I''m going to make this short and sweet. why is there virtually NO replayability in most RPG''s? is it because they are so long? doing the same things over and over? is it because of the storyline? is it because without a storyline, then they aren''t fun? to me...one of the best aspects of a game is replay value. which is why driving/fighting/FPS/puzzles, etc are so good. these are games that i can always pick up and play, over and over again. why am i going to spend $50 on a game that i will play once, and never touch it again? my thoughts on this is because RPG''s are a very linear game with a storyline. this does not include mmorpgs of course only because they are so non-linear...which have WAY TOO much replay value. so how can we overcome this? and no more of this stupid adventure game "beat the game once, and get a new costume" junk. i mean really lure players to want to play again. can this be done? -Luxury

... of course it depends upon what you mean by an RPG, if you mean games like the Fallout series, where you can choose to be good or bad or both at all moments of the game, and can start with different stats, and advance your skills in different ways. Then I would disagree with you.

Whereas if you mean the strategy-adventure game genre like the Final Fantasy series, then to some extent I would agree with you, as the combat does become repetitive, and there is almost nothing new to be seen / experienced in the adventure part, although to me it is like reading a good old comic book.

That said I would like more mini-scenarios in RPGs Baldur''s Gate 1-2 are OBSCENE in terms of length of play. I prefer games which take a few hours.

So if you define which games you mean when you say RPGs lack replay value, then someone might be able to help you.

Luxury, man, I am so with you 100% Even awesome games like Fallout aren''t all that replayable for me because I know what''s going to happen.

We all pretty much know that right now it''s damn difficult to provide a really changable, interesting story-line that''s different with many different replays.

So here are couple of things that may make RPGs a bit more replayable:

1) Shuffle the locations. Simply having the Master''s Cathedral appear north instead of south would make exploration a bit more replayable.

2) Move the items around. This goes with #1

3) Diablo''s unique weapons system should be included and apply to enemies as well

4) Make 3 or 4 cool game activities that are self-consistent after the story. If it''s a cool encounter system, or trade/barter, or item invention, these things will sustain your players while they wait for the sequel to your game!



--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...

Good RPGs, I''d say, are replayable just like a good book is. Of course you can''t play/read it twice in a row and enjoy it equally, but go back to it maybe a year after you play it and go through it again? At least that''s the way it SHOULD be for a well written and executed one. I don''t think any we''ve seen really qualify. Not even Fallout (which is, of course, the best RPG ever made)

I think this is the downfall for encouraging people to look in every nook and crany in your game. When you play an rpg, they tend to encourage you to look in every little pot hole. I guess there''s no need to play the game again once you''ve done this and nothing changes the second time round.

I love Game Design and it loves me back.

Our Goal is "Fun"!

I agree with Paul, with Deus Ex, because you didn''t have to go everywhere to complete a level And because you could do them in different ways.. I found that I went through some very different areas when playing run''n''gun shotgun/sniper than when doing stealth and knock out.

FF are not RPGs.They are adventures with a few stats.Really.Real RPGs like Shadows over Riva or ADOM(ok, that''s roguelike) or Fallout (2) are replayable.Especially the first two I mentioned.

Runemaster now working on Acronia : Secrets of Magic
Join the Game Developers RuneRing !
The Specular Lightosis Research Fund
This is a message from God: "Rebooting the universe, please log off."

When i say RPG...i mean traditional RPG''s such as but not limited to almost all Japanese rpg''s, plus many others. i have never played fallout...so i couldnt tell you anything about it. but i assume fallout has a story? my post was in responce to:

if you do play a game over again...why? because of the story? because of the gameplay?

maybe randomly located locations would work...although probably not IMO. the story is still the same...and its the same place....just in a different place. my thoughts is that it would probably discourage many people.

i do think that one of the major downfalls is people (myself included) that goes around trying to collect EVERYTHING...talk to EVERYONE, and kill EVERYTHING (see collecting everything).

so one way to work around this that i see is to make certain parts of the game only playable once...and maybe with a time limit. just to stir up the gameplay.

the only rpg that i ever play now (after i beat it) is zelda64. and i dont even know if you want to call that an rpg. but the reasoning behind it is this: there is SO much to do in the game...plus it is FUN. tons of minigames, races, and secret areas. kind of like pokemon (so i assume...ive never played it) who plays pokemon for the story?? for the RPG aspects?? everybody plays it for collecting. now i dont know if the collecting part would be considered a mini-game or not. but i do know that the replay value on this game is extremely huge.

so maybe it is true...that if a game is good enough...then it deserves to be played again. so maybe this just means that we have to make better games? sounds good to me.

-Luxury

The only time i would replay a game for its story would be if i think i didn''t catch everything in the story the first time around AND i liked the story. Apart from that i always replay a game becuase of it gameplay. Gameplay for me is a lot more durable than a story. Thats just me.

I love Game Design and it loves me back.

Our Goal is "Fun"!

I personally go back and play Zelda 64 for the combat, I love the combat system, especially against a good opponent.

I think mutually exclusive events would help replayability. Like in Star Ocean 2, you can be two different main characters, and there are certain party members/events you can only get as one of the chars. Of course, I''m not going to play it again after I beat it, just because it''s another hack n'' slash "RPG".

-------------------------------------------
"What's the story with your face, son?!?"