RPG Roundtable #6, Part Three

The third installment to RPGVault’s sixth RPG Roundtable feature is now available, this time including comments from Flagship Studios’ Bill Roper, Irrational Games’ Ken Levine, and others. Ken’s take on why “They don’t make RPGs like they used to”:

Many of the most memorable RPGs sucked us in for weeks or months, and we took their completion on as a part-time job. Unfortunately, the rising cost of development means that we won’t likely see any 200-hour epics anytime soon. However, the games we do get will be more consistently entertaining. We can use the technology to offer players a much more atmospheric experience, evoking a level of emotion and involvement in the universe that never would have been possible with sprites and 2D backgrounds.

So, while games have had to become shorter, the best ones have had to become deeper. The same elements we love in our RPGs – great story, extensive character development and various paths through the game – have made their way into many next-generation PC and console games. It’s become increasingly difficult to divide games into genres, as the best ones borrow any elements required to provide the best experience for the player.