Why CRPGs are so niche compared to Bethesda games and JRPGs?
ShapiroKeatsDarkMage
Member Posts: 2,428
Have you wondered why computer RPGs never manage to get even half of the popularity of other indipendent games like Undertale? I don't mention the juggernaut that is FNAF because that would be an unfair fight.
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Anyway, I guess that developing cRPG takes time, good writers (not in case of Bethesda), budget and more often than not, cRPGs require from player more involvement and time to appreciate them than fps, casual games, copy/pastes mobas (effectively all of them, they're all the same) etc. There is a demand, and the gaming industry needs to satisfy it. cRPGs aren't that in demand nowadays. I guess that's why.
I think is due to the ''nerdy'' nature of the genre. You kinda have to get used to the complex ruleset and quests in order to enjoy the game.
FNAF and Undertale are sucessful partly because they have a simple and straightforward gameplay.
That and because western rpgs use the fantasy setting a bit too much.
Hence the demand for cRPGs isn't that great, despite game industry's customer base growing.
Console games, and even new phone games, are limited by the specs of the system that they are developed for. The lifetime of console generations seems to be averaged about 3-4 years, maybe less depending on the market, but computers are obsolete by the time they hit the market.
I am dying to play pillars of eternity but I don't have any desire to get a new computer, and upgrade to Windows 8 or 10... I get enough of microsoft's crap at work. I want to buy an apple, but I will probably get a free windows vista computer and put Linux mint on...just haven't had the time.
cRPGs are absolutely the best genre of all video games in my opinion. I personally love the time investment that they require, the immersion, the story telling. But I do agree that they consume more resources than competitive console games with likely less short term profit (but not long term!!!).
Just my two cents.
I suck too much at multiplayer games, and single player games, to be competitive...this may or may not have something to do with it.
I've never really been that much into console games, except final fantasy and a few other obscure jrpgs. Although I don't enjoy reading generic fantasy all that much, playing in a generic fantasy world isn't that much of a problem for me. Experiencing a story through a world where you control the actions of the characters to some degree, makes things a bit different for me.
From my personal perspective, these games fall into the same category as Bridge and Chess simulators. They are programmes that simulate games which pre-date personal computers - and what they are trying to simulate is the human component. The most glaring shortfall of BG compared to PnP for example is the lack of a human DM.
In many respects games like BG are looking backwards and trying to fit an old game into new technology, whereas other games are developed from scratch with, and for, the new technology.
Oooh, Oooh, can I play?
Lets start with the biggest let down that is found in most CRPG, the setting. 90% of the time it is a generic Eu0rocentric setting that we've seen a thousand times. Now, all crpg aren't like this, but quite a lot are and they tend to pull so much from civilization to creatures from the same repeating cultures (Greek/roman/norse/occasionally the middle east such as egypt) over and over again. Even people (like myself) who do enjoy these fantasy type scenes get tired of seeing them and they dominate the market so much that its just saturated. Why are so many games doing this? Because its what western society has shoved down our throats since the beginning of time! Its what everyone knows, even if they know little to nothing about the culture the game is taking its design from, they can recognize it; "oh hey, medieval Europe, Rome, and ancient Greece!" Hell, show the average westerner can't tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean culture.
Oh hey look, I was able to say all that without referencing Africa, yay me
Secondly, when crpg are actually based off tabletop rpg such as dungeons and dragons, shadowrun, or world or darkness. People who aren't really familiar with the source material is usually alienated from people who are. When I first played both shadowrun and vampires the masquerade, I didn't know anything out either source material by the time I finished both games, I literally had to binge google things to try to get a better feel for both worlds, both worlds which i kinda fell in love with. I always knew about DnD, beyond its dragons though I really didn't are about the source material. That didn't stop me from researching more into the world after i played and beat bg one, though it took me actually playing bg to gain interest in the drow, and thay. It also didn't make me any less alienated on these forums, I'll tell you that. I mean I can talk about dragons... and their gods... but that is about it >.>
thirdly...
As touched on before, mechanics... I play smite and I care for smite because love is too strong of a word. Anyone who things competitive games like moba's don't require time to get into, understand the mechanics of each character, understand which character counter which, understand which items counter which, understand when to fight, when to retreat, who to carry because your freaking teammate is god -beep- idiot who only knows how to run and die instead of learning -beep- positioning or lettin the -beep- tank initiate or how to follow up the -beep- tank or... or... -beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep-
Excuse, my point is, you're lying through your teeth, stop that.
But, just like moba, crpg have set mechanics and strategies that one has to learn and invest time into. Unlike most moba's and bethstudio (don't care what anyone says, tes is still fun), a lot of crpg mechanics aren't accommodated with fast pace action. This is something that turns people off to TBS also, so we have this fun complex mechanic but it is not stimulating to some. And personally, I actually hate bg's combat animation. its a tbs, that has just random move swings instead of having the actions being displayed when the actual dice is rolled of that action. Yea, yea, I know it can be turned off now, but I don't play bg now.
@Fardragon
For you maybe sir, but for some of us, a computer isn't just for isolating ourselves from humanity. Some of our friends lives hundreds of miles away and we play games together through the computer because not every has the money to waste on a console, and then waste to pay monthly fees for online on that console ontop of paying a monthly fee for our internet.
Yea see I tend to be antisocial ever since I was little so I barely interacted with people around me. And most friends I did have, rarely lived around the way. They were always people from ththe last school I went to.
People's appetite for this particular kind of fantasy is limited (compared to, say, superhero fantasies), but the largest part of the mainstream English-speaking market that does want it seems to be just fine and dandy with GenericFantasyLand.
The rest of us just get to be nostalgic about Morrowind or the occasional JRPG with an interesting setting.
With the exception of gof (i don't know much about it so I can't really make this statement, I know it was a book but I don't know how popular that book is), Lotr and TES both are popular duo to the fact they both have a strong following fan base. Technically a lot of things in this day in age actually survive because it is usually tied to a strong fanbase. How does superman, batman, spiderman, and the fantastic four, continue to get movies mad despite how bad some of the movies have done in the box office or just how generally bad some of them were? Because they are tied directly to a following, no matter how bad something is, a big enough following will continue to put money forth at least once to see it.
LOTR is massive because, lets be honest, it was the book that started many of the modern day fantasy tropes. you can take the most garbage plot, and as long as you slap LOTR on it, toss in some iconic characters for flavor, and place it in Middle-Earth, fans will go to see it just because its LOTR, Star wars is hands down proof of this. This same thing applies to game to a extent.
How many people claim to hate oblivion and Skyrim, yet a portion of them still own the game because they are still a fans of the TES series.
Also you have to take into account, these series are also placed in fantasy worlds based on what the people already know.
I've always wondered about that, but you tell me if I got it right! If I got you right, this was an "aha" moment! I won't say heureka, because that involved serious fluid and element physics.
I would assume because the mainstream RPGs have been such well written and executed games up until now. Some of the best titles in game narrative across all genres have been in RPG.
However, both Skyrim and DA: Inquisition were day zero console ports - and poor ones, at that, IMO - and my PC gamer heart bleeds on both accounts.
If the mainstream RPG will further abandon its PC fanciers, I think this discussion will change tack.
I use the PC mostly, but I do like to play on the tablet too in places where the PC can't easily be, if I am out waiting for my wife the tablet is great in the car. I use BlueStacks on the PC to play Android games as well, The Bards Tale is great on the bigger screen and I can use the logitech controller too.
Gaming immersion is individual, but gaming joy should be - mind - UNIVERSAL.
I wish my console bros and sis to love their gaming. I do!
But the idea that those bros or sis of mine would not think alike with my being a firm PC gamer pains me a lot.
It does!
"Market" might have changed, but RPG fandom not that much. Or what say u mf2112?
As for RPG gamers, my feeling is that we are getting older overall. It doesn't seem like younger people are as common here, I think mostly because RPG's require a bit of time to get to a level of mastery of and there is a wide world of entertainment out there beckoning.
But was it not that sort of setting "hard core" gamer aside from PC gamers that allowed DA: Inquisition to be a bleeding heart of disappointment to PC gamers? When BW existed unto then on enthusiasm of PC gamers?
I just want to say: if corporate game development wants to drop PC gamers, please do it fair n square! Not like DA:I where gameplay for PC and melee CHARs just simply sucks!
(PS. I envy and love you DA:I fans whom can love melee combat, but I love DA:O and DA2 much better, as PC gamer perso)
But when you tell me you game deeply, I'd expect you to understand why PC gamers quite love their platform.