Editing Role-playing video game (section)

==Characteristics==
Role-playing video games use much of the same terminology, [[Campaign setting|settings]] and [[Game mechanics|game mechanic]]s as early [[tabletop role-playing game]]s such as ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author1=McNaughton, M. |author2=Schaeffer, J. |author3=Szafron, D. |author4=Parker, D. |author5=Redford J. | year=2004 | title=Code Generation for AI Scripting in Computer Role-Playing Games | publisher=American Association for Artificial Intelligence| url=https://www.aaai.org/Papers/Workshops/2004/WS-04-04/WS04-04-026.pdf | access-date=October 10, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604050604/https://www.aaai.org/Papers/Workshops/2004/WS-04-04/WS04-04-026.pdf | archive-date=June 4, 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref>
Players control a central game character, or multiple game characters, usually called a [[Party (role-playing games)|party]], that will grow in power and abilities. Also, characters are typically designed by the player.{{Sfn|Adams|Rollings|2003|p=347}} Usually, the characters attain victory by completing a series of [[Quest (video gaming)|quests]] or reaching the conclusion of a central storyline. Players explore a game world, while solving puzzles and engaging in combat.

Role-playing games are traditionally divided into turn-based RPGs, that rarely challenge a player's physical coordination or reaction time, and [[action role-playing game|action-based RPGs]], that do the opposite.<ref name="fundamentals"/>

Role-playing video games typically rely on a highly developed story and setting,{{Sfn|Adams|Rollings|2003|p=347-348}} which is divided into a number of quests. Players control one or several characters by issuing commands, which are performed by the character at an effectiveness determined by that character's numeric attributes. Often these attributes increase each time a character gains a [[Experience point|level]], and a character's level goes up each time the player accumulates a certain amount of experience.<ref>{{cite conference|author1=Diveky, Marko |author2=Bielikova, Maria | title=Generating Educational Interactive Stories in Computer Role-Playing Games| book-title=Learning in the Synergy of Multiple Disciplines: 4th European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning, Proceedings| location=Nice, France | page=495| date=September 29 – October 2, 2009| publisher=Springer | isbn=978-3-642-04635-3 }}</ref>

Role-playing video games also typically attempt to offer more complex and dynamic character interaction than what is found in other video game genres. This usually involves additional focus on the [[artificial intelligence]] and [[Scripted sequence|scripted behavior]] of computer-controlled [[non-player character]]s.<ref name="fundamentals"/><ref>{{Cite journal|author1=Cutumisu, Maria |author2=Szafron, Duane |author3=Schaeffer, Jonathan |author4=McNaughton, Matthew |author5=Roy, Thomas |author6=Onuczko, Curtis |author7=Carbonaro, Mike | title=Generating Ambient Behaviors in Computer Role-Playing Games| journal=IEEE Intelligent Systems | volume=21| issue=5 | pages=19–27 |date=September–October 2006 | doi=10.1109/MIS.2006.92|citeseerx=10.1.1.125.9742 |s2cid=1388862 }}</ref>

===Experience and levels===
[[File:Scourge character creation.png|thumb|right|An example of [[character creation]] in an RPG. In this particular game, players can assign points into [[Attribute (role-playing games)|attributes]], select a deity, and choose a portrait and profession for their character.]]
In order to be considered a role-playing game, characters have to become more functionally powerful by gaining new skills, weapons, and magic. This creates a positive-feedback cycle that is central to these games: the player grows in power, allowing them to overcome more difficult challenges, and gain even more power.<ref name="fundamentals"/> This is part of the appeal of the genre, where players experience growing from an ordinary person into a superhero with amazing powers. Whereas other games give the player these powers immediately, the player in a role-playing game will choose their powers and skills as they gain experience.<ref name="fundamentals"/>

Three different systems of rewarding the player characters for solving the tasks in the game can be set apart: the ''experience system'' (also known as the "level-based" system), the ''training system'' (also known as the "skill-based" system) and the ''skill-point system'' (also known as "level-free" system)
*The ''experience system'', by far the most common, was inherited from pen-and-paper role-playing games and emphasizes receiving "[[experience point]]s" (often abbreviated "XP" or "EXP") by winning battles, performing class-specific activities, and completing [[Quest (video gaming)|quests]]. Once a certain amount of experience is gained, the character advances a level. In some games, level-up occurs automatically when the required amount of experience is reached; in others, the player can choose when and where to advance a level. Likewise, abilities and attributes may increase automatically or manually.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}
*The ''training system'' is similar to the way the ''[[Basic Role-Playing]]'' system works. The first notable video game to use this was ''[[Dungeon Master (video game)|Dungeon Master]]'',{{citation needed|date=October 2010}} which emphasized developing the character's skills by using them—meaning that if a character wields a sword for some time, he or she will become proficient with it.{{citation needed|date=October 2010}}
*Finally, in the ''skill-point system'' (as used in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines]]'' for example) the character is rewarded with "[[skill point]]s" for completing quests, which then can be directly used to buy skills and attributes without having to wait until the next level up.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

In some video games from the Eighties and Nineties, the [[score (game)|score]] was called "Experience" in-game, but this did not make them role-playing games, if there was no character development. <!--E.G. Heroes of the Lance, Alcahest,...-->

===Story and setting===
[[File:Rpg-project 0.64a shot58.jpg|thumb|right|A party of adventurers in ''[[Tales of Trolls & Treasures]]'' (2002)]]
The premise of many role-playing games tasks the player with saving the world, or whichever level of society is threatened.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}} There are often twists and turns as the story progresses, such as the surprise appearance of estranged relatives, or enemies who become friends or vice versa.<ref name="fundamentals"/> The game world is often rooted in [[speculative fiction]] (i.e. [[fantasy]] or [[science fiction]]),<ref>[[#AdRol|Adams, Rollings 2003]], p. 351</ref> which allows players to do things they cannot do in real life and helps players [[suspension of disbelief|suspend their disbelief]] about the rapid character growth. To a lesser extent, settings closer to the present day or near future are possible.<ref name="fundamentals"/>

The story often provides much of the entertainment in the game. Because these games have strong storylines, they can often make effective use of recorded dialog and voiceover narration. Players of these games tend to appreciate long [[cutscene]]s more than players of faster [[action game]]s. While most games advance the plot when the player defeats an enemy or completes a level, role-playing games often progress the plot based on other important decisions. For example, a player may make the decision to join a guild, thus triggering a progression in the storyline that is usually irreversible. New elements in the story may also be triggered by mere arrival in an area, rather than completing a specific challenge. The plot is usually divided so that each game location is an opportunity to reveal a new chapter in the story.<ref name="fundamentals"/>

Pen-and-paper [[role-playing game]]s typically involve a player called the [[gamemaster]] (or GM for short) who can dynamically create the story, setting, and rules, and react to a player's choices.<ref name="scorpia199408">{{Cite magazine |author=Scorpia |date=August 1994 |title=Scorpia The Avatar |department=Scorpia's Sting |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=121 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=29–33 }}</ref> In role-playing video games, the computer performs the function of the gamemaster. This offers the player a smaller set of possible actions, since computers can't engage in imaginative acting comparable to a skilled human gamemaster. In exchange, the typical role-playing video game may have storyline branches, user interfaces, and stylized cutscenes and gameplay to offer a more direct storytelling mechanism. Characterization of non-player characters in video games is often handled using a [[dialog tree]]. Saying the right things to the right non-player characters will elicit useful information for the player, and may even result in other rewards such as items or experience, as well as opening up possible storyline branches. [[Multiplayer video game|Multiplayer]] [[online game|online]] role-playing games can offer an exception to this contrast by allowing human interaction among multiple players and in some cases enabling a player to perform the role of a gamemaster.<ref name="fundamentals"/><ref>{{Cite book|author1=Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Simon |author2=Smith, Jonas Heide |author3=Tosca, Susana Pajares | year=2008| title=Understanding Video Games: the Essential Introduction | page=48 | publisher=Taylor & Francis| isbn=978-0-415-97721-0 }}</ref>

===Exploration and quests===
[[File:Battle for wesnoth httt world map.png|thumb|left|[[Overworld]] map from ''[[The Battle for Wesnoth]]'' (2003)]]

Exploring the world is an important aspect of many RPGs.<ref name="fundamentals"/> Players will walk through, talking to [[non-player character]]s, picking up objects, and avoiding traps.<ref name="fundamentals"/> Some games such as ''[[NetHack]]'', ''[[Diablo (video game)|Diablo]]'', and the ''[[Fate (video game)|FATE]]'' series randomize the structure of individual levels, increasing the game's variety and replay value.<ref name="fundamentals"/> Role-playing games where players complete quests by exploring randomly generated dungeons and which include [[permadeath]] are called [[roguelike]]s, named after the 1980 video game ''[[Rogue (video game)|Rogue]]''.<ref name="essential">{{cite web|url=http://www.1up.com/features/essential-50-rogue|title=The Essential 50 Part 12 – Rogue|last=Parish|first=Jeremy|publisher=IGN Entertainment Games|website=1UP.com|access-date=December 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102024410/http://www.1up.com/features/essential-50-rogue|archive-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref>

The game's story is often mapped onto exploration, where each chapter of the story is mapped onto a different location. RPGs usually allow players to return to previously visited locations. Usually, there is nothing left to do there, although some locations change throughout the story and offer the player new things to do in response. Players must acquire enough power to overcome a major challenge in order to progress to the next area, and this structure can be compared to the [[Boss (video gaming)|boss]] characters at the end of levels in [[action game]]s.<ref name="fundamentals"/>

[[File:Computer rpg no automap.jpg|thumb|Example of a dungeon map drawn by hand on [[graph paper]]. This practice was common among players of early role-playing games, such as early titles in the ''Wizardry'' and ''Might and Magic'' series. Later on, games of this type started featuring [[automap]]s.]]

The player typically must complete a linear sequence of certain quests in order to reach the end of the game's story. Many RPGs also often allow the player to seek out optional side-quests and character interactions. Quests of this sort can be found by talking to a non-player character, and there may be no penalty for abandoning or ignoring these quests other than a missed opportunity or reward.<ref name="fundamentals" />

===Items and inventory===
Players can find [[Loot system|loot]] (such as clothing, weapons, and armor) throughout the game world and collect it.<ref name="fundamentals"/> Players can trade items for currency and better equipment. Trade takes place while interacting with certain friendly non-player characters, such as shopkeepers, and often uses a specialized trading screen. Purchased items go into the player's inventory. Some games turn inventory management into a logistical challenge by limiting the size of the player's inventory, thus forcing the player to decide what they must carry at the time.<ref>[[#AdRol|Adams, Rollings 2003]], p. 362</ref> This can be done by limiting the maximum weight that a player can carry, by employing a system of arranging items in a virtual space, or by simply limiting the number of items that can be held.<ref name="fundamentals">{{Harvnb|Adams|Rollings|2006}}</ref>

===Character actions and abilities===
[[File:Scourge character information.png|thumb|right|Character information and inventory screen in a typical computer role-playing game. Pictured here is the [[roguelike-like]] ''S.C.O.U.R.G.E.: Heroes of Lesser Renown''. Note the [[Paper doll (gaming)|paper doll]] in the top left portion of the image.]]
Most of the actions in a Role-Playing Game are performed indirectly, with the player selecting an action and the character performing it by their own accord.<ref name="fundamentals"/> Success at that action depends on the character's numeric attributes. Role-playing video games often simulate dice-rolling mechanics from non-electronic role-playing games to determine success or failure. As a character's attributes improve, their chances of succeeding at a particular action will increase.<ref name="fundamentals"/>

Many role-playing games allow players to play as an evil character. Although robbing and murdering indiscriminately may make it easier to get money, there are usually consequences in that other characters will become uncooperative or even hostile towards the player. Thus, these games allow players to make moral choices, but force players to live with the consequences of their actions.<ref name="fundamentals"/> Games often let the player control an entire party of characters. However, if winning is contingent upon the survival of a single character, then that character effectively becomes the player's [[avatar (computing)|avatar]].<ref name="fundamentals"/> An example of this would be in ''[[Baldur's Gate (video game)|Baldur's Gate]]'', where if the character created by the player dies, the game ends and a previous save needs to be loaded.<ref name="gamespot-bg-review">{{cite web|last1=Desslock|title=Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast Review|url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast-review/1900-2538171/|website=Gamespot|publisher=CBS Interactive Inc.|access-date=December 18, 2015}}</ref>

Although some single-player role-playing games give the player an avatar that is largely predefined for the sake of telling a specific story, many role-playing games make use of a [[character creation]] screen. This allows players to choose their character's sex, their race or species, and their character class. Although many of these traits are cosmetic, there are functional aspects as well. Character classes will have different abilities and strengths. Common classes include fighters, spellcasters, thieves with stealth abilities, and clerics with healing abilities, or a mixed class, such as a fighter who can cast simple spells. Characters will also have a range of physical attributes such as dexterity and strength, which affect a player's performance in combat. Mental attributes such as intelligence may affect a player's ability to perform and learn spells, while social attributes such as charisma may limit the player's choices while conversing with non-player characters. These attribute systems often strongly resemble the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' ruleset.<ref name="fundamentals"/><ref>[[#AdRol|Adams, Rollings 2003]], pp. 358–361</ref><!--The ref is about most of this para-->

Some role-playing games make use of [[Magic (gaming)|magical powers]], or equivalents such as psychic powers or advanced technology. These abilities are confined to specific characters such as mages, spellcasters, or magic-users. In games where the player controls multiple characters, these magic-users usually complement the physical strength of other classes. Magic can be used to attack, defend, or temporarily change an enemy or ally's attributes. While some games allow players to gradually consume a spell, as ammunition is consumed by a gun, most games offer players a finite amount of [[mana (gaming)|mana]] which can be spent on any spell. Mana is restored by resting or by consuming potions. Characters can also gain other non-magical skills, which stay with the character for as long as the character lives.<ref name="fundamentals"/>

Role-playing games may have the player focus only on a single character throughout the game; the character may be joined by computer-controlled allies outside of the player's control. Other games feature a party that the player can create at the start or gather from non-player characters in the game, coming into partial or full control of the player during the game.

===Combat===
{{further|Turns, rounds and time-keeping systems in games}}
[[File:Dungeon monkey eternal 01.gif|thumb|right|Ranged magical combat in the party-based graphical [[roguelike-like]] ''Dungeon Monkey Eternal''. The fireball being cast by the wizard in the image is an [[area of effect]] (AoE) attack, and damages multiple characters at once.]]
Older games often separated combat into its own mode of gameplay, distinct from exploring the game world. More recent games tend to maintain a consistent perspective for exploration and combat.<ref name="fundamentals"/> Some games, especially earlier video games, generate battles from [[random encounter]]s; more modern RPGs are more likely to have persistent wandering monsters that move about the game world independently of the player. Most RPGs also use stationary [[Boss (video gaming)|boss]] monsters in key positions, and automatically trigger battles with them when the PCs enter these locations or perform certain actions.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} Combat options typically involve positioning characters, selecting which enemy to attack, and exercising special skills such as casting spells.<ref name="fundamentals"/>

In a classical [[turn-based]] system, only one character may act at a time; all other characters remain still, with a few exceptions that may involve the use of special abilities. The order in which the characters act is usually dependent on their attributes, such as speed or agility. This system rewards strategic planning more than quickness. It also points to the fact that realism in games is a means to the end of [[Immersion (virtual reality)#Types|immersion]] in the game world, not an end in itself. A turn-based system makes it possible, for example, to run within range of an opponent and kill them before they get a chance to act, or duck out from behind hard cover, fire, and retreat back without an opponent being able to fire, which are of course both impossibilities. However, tactical possibilities have been created by this unreality that did not exist before; the player determines whether the loss of immersion in the reality of the game is worth the satisfaction gained from the development of the tactic and its successful execution. ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'' has been cited as being a good example of such a system.<ref name="actiontrip" />

[[Real-time game|Real-time]] combat can import features from [[action game]]s, creating a hybrid [[Action role-playing game|action RPG]] game genre. But other RPG battle systems such as the [[Gameplay of Final Fantasy|''Final Fantasy'' battle systems]] have imported real-time choices without emphasizing coordination or reflexes. Other systems combine real-time combat with the ability to pause the game and issue orders to all characters under his/her control; when the game is unpaused, all characters follow the orders they were given. This "real-time with pause" system (''RTwP'') has been particularly popular in games designed by [[BioWare]]. The most famous RTwP engine is the [[Infinity Engine]]. Other names for "real-time with pause" include "active pause" and "semi real-time".<ref name="actiontrip">{{cite web | last =Babovic | first =Branislav | title =Combat Systems in RPG Games | publisher =ActionTrip | year =2000 | url =http://www.actiontrip.com/features/combatsystemsinrpggames.phtml | access-date =December 2, 2007 | url-status =usurped | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080505121731/http://www.actiontrip.com/features/combatsystemsinrpggames.phtml | archive-date =May 5, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/dungeon-of-the-endless-not-your-usual-roguelike |title=Dungeon of the Endless: Not Your Usual Roguelike |last1=Davison |first1=Pete |date=December 18, 2013 |website=USGamer.net |publisher=Gamer Network |access-date=December 16, 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222122443/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/dungeon-of-the-endless-not-your-usual-roguelike |url-status=dead }}</ref> Tactical RPG maker Apeiron named their system Smart Pause Mode (SPM) because it would automatically pause based on a number of user-configurable settings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/brigade-e5-new-jagged-union-review/1900-6162483/ |title=Brigade E5: New Jagged Union Review |last1=Todd |first1=Brett |date=November 29, 2006 |website=Gamespot |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc. |access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref> ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' and ''[[Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura]]'' offered players the option to play in either turn-based or RTwP mode via a configuration setting. The latter also offered a "fast turn-based" mode, though all three game modes were criticized for being poorly balanced and oversimplified.<ref name="cnetquote">{{cite web | url = http://reviews.cnet.com/Arcanum_Of_Steamworks_and_Magick_Obscura_PC/4505-9696_7-7588751.html | title = Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (PC) Reviews. PC Games Reviews by CNET. | work = CNET | access-date = 5 October 2006}}</ref><ref name="gamespot1">{{cite web | url = http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/arcanumofsteamworksamo/review.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111012184335/http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/arcanumofsteamworksamo/review.html | archive-date=2011-10-12| title = Gamespot Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | work = Gamespot | access-date = 11 March 2009}}</ref>

Early ''[[Ultima (series)|Ultima]]'' games featured timed turns: they were strictly turn-based, but if the player waited more than a second or so to issue a command, the game would automatically issue a pass command, allowing the monsters to take a turn while the PCs did nothing.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

There is a further subdivision by the structure of the battle system; in many early games, such as ''[[Wizardry (video game series)|Wizardry]]'', monsters and the party are arrayed into ranks, and can only attack enemies in the front rank with melee weapons. Other games, such as most of the ''Ultima'' series, employed duplicates of the miniatures combat system traditionally used in the early [[role-playing game]]s. Representations of the player characters and monsters would move around an arena modeled after the surrounding terrain, attacking any enemies that are sufficiently close.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

===Interface and graphics===
[[File:NEO Scavenger screenshot 01.png|thumb|The graphical roguelike-like ''[[NEO Scavenger]]'' has text on the right indicating what events have transpired, and gives the players options (bottom) based on their character's abilities. At left is the character's current stats.]]
[[File:Sintel The Game Docks.png|right|thumb|Starting in the mid-1990s with the advent of [[video card|3D graphics accelerators]], real-time first- and third-person polygonal graphics also became common in CRPGs. Pictured here is ''[[Sintel The Game]]''.]]

Earlier role-playing video games used a two-dimensional top-down view or tile-based first-person view. Early action-based role-playing games often used a side-scrolling view. Most notably since ''[[Ultima Underworld]]'' (1992), role-playing games started implementing true three-dimensional (3D) graphics, where players typically navigate the game world from a first or third-person perspective. However, an [[Isometric graphics in video games and pixel art|isometric]] or aerial top-down perspective is common in party-based RPGs, in order to give the player a clear view of their entire party and their surroundings.<ref>[[#AdRol|Adams, Rollings 2003]], pp. 364–367</ref>

Role-playing games require the player to manage a large amount of information and frequently use a windowed interface. For example, spell-casting characters will often have a menu of spells they can use. On the PC, players typically use the mouse to click on icons and menu options, while console games have the player navigate through menus using a game controller.