Millbrook High School

The Game Design and Mechanics of the Role-Playing-Game Genre

David Elizondo

Trade & Industries

Ms. Romano

May 17, 2019

 The genre of Role Playing Games has been present in gaming, interestingly enough,

before video games even existed. Many key mechanics that have become standard in modern

RPGs date back as early as 1960s, but were popularized by the well-known tabletop game

Dungeons and Dragons, which officially released in 1974. Features such as leveling up,

managing equipment, and even classes all debuted in tabletop games before the era of video

games, but they’ve stood the test of time, particularly in the RPG genre.

The first big hit RPG outside of Japan was none other than Final Fantasy, which would

grow to become a hugely popular franchise, boasting 15 unique entries and multiple remasters.

Final Fantasy launched on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, and was one of the

West’s first experiences with the RPG genre, introducing mainstays such as party members,

experience points, classes, a variety of stats including a split between physical strength and

magical strength, as well as items. These mechanics are still seen today in a variety of franchises,

including RPGs such as Pokemon, Fire Emblem, and Persona.

RPGs share many aspects and mechanics, but the combats systems within them differ

greatly. The majority of RPGs utilize a turn-based system, where the player attacks and then the

opponent does, but many games either put a spin on the system, or change it entirely. For

example, in the Paper Mario series, ​quick time events​, or QTEs are used to great extent. When

using attacks, the player is prompted to press a button the second the player animation hits the

enemy, forcing the use of good timing. This implementation keeps the player engaged in another

wise simple combat system. Final Fantasy VII also uses a sort of timing system, using standard

turn-based battles, but forcing the player to choose a command within a certain amount of time,

visualized by a ​gauge labeled “wait,”​ or else their turn is skipped. This system also keeps players
on their toes, as they’re forced to think fast, while in other games, taking the time to make

strategic choices is more advisable. Other games utilize the turn based system in unconventional

methods, like the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, which has a ​combat system​ based on moving

the characters on a field. In those games, for each characters’ turns, they’ll have be in range of an

enemy to attack them, adding a strategic element of keeping not only stats in mind, but also

positioning, making sure you’re either close enough to attack the enemy, or far away enough to

avoid being hit.

Although using the standardized conventions in RPGs is important, they must also be

done right. A common problem with the usage of RPG mechanics is a lack of scalability, or a

constant need to replace outdated gear and items (Stern(1)). An example of items becoming

outdated is present in the Final Fantasy series, where at the start of the game, the player is

presented with potions that can be used to heal somewhere around 50 to 100 health points.

However, due to huge increases in stats, the player’s characters will have little to no use for the

potions later in the game, as their health points reach around 3000 by the end of the game. The

potions become useless later in the game because the character’s stats are inflated far more than

they need to be, so all sorts of early-game items will see a forced decline in use as the game

progresses.

Conversely, the Fire Emblem series uses smaller numbers to the benefit of having early

game items useful for the entirety of the game. Characters in Fire Emblem will only gain 0 or 1

points of health per level up, in contrast to those in Final Fantasy who will easily gain dozens of

health points each level up. The less steep increase of stats in Fire Emblem results in their items
and skills being more scalable, with items that heal as meager as 10 hp being useful both at the

start and the end of the game.

Another mechanic of RPGs that must be done right is the ability to customize ones’

characters. Not only does this cause the player to have to make a choice, adding to the strategic

element of the game, but it makes the game more replayable, as a new playthrough could include

different choices, resulting in a different experience (Bycer). An example of this is seen in the

simplest form in the Pokemon series. The player has the option to capture hundreds of characters

to use in battle in every game, but can only have 6 in their party at any given time. This results in

the player choosing their 6 favorite of all the ones available, often making their experience

different from many other people who are playing the same game. However, it’s not only about

using one’s favorites, because in most RPGs, there will always be some characters stronger than

others. The balance between using favorites and using strong characters that a player must decide

is key to adding a strategic element to games that make the player think about their choices.

Customization is a trait seen in almost every well-known RPG, and it almost always does

nothing but add to a game. However, there are many mechanics that, despite their frequent

appearance, are controversial among players. One of these is the existence of any sort of

randomness (Stern(2)). Randomness is seen as essential to the genre of turn-based RPGs,

because it adds a sense of uncertainty that is otherwise almost non-existent. Randomization is

present in RPGs in many areas surrounding combat, such as the chance to miss a move, the

chance to dodge a move, the chance to deal a status condition such as poison or sleep, critical

hits, or even a slight variation modifier being applied to damage. The uncertainty that’s added by

randomization creates both positive and negative surprising outcomes in combat for the player.
While missing a 90% move might make the player annoyed and frustrated, getting an essential,

lucky 5% critical hit makes up for the frustration with excitement. Overall, the randomness in

RPGs increase the potential outcomes in combat exponentially, which in the long run makes for

more interesting and memorable battles.

While randomness is almost always present in RPGs, the implementation differs from

title to title. The Pokemon series uses randomness primarily with missing or hitting attacks, but

the consistency will vary from move to move. While Fire Blast deals a strong 140 damage, the

85% hit rate might deter players from taking the risk. Flamethrower is a more consistent move at

100% accuracy, it has a significantly weaker damage of 90. Without the element of randomness,

players would have no reason to opt for the weaker move. However, the different hit rates add an

element of choice to the players. The option of a 100% accurate move adds responsibility to the

player, as when they miss a strong, less consistent move, they might regret not going for the

weaker move.

The element of choice can be added to games without using randomness. For example,

the Final Fantasy series uses a system of Magic Points, where some skills will take up more MP

to use than others. In games from the Final Fantasy series, players will have to decide whether its

worth to drain their allocation of MP to deal more damage in one turn, or spend more turns to

defeat the enemy using weaker attacks that use up less MP, at the risk of getting their own units

defeated by the extra turns they spent attacking.

Randomness in RPGs are often used for more purposes than just hitting or missing

attacks. The Fire Emblem series uses a random number generator for a variety of purposes, such

as the standard hit/miss, but also for whether a certain character will level up in a stat or not,
whereas other RPGs, such as the Pokemon series mentioned earlier, will have identical stats for

all pokemon of the same type, as long as there are no other variables. Misael Villegas uploaded

an informative guide on the functionality of the random number generator used for chance

variables in Fire Emblem, which highlight some key pieces of information. A noticeable trait

when it comes to whether a character will hit or miss an attack is that it is not based on a single

random number, but the average of two numbers. This skews hit rates in favor of the player, as in

standard Fire Emblem games, player characters will almost always have hit rates within the 80s

to 90s, while it isn’t uncommon for enemies to have a hit rate of 50%. For example, to visualize

the effect of the skew, if the game displays a hit rate of 1%, there is actually a mere .03% chance

to hit. Similarly, a displayed hit rate of 20% actually will only hit 8.2% of the time, while a

displayed hit rate of 80% will hit 92.2% of the time. Although it can be interpreted as lying to the

player, the system fundamentally is put in place to reduce player frustrations to a minimum.

Players might be annoyed with the game if they constantly miss 90% hits, or if they’re constantly

hit by attacks with a hit rate of 20%, so the two random number system that’s been implemented

in all Fire Emblem games since 2002 works as an interesting solution to player frustration.

While solid mechanics are essential in RPGs, an engaging and immersive story is a key

element that sets the genre apart from others. “Immersion” is the idea that a player feels like they

truly are in the world that the game takes place in. A study done by Werner Wirth and other

researches revealed that the biggest cause of immersion in video games are characteristics that

enrichen the “mental model” of the game’s world, and a sense of consistency in the world;

essentially the lack of plot holes or oversights (Madigan). The world of a video game can be

enriched in a variety of ways, but one of the most important is to have a strong narrative or plot.
A story that makes the player question what’s right or wrong will keep them intrigued in the

game, and sucked into its world as a result. Making exploration interesting also does a great job

of immersing a player; the classic idea of “show, don’t tell” works perfectly in these types of

games, where the player can explore the world and make discoveries as they do. In 3d games,

having complete environments will add to this experience; simple things like seeing a bird in the

distance complimented by hearing a quiet screech will allow a player to feel as if they belong in

the world.

Open world RPGs are often cited as one of the most immersive genres of video games, as

they typically provide not only a strong narrative, but an interesting world to explore that’s both

visually stunning and filled with secrets. Games such as ​Marvel’s Spider-Man​ and ​Legend of

Zelda: Breath of the Wild​ might be more aptly titled action-adventure games than RPGs, but they

both do a great job at creating a world that’s exciting to dive into; allowing the player to truly

feel like they’re Spider-Man or Link, respectively. That’s the whole idea of RPG; as evident by

the title “role-playing games,” the genre revolves around making the player feel like they’re

participating in the game’s world, in one way or another.

Since the most immersive games seem to be open world, it’d be a reasonable assumption

to believe that linear RPGs would suffer greatly to make the world believable to the player. The

Pokemon series specifically suffers from its linearity, as it’s forced to implement roadblocks to

keep the player from advancing to the next area until they complete the current objective.

Although there are certainly some ​reasonable excuses​ to make as to why the player can’t traverse

to the next area yet, many might seem ​unbelievable or silly​ to the player taking them out of the

experience. In fact, the issue is called out and ​parodies itself​ in one of the Pokemon games.
Although roadblocks are often a necessity in linear RPGs, the Pokemon series struggles with

them due to its extremely light story compared to other games of the genre, so while

story-related roadblocks are often the easiest to implement believably, that option is often

unavailable to game franchises like Pokemon that don’t prioritize story.

Video games such as Xenoblade Chronicles utilize a minimal amount of roadblocks due

to the structure of the game’s progress. All the major areas in Xenoblade Chronicles are entirely

separate, so it’s impossible to move on before you’re supposed to. While there are a few

roadblocks, the ones that do exist are handled in a variety of ways, for ​example​, one of the

roadblocks is an extremely high leveled enemy that requires the player to figure out an alternate

route. The roadblock is particularly well done because it turns an aspect that should diminish

immersion and turns it on its head. Instead of coming up with an excuse as to why the player

can’t traverse somewhere, Xenoblade Chronicles takes it as an opportunity to expand on the

wide variety of creature that live in the area.

Immersion and fun mechanics are basics of what can make an RPG a fantastic game, but

there’s many other smaller pieces that can add to the charm of a game that makes it memorable;

arguably the most important attribute a game could have. Having fun while playing it is great of

course, but creating fond memories to look back on can be one of the most enjoyable aspects of

playing video games. Having pleasant music is one way to accomplish this; good music at the

right locations can give players goosebumps. Sounding good is, of course, the best attribute to

have in a video game’s soundtrack, but fitting their locations is also key to make the experience

enjoyable. For example, in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, the ​final boss theme​ contrasts

to the rest of the soundtrack in the game, as it’s much less lighthearted, while the final boss
theme sounds much more epic in comparison. The contrast makes the player know that they’ve

reached the climax, and makes adds to the hype of the final battle. Persona 5 is another RPG that

makes great usage of music. For example, one of the game’s dungeons takes place within an

ancient egyptian pyramid​. The ​song​ that plays during this dungeon takes inspiration from old

arabian music, fitting the location.

In addition, the presentation of a game can add tremendously to its quality. A game’s

GUI, graphical user interface, is a clear important part of this. It’s not just about being easily

accessible; looking appealing to the eye can also make a game more enjoyable. Persona 5 is

frequently praised for it’s ​stylish​ ​GUI ​that stands out from many other games of the same genre.

Even other games in the same series, such as ​Persona 4​, have a much more generic style of user

interface.

In conclusion, there are many aspects to an RPG that can make them more enjoying to

play, as well as many ways to accomplish the same goals. Some qualities that can make RPGs

more appealing include proper scaling, customization, proper implementation of randomness,

and immersion, but there are many things that RPGs can do to stand out, and make themselves

stand out as masterpieces to players.

 Works Cited

Stern(1), Craig. “Designing RPG Mechanics for Scalability.” Sinister Design, 6 Feb. 2017,

sinisterdesign.net/designing-rpg-mechanics-for-scalability/.

Bycer, Josh. “A Game Design Dive Into the RPG Genre.” Game Wisdom, 18 Jan. 2018,

game-wisdom.com/series/game-design-dive-rpg.

Stern(2), Craig. “Unpredictability and control in turn-based combat: an examination” Sinister

Design, 7 Nov. 2017,

https://sinisterdesign.net/unpredictability-and-control-in-turn-based-combat-an-examination/.

Villegas, Misael. “Fire Emblem - Random Number Generator FAQ.” ​IGN,​ 6 Sept. 2004,

www.ign.com/faqs/2004/fire-emblem-random-number-generator-faq-520430​.

Madigan, Jamie. “The Psychology of Video Game Immersion.” ​Psychology Today​, Sussex

Publishers, 3 July 2012,

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-games/201207/the-psychology-video-game-immersio

n​.