Mass Effect 2 - On RPGs and Genre Classification

[LuckyCarbon]

I think LuckyCarbons idea is valid in concept, yet in practice some publishers might shun the idea because the guide data could influence a potential game purchaser *not* to buy the game. It would be better to remain fuzzy and sell rather than be clear yeilding not-so-good sales - but that would be initially, in time they would have to conform if a *certified* detailed guide system was agreed - there are too many game variables, i doubt it will ever happen.

Oh, no way it would ever actually happen. Even if they could agree on the 20-30 items to list there, they'd still lie 100% of the time. After all, this whole thread is about ME2 calling itself an RPG. Ha!

 

[holeraw]

ME2 is an Adventure game. It has strong FPS elements and mild RPG elements.
Why has the world forgotten the term Adventure game?

Well… 'Adventure game'…
here's a term that seems to confuse people even more than 'RPG' :lol:
No it's definitely not an Adventure game… not even close - it has no puzzles, there's no chance to get stuck trying to figure out what to do next, there's no lock you need to figure out the combination for, there's no instance when you need to figure out which object you need to 'use' on which other object etc…

The world has not forgotten the term at all. In fact it seems to me that adventure games are being developed more frequently than games of any other genre + they have a very active and successful indie scene. Just take a look in adventuregamers.com - there seems to be a review of a new game almost every day.

Still it seems to me that people tend to perceive the '(action-)adventure' label as a wild card that they stick on any game that they don't feel it meets their criteria it needs to belong in it's suggested genre.


(Also btw. @DArtagnan - I didn't yield but at the moment I can't post more than once or twice a day - if at all - and that tends to take the heat off of the discussion, so I dropped it truce?)

 

[DArtagnan]

(Also btw. @DArtagnan - I didn't yield but at the moment I can't post more than once or twice a day - if at all - and that tends to take the heat off of the discussion, so I dropped it truce?)

Haha, I almost didn't notice that

Truce? Sure - if you want to call it that. Personally, I was just trying to clarify where I stand - and I don't seek out conflicts.

Hehe, but they tend to land in my lap all the time online, anyway

 

[Greymane]

I'm sorry you have personally decided Adventure games are puzzle games, I don't happen to agree with you on that at all. ME2 is definitely an Adventure game.

 

[Arhu]

Heh, now even Adventures aren't save anymore from the mega genre mix that is ME2.

- Point & Click Adventures, or Classic Adventures like Monkey Island or TLJ, have puzzles. Lots of puzzles.
- Action-Adventures like Tomb Raider or Zelda have some puzzles too, but not as hardcore.
- Then of course there are Action-Adventure types that barely have any puzzles at all, just an adventure sort of story.

It should be clear which of the three describe ME2 best. That said, I think when people talk about "Adventures" they are normally talking about the classic kind, so a little confusion is to be expected — the same, albeit to an even greater extent, tends to happen with the RPG label, which is why it's such a tough beast to tame.

 

[Greymane]

I can agree with this Arhu.