What makes a good RPG?

Story? Gameplay? Environment? Atmosphere? Characters? What is it that makes an RPG good?

Choice and Story in first. Characters in second and... I dunno whats in third. But thats how I do some of my games.

A unique story is a must. Gameplay that is different than others. Believable characters. These are important things.

Gameplay would always be the same with RM2K3. But going off that, when you say Believable Characters, what do you mean?

I know!

BAD EXAMPLE -
{NAME} is a farmer and he is given a bronze sword and has to fight loads of enemys. He appears to be a master of swords.
NOT BELIEVABLE!!

I can't think of a good idea.

Well, how about this? 5 Adventurers, an Airship Pilot, a Warrior, a Martial Artist, a Black Mage, and a White Mage ( Not like FF1's ). The Airship Pilot has some skills with a Sword, but they aren't perfect, like the typical stereotype. The Warrior is good with an Axe, being a Warrior. The Martial Artist handles Two Daggers easily ( Maybe that's not so believable... ). The White Mage heals, and the Black Mage attacks with Magic. Are they believable?

A unique story. Good characters. Maps. and the battling

Maybe a gun instead of a sword for the pilot?

Thanks Halestorm. And you can change up the gameplay a bit with RPG Maker XP.

not exactly a unique story but if its a story that is used quite often make sure you pull it off well, another main aspect of any game is likeable charaters, if your main guy is a boring little bastard nobody is gonna give a shit about him and get bored easily.The environment i wouldnt say is an extreamly big aspect, because it is on RPGmaker not everyone is good at making maps and if you make them all yourself (and say if you suck) people would understand that and not look at the maps all that much (like with me, i dont really give a shit how the maps are just so long they dont bore me to tears)
the martial artists isnt very believable unless he practices a weapons art, if not then he would prefer using his body as his weapon since that is what he was trained for.

This takes place in a time before guns.

...At least post the year your game is in. Itll help people to help you quite a bit.

I can't really say...I was just thinking past when I started. Ha Ha. Hmmmm...Let's say 1592-1600.

...U really think there would be a airship in the 1600's?

OK, OK. Like I said, I was just thinking Past when I made it. No specific time. Besides, Final Fantasy 1 is way back there, and it has an Airship.

Making medieval RPG means you need to create your own history, background, technology, etc.

I didn't say it was Medieval either. You know what? Forget it. Going off my RPG, what else makes a good RPG Game?

For me:

Story: You must have a nice story. It should be interesting and make you want to play the game more and more so that yu will discover more than you currently know. It shoudl leave you guessing and have failry good characters. Cliches are good as long as they are used nicely. Your characters also must be believeable: A young swordsman being able to outclass the most advanced and powerful Warrior is just wrong.

Gameplay: This is the second most important thing (IMO). Without fun gameplay most people will not want to continue playing your game because it is more than likely the same, or even worse than most other peoples. Making it unique and enjoyable is the way to go.


Those are the two things in which make a good RPG for me.

for me

Story: its gotta have at least an interesting story.. not too much is orignal these days.

Gameplay...

charaters: i always like learnimg about the backrounds of characters especially if there crative.

and for me a good battle system unlike FF 12 i know its a default battle system with 2k3 so you stuck but its a good one so...

A good RPG isn't about the individual elements.  It's about putting everything together in a complimentary way.  In that respect, even the most cliche' story will be fun and enjoyable as long as each part works together in harmony.

I find it best not to ask others what makes a good game.  Everyone has their own opinions and quite frankly, you sohld be more interested in your own ideas than those of others.  The advantage of making your own game is you get to create something you, yourself, would enjoy.  Look to your favorite games, movies, books and television shows for inspiration.  There, you'll gain an idea for the the game's setting based on the types of things you enjoy watch.

Then, look to your friends, family, and even rivals/enemies for the basic character personality types.  The abilties, weapons, etc will come as you flesh out the characters' prsonalities and histories.

Next, look to the world around you for both simple and exotic locales.  Did you know Shigeru Miyamoto used a cave he explored near his hometown as a cihld to create the Super Mario games?  Any everyday thing can become fantastic if you put your mind to it.

Look to your personal experiences for story ideas.  Add in stories you heard from your friends or from older relatives.  Then, sort through all of the information. Dress it up a bit (to save them the embarassment) and place it in a timeline for the characters.  Add a splash of color from your favorite stories, etc and you have a storyline.

Now, take some things you enjoy doing and turn them into minigames.  Did you work on a farm for a summer?  Maybe, you remember helping your mom pull weeds from her flower garden, or you really enjoyed playing kickball in grade school.  Any of these would make excellent minigames.  The internet is there in case you need to look up any details.

Just remember: If you write about what you know, it's more believable.  That's because you've lived it, seen it or just know how it's done.  This gives you the knowledge to create it in detail.

You have a plethora of tools available to you for the purpose of creatign a game.  find out what you enjoy most and create something you truly enjoy.  If you enjoy it, others will, too.

A good RPG isn't about the individual elements.  It's about putting everything together in a complimentary way.  In that respect, even the most cliche' story will be fun and enjoyable as long as each part works together in harmony.

I find it best not to ask others what makes a good game.  Everyone has their own opinions and quite frankly, you sohld be more interested in your own ideas than those of others.  The advantage of making your own game is you get to create something you, yourself, would enjoy.  Look to your favorite games, movies, books and television shows for inspiration.  There, you'll gain an idea for the the game's setting based on the types of things you enjoy watch.

Then, look to your friends, family, and even rivals/enemies for the basic character personality types.  The abilties, weapons, etc will come as you flesh out the characters' prsonalities and histories.

Next, look to the world around you for both simple and exotic locales.  Did you know Shigeru Miyamoto used a cave he explored near his hometown as a cihld to create the Super Mario games?  Any everyday thing can become fantastic if you put your mind to it.

Look to your personal experiences for story ideas.  Add in stories you heard from your friends or from older relatives.  Then, sort through all of the information. Dress it up a bit (to save them the embarassment) and place it in a timeline for the characters.  Add a splash of color from your favorite stories, etc and you have a storyline.

Now, take some things you enjoy doing and turn them into minigames.  Did you work on a farm for a summer?  Maybe, you remember helping your mom pull weeds from her flower garden, or you really enjoyed playing kickball in grade school.  Any of these would make excellent minigames.  The internet is there in case you need to look up any details.

Just remember: If you write about what you know, it's more believable.  That's because you've lived it, seen it or just know how it's done.  This gives you the knowledge to create it in detail.

You have a plethora of tools available to you for the purpose of creatign a game.  find out what you enjoy most and create something you truly enjoy.  If you enjoy it, others will, too.

That...That is just so great. I'm speechless. Thank you for telling me all that.

Like AiR said, its a combination of all elements and all he says is good advice (sounds like you took an English writing course or two, Air). But I would say the starting place and strongest part should be the characters.

You can take a well worn story idea and make it fresh with good characters. If you break down most games, tv shows, movies and books, you find some basic plot.
-Bag guy/s threaten world and hero/es quest to save world.
-Guy meets girl, girl hates guy, but they end up together in the end
and so on and so forth...

Point is, characters should be the center and the story, villians, conflict, the world, will flow out from them and in some cases you may find the other elements practically writing themselves as you catch your groove.

The only other advice I can give you is this: make a game you want to play. Do keep your audience in mind, but make the game so that when you play it, you enjoy it as much as anyone else that plays it.

Mapping plays a huge role.

Mapping, in my opinion is one of the least important things. As long as the maps use tiles correctly, I don't care that much.

Storyline, cutscenes, and music are in my opinion are what make great RPGs. Sure, battle system and gameplay are important, but a good, interesting storyline with great cutscenes is what allows me to play four hours in a row without feeling bored.

Yeah, mapping is good, but not nessissarily the most important. Have you ever played a text-based rpg? All it is is a chat room with a battle system, but people play them for hours at a time. Or have you ever played D&D or any play-by-email games?

Not saying you shouldn't put effort in your maps, but you can always ask for help in making maps better, more detail and such.