Some posters have said (separately) that RPG is a poorly-defined genre and that genre is losing meaning, both of which are statements with which I disagree.
I can see the potential argument that RPG is a poorly-named genre. "First-person shooter" and "turn-based (or real-time) strategy" are examples of genres that are very clearly-defined with easily-recognized characteristics. In contrast, trying to interpret "role-playing game" literally is incredibly misleading and results in somewhat bizarre conclusions, like "All games in which you play a role are role-playing games."
What the literal name fails to encompass are the conventions of RPGs, like "time invested = character improvement" and "characters can be specialized." These are conventions with which gamers are intimately familiar and mentally associate with "RPG" without them having to be given in the name of the genre.
I also think the concept of genre in games is still important. Just as players rely on their past experience with a genre to inform their gameplay experience in new games in the same genre, developers likewise rely on genre and convention to guide the design process, either by conforming to or actively contradicting the player's expectations. There are also a lot of practical considerations when acknowledging genre in terms of game journalism and game marketing, for instance.
I can see the potential argument that RPG is a poorly-named genre. "First-person shooter" and "turn-based (or real-time) strategy" are examples of genres that are very clearly-defined with easily-recognized characteristics. In contrast, trying to interpret "role-playing game" literally is incredibly misleading and results in somewhat bizarre conclusions, like "All games in which you play a role are role-playing games."
What the literal name fails to encompass are the conventions of RPGs, like "time invested = character improvement" and "characters can be specialized." These are conventions with which gamers are intimately familiar and mentally associate with "RPG" without them having to be given in the name of the genre.
I also think the concept of genre in games is still important. Just as players rely on their past experience with a genre to inform their gameplay experience in new games in the same genre, developers likewise rely on genre and convention to guide the design process, either by conforming to or actively contradicting the player's expectations. There are also a lot of practical considerations when acknowledging genre in terms of game journalism and game marketing, for instance.
