Vos

Well, the planet isn't completely destroyed, just really worn down and everyone is on the verge of starving to death.

Viper9

I don't think I'd say that any RPGs have storylines equal to those of great literature, because too much of the story is filled in and determined by the player. Variability is too high.

But I will sya that, as a geeky youth, I played RPGs a hell of a lot - -especially pen and paper ones like Rifts. And it was my experience GMing those games, coming up with plots and characters, and co-ordinating subplots, etc., that got me into writing. That's where I dveloped my love of literary creation.

Anyone else have that sort of experience?

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kintaris

I personally dont think its the RPGs that have the good storylines in games anyway. I've never found RPGs groundbreaking even from a gameplay perspective, and they all just run into one to me. The best storylines in games - and in my opinions the ones that are contenders for 'as good as the movies' - tend to be third person action games such as MGS, Onimusha, Prince of Persia...Even GTA: San Andreas (although i don't think that could be a film, more of a mini-series, and even then only the serious, non-lets-kill-everyone bits).

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Vos

Just how many RPGs have you played, Kintaris?

a15haddad

I truly believe Metal Gear Solid has the best storyline of any videogame series. Although many complain Sons of Liberty is convoluted (more cut-scenes than gameplay, about 8 hours of it), it's personally my favorite- perhaps because it took me so long to fully understand. While, yes, it is a bit fantastic, it is very faithful to political and military methods and, most importantly, it all "makes sense". I would consider Metal Gear Solid as a far greater piece of art than Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, for instance. However, video games can't really be classified as literature.

Honestly, I've never really gotten into RPGs; to me they seem pointlessly drawn-out. I'm not willing to spend hours leveling up or going around to talk to someone when it's a videogame. However, from what I've heard Square's games have fantastic stories... although I can't comment on them.

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Hodge

Yeah, Xenogears is set up in such a way that it's more of an interactive story than a game... And the storyline is very original. It's made by Squaresoft, but the only thing that resembles any of the Final Fantasy games is the interface. A very complex story full of plot twists, character development, and neato things.

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Vos

I think I may check it out, if I can find it seconed had.
I already have a few on my list. Breath of Fire 4, Legend of Dragoon, Jade Empire. I'm trying to beat FFIX again, along with FFVII before the movie comes out this fall. I still haven't finished Breath of Fire 3. I heard Xenogears is long though, like 80 hours. My attention span for a game usually go's at about 20 hours when I get stuck at a puzzle or something.

Hodge

I beat Xenogears in about 60 hours, but I also tried to find all the secrets. It's long, especially for only having two discs. But it's good. Very good. And much of the game time is actually used up with speech and interaction between the characters. I love it—none of the characters are cardboard cut-outs. None of them. And on the same note, nothing is as it seems, either...

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ThatWierdGuy

I actually enjoyed Zone of the Ender's story, even if it wasn't completely original.

LensmanZ313

Well, gamers and game designers can become good writers. Michael A. Stackpole has designed--or helped design--role-playing fames, pen-and-paper-and-dice and computer, and has written some really good SF/fantasy stories; Walter Jon Williams designed a few games and turned out Hardwired and other novels, as well as writing the Hardwired Sourcebook for the R. Talsorian Games' Cyberpunk RPG; E.E. Knight, another gamer, wrote the RPG for his Vampire Earth novels.

And, there are others . . . .

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kintaris

sorry, you're right, i haven't really played them that much. For all i know you might be right about the stories, but that kind of fantasy has never been my thing anyway. From the length of most RPGs i guess they must have reasonably good stories. I just never got into the whole RPG thing from a gameplay perspective either.

But i apologise for my earlier comments because i really havent played enough to have an opinion on them

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Kira the wanderer

Well, it depends on what kind of rp you mean. Do you mean the type people write on the internet or the game type?

Marsieux

Xenogears is good, but its sequel was a complete letdown, which made me hate the first one. But, I think videogames are just a new medium through which great literature can be expressed. It may not be considered great literature yet, but probably should. Some of the best stories I have ever experienced are from videogames. Examples include: Most of the FF series, Halo (cliche yes, but a fabulous sci-fi nonetheless. But Halo 2 wasn't), MGS, and Syphon Filter. I found Syphon Filter 1 and 2 highly enjoyable, but I never got around to the others.

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Lobe

I think potentially, video games could be the highest form of art. Think about it, just about every artistic skill you care to name can be used in their production.

There is writing, for the storyline and character dialogue. Directing, for voice acting, live acting or animation. 2d art (such as paintings, drawings etc) used for backgrounds. 3d art for characters, environments (these could be likened to sculpting and architecture). Music and sound effects design. Programming. It's all there.

Video games have enormous potential, but I don't think that any of them have come anywhere close to reaching that potential as of yet. I enjoy a good RPG as much as the next person, but I've not come across one with outstanding writing (if you can recommend me one, please do). I think that video games should be taken seriously as art, not necessarily literature - although that comes into it. I think that because the medium is still so young it hasn't attracted enough of the right people. But with time I'm sure that it will.

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Surprise

I said nothing about it being unoriginal, I'm just saying it was pretty lame. Reading the first book, it felt more like reading someone's journal from a walk in the woods. It was walking and scenery and singing and once every 20 pages something would happen.

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