The evolution of the genre

(If there's a similar thread somewhere, feel free to merge or close this one - I searched but didn't find a relevant thread).

From time to time I think it's interesting to hear in what direction(s) fellow RPG fans think the genre should develop.

I'm pretty happy with the genre as it is right now, but would like to see a few changes:

• 
  More party-based AAA games - most AAA RPGs these days are single-character games. Preferably with first-person or third-person perspective. Right now I can only think of BioWare that makes party-based RPGs.

• 
  More sci-fi RPGs in general.

• 
  I don't complete many RPGs and would like more games with a shorter playtime - but less filler content. Not 10-hours-short, but maybe in the 20-30 hours range.

• 
  More good traditional JRPGs on consoles or PC - the traditional JRPGs have largely migrated to handhelds, and most of the few games that are released for consoles or PC are seemingly not as good as 10-15 years ago.

That's it - over to you

EDIT: Accidentally deleted "but less filler content".

1. Actually majority of games are turned into duo "fantasticus" which is not bad at all. Sadly, solo RPGs became nothing but grinders. And even more sadly, did you play anything that was released this year except DA3? Unlike you, I can't think of a single proper RPG (not yucky grinder) that is solo game.

2. And I say less sci fi and less fantasy, more "based on TV show or movie" stuff like The Stick of Truth.

3. RPGs just cry to be epic. Short walkthrough is a thing for nostory dull shooters. But who says there aren't short RPGs? Consortium is short. Mars: War Logs is short. Etc. It's just that… Those are RPG. When you finish them, you'd kill someone for just a few hours more.

4. No to any kind of grinding! No to endless filler! Just no!

That's from me.

Well, I can't say I'm 100% on board with the direction RPGs are heading, but 2014 was a great year that sort of brought back my confidence with this evolution.

My top things (all applying to RPGs) would be:

1 - More slower-paced adventures. I like starting very weak in the beginning of RPGs and slowly working my way up to a powerful character. Good loot should be rare, the difficulties many, and the challenge high.

2 - I'd like to see less "interactive movies", and more games that have complex mechanics. Less movies, more interactivity. Forget the cutscenes. If you're going to do cutscenes, DON'T transport us to the magical land of CGI filmwork, have the cutscene happen right in the game (like The Elder Scrolls games).

3 - Less level-scaling, more smart designing. Since I'm playing Gothic 2 now, I don't really need to mention this. Just copy the design of G2, and you'll have yourself a great RPG

4 - More hand-crafted worlds. I like exploring those nooks and crannies of the map and finding that wonderful encounter, or rare item, flower, vista, etc. More attention should be paid to this sort of handmade world-crafting.

5 - Long, epic play-times, but not filled with junk or filler. Have a constantly evolving world. Open up new mechanics when you're 20 hours into the game, then flip the script at 40 hours. Keep things fresh as you go and surprise the player with twists in the gameplay aspects (not just twists in the cinematics!)

I could write a book probably, but I'll stop here . Long live RPGs!

Well I'll add my four answers just like Joxer did. So here we go.

1. A mixture of both party-based AAA games/Indie games, and I wouldn't mind a few more solo games as long as their just not the Hack and slash variety.

2. I want to see more settings like Cyberpunk & Steam Punk, and like Joxer said above a few more original RPGs based on comics, movies, or books.

3. As for game length I happen to want games to have at least thirty hours of content without all the filler quests. I also don't mind shorter or longer games.

4. Well as for me I want more JRPGs on the PC , and Steam seems to be providing more of them. So I want this trend to continue as there is a lot of games that can be ported.

That's about all I have to say now what about you guys?

Update: I now what you asked but I'm just to lazy today so this was easier.

Fluent is right.

I would add that CRPGs should not move in one "best" direction.
I like diversity, variety in games.

I like Dungeon Crawlers and I like story driven games.
I like survival sandbox games and I like Visual Novels.
I like Tower Defense games and I like Rogue games.
I like Space Sims and Adventures.
I like Strategy games and tactical squad games.
I like Textbook games and Monarchy Sims.
I like single avatar and I like party CRPGs
…

There's is no 'one best direction', there are many ways how good games with roleplaying elements can be made. 2014 delivered a lot of very different CRPGs.
I hope this trend continues.

joxer/Couchpotato:

I don't know if it wasn't clear, but my list wasn't meant to be questions, so feel free to make your own lists

That said, any comments on my list, or other people's lists, is part of the point with threads like this, in my opinion - so answer/comment all you want

I'll be back with more comments later…

PS:
If we are talking about role playing game elements, I would like to see that the devs in general focus more on

(a) Character creation/development is critical for the game and changes a way through the game
(b) Player and character choices in the game should have consequences (on character, story, exploration, combat, …), some choices should be irreversible

(a)+(b) combined lead to games with a higher replay value.

Here are things I want to see changing/happening:

1. I want more party based RPGs, companions with good dialogues, histories, quest of their own not just mindless followers. Also, I don't want these RPGs are from AAA only.

2. I want more balanced RPGs as in, the one with both good amount of combats and writing (don't mind if this is presented in cinematic form). Many games can only do either well, but not both.

3. I want relatively long game (honestly, both ME series and DA series's has been far too short in length with the exception on DA:I), but with minimal the filler contents. Also, I want side quests to be meaningful and ties to plot or characters, and not just simple fetch quests.

4. I want to see more effort going into small details. Something fun for player to stumble onto that's not necessarily important to finish the game. For example, weapon descriptions in BG series. And please don't throw those like wiki article like DA handled it with codex entry. Make it sweet and short.

That's all I can think of for now. I personally prefer high fantasy, but there are tons out there and wouldn't mind seeing good RPGs in different settings.

purpleblob said:

Something fun for player to stumble onto that's not necessarily important to finish the game. For example, weapon descriptions in BG series. And please don't throw those like wiki article like DA handled it with codex entry. Make it sweet and short.

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Abso-freakin'-lutely agree! I loved those weapon descriptions in the BG series. Small details like that seem to be overlooked nowadays.

Fluent said:

2 - I'd like to see less "interactive movies", and more games that have complex mechanics. Less movies, more interactivity. Forget the cutscenes. If you're going to do cutscenes, DON'T transport us to the magical land of CGI filmwork, have the cutscene happen right in the game (like The Elder Scrolls games).

Click to expand...

You mean something like this (guess what's cinematic and what isn't in there):

joxer, That's exactly what I DON'T want to see in video games...

Not saying I haven't enjoyed games with cutscenes, of course I have, but I think games like Skyrim have the best style of "cutscenes" that I like. They don't remove you from the game world and they are congruous with the actual world you are playing in.

I'll go back to a game I'm playing now - Gothic 2. Very simple "cutscenes". Most of the world is highly interactive and is not a "slightly interactive movie". I like a lot of toys to play with in my RPG worlds and those movie games just don't have enough for me.

Well fluent I don't mind interactive movies in my RPGs. As I grew up playing JRPGs and as you probably know they were the first games to use massive amounts of CGI.

So I don't buy the argument about interactive movies ruining immersion. As for Bioware they just perfected a game style that was already done before.

Anyway just my preference as this seems to bother many Western RPG players. I just have to read how JRPG games get reviewed on the internet nowadays.

Also before I get flamed I have no problem playing games like Skyrim, or Gothic. There some of the best games I have played in the last couple of years.

I'm not saying interactive movies aren't fun games, too. I played Final Fantasy 7 as a kid and thought it was the greatest game I had played. I just prefer a more organic approach nowadays.

Skyrim's style of cutscenes is my favorite now. I like when everything takes place in the game world, and it's more interactive that way.

It's just a preference, though. I would still play a Mass Effect game, or a Dragon Age game and have fun with it.

Since online is the new DRM, I suspect that more and more RPGs will become online games for groups (miltiplayer in one form or in another), than singleplayer offline games - at least that's what I expect from the biggest publishers, not from Indies, though.

I have not the slightest idea what Indies will do - and I actually like being that clueless regarding Indies.
Because that means that there is an massive overload of creativity still going on.

joxer said:

Unlike you, I can't think of a single proper RPG (not yucky grinder) that is solo game.

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There are many good party-based RPGs, just not many - good or bad - with AAA production budgets, especially ones with first or third person perspective. Or maybe I haven't found them yet, but I doubt it - but I actually hope I'm wrong

Fluent said:

5 - Long, epic play-times, but not filled with junk or filler.

Click to expand...

I think that is problematic from a budget perspective, even for AAA games. But yeah, in theory in would be awesome.

HiddenX said:

I would add that CRPGs should not move in one "best" direction.
I like diversity, variety in games.
(…)
There's is no 'one best direction', there are many ways how good games with roleplaying elements can be made. 2014 delivered a lot of very different CRPGs.
I hope this trend continues.

Click to expand...

I very much agree with this. The worst thing that could happen to the genre is it becoming stagnant for a long time. Sadly that was more or less the case just a few years back, but now the genre is much broader due to stuff like Kickstarter and better tools etc for indie developers.

Overall, I'm fairly happy with the RPG genre at the moment, but there are two things I'd like to see more of:

More RPGs with non-fantasy settings
I'm not just talking about science fiction here, but others as well (Jade Empire, Fallout etc). I don't mind fantasy, but it seems like Mass Effect is the only major RPG franchise still alive that isn't fantasy. I guess a new Fallout or Star Wars could be on the way, but nothing has been confirmed so far.

Living, breathing worlds with a good atmosphere
I don't know why this is so hard to do, but very few actually pull it off. Gothic 1-2 are the best examples, and even PB hasn't been able to reproduce the fantastic atmosphere those games had. I would certainly like to see more of this, and less MMO inspired worlds where most NPCs are shop keepers, quest givers or have nothing to say.

I would like to see more games with a great story, something to remember a long time after you played. Like Chrono Trigger, some of the older FF games, Deus Ex and so on....