Editing Role-playing video game (section)

===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" />