Whatever happened to the great PC RPG?

[Baryonyx]

As above...?

I've been enjoying some classic RPG's on my laptop this week. I started off with Fallout, which was part of a triple pack and the first one to arrive by post, but I was really looking forward to the arrival of the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale packs.

I'm sure everyone will know Fallout, as it made a massive impact. In truth, it was a bit of a chore to play, particularly when exploring the town areas, mainly due to the fact that it's set out on an isometric grid. Then I considered that it was 18 years old, and that I still had a Megadrive when it was released!

So I am now enjoying Icewind Dale II, and I'll be playing through Icewind Dale and the expansion packs before hitting Baldur's Gate. These are classic PC RPG's, played to the Advanced Dungeons And Dragons rule set, resulting in richly detailed gaming experiences of tremendous depth. I can't think of any other game where the stats matter so much!


What surprises me is that this genre seems to have died out. When I went looking for recommendations for top RPG's on the PC platform, all these titles cropped up regularly (along with Planescape Torment, which is also a D&D game). It seems that there were no newer entries. Indeed, the D&D games seem to have died a death. Back when they were new, I remember them making a bit of a buzz amongst my gaming mates, who avidly played Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights.


So what led to the collapse of this genre? Did WoW hoover up all the RPG players and trap them? Perhaps the fact that PC gaming now tends to towards repackaged console games put and end to this genre? Or, have they still been making these titles in secret? Of late, the only thing I've recently thought of that hearkened back to the classic PC RPG was Diablo 3. Bring us another fking D&D games!

[RobDickinson]

Consoles mostly, dumbed down for them, simplified controls etc. Even then games like dragon age are continually dumbed down over versions..

On the other side we have huge first person 3d games like elder scrolls where there is little strategy, solo play etc.

I'd love a modern baldurs gate..

[MattyB_]

Baryonyx said:

So what led to the collapse of this genre?

Casual gaming.

Games now have huge budgets, with massive teams, expensively talented staff and long production times due to the ever increasing depth and complexity of current generation systems. Therefore, publishers want guaranteed returns which means keeping the appeal as broad as possible.

Look at Dragon Age 1, through to Dragon Age 2. The first didn't do well on consoles, reviews were reasonable but it was deemed too complex and far too difficult (to be fair, it was quite tricky early on). So they made the "OMG PRESS A BUTTON AND SOMETHING AWESOME HAPPENS" sequel. Reviews were poor, but I believe it sold a little better.

Gone are games like Baldurs Gate with mainstream publishers, they're just to niche. Thankfully, the rise of the Indie and Kickstarter projects shines a little light on this area - games like "Pillars of Eternity" (formally Project Eternity - although it's a little less indie as it's Obsidian) are things to look forward too.

[Mastodon2]

I too would like to see a return to RPGs which are closer to virtualised versions of their board game ancestors than the dumbed down stuff we get now. Perhaps we are due a resurgence in the genre.

[Baryonyx]

MattyB_ said:

Look at Dragon Age 1, through to Dragon Age 2. The first didn't do well on consoles, reviews were reasonable but it was deemed too complex and far too difficult (to be fair, it was quite tricky early on). So they made the "OMG PRESS A BUTTON AND SOMETHING AWESOME HAPPENS" sequel. Reviews were poor, but I believe it sold a little better.

For me, Dragon Age doesn't quite fit that scenario. Yes, the first game was perhaps a little deeper, and definitely more open ended, but it lacked finesse in a big way. It was a decent idea, but the execution wasn't great. Dragon Age II was criticised quite heavily for being linear, but it definitely made for a better gaming experience in that case...so you could perhaps say that Dragon Age suits a little direction.

Yes, a modern Baldur's Gate would be incredible. I love the fact that you can build your own party in games like this. Don't get me wrong, I love modern RPG's but the old Baldur's Gate games were just incredible. I wouldn't even complain if they were still making them with pre-rendered backgrounds and sprites, just give us the complex RPG action we want!

[Aphex]

Sounds like Path of Exile might be up your street. Diablo 3's latest update 2.1.0 should be ready soon adding a competitive edge to it

[RobDickinson]

Baryonyx said:

Dragon Age II was criticised quite heavily for being linear, but it definitely made for a better gaming experience in that case...so you could perhaps say that Dragon Age suits a little direction.

I was deeply unimpressed with DAII. A huge step back from the first game. Felt like they had dropped the target age group by 10+ years.