I am curious as to what people would like to see most in an RPG? I am considering starting one up for the next few years and I'm curious what I should focus on polishing?

if the game is going to be 95% random battles than make them interesting
types
FF/DW style
the most simplistic, not many options but non-significant battles can be resolved fairly quickly, if you use this try to give the player something else to do sometimes

Tactics
if the battles take forever to complete try not to have too many random/pointless encounters

Real time
try to have more strategic depth than just running up to the enemy and beating each other over the head with swords for five minutes

You bring up a good point. I was thinking of having real-time fighting but in a way so that you need to use your abilities like spells, etc to win a battle with most of your health. Sort of a mix between World of Warcraft and Oblivion.

Thoughts on that? More suggestions for what you want to see?

What I'd like to see most in an RPG? Absolutely anything that isn't another Final Fantasy clone or a computerised Dungeons and Dragons variant.

Admittedly those types of games are what people think of when they think "RPG", but there have been lots of games with RPG flavour: Quest for Glory, Harvest Moon, Deus Ex, System Shock, Princess Maker, Cute Knight etc. While I still enjoy the more bog standard RPGs, there's only so many times you can play "spiky haired hero and band of misfits saves the world from long haired maniac out to destroy everything" and "elves, dwarves and hobbits hit things with a +2 Mace of Strange Blue Glowing".

Sex, drug and metal music.

No it's not a joke, look at gothic2, i'm sure lot of people played the game for that (except metal) ;)

To Trapper Zoid's post,

I agree. I was thinking to have the +2 Mace of Blue Glowing and all that crap but instead of being a hero, you had the choice to betray people. Just like in real war. Alliances don't last forever. Some of the decisions the character makes might trigger events that cause alliances to wage war on eachother. Not saying you'll have this super power, but rather some decisions may have side-effects like that. Take WW1 for example. Some guy assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and like 6 countries went to war.

I know this is out the scope of what you are asking, I think, but my dream RPG would have realtime combat much like See No Evil style fighting, arcade style. A freestyle physics based enviroment where enviroment could be used to aid in a fight. You trap a guy wielding a pike into an alley in the city and the pikeman will only be able to thrust and such, or an archer can't shoot through a thousand guys and magically hit his target (unless it was a magic arrow I suppose). Where if you get hit with a gigantic fireball from a spellcaster and your going to be toasted and probably knocked on your butt. Also you walk up to a guy not wearing any armor and swing a 15 lbs sword into the middle of his bad, well guess what he dies. Of course I'm an idealist and I would like to see all this implemented using the Wii controllers and the only super uber knucklehead that owns everyone is someone that knows how to actually sword fight and has the stamina in real life to swing his arms for five minutes dodging and parrying while being attacked by multiple enemies, granted a Wii controller is a bit lighter than a broadsword but your swing speeds could be limited to character strengths and weapon types. But like I said I'm an idealist :)

Here's a list of some things I don't care for in today's RPGs:

- the FPS/RPG hybrid and Action RPGs, which is basically what all RPGs have become today. I prefer more strategy in my RPGs, and most RPGs have more or less completely removed this aspect.

- the continuous dumbing down of RPGs (actually, this seems to apply to all game types)

- the ridiculous abuse of the word 'quest'. Cleaning the rats out of someone's basement, or delivering a package from one person to another is not a quest. Personally, I prefer situations. Put the player in situations without a clear right or wrong answer.

- making decisions that end up not having any impact on the game world, a static world.

Here are some things I like to see in RPGs:

- complex character system
- tactical combat
- solutions to problems that aren't always resolved with combat
- a world that reacts to what you do, the decisions you make, and the alliances you form
- well-balanced
- narrow power curve; in most RPGs you start off as a farm boy, but by the end of the week, you're leveling cities
- alternate settings

While I don't necessarily hate fantasy RPGs, I would definitely like to see some in different settings. Western, modern, sci-fi, cyberpunk, political, super hero, or stone age settings are all relatively untapped. And there are definitely many more available.

Quote:Original post by KevinM
You bring up a good point. I was thinking of having real-time fighting but in a way so that you need to use your abilities like spells, etc to win a battle with most of your health. Sort of a mix between World of Warcraft and Oblivion.

In real-time system the biggest thing i don't like is lack of player interaction or skill, try to have the players strategy or reflexes or anything other than hot key memorizing ability play a part in the outcome of battles.

EDIT:
What i don't like are 0 player games
a example of this would be neverwinter nights,
a macro to use a heal potion as every 4r'th action and there's really no point in me doing anything