Open-Ended RPGs Editorial
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I feel that RPG gaming has become hyper-focused, and as such, has pigeonholed itself into a glut of 'inbred' games and experiences. All too often, RPGs progress in an evolutionary manner, as opposed to revolutionary manner. For instance, Game A comes out with something interesting. Suddenly, Games B-F make sure they include The Big Thing(tm) that Game A has as it's major selling point. Games B-F have that same selling point, and some non-zero number (we'd hope) of other decent ideas and concepts going for them as well. Then Game G comes along, which has the same major selling point as previous Games A-F, (which has now been demanded as 'industry standard' by players) as well as another neat selling point or two. So Game G becomes the new hot thing on the market, and now Games H-N have the same original selling point that Game A had, as well as the new thing that Game G had. This is the way that games, in a general sense, evolve. Certainly, there are games that break this mold, and do provide truly revolutionary gameplay experiences. These games however, are few and far between and often wind up becoming a sensation for awhile. These games either spawn new clones of themselves or fizzle out. Then like some sort of ridiculous taboo, the gaming industry is notorious for never touching a concept again, if it was poorly implemented once. Sure pitfalls and patterns exist, but if you simply bounce off every wall you encounter just to spin around and go in an opposite direction, then barriers just don't get broken down.
