Dues Ex (1) was great because of its RPG mechanics/choices/potential builds/specs etc... the bread and butter of any RPG.

System Shock was of a different generation, where Shooters experimented alot more and didn't shy away from having depth. Those days are gone, meanwhile you get collectaphon garbage like Far Cry 5 getting 9/10 in their place.

The universal constant the reason I would say people like RPGs is because they like regular and meaningful power progression. Going from a lowly bum too weak to fight sewer rats, to defeating god-like beings, over a lengthy period of story and context, can feel immensely rewarding. Doubly so if the game gives you freedom to progress how you'd like, and pick and choose from a wide set of options.

Well for me there’s a whole variety of reasons as to why I enjoy RPG’s. Some of those are:

- the stories in them

- leveling my character or characters

- combat system

- character and enemy designs

- exploration of the game world

- acquiring and using various spells, weapons, and armours

I enjoy a variety of RPG’s and most types of combat systems however my preference lies with JRPG’s with turn-based combat. As cliched as it may be I really enjoy the whole epic “world in peril” kind of JRPG’s. The more grandiose it is, the better.

Only some one like ghost4ever can claim that dark souls has terrible combat. Literally dude upgrade your taste in games.

I like action based RPGs. I just hate the turned based ones. The only turn based game I'll deal with in modern times is Pokemon, nothing else.

In the really good ones, the gameplay merges with the story to create a wholly immersive experience, one that you feel invested in from both gameplay and story perspectives

It's one of the few successful effects of the Soviet initiative to destabilize Western society. First it was fluoride in our drinking water, then came overwhelming enjoyment of manipulating numbers to create fictional statistical confrontations. But now the plan is entering its final phase: total dystopian subversion.

dark soul is shoddy console port. i played for few hours and it show xbox button prompts on my computer. lazy design.

System shock is back my friend. both System shock 3 and System shock remake are still coming. both by different developers.

PREY is closest thing to system shock today. incredible, incredible game.

Is gaming perferences a matter of taste?