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I think Terrain is the Most important...
Then comes the music...
Then Gameplay...

Story line is the most inportant thing

Definetly the stroyline.
Every good RPG needs to have a good storyline.

Depends on if you mean True RPG, or an Action/Adventure RPG thing.
Gameplay for me. What's the point of playing if the gameplay is crap?

The Terrain Is Important because Some People (Me) Think that if the terrain loks good and music goes good the gameplay could suck but people would still think it an awsom looking rpg...

If theres no gameplay, there no RPG

if theres no terrain, theres still an RPG
if theres no story-line theres still an RPG
Characters names are starting to get weird now (all like LOTR names...)
dont need cutscenes that much
spells/abilities, music, special fx arent needed

but you'll need like all of those to make the best RPG

1. Story
2. Music
3. Gameplay

I Say the story line should be the most important because it should have the characters, gameplay, terrian special abilities/spells (if it is a multi-player map) and, maybe, music.

1. Gameplay
2. Aesthetics
3. Storyline

If it plays well, looks good, and interests me in the slightest, then it's a good RPG in my book.

Definately re-playability. You have to add options in the RPG, and when you choose one thing, you cant go back untill you play again. This makes it so to get the fullest out of the game, you have to keep playing it until you've done everything and seen everything you can.

Example: In the middle of the RPG have a character choose between light or dark.
Example 2: Have multiple different classes that a person can choose in the very beggining to play as.
Example 3: Make multiple lines of quests, but if you do a certain few, the other few become unavailible to you.

This makes the RPG able to be played mutliple times, and thus passed around to many people too.

Gameplay must be first cuz the fact that most rpgs on the b.net are all same and aren't very different. They need a new battle system.

then theres Storyline which you always need. Every rpg must have a strong story to increase the replay value in the player.

Then theres terrain. Which should be wide and open spaced but should be easy to get around or else the player will get confuse playing it.

Then theres music. When your in a battle it must be epic and must sound strong. And when your in a sad time you must use loney sad music...

I personally couldn't choose. All the factors you listed make a good RPG and I don't see how one alone is more important than another.

Gameplay is meh to me because it's pretty much the same throughout the whole game, well excet for new spells and such. I think what pushes a gamer not just to play an rpg, but to finish it is the storyline. Wondering what will happen next, wondering where your character will wind up, wondering what twists await you, wondering if that mercenary you picked up earlier is going to turn on you or help you complete your quest. Also, it's kind of hard to screw terrain up. I think that is the easiest part to making an rpg, or any map at all.

Just make sure it is an RPG before you call it one.
I pinned it for a reason: http://www.staredit.net/index.php?showtopic=1051 .

I'm still contemplating which one is best...

I'm doing that if you were to strip RPG's down into the most basic form possible, what would be left?

Characters can't be first because look at legacy of Hæan, no depth in them at all but it is a great RPG.

Music can't be first because even though it can intensify the mood greatly, if the RPG doesn't have the other traits you could just record the music on a CD and listen to it while walking down the street or playing BW yay!

Oh yes... cutscenes... they're my most important thing to make when I'm a DM in DND Legend of Dragon 2.0. But of course, the boss battle after it is more fun and it would be boring if you could just easily hack'n slash to the cutscenes without no problem at all.

Then the storyline... sorry Sa:Max71, but storyline doesn't make the game. The story line is part of cinema scenes; it is the plot of the whole story. The story line is the most important in normal books, but some things just come more important than story line in a "virtual" book. Aren't RPG's basically virtual books?

Terrain... nah you don't need intricate terrain. Terrain, like Music, intensifies the mood and aura of the place.

Special abilities... Ok.. LOOK AT Legacy of Hæan!

Special Features.. Well, those things are quite nifty in movies but... there is much debate upon that you should have satisfaction from the game instead of extras that you get from the end of the game.

Well then... I guess the most logical answer.. considering that my argument against:

Characters
Cutscenes
Special Features
show that Gameplay is what is needed for the best... Which is why my Other Dot RPG i made for boredom in 5 minutes wasn't that fun.

Everything really, but I would have to say the terrian should be oringal.
You dunno how many RPGs look like this:
City
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
The End

Red = Pathway

Okay...
Heres what I feel,
The most important thing in an RPG, isnt the fact that it has nice terrain, storyline, music, gameplay....

its purpose...

what the heck are you doing in that game anyway?

What... save the world?

Ive seen rpgs that are so ridiculously stupid...

giving 1000 quests... and not telling you what, or how you're supposed to do it... and then when you finish them the ending credits scroll up and it says the end.... WOW.... GREAT PURPOSE!... I played this whole friggin thing for 3 hours, and I get a message saying "THE END"... even with a good storyline... you play the friggin thing, and you get things done and... the end...

Give some purpose.... give them a feeling of completion, or something... prize?... reward? something...


and the other things also take into account...


like gameplay... most of rpgs that I have played are completely boring after the first 5 mins... extremely boring.. with the same actions happening over and over again... kill something, use the same spells in the same way for the same amount of units, run away, heal, run over there again and kill some more things...


gah whatever...

if its good... you'll know it...

rpgs are only good if all elements of its are good...

so blah...

Yup, that should apply to every single game on battle.net. It's sad to see how most of the maps fail to have a purpose.

i think gameplay is most important. you gotta have a simple fast fun gameplay. i dont think any fancy terrain does anything. as long as it plays a role. music helps you go along and not get bored as easily.

Hey golden.. about that RPG you show.. You should really read the bottom thread in the area above the normal threads on page 1. Its the one about RPGS and how we define RPGS are too vague, so according to that thread that really can't be even considered an RPG with that horrible terrain.

You're going from best to worst (where the human player makes terrain worse than if there were nothing there except buildings) I'm going from best to not the best.

I sincerely think that can't be defined as a real RPG Golden-fist (>.<)

Edit: its above the forum topics where its just "topic title" its called something like

"My problem with RPG maps" It was started by Chu.

Everyone should look at this thread... its a good thing to know

Haha, you hit it right on the dot Millennium.

What's the point of debating on this? There is no Abstract Dictionary. This is all opinions.

Because if it where a fact there is nothing to depat about it now is there ?!!

But anyways, the thing I want to see in Role Playing Games is that you can CHOOSE what you do, I now it is close to imposible to make a total freedom (like Morrowind, etc.) but at least some choices so it isn't that liniear like all (which I've seen) those so-called "rpg's". That is really importent in a rpg, but gameplay, characters, storyline, terrain, etc. are ALSO importent, but I think choices are (one) of the most importent.

Oh you mean like RolePlaying Games such as the Open RPG's, which are based on a certain terrain and certain period that force you to follow, excuse me...

I don't like those ones very much....

Anyways, I definately agree with Red2Blue. Everything is important, but most RPGs have no purpose. You are some hero guy that kills stuff, upgrades magically by collecting money from dead units, fighting a big unit, and winning. It should be creative and give everything a reason, make everything important. It's like a book, you don't have a giant city you spend a lot fo time in having no effect on the story. You want to foreshadow, and tell the person why they are playing.


Hopefully our opinions will inspire better RPGs to be made. How many people have seen a lot of RPGs with the concepts well applied listed in the poll?