|
The next generation of consoles is upon us. PS4 and XBox One will make their way into living rooms across the world this holiday season. We now know what to look forward to and we're buzzing with excitement. The games we will soon be playing, the heroes we will be meeting, the experiences we will be sharing; all this wonder and adventure await. Without looking at what games lie on the horizon and focusing only on E3, we all know it: Sony stole the show at this year's press conference. No DRM, offline compatible, acceptance of used games. This is all great news for gamers and now that the two giants have put their chips on the table it comes down to us. Who will we side with? Who will come out victorious? Of course I'm ready to vote with my dollars, but a question burns in my mind. What will the next generation bring with respect to Role Playing games? No doubt we will see graphical advances, more frantic battles, and temples so realistic you'd think you're actually there. But what about the stories to be told? The lessons to be learned? The emotional bonds to be formed? [img width=640 height=360]http://www.gametrailers.com/side-mission/files/2012/04/Ni-No-Kuni-Mom.jpg[/img] What I'm really asking is will future RPGs make me care about what's going on within the worlds they present? To put this into perspective I am emotionally invested in Ni No Kuni's , Oliver because I feel his love for his mother echoes my love for mine, but I don't really feel like I will gain anything from seeing his story through to the end. Oliver seems to be a likable young boy, one with manners, respect, and a level head. But his friends are not as deep, and they appear to be merely tagging along for the ride. I mean their stakes in the journey aren't as compelling as Oliver's. On the other hand, I felt driven to guide Tidus and his companions to the conclusion of Final Fantasy X. Tidus needed Yuna and her guardians just as much they needed him. They completed each other and together they completed the story. It was a perfectly symbiotic relationship that created a masterpiece video game. Like a novel, a game must follow a satisfying narrative arc if it is to be worth our time. During gameplay and cutscenes which the player has earned the gamer has to learn about the hero's motivations and, upon the end credits, have made a connection to the cast and story. Film can accomplish this in two hours while some games fail to do so over forty hours. RPGs must use their medium expertly to convey their messages clearly and succinctly or they will fall by the way side. If the audience is intelligent enough they will glean from the story, the message needn't be shoved in our faces. Setting, conflict, and drama will be lost if they're shallow or gratuitous. I will still gladly enter a fantastical realm of monsters and magic but it must have meaning. Summoning fierce deities will still be fun, however I want to earn this power instead of receiving it as a means to continue the plot. I want a juicy steak with my gravy. The upcoming RPGs must deliver on this or else their fate simply doesn't look promising. If an Action-Adventure set in an fungal virus infected apocalypse promises more of an emotional roller coaster ride, RPG developers have to shift gears to avoid becoming cliche romps through beast riddled caverns. I've saved the world from hell-bent rivals hundreds of times. Now I want to look inside so as to make sense of the outside. Rescuing a character from a descent into madness or teaching the faithless heroine to be able to love will be enthralling. A demonic backdrop would still work. The monsters confronted during gameplay would be physical representations of the protagonist's inner turmoil. If we must continue to analyze the world around us consider defeating an alien race which would in turn teach of the dangers of misanthropy or a tainted moral compass. That would make for a wonderful story. [img width=700 height=500]http://www.andytyra.com/userfiles/cont6.jpg[/img] The oral tradition is a characteristic trait of humans. We need stories as they are the vessels used to relay culture, values, beliefs, and morals. The genre is by its very nature conducive to story-telling and as such I know these kinds of games can very well be the modern equivalent of Aesop's fables. Inasmuch I believe these games need to be thought provoking in order to earn their place among the greats - to stand the test of time. They need to be significant if they intend to be relevant. It's been twenty years since Secret of Mana hit the SNES and it's still relevant today. We're still discussing Final Fantasy VII after sixteen years. We will look back on Dragon's Dogma with as much admiration in five years time? Perhaps the Mass Effect trilogy will be the exception, but those are only three games from a vast console library. Will the Role Playing games of the early 2000s be as essential as those of the early 1990s? I accept that the halcyon days of RPGs ended long ago, but could there be a resurgence of great games just beyond the horizon? Will Noctis (Final Fantasy XV) or the hero of Capcom's yet-to-be-named game make their way into our psyche? It's time RPGs break the shackles they put around their wrists and take note from other video game genres, even film and literature. The future leaves us with many questions but that is to be expected. We should not fear the unknown, nor should we tread these uncharted waters with hesitation. Embrace the wonderment that is set to grace our TVs. Should we be disappointed, remember that we have two power weapons at our disposal. They are our voices and our wallets. I won't go so far as to say the future of gaming, and RPGs in particular, is bleak but it is uncertain. Uncertainty, though, is exciting. Just like coming home to a surprise party, loading the next epic journey could be just what we wanted.
Recent Entries Press Playcast Episode 92 - Bioshock Infinite (3/10/2023) Shoot the Core-cast Episode 053 - Fire Shark (1/6/2023) Shmup Club January 2023 - Metal Black (1/4/2023) Press Playcast Episode 91 - Doki Doki Literature Club (1/2/2023) Shoot the Core-cast Episode 052 - Deathsmiles (12/6/2022)
To use your metaphor, I hope in the future, the "gravy" doesn't work to mask the taste of the "steak." Nice work!
|
Linear RPGs are dead to me. Give me a complicated sandbox, let me be immoral, and I'll make my own damn stories.
|
The RPG genre continues to evolve nicely, and I'm fairly happy with the paths it has taken. BioWare has made some really great RPGs, and some decent re-skins of the classics have really taken hold on handhelds.
Personally, I look forward to RPGs in the future. No doubt great things to come.
|
Good stuff. From one old (and more than a bit jaded) RPG gamer to another, thanks.
|
Great Read, I wonder the same thing about the Dark Souls Games. Dark Souls is my favorite game series in recent years but,will i remember the weird haunting story it brings or will I remember the difficulty of the game more. I know I will remember Earthbound for its story and characters, but I doubt I will remember the characters of Dark Souls. I have yet to try out Ni No Kuni, and the more people talk about it the more I want to play it.
Thanks for posting this, it made me think about games I grew up with and how that has shaped my ideas of what I envision when I think about video games.
|
The Japanese are flipping out that FF XV is going to be an action game.
|
@Duke.Togo: I'm not unhappy with the current path of RPGs and I have high hopes for the future, but it seems as though JRPGs in particular are getting stuck in a rut of cliches.
@bombatomba: You're welcome ![Wink](http://www.rfgeneration.com/forum/Smileys/RFG/wink.gif)
@Fokakis79: Yep, these newer games don't seem to have as powerful impacts as the classics. Can't lose faith though.
|
@OatBob: I'm flipping out at the rebranding of Versus XIII into FFXV - let Fabula Nova Crystallis end within the XIII brand name, then move onto XV with a fresh slate.
BTW, am I the only one who thinks that Noctis(?) sounds like Natsu Dragneel?
|
@OatBob: The Japanese were the only ones that LIKED FFXIII as well, and buy the static Dragon Quest games like candy. They hate change and challenge apparently.
I think the problem with games from Japan anymore is there is an easy excuse for developers that find their games derided abroad. The FFXIII devs said that foreigners don't understand Japanese culture and storytelling. No, we understand how to tell good stories though, the basic philosophy has no culture. FFXIII was a terrible story, stop bullshitting and learn how to write a good story by reading one or playing through a few better games.
Suikoden, Okami, and, more recently, the Valkyria Chronicles series, tell obviously Japanese inspired stories, and they are great. Why? They know how to tell good stories, know that its not all graphics horsepower and camera angles, they know that sappy music doesn't make the player feel emotionally involved with a character's death when they've only known said character for like 10 minutes if that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMGQOX1zKdA
Who are these people? Who cares? Why have I never seen most of them before and why am I supposed to care about these random deaths? In game context this scene comes out of nowhere, and I'll never understand what the purpose of it is since the focus bounces all over the room. Hell, I could never remember Drace's name because she's not important in the slightest. This type of crap is what's wrong with Square Enix, and since their games are so popular it has rubbed off on other developers.
Sorry that turned into a rant.
|
There are still RPGs that come out that interest me, but they seem far fewer to me these days. This last generation was particularly sparse I thought and I'm a very concerned that this new generation is going to follow suit or have even less to offer me in the RPG realm. I don't like sandbox style games, positive/negative choice trees or action styled combat as much as turn based.
I'm definitely on the pessimistic side when it comes to many of my favorite genres moving forward. I think there will still be enough for me to play and be happy at least for now. But it feels like I need to look harder and harder each new gen for games that appeal to my tastes. I'm lazy and don't want to have to put as much effort into finding games to play as I occasionally do.
|
@Crabmaster2000: I think the proliferation of "western-style" RPG games in it's current form (sandbox, static and easily manipulated moral choices) is nothing more than a fad. Not to say that I think the old-school JRPG will ever come back to the forefront (I do not), but nothing in videogaming ever stays static for long.
|
I have to agree with Crabby that RPGs aren't the same anymore. But I'm embracing the change. More action-y games are fine (I thought The Last Story was great). I also like my RPGs to be linear because it's story that I'm after. A sandbox, morally ambiguous game just becomes too much. The main point of the game gets lost because there are too many possibilities and open-ended scenarios.
|
@Fleach: i agree, some games with open endings can be amazing (Heavy Rain), but there is a place and time for that. In games like The Last of Us, multiple endings would have taken away from the beauty of the ending and the moral ambiguity. Multiple endings make us say "what ending did you choose and why?" instead of "do you agree with the choices the characters made? why/why not?"
|
@techwizard: Games with a variety of endings are fine. Heavy Rain is a great example of how multiple story lines converge. It's effective because it's linear and non-linear at the same time. All the endings are twists on two the possible outcomes (boy is saved or boy isn't). Thanks for the thought provoking comment ![Cheesy](http://www.rfgeneration.com/forum/Smileys/RFG/cheesy.gif)
|
i see so many people talk about linear in a negative sense, when most games are linear including some of the best. open world and multiple endings can be amazing and awesome, but that doesn't make linear games and single endings automatically bad. it's like saying a kid's "Choose Your Own Adventure" book is better than any of the great literature, solely because it has multiple endings. /rant
i know you said you prefer linear too, not meaning these points as a counter to what you've said. i just mean it against the general gaming public, and the onslaught of hate on linear in game reviews and such.
|
I didn't take any of that personally and I think we share some values when it comes to narrative in games. My thought is that the games that are praised for non-linearity actually mask their linearity in the good/evil path choices. At the end of the game the player was guided down a set path.
You're right about the comment regarding linear games being downplayed for essentially no reason. I think it's because the audiences don't exactly know what they want.
|
Login or register to comment
|
It appears as though you are not a member of our site, or are not logged in.
|
It appears as though you can not comment currently. Becoming able to comment though is easy! All you need to do is register for the site! Not only will you be able to access any other site features including the forum and collection tools. If you are a registered user and just need to login then you can do so here.
Comment! It's easy, thoughtful, and who knows you might just enjoy it!
|
|
|
|
|
Database Search
|
Site Statistics
Total Games:
|
148684
|
Total Hardware:
|
10864
|
Total Scans:
|
183764
|
Total Screenshots:
|
83267
|
[More Stats] |
|
Our Friends
|
Updated Entries
(PC)
(PS4)
(eShop)
(eShop)
(PS5)
(PS5)
(DC)
(DC) |
Updated Collections
|
New Forum Topics
|
New on the Blogs
|
Nielsen's Favorite Articles
|
|
|
|