BioWare Co-Founder: RPGs Are Becoming "Less Relevant"

[Andy Chalk]

BioWare Co-Founder: RPGs Are Becoming "Less Relevant"

BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk says RPGs are becoming "less relevant" as a genre to the current state of videogaming.

When you think about RPG studios, one of the first and foremost to spring to mind is very likely BioWare. This is the company that made its bones by bringing back the moribund RPG genre with the 1998 classic Dragon Age [http://www.amazon.com/Baldurs-Gate-Pc/dp/B00001QEQA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1314029603&sr=8-2]. But the times, they are a-changin', and according to Dr. Zeschuk, the nature of the RPG and its relevance to gamers is changing too.

"RPGs are and always have been our bread and butter, our heart is there, but at the same time I think - well, we had the RPG panel breakfast at GDC yesterday - and what was interesting about that was that we had the conversation about 'what is an RPG,' and it's a blend," he told VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2011/08/22/the-force-is-strong-in-this-one-talking-to-greg-zeschuk/]. "The genres are blending right now, you're getting lots and lots of progression and RPG elements in shooters - online persistence and so on."

"It's funny because the RPG in the context of the current world is - well, it's not specifically irrelevant, but it's becoming less relevant in and of itself," he continued. "It's more a function of, 'Hey, this game has a great story.' For us, [it's] having that emotion but also having other great features like combat and persistence of character progression and stuff."

It's not hard to see BioWare's changing attitude reflected in its more recent games, particularly Mass Effect, which is not so much an RPG as it is a conversational shooter. "We're just about great games," Zeschuk added, and RPG or not, the Mass Effect series has most definitely been hot stuff. Mass Effect 3 [http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-3-Collectors-Pc/dp/B0050SZES0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1314029767&sr=8-3] is currently scheduled for release on March 6 for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.


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[mwnrnc]

Strange, I would think that the fact that so many games are taking on RPG elements, like leveling, 'character sheet' development, loot, would make RPGs more relevant than ever before.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Well good Bioware, maybe now you can finally send Mass Effect in a consistent direction instead of tugging back and forth between deteriorating (from ME1 to ME2) RPG elements and a third person shooter.

 

[BreakfastMan]

He might have a point. RPG as it stands now is not a very good descriptor, being that the descriptor is incredibly vague. It basically means that "this game has a good story" now, since nearly every game is getting RPG elements, and when every game is an RPG, no game is. I think he might be right. I might even agree with him a little

EDIT: And of course, people are misinterpreting his words to mean something completely different and threatening. *sigh*

 

[Baby Tea]

I kind of agree with him.
The 'pure' genres just aren't as compelling as they once were.
I wouldn't go so far to say they are becoming 'irrelevant', but those mainstays are actually becoming niche, and the hybrids are becoming the norm. I can't say I'm too sad about that, to be honest. I've still got all my awesome, classic RPGs kicking around, and they are just as fun as ever. But games like Mass Effect come along and give me just enough of a change to keep me riveted.

Not pure RPG, but enough of it to let me know what I'm playing.

I'l willing to bet the 'pure-genres' will come back in a few years, and remind everyone that while these mix-ups can create some truly awesome games, you can deliver just an equally awesome game while keeping your genre focused.

 

[Zhukov]

Oh, here we go. The flames cometh.

For the record, I agree with the guy. I would like to see games incorporating the good aspects of any genre they can get their hands on. If it's going to have shooting, then use stuff that works in shooters. If it's going to have RPG elements, use stuff that works in RPGs. If it's going to vehicle section... you get the idea.

You hear a lot of people saying stuff along the lines of, "Game X shouldn't have feature Y because Y is associated with shooters and X is a RPG, not a shooter." That strikes me as a silly position.

Although, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard a shooter fan saying, "Oh no! The developers are putting all these horrible RPG elements in my FPS to appeal to the D&D nerds!"

 

[RatRace123]

BioWare has gotten so wrapped up in how to appeal to mass audiences that they forgot what makes RPGs good.

There was a time when developers made games that appealed to themselves and anyone else who'd like it. And anyone who didn't like it just wasn't part of the audience. They made games more for themselves.

Now it is just "How to we appeal to "

It's less about games and more about marketing.

Hit the nail on the head I think. Don't get me wrong I love Bioware and the original Mass Effect is my favorite game, but it really does seem like in trying to branch out and reach the general audience they've had to make some sacrifices to the traditional RPG format.

It's good for them to be critical and commercial mainstream successes, but it'd be nice to see a return to form for the classic RPGs of yore.
There's a reason Baldur's Gate is still such a fondly remembered series, because it still holds up to this day. So there's definitely a market for RPGs, just not quite as large.

I'd hate to see the genre disappear completely, or be morphed into something beyond recognition.

 

[ultimasupersaiyan]

As a huge fan of J/W RPGs, I can agree that they are becoming less relevent to the majority of gamers but there will always be a niche audience of gamers like me who will thrive on RPGs like mushrooms in a dark room. I love RPGs and it's mainly because the story is the main focus during production as well as strategy in battle. This is why I really like the JRPG genre, even with all the stereotype stock characters they keep using.

 

[Xaio30]

You know what the developers need in times like these? A good dose of egoism.
Give the developers the freedom to make whatever THEY want to, not the audience.

It is my belief that a game that is loved by its developer is much more enjoyable than a game solely made to appeal to as many as possible at once.

 

[Something Amyss]

IS that why they're trying so hard to stamp out the RPG parts of Mass Effect?

minus the long-winded cut scenes, of course, because...Well, I don't know why.

Strange, I would think that the fact that so many games are taking on RPG elements, like leveling, 'character sheet' development, loot, would make RPGs more relevant than ever before.

They actually talked about RPG elements in other genres. The argument seems to be that the concept of the RPG itself is becoming less substantial.

 

[cynicalsaint1]

*Huge Facepalm*

I get what he's saying. I really do. I even agree ... but he really should have worded that statement a bit better.

It's true more and more games are using 'RPG elements' these days, and its true that 'RPG' is beginning to lose is distinction as a completely stand-alone genre these days - but saying that they're becoming less and less relevant is only going to piss people off.

Really what he should have said is that genre distinctions based strictly on gameplay and game mechanics are beginning to blur, and because of that what can and can't be called an RPG these days is becoming increasingly blurry.

Instead he said exactly what everyone whose been hating on BioWare lately need to throw more fuel into the fire.

 

[Wolfenbarg]

I'm finding it hard to understand how after Dragon Age: Origins was their best selling game to date, their response is to farm out the exact opposite camp of what made Origins good. Of course old school RPG mechanics have basically become a bit obsolete, but the RPG has never been MORE relevant. If interactivity is the pinnacle of gaming, then role playing is the core genre.

 

[New Troll]

Since the vast majority of my gaming has RPG elements, if not a full blown RPG, then God I hope he is wrong! The main reason I even play (and love) Bioware games is because they're he closest thing to more old-school RPGing. If I'm in the mood for something less old-school, I play Bethesda, which I still consider very much RPGish.

And then there's Diablo... another story for another time.

 

[Exterminas]

"Dear customers, please ignore games like Skyrim, Oblivion and World of Warcraft, which make tremendous amounts of money with a classic RPG-Template, we, Bioware just now have summoned the courage that we are all out of ideas for RPGs.

So instead of releasing the same game over and over again, with the same personalities for our "character-driven" games, we will finally do what we wanted to do, ever since Mass Effect one was sooooo boring! We will make FPS! Because that is where the big cash is. They are easier to make too."

 

[JordanMillward_1]

Bullshit - RPGs are more relevant than ever! More and more RPGs are being produced and released, and they're hitting No. 1 positions in both all-format and individual format charts.

Sorry Dr Zeschuk, but you don't know what you're talking about.

 

[Odlus]

EDIT: And of course, people are misinterpreting his words to mean something completely different and threatening. *sigh*

You sound surprised. It's become pretty obvious for awhile now that most commenters on the first few pages just read the title of the article then reply.


He's completely right. "RPG" as a genre or a way of describing a game means almost nothing anymore because so many games use various "RPG" elements.