The Allure of Western RPGs
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The editors over at Throwing Digital Sheep have editorialized about the increasing popularity of role-playing games developed in the West, while also detailing some of the reasons why they feel that they resonate with RPG fans more than those developed in the East. This is one of those debates that has been around for years and will continue to be argued about across the Internet for years to come:
While JRPGs have the same basic formula, WRPGs try to mix things up a little even when the basic mechanics are the same. The quests and dialogues are clearly written better in WRPGs, the stories are less convoluted, and that makes is a smart move on the developer's part. It doesn't hurt that the subject matter is quite clever in their own right. Take Mass Effect; it explores the place of humanity in a universe that is bigger than just us using Commander Shepard's point of view. BioWare's other IP, Dragon Age is telling the story of a world instead of a protagonist, showing how Thedas evolves over time and over various world-changing events.
The West seems to favour freedom while the East forces linearity, even in open worlds. While both styles can work, WRPGs champion freedom, letting the player write the story. Games like Skyrim let the Dragonborn be a mage or a warrior, a criminal or a straight-shooter, join the Dark Brotherhood or destroy them. The game shapes and revolves around who the player is. And in most of WRPGs, the player is also given the opportunity to literally create their own character. Spending at least an hour creating their virtual representation, customizing everything including race, gender, build, scars, eye colour and even whether their nose is broken or not.
You can favour one faction over another; the Greybeards or the Blades, in Skyrim. You can make choices that affect an entire group, choosing to sacrifice Bull's Chargers or not in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Both choices affect the game in different ways and the player is given the freedom to choose AND to live with the consequence of their choice. All BioWare games in general tend to be super good at choices and merging the intensity of a linear game and the choice to make decisions that impact the story. Jade Empire, KOTOR and Mass Effect are prime examples. Poland has supplied the Witcher series to the growing list of excellent WRPGs.
