Discussion questions
1. What is your favorite RPG and why?
2. What subgenre is your favorite and why?
3. Does "RPG" do enough to describe a game in the genre?
4. If you had to chance, would you change the name to something else?
5. Would creating more defined subgenres help or hurt the appeal?
I've went through #3&4, and I have been on record that JRPGs are my favorite. Of those, I've gravitated (as Japan seems to as well) more towards anime-based presentation. It effectively melds two media (anime and games) together. That said, calling them RPGs doesn't do them enough justice. Calling Persona 4 an RPG in the same sense as Fallout, Diablo, or Starcraft seems too broad. At least by calling it an "anime fantasy adventure," you get a better sense, a narrowed perspective.
The issue is that I wouldn't know how what to call Fallout other than a WRPG. Those terms are so prevalent that it might be difficult to reclassify. However, what were Sandbox games before Sandbox? "GTA Clones." What were FPS games before FPS? "Doom Clones. I think it can be done. It might narrow the market, but it at least gives a better reference than a vague descriptor.
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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money