About RPG Games

Terms used within games

The most commonly-used term in role-playing games is character; characters can be player characters (PCs) or non-player characters (NPCs). A group of player characters is generally known as a party, though terminology tends to vary (Coterie in more socially-based games or unit in military based games tend to be common). A rich vocabulary exists to describe characters and their representations:

• Attributes describe a natural, in-born characteristics shared by all characters, such as physical strength or wisdom

• Skills describe learned capabilities, such as spoken languages, horse riding or computer hacking.

• Powers describe extraordinary abilities which make a character special, such as flight or telepathy.

These are often referred to as statistics and are recorded on a character sheet. The process of describing a character in this fashion is called character creation. In some games characters' statistics are assigned randomly, while others use character points to ensure game balance. Still others eschew pre-defined statistics and allow players to describe their characters with broad traits. In addition, many games allow further variation of characters using advantages and disadvantages.

In some games, a character's personality and occupation is set by the character's statistics; in others, the player chooses an alignment and a character class to represent them. Other games allow the player free choice of occupation and allow the character's personality to develop through role-playing. Similarly, some games require players to choose a race such as Human, Dwarf or Elf for their character, while their opponents will usually belong to a monster race; other games either allow free choice from within the game's setting or assume every character will be human (or in some cases, rabbits or cats).

Most games use derived statistics to keep track of temporary changes to a character, such as hit points or magic points. Games which rely on lengthy calculations often make use of derived statistics to hold the result of a frequently-performed calculation. These are typically used for a single game mechanic such as attack or defense, for example Armor class, Initiative or Saving throws.

Longer-term games often keep track of how much a character has learnt using experience points (XP). In some games (usually less modern games) these can be spent directly to improve statistics; in others, XP are spent to increase a character's level. Still others allow players to spend XP as plot points, allowing the character to succeed heroically where they would have failed, or otherwise modifying the story according to the player's wishes.

The progress of characters' skills and equipment can get out of hand. If this problem occurs with every character in a game, it is known as the monty haul problem (a pun on the Monty Hall problem).

Terms in specific game systems

The terms Natural 1 and Natural 20 refer to rolling a 1 or a 20 on a standard 20 sided die (D20), respectively. The term "natural" refers to the dice's value before it is altered by any game rules that may apply. This is most significant in Dungeons and Dragons and other d20 System games, in which a natural 20 represents a "critical success" and a natural 1 indicates a "critical failure" at whatever game action was being attempted at the time. D&D gamers sometimes use the phrases "natural 1" or "critical failure" to describe any time that someone utterly fails at what they were attempting, and "natural 20" to describe succeeding at some task against all odds.

Terms used to describe games

The set of game mechanics which make up a game is known as the system. The world in which the game takes place is the setting. A single or linked set of games is an adventure and a series of adventures is a campaign. A single meeting of a role-playing group is often referred to as a session. Gaming can also take place in smaller sessions, called blue booking, where one or a few of the players roleplay out events that do not involve the entire group.

Systems which can support a wide variety of settings are said to be generic; the opposite is specific. The game can be run with the rules as published, or house rules may be used.

Settings belong to one or more genres such as science fiction or fantasy.

The indie role-playing game community has developed the GNS theory to describe role-playing games, which states that they belong to one of the following schools:

• Gamist games, in which enjoyment is derived from facing and overcoming challenges

• Narrativist games, in which enjoyment is derived from creating a good story (see Collaborative fiction)

• Simulationist games, in which enjoyment is derived from accurately simulating the real world.

Some games can be rules-heavy, requiring players to focus on game mechanics at the expense of roleplaying - this is known as roll-playing. On the other hand, some games are very rules-light, and many freeform games exist.

Terms used to describe players

The player who runs the game is the game master (often abbreviated to 'GM'); many games give them a more specific title such as dungeon master, storyteller or story guide. Alternatively, a game may use a troupe system.

During play, a player can speak in character or out of character. A player who use out-of-character knowledge to solve in-character problems, or to explain in-character behaviour, is said to be metagaming.

A player who plays to "beat the system" can be called a powergamer or, in extreme cases, a munchkin or twink. Players who constantly remind the game master/dungeon master of rules of the game that they might be breaking are often referred to as rules lawyer.

Strategy Game (from Wikipedia)

Strategy video games are video games that focus on gameplay requiring careful and skillful thinking and planning in order to achieve victory. In most strategy video games, "the player is given a godlike view of the game world, indirectly controlling the units under his command".
"The origin of strategy games is rooted in their close cousins, board games". Strategy games instantiated on computers generally take one of four archetypal forms, depending on whether the game is turn-based or real-time and whether the game's focus is upon military strategy or tactics.

Sub-genres

4X

4X refers to a genre of strategy video game with four primary goals: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate. A 4X game can be turn-based or real-time. Perhaps the best known example of this genre is Sid Meier's Civilization series.

Artillery

Artillery is the generic name for either early two or three-player (usually turn-based) computer games involving tanks fighting each other in combat or similar derivative games. Artillery games are among the earliest computer games developed; the theme of such games is an extension of the original uses of computer themselves, which were once used to calculate the trajectories of rockets and other related military-based calculations. Artillery games are a type of strategy game, though they have also been described as a "shooting game". Some examples include Gunbound, Scorched Earth, Tanarus and Gorillas.bas, programmed in QBasic Language.

Real-time strategy

Usually applied only to certain computer strategy games, the moniker "real-time strategy" (RTS) indicates that the action in the game is continuous, and players will have to make their decisions and actions within the backdrop of a constantly changing game state, and computer real-time strategy gameplay is characterised by obtaining resources, building bases, researching technologies and producing units. Very few non-computer strategy games are real-time; one example is Icehouse.
Some players dispute the importance of Strategy in Real Time Strategy games, as skill and manual dexterity are often seen as the deciding factor in this genre of game. "A player controls hundreds of units, dozens of buildings and many different events that are all happening simultaneously. There is only one player, and he can only pay attention to one thing at a time. Expert players can quickly flip between many different tasks, while casual gamers have more problems with this." , Troy Dunniway. Ernest Adams goes so far as to suggest that real-time gameplay interferes with strategy. "Strategic thinking, at least in the arena of gameplay, does not lend itself well to real-time action".
The game considered the father of RTS games is Dune II, by Westwood Studios, and was followed by their seminal Command & Conquer games. Cavedog's Total Annihilation (1997), Blizzard's Warcraft (1994) series, StarCraft (1998), and Ensemble Studios' Age of Empires (1997) series are some of the most popular RTS games. In addition, online games such as NukeZone can be considered belonging in this genre as well.

Real-time tactics

Sharing feature of the simulation and war game categories, real-time tactical computer game titles focus on operational aspects and control of warfare. Unlike in real-time strategy games, resource and economical management and building plays no part of the battle gameplay. Example titles include Warhammer: Dark Omen, World In Conflict, and the Close Combat series.

The Battle for Wesnoth is turn-based strategy game.

Turn-based strategy

The term "turn-based strategy game" (TBS) is usually reserved for certain computer strategy games, to distinguish them from real-time computer strategy games. A player of a turn-based game is allowed a period of analysis before committing to a game action. Examples of this genre are the Civilization, Heroes of Might and Magic and Master of Orion series.
TBS games come in two flavors, differentiated by whether players make their plays simultaneously or take turns. The former types of games are called simultaneously-executed TBS games, with Diplomacy a notable example. The latter games fall into the player-alternated TBS games category, and are subsequently subdivided into (a) ranked, (b) round-robin start, and (c) random, the difference being the order under which players take their turns. With (a), ranked, the players take their turns in the same order every time. With (b), the first player is selected according to a round-robin policy. With (c), random, the first player is, of course, randomly selected.

Almost all non-computer strategy games are turn-based; however, the personal computer game market trend has lately inclined more towards real-time games.
Some recent games have mixed both real-time and turn-based elements together. In this game players are given 100 moves a day. Moves can be taken at anytime in that day whether or not other player have taken theirs.

Turn-based tactics

Turn-based tactical gameplay is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks using only the combat forces provided to them, and usually by the provision of a realistic (or at least believable) representation of military tactics and operations. Examples of this genre are the Jagged Alliance and X-COM series, as well as tactical role-playing games such as the Final Fantasy Tactics series and Nippon Ichi games.

Wargames

Wargames are a subgenre of strategy video games that emphasize strategic or tactical warfare on a map. Wargames generally take one of four archetypal forms, depending on whether the game is turn-based or real-time and whether the game's focus is upon military strategy or tactics.

Elements of an Action Game

There are several characteristics that define an Action Game. The foremost would be the typical violence that you would see in an Action Movie, as in lots of physical fighting involving explosions, shooting, fist-fighting, high-speed flying or driving while shooting. The majority of the difficulty or challenge with Action Games lies in that your physical reaction speed, precision, eye-sight, mental sharpness is tested. If there is puzzle elements involved; you are usually pressured to complete them under a certain amount of time or consequence of failing, such as having to start at the beginning of a level.

Another key element is that the Action itself is the highest priority. Plot usually takes a sub-role and won't tie you up with too much thinking. It's almost as if the plot is there simply for rest breaks from the intense button pushing that inhabits most Action Games. When this is reversed and plot takes the higher priority, you cross over into a Role-Playing Game.

Other typical defining characteristics you would see are:

• Lack of a "Save Game" feature.
• Lack of involving or complex puzzles.
• In-Depth Plot or Story Elements are absent from many action games and takes a minor role in most.
• Lack of Character Interaction or involvement with choices that affect your character personally.
• Many times the player controls a single character or switches back and forth between a few different characters while playing.
• Most Action Games focus on manipulation of superficial elements such as where an object is located on the screen or how it moves.
• Lack of turn-based elements.

Common Objectives and Game-play

In computer and video games, a level (sometimes called a stage, course, map or landscape) is a separate area in a games virtual world, in modern games typically representing a specific location such as a building or a city. ...While the individual objective of an action game varies drastically from game to game, it generally involves advancing through stages referred to as "levels"; along the way, eliminating hordes of enemies with minor puzzle solving involved. Many times the games include a "Boss" or "Bosses", often precluded by "Sub-Bosses" (more commonly known as Mini-Bosses). A mini-boss is usually the climax of a series of levels or each individual level, with a "Boss" being either at the end of the game or they can be tiered with many mini-bosses, a few bosses that are harder in difficulty and then finally leading up to an "End-game Boss" which would be the objective of the game. Look up boss in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The word boss includes several meanings: For a projection (as in the ceilings of cathedrals where arches intersect), often decorated, e. ... Look up boss in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Bosses are typically defeated by your "pattern recognition" skills and physical reaction speed. In most older action games and even many modern ones, the bosses were programmed with a simple pattern of attacks or moves that would make them very difficult to defeat. Though usually after a few minutes or hours of trying anyone can defeat them as you simply learn the pattern from trial and error. These simple patterns would often include combo moves that require your character to jump, dodge or block an attack, then strike at certain points to deal damage to the boss, perhaps even waiting out or timing the patterns to get your attacks in.

Action Game Sub-Genres

Following is a list of the most common sub-genres listed in game indexes whether on the Internet or in book-form.

• 2D Action
• 3D Action
• 3D Platformer
• Arcade
• Action- Adventure
• Breakout Variant
• Beat 'em up
• Driving
• FPS
• Freeform Shooter (also known as Shoot 'em up)
• Horizontal Shooter
• Hybrid
• Military Shooter
• Multi-Type Action
• Multi-Player Shooter
• Survival Horror
• Pinball
• Platformer
• Space Combat
• Vertical Shooter