This.

It's like saying Pac Man is an RPG because you play the role of Pac Man..

Please look up the definition of RPG, then come back to discuss the topic.

Many action adventure games can be labled as RPG's as well bc RPG stands for ROLE PLAYING GAME, (plz dont make me repeat that again) so zelda can be called an AA RPG. but nobody ever really cares about stupid things like that. they just want to tear into the game as much as possible.

lol tetris is a puzzle game

Pong was an RPG, I was a paddle.

Frogger was an RPG, I was an amphibian.

Q*bert was an RPG, I was a Q*bert.

actually its not flawed at all. are sports games rpgs no, are arcade fighters rpgs no, there are many examples. any game that doesnt make you take on specific role, is not an rpg!

:P That was MY point.

isnt pong more of a sports game resembling tenis
and frogger another puzzle game
idk what q bert is

We get it, you dont know what RPGs are.

actually you done seem to get that RPG's are role playing games and not stat playing games lol mainly what im saying is an rpg deosnt have to have player stats to be an rpg

But it does, stats make an RPG, otherwise your just playing Mario.

An RPG must have an emphasis on role-playing... jrpg's like Final Fantasy... are not really RPGs because there is no role playing involved. They are tactical squad based adventures. The last FF I played was 8 though, so maybe they changed after that. You need the ability to decided the character's personality and how it interacts with the story. The game world should be able to adjust to those changes. The ability to customize the character's history, physical appearance, and aptitudes are a large part of the RPG genre as well.

In other words... an RPG is defined by the ability to customize original characters, an interactive world and story that develop differently based on your character's personality and choices, and options for character's aptitudes and development.

Those are all included in RPGs to one degree or another, but to further simplify... an RPG has fully customizable character, story, and an adaptable world.

stats make for a good and in depth rpg, but they dont make a game an rpg, if that were so sports games are rpgs because the players have stats

No, read previous posts in the thread, this has already been discussed. Without stats, you have no RPG videogame.

umm im pretty sure you are the only one saying that

Every RPG videogame ever made had stats, they are a defining feature. without them you have no RPG. they do not define other genres, but do define the RPG. Otherwise all builds are the same, therefore they are not builds, your playing an action game. The games that you think are RPGs.

yes exactly thank you, its not the stats of your character that make the game an rpg

? His statement basically says stats are required for an RPG to occur.

Let's take F1 2011. I can take the roles of ambitious race drivers with each one having different personalities. If the game can let me use intimation, taunt mechanics and big crashes having long term consequences and some sacrifices plus teams working together or against other teams part of its simulation then it's an RPG. See, sports games are a lot suitable for RPGs. I also think L4D is maybe one step from an RPG. I can even call it an RPG actually, it fits for all its purposes. Just needs a bit realism and free roam features. It even has a dungeon master.

I somewhat agree with you though. Stats are needed for interactivity but I don't have to see them. And character customization is a huge plus but still not a must. Two characters with same built can be different because of the player input. Yeah, we need to input something.

yes i agree with almost everything you said there, accept that all rpg's evert made have stats, zelda is an RPG without character stats

No, you dont have to see them, but they have to be there to represent the variables. Otherwise everyone is the same at taunting, etc. That would be an action mechanic, unless there were variables.

exactly thank you lol

Dude, again, he just pointed out how stats are necessary for an RPG. Are you even reading these posts? If you have no stats and just an interactive 'choose your own adventure' its not an RPG. If I give you a premade character with no variable and you go out and fight the same enemy with the same stick and you only choose what you do and dont do, when given an obvious choice, its not an RPG.

lol he said nothing about stats being necessary he said not a must

A bunch of choices isn't what makes an RPG. That makes a choose your own adventure book/game.

Without stats, its an action game with choices. it can have every other element, but without stats, its not an RPG videogame. They've had stats since they were tabletop war games in the 60s. if you dont have stats and your just choosing left or right, its not an RPG. The Mass Effect generation think this, but its not.

im done arguing you will understand one day that RPG stands for ROLE PLAYING GAME