Why aren't there more actual role-playing games?

[Amaror]

You really should try Space Station 13.

I have to say it's a bit too complex to get in it for me and i don't have enough time to do it, like i once had with df, but if you really want to play such a game and can get yourself through the intense complexity, you will most likely have a blast of a time.

I played Space Station 13 after reading some suggestions in this thread.
You're right, it's very close to what I was describing.
It's way over-complicated and the controls are atrocious, but the core idea is cool. It's fairly popular too: I don't see why more games like this aren't around. With updated graphics and better design, it could make for a very engaging experience. Yet what they've accomplished with such a non-existent budget is very impressive.

Especially ironic considering all the people in this thread who seem to think it's non-viable or downright impossible to make a game like this.

Well .... i don't think they are entirely wrong.
It's not impossible to make a game like this, but i don't think it's really possible to make a AAA version of this. To really allow these deep, yet random stories to develop in a game like this the game just needs a lot of complexity.
If i just take the example you described earlier, we need at least a deep damage and health system for the father to survive the mine, a salvage and repair system to allow the pilot to repair the plane and some kind of research system to allow the corrupt scientist to further his goals.
You need a lot of different mechanics, a lot of which will have to be specificly designed for a single role. It's not something that's really feasible in a big budget title, were you can't just build the mechanics and expect your players to be devoted enough to learn them on their own.

 

[COMaestro]

You really should try Space Station 13.

I have to say it's a bit too complex to get in it for me and i don't have enough time to do it, like i once had with df, but if you really want to play such a game and can get yourself through the intense complexity, you will most likely have a blast of a time.

I played Space Station 13 after reading some suggestions in this thread.
You're right, it's very close to what I was describing.
It's way over-complicated and the controls are atrocious, but the core idea is cool. It's fairly popular too: I don't see why more games like this aren't around. With updated graphics and better design, it could make for a very engaging experience. Yet what they've accomplished with such a non-existent budget is very impressive.

Especially ironic considering all the people in this thread who seem to think it's non-viable or downright impossible to make a game like this.

Because for Space Station 13 (going by what they say on the website) there are admin tools and admins actively working to make sure people are playing the game correctly and you have no one just griefing. For a simple 2D interface on a limited map, this isn't that difficult to oversee. Add in a 3D world that is much more massive would be too much for just one or two people to handle.

Also, how can it be overcomplicated and still give you all the options you would like to see in this kind of multiplayer RPG?

Going by your desert island example, where the Spy is holding the Pilot at gunpoint forcing him to fix the plane, what's actually forcing the Pilot to do anything? I think most players would just try to run away. For that matter, the Spy can't afford to actually kill the Pilot without failing his own objectives (unable to leave the island). What's to keep the Father from just killing all the other players he meets, as his only objective is to find his daughter, knowing that multiple people on the island may be threats to her or himself? What's stopping the Pilot from doing what he can to fix the plane ASAP and just leaving everyone else behind? Because all of these scenarios are what would likely happen if you just randomly assigned a bunch of people to a game with these roles.

You would need some kind of admin or DM to run these games and the more complex the game becomes, the more impossible it is for one or even two people to do it effectively.

 

[templar1138a]

I'm with you. I'm not interested in multiplayer, but even single-player RPGs are lacking in the ability to PLAY A CHARACTER. And the games that do the best job of that, such Dragon Age 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic? Seemingly everyone but me hates them, which kills the chances for the development of other games that facilitate that depth of character.

Right now the emphasis seems to be on appeasing the Generation Xers who thought Baldur's Gate was the pinnacle of gaming, especially in the Indie sphere. And isometric, turn-based RPGs focus too much on combat and stats-exploitation.