Skyrim - Look at the size of that box!

Oh Lord, it's the "what's an RPG" silliness again. No one can define it but everyone knows it when they see it.

Well then enlighten us or do you like to be condescending instead. I personally dont care I just wish they would stop putting labels on a game that dont fit.
 
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I guess there are several million definitions of "what is an RPG" walking around out there.

But on the other hand I'm glad that there has been at least *some* consent over sub-genres :

- Action-RPGs
- Shooter-RPGs
- Old School RPGs

For example.
 
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Well then enlighten us or do you like to be condescending instead. I personally dont care I just wish they would stop putting labels on a game that dont fit.

Many discussions descend into an unwinnable argument over "what is an RPG". If there are 100 active posters here there we could probably not get 2 of them to agree to the same definition.
 
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Many discussions descend into an unwinnable argument over "what is an RPG". If there are 100 active posters here there we could probably not get 2 of them to agree to the same definition.

Yet those two could still find a game they wouldn't agree was an RPG ;)
 
It's impossible to agree on the definition of a game genre since we can't even agree on what a 'genre', a 'game' or even a 'definition' is.
 
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As long as people don't get mad, it is an interesting topic. Of course, people get mad real quick when their pet game doesn't get designated as an "rpg" by the community.

Is Deus Ex a crpg? My criteria would make it one, just barely. It has exploration, loot acquisition, and character building (via augmentations). It also has minor choice and consequences, but not enough to call it a "dialogue-crpg". I played it vanilla the first time through and this time I'm adding a mod that decreases the size of guns in the inventory and allows you to stack unlimited amounts of ammo. To me, the inventory system was a hassle, and not a strategic element that increased enjoyment.

Will Skyrim be a crpg? It'll probably be more of one than Deus Ex, but you can bet the storyline won't please the haters :) TES works for me because of the rewarding exploration. I like finding places and filling in the map. Back when maps were grids, I wouldn't be happy unless every square was uncovered. In Morrowind, Oblivion, and the Fallouts, I want every possible location to be visited. In Skyrim, the game will flag the icons as "cleared" if you finish a dungeon. That will be my goal this time, to have every map icon read cleared :)
 
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I guess there are several million definitions of "what is an RPG" walking around out there.

But on the other hand I'm glad that there has been at least *some* consent over sub-genres :

- Action-RPGs
- Shooter-RPGs
- Old School RPGs

For example.

Except that in recent years the Action part of Action-RPGs seems to have been dropped or even implied in many cases. For example, in the 90s The Elder Scrolls was considered by many to be an Action-RPG and these days most people just call it an RPG. (IMO it's still an Action-RPG)
 
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Yes, these things shift and bexcome distorted … This also means that "Action" has become SO MUCH "mainstream", that it has become kind of "industry standard", nowadays.

It might be even so that people might begin to say one day : "Non-Action RPGs are not really RPGs" … It ould be interesting to see how the pendulum swings back, then, because people usually prefer to implement things that achieve lots of attention.
And that would be : "No action ! A novelty !"
 
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Yes, these things shift and bexcome distorted … This also means that "Action" has become SO MUCH "mainstream", that it has become kind of "industry standard", nowadays.

It might be even so that people might begin to say one day : "Non-Action RPGs are not really RPGs" … It ould be interesting to see how the pendulum swings back, then, because people usually prefer to implement things that achieve lots of attention.
And that would be : "No action ! A novelty !"

Well casual and mobile games have already sort of started that trend with non action based RPG and RPG hybrid games, but I think for consoles and computer games, and particularly ones that look near photorealistic, the expectation is to be about to push a button and slash and/or shoot everything in sight.

I don't think people would know what to do with a photorealistic game that didn't have real time, action based combat but as soon as you make something cartoony or stylized, they will readily accept it.
 
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Oblivion/mass effect/skyrime will be just as much an rpg as the witcher 1 and 2 are....silly to think otherwise.
 
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It's impossible to agree on the definition of a game genre since we can't even agree on what a 'genre', a 'game' or even a 'definition' is.

Exactly and that's why the genre is such a mess nobody can agree what is a rpg. That's how company's get away with slapping that title on a game. Till we do we will keep getting into these type of discussions.

Gotta love how 10 different people will never agree and have there own opinion. Just remember this slogan One man's trash is another man's treasure.o_O
 
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Well not only can nobody agree about what the definition is of a RPG, but nobody can come up with a definition for one that doesn't either include games that they don't personally consider a RPG, or exclude ones that they do. Usually it's both.

For example my definition of a RPG is that your character has to have stats that influence the results of your actions beyond pure player skill. I think that's a very reasonable definition and it's the one that most people in the industry use. But it's also very flawed, as it would result in both Madden Football and Modern Warfare 2 being defined as RPGs.
 
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Well not only can nobody agree about what the definition is of a RPG, but nobody can come up with a definition for one that doesn't either include games that they don't personally consider a RPG, or exclude ones that they do. Usually it's both.

For example my definition of a RPG is that your character has to have stats that influence the results of your actions beyond pure player skill. I think that's a very reasonable definition and it's the one that most people in the industry use. But it's also very flawed, as it would result in both Madden Football and Modern Warfare 2 being defined as RPGs.

True and that's were people say every game is a rpg because you roleplay a character. A valid point but that doesn't make the game a rpg. As I said its all because no one can agree or define what the genre is.
 
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but I think for consoles and computer games, and particularly ones that look near photorealistic, the expectation is to be about to push a button and slash and/or shoot everything in sight.

For the PC platform, I'm rather thinking of it as a "degenerated platform", as I tried to describe it here : http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1061062585&postcount=30

Considering that, it is no surprise for me that expectations are like that.

For me, this graphics thing is nothing but a luxury problem.
Go on, buy these graphically great looking blenders with no story at all !

Me, I prefer good story over good graphics (at least to the level of graphics of Might & Magic 1), so I won't judge that.

I need brain food, much more than eyes food !
 
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True and that's were people say every game is a rpg because you roleplay a character. A valid point but that doesn't make the game a rpg. As I said its all because no one can agree or define what the genre is.

Right and some people take a more extreme view and say that a game isn't a RPG unless it has a detailed story, and allows you to make decisions that have a major effect on the plot. Which of course would rule out most of the games that defined the RPG genre, such as Wizardy, Ultima and Might and Magic.
 
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200 pages art book ? This might be some real weight !
I guess that would be the only thing interesting to me in that box. I really loved the Morrowind art book, although that also implied a lot of "what could have been". There were awesome sketches in there.

Other than that, I don't like big dust collectors like that statue. Which means no interest from me for this Collector's Edition.
 
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I guess that would be the only thing interesting to me in that box. I really loved the Morrowind art book, although that also implied a lot of "what could have been". There were awesome sketches in there.

I have the Morrowind collector's edition with the art book too and I think it's great but I also think Morrowind is such an 'artsy' game that there really is good reason to get the art book. I am not so sure that is the case here.

I will say Skyrim at least looks to have more style and uniqueness than Oblivion, but that isn't exactly difficult to achieve. :p
 
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Don't know about being more unique, I'd agree it does look better, more sober and realistic, like the shift from oblivion to fo3. Yet oblivion's art was already a good deal inspired from LOTR and when I first saw this screenshot I honestly thought it was from the LOTR MMO:

WhiterunExterior01_wLegal.jpg

Edoras.jpg


There's also a lot of stuff from the Beowulf CG movie thrown in, right down to the fat horses.
 
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