what do you guys think... should developers move more towards RPG games.. like the mass effect series, dragon age, final fantasy and the like, or continue with the current FPS mold?
i bring this up because, a number of years ago.. i was a huge FPS but since the floodgates opened and every year we have a new battlefield, call of duty, ghost recon or some obscure FPS that doesn't exactly change much.. i lost interest and moved towards RPG games.. as i feel they offer a lot more variety, in story, and game play.
i think the problem with the current FPS mold is that they simply add new maps, new guns.. slap on a new title and call it a new game.
so the questions is FPS vs RPG.. which do you favour? why? and what do you think each genre can do to improve themselves?
To anwer your question and FPS for me remains mainly a multiplayer section so as long as the weapons kill the people and the maps look nice and play well I'm too bothered.
As for RPG's I just want to be able to play them with friends. Not an mmo type deal but co-operative playing. I don't see enough RPG's that do that without making it MMO.
Why would you want companies that make serviceable FPS games move into the RPG genre? Wouldn't it be better if those developers stopped making sequels with minor improvements and work on new IP's that they can test out new ideas for the genre?
i havent played borderlands.. so i couldnt really comment, perhaps i should look into it...but i see what you mean.. fps multiplayer is good.. but i mean aside from a few things nothing really separates the games from each other..my complaint isnt against the games themselves.. just that every new games is more of the same... if they want to offer more multiplayer content thats great... people will pay for that... but dont just slap on a few new maps/missions a few guns and call it a whole new game..
and didn't fable try the multi player thing where you could invite a friend or someone else to join in on the game?
no no i dont want fps to move into rpg's or a blending... just some significant improvements of some sort... not just new guns, and maps... perhaps like a skill thing... like the better you get the more your accuracy increases and the faster you reload..just something new with the gameplay...
I like RPG more, but I do like the FPS genre also. FPS developers just need to do new things, I don't want anymore games like CoD. Mass Effect was such a good series because it was a shooter (though not an FPS) but it had the great RPG story.
I enjoy rpg more because you put more time and effort into your character, but my favorite types of games are open world games such as Saints Row, Red Dead, and GTA, which are basically the both of them combined.
Why choose one? There are plenty of game developers for both genres and we can have the best of both worlds without loosing the other.
If this is more of which we prefer? I really can't tell you. I love the leveling up and strategizing of RPGs. But I also love the mindless killing of FPSs. And I really love it when I can do both in the same game. But sometimes I want just one or the other.
In response to that, I tell you to go back and play DOOM 1 or 2. Then play a new FPS like Battlefield3, COD or Halo, and tell me that it hasn't improve/change and isn't still improving/changing (with the exception of maybe Modern Warfare.)
At times it may not seem like it, but that is just FPSs are a very restricted game genre that with a slight change its completely different and has gained a rep as a genre without plot about mindlessly killing/blowing stuff up.
Wow.... this post has completely changed/grown from what I was originally going to post.
Anyway, I will leave it with this: Theres a lot of other game genres that use elements of FPSs/RPGs but are completely different. If you feel like they are no longer adequate for you, why not hunt out games of these other genres?
when you mention doom 1 and 2 i do kind of see a flaw in my argument... there have been major leaps and bounds in the gameplay of an fps.. i just feel like its hit a wall.. and we are waiting for the next "halo combat evoled" game changer to do the same to the genre. im just annoyed at how the COD series just rehashes the same game over and over..halo Reach tried to up the game with the power ups you can have..and i liked it as they added a new depth to the genre.. new styles of play. im not against either genre and i still worship halo reach! but i didnt by halo anniversary.. because what did it bring to the table that was new?
I brought anniversary for nostalgia. And I am happy to admit that I played the first 5 mins of the game in old graphics and didn't realise till I saw Captain Keyes.
As for the cod games. I can understand your frustration. It's the main reason I tend to like the activision games over the infinity ward ones, because activision tends to add/improve the game adding more features/gameplay.
But don't worry, that "next "halo combat evolved" game" is coming. Not sure who by and when yet.... But it will come and we will laugh, cry, drink, dance and celebrate into the night.
The problem many people have with the FPS' is that they all pretty much feel the same. Yes there are different campaign stories but if we look at Call of Duty, the gameplay is pretty much identical, along with the multiplayer. Me personally i like both but again i find problems with a lot of the fps games is i feel like im playing the same game over and over again. companies should look to new ideas for fps' thats why games like portal or crysis are so popular because its not a typical shootemup.
I like them both, why would they move towards anything developers stick to their genre, bioware does RPGs and Active Vision does shooter, they should stick to what they are good at.
i think you have misunderstood the argument... its not about blending them... its just RPGS continue to evolve the game play, and bring new things to the table.. like mass effect and fable are both rpgs but both very different games and very different styles...
however the fps genre.. nothing has really changed for a while.. nothing has evolved.. cod hasnt evolved in anyway for a Long time.. i like RPGS because of their variety.. most fps.. are the same formula..like halo combat evolved was a huge leap from doom.. but we havent had another huge leap since then..
Not strickly true about cod. Thanks to Activision we have Zombies, Spec Ops and different styles of gameplay etc... When you look at the infinity ward games, sure...
FPSs is changing, but at a much slower rate than RPGs. And that is just mainly due to the genres limited nature, and nothing will increase its pace apart from major jumps in technology/gaming itself (not just in the genre, but all genres.)
Came in here to post this, saw the first reply and was not disappointed. Borderlands to me was the best game of this generation. I am anticipating the sequel more than any other game that is coming out or even rumored. It looks to best the original, so obviously I'm extremely excited. Hoping to get some play time at E3.
If you haven't yet, play borderlands. Why chose between two genres when you can have the best of both?
I also believe with more powerful consoles, and innovative gameplay RPGs have eve loved to take more action oriented gameplay elements into their franchises with great success. While FPSs have obviously taken a page from the RPG sector when it ones to the evolving progression systems seen in modern day shooters.
Honestly I wish developers would focus a bit more on RPGs, we are flooded with FPS games every year but only a handful of RPGs. I don't want to see more RPGs than FPS games, but a balance sure would be nice.
You obviously AAA titles right? Cause I would swear more RPGs come out than FPSs. I think you should look into more indy games/foreign games, their markets are flooded with RPGs, more so than FPSs at any rate... I also tend to have more fun with them than European/American RPGs(excluding Mass Effect of course.... brilliant game.)
The formula for an FPS is pretty much established by now, minor tweaks here and there don't amount to a huge difference in game play. The same can be said of the basic RPG but then you can add a different dimension to it and make it something really special. Borderlands is a prime example.
I favour hybrids between the two, Bioshock, Fallout 3 and Mass Effect are all examples of great role-playing games with first person shooter elements that make them awesome.
i was just thinking about mass effect actually... although not strictly fps.. it plays well and i like the abilities wheel.. and command system.. i mean i think more fps should involve more squad based combat systems.. and ability wheel like stuff... anyone remember republic commando? with your specialist members
Sounds like you want to play some Ghost Recon games? They have always had those elements in it, even the earlier ones(although not as great, but still pretty fun.)
Although.... I think they might all be third person.... I'm not too sure.... Been a while since I played any of them.
It's a double standard. If anything, RPGs are more mired in making only marginal improvements and more or less have been refining the same formula for decades now than FPS games. Video game RPGs have just been playing catch up to pen and paper games for about 25 years.
Pretty much all the "innovative" features RPG have shown have consisted of hybridizing with another genre (in which case, the only real innovation is hybridizing those two together), calling something that has been used for upwards of 20 years in the genre "innovative" because most people are unfamiliar with the games that actually innovated that feature, or finally getting a pen and paper game mechanic to work because the AI finally reached the point of not being too stupid to use it vaguely correctly.
The only reason RPG's seem so much more diverse is because the term is used to refer to about half a dozen distinctly different genres who only share the similarity of originally starting as a PnP video game adaptation about 20 years ago.
I really love the cross between them both. Like the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise or Borderlands. But if I could only choose between the two I'd take RPG. FPS games tend to get old really fast.
I disagree, I still find my self coming back to play left 4 dead, halo. gow and cod. While RPGs do suck me in for longer chunks of time I still like the 5minutes of fun games. And with forge and custom games halo never gets old so long as you have friends to play with.
My computer cant run STALKER (probably becouse I have the russion version) but it did look great. Now borderlands its a tough choise becouse I you are playing it as a single player game I would give it a 5/6 out of 10 hoever get 3 friends with you and cordinate so you play the whole campaign through with them, it becomes 15/10 game.
RPG's take a special kind of person to play them. Especially the vanilla, hardcore RPG. You have to build your character up, focus on stats and which ones you want to improve, choose which dialogue and moral sequences you want to choose, and to carve your own path through a game. FPS's are less immersive, the path has been carved, you have to shoot your way through it. Weapon of choice is limited and mainly just a preference thing, all bullets ultimately kill in the end. That is why FPS's are that much more successful, anyone can pick it up and have a good time, now matter how limited. RPG's take true commitment to enjoy.
