Since it is unlikely that this list will ever be finished, I thought that some people might be interested in something a lot more ambitious that I found on the Codex. https://crpgbook.wordpress.com/about-the-project/ The quality is top notch and the cast includes some well known persons such as Josh Sawyer and MCA. A must read for those interested in the history of cRPGs.
Thanks for the praise! And if anyone wants to help, we sure could use some short reviews on older RPGs.
I don't mind helping with this If you want, I'll do; Jade Empire Fallout Tactics I would offer a review of Fallout 4, but it may be a little biased (even through I will have all the expansions).
I would, but my english isn't too good and I don't know as much about the genre as others on the Codex and NMA so I'll leave that role to them. Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading the finished book.
Well, it does have some RPG elements. The book does not only include "pure" role-playing games, whatever that term even means, and I think this is a good thing considering there is no real definition for the term cRPG. On another note, the fourth realease was a few days ago and there are now 50 more pages.
I have to be with 0wing here, there is no way Stalker is a cRPG, and there is a big difference between a cRPG and a game with RPG elements. For example if STALKER is a cRPG then Borderlands is even more cRPG . Not trying to bash, just saying that is including games like STALKER in a cRPG "super work" like this book that makes people confused about what a cRPG is and helps perpetuate that games like Fallout 4 or Borderlands are cRPGs and stuff like that . I think just because a game is a good game, it shouldn't get a pass to fit in genre it is not it's genre just because it has elements of it. Maybe I am just too old and keep trying to make people not generalise even more what a cRPG is. Since I was there when the first cRPGs appeared and they always followed the same system and vision as PnP RPGs, and so for me those requirement are what a cRPG needs to be a, well, a cRPG . I am all in favour of this project though . Hope it achieves success .
And no one ever called STALKER a cRPG before this book, only FPS with some global elements of the genre even in it's homeland.
I've been following your project for some time now. Keep it up. I may try to contribute some day to a project that actually gets shit done.
I recently wrote a Gamasutra article on the many definitions of CRPGs and why it's so hard to get into common grounds... The gist of it is that different types of players have different definitions: Dice-Rollers: RPGs are driven by character skill! (muh stats!) Role-Players: RPGs are driven by role-play! (muh immersion!) BioWarers: RPGs are driven by choice! (muh romance!) STALKER is an open-world-ish FPS with quests, item-based character progression and choices & consequences. But it's missing Level Ups, which is why more old-school gamers reject it as a CRPG. On the other hand, people raised on BioWare wouldn't consider Wizardry a CRPG - "where are the choices?" The only way I can make a complete CRPG book is by including both and using their review text to talk about this.
So does many other open-world FPT/TPS games. Open world and quests doesn't give the right to call them RPGs.
No, but add in choices in both character progression/playstyle and quests/factions and you have plently of role-playing opportunities. That's what separates STALKER from other games.
