Can There Be A Perfect Roleplaying Game?
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One of the struggles my gaming groups have gone through ever since I started playing was finding ‘the perfect game’. We always seemed to be in search of a game that has the perfect setting and perfect system for our group. But does such a game exist? Can there be a perfect roleplaying game?
I believe finding the perfect roleplaying game (if it exists) would come down to three different things: Group, Setting, and System. To find the perfect game you’re going to have to understand what your gaming group makeup is like, what type of system they like, and what setting they prefer to play.
Finding a good group can be very difficult. I heard it stated recently that, “The ‘nerd community’ is one of the most accepting groups of people out there.” It made me chuckle because I believe it is true. The gaming community as a whole really accepts any and all types of people. Despite this, it can be very difficult to find a group of four to six people that can fit this hobby in their schedule at the same time and have fun together.
Settings to roleplaying games can vary widely. There are a wide variety of setting types such as fantasy, modern, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, and many, many more. Even within these setting types, you’ll have individual worlds that have been created with there own unique flavor. For example, just in the fantasy setting alone you have Dungeons & Dragons, Palladium, Pathfinder, Earthdawn, and the list goes on. Even within the fantasy setting of the Dungeons & Dragons game, there are many different and more specialized settings under this one!
Even if every player in your gaming group likes the same setting type (which isn’t always the case), they may not like the same specific game world. Even if they do like the same game world, there can be specific preferences to what timeline in that setting the group is playing, or what specific geographic location they are playing in. There are so many variables when it comes to setting that it can be very difficult to find one that everyone in the group is one-hundred percent happy with.
System choice can be just as complex as setting choice. You can go with a rules-lite system or a system that has a lot more crunch to it. In my early years of gaming, I preferred systems with a lot of rules that I could satisfy my appetite for reading and finding new game nuances. Today, I don’t have as much time to devote to reading gaming manuals, so I prefer more rules-lite systems that I can pick and choose what I need more easily.
I’ve thought long and hard about ‘the perfect game’ in regards to roleplaying. I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no perfect game (for me at least). There are many games that have aspects that I like and dislike. Even the games that I like the most have things about it I wish I could change. Also, everyone gets tired of playing the same game over and over. Personally, to me ‘the perfect game’ is the one you’re having the most fun playing at that moment in time.
What do you think? Is there a ‘perfect game’ for you and your gaming group?
Leave a Comment
March 8, 2010 at 8:18 am
I would have to say the perfect game relies on different factors:
1) The GM must be comfortable, competent and creative enough to continually draw in the players and let THEIR stories play through regardless of whether it’s what they wanted it to be or not.
2) The flaws in the game (which every game has) have to be things that you and your group are willing to overlook and just deal with…NOT try to change.
3) The players need to be invested in their characters, there needs to be meat and meaning behind them…even if it’s a bit contrived.
Now…with that being said there have been many times that I have been playing and it felt perfect…in ALL cases this was due to the GM allowing the players freedom and being able to come up with relevant and interesting hooks into either the players current (sub)plot or his own plot.
The settings definitely can have an influence to initial feel but most of my favorite campaigns have been in settings that I would never specifically seek out.
March 8, 2010 at 12:12 pm
@ Ego – Thanks, Ego. You bring up valid points that I didn’t think of. The one I especially like is the comment about ‘change’ and house rules. I think I had my most fun when I tried to stick to the system, even if I saw an issues here and there. Once we changed things, all bets were off. You start pushing the boundries further and further out. Soon, it really becomes a game of how far will the players OR gamemaster distort the game before someone says, “Stop!”
I also agree on point one and three. So that might be another aspect of how the game is run overall. This would be largely dependent on the players and gamemaster. I think if a group just wanted canned adventure modules fed to them, and that is what the gamemaster wanted to do, then I guess that could be considered a ‘perfect game’ under certain scenarios. Or obviously there are the not-so-canned approaches too that I prefer.
Good comments. You almost make me want to create a second article adding these points in!
March 16, 2010 at 10:18 am
For me, the perfect role-playing game is one that:
a) scratches a creative itch. My interests and what I’m “in to” vary with my mood. If I’m reading Tolkien, I’m more interested in D&D. If I’m reading Gibson, I’m more interested in Shadowrun. Role-playing games allow me to interact with worlds that reflect the flavors of their source materials and allow me the fantasy of shaping and experiencing them.
b) plays a little different with each session. I’m fine with combat heavy encounters but I also need variety so with the next session I would expect intrigue, dialog, etc. A game that plays the same all the way through becomes very boring, very quickly.
c) allows me to easily see the action in my mind’s eye. If a game turns from “I pull my pistol from my leather holster and gun down the gangster” to “my +1d8 Light Pistol fires three bullets, resulting in a -2 recoil factor, blah blah blah” it immediately becomes a math problem and not a story.
d) allows newcomers to the setting to easily pick it up. D&D, despite being a “starter” RPG, can be a little tricky to get into, especially if it’s a pre-created campaign setting with decades of history behind it. Fantasy is especially difficult as it’s an “anything goes” genre. Near-future sci-fi is a little easier as there are real-life touchstones for a player unfamiliar with the genre to grasp on to. I’ve found it a lot easier to bring non-gaming gamers into Shadowrun or Spycraft than D&D or Earthdawn.
But that’s just me.
March 16, 2010 at 2:15 pm
There is no perfect game, in an objective, non-relative sense. However, I believe that some games achieve the objectives they were written for better than others. The more understandable the written rules, and the more the interaction with the rules brings out the flavor of the setting, the better. Ultimately, the perfect game is something that doesn’t exist in the sourcebooks; it exists during play, at those times when you’re having the kind of fun that makes us play these games. I believe the perfection in question here can be found at that intersection of audience, author, and actor which all players and GMs come to at the top of their games.
March 21, 2010 at 9:10 am
I think there CAN be a perfect RPG, but not the same one for every group! Certain systems fit better with different groups, and I think the trick is to find one with the right balance of simplicity (where it matters) and complexity (where it matters).
This is why we keep trying to write our own, I guess!
Tom
March 22, 2010 at 6:46 am
@ Deltamonk,
That IS why we keep trying to write our own. Has anyone ever succeeded?
-Tourq
March 22, 2010 at 1:35 pm
@Tourq,
I think the makers of Pathfinder and FantasyCraft would say they had – every time I get near to my vision I play something new and have to add something! My players like the system, I jut keep refining in my head.
March 23, 2010 at 8:46 am
Ah, FantasyCraft. Never played it. I guess I should check it out.
-Tourq
April 9, 2010 at 12:22 pm
The perfect game is the game where the group is all having fun. Rules, settings, and plots don’t have anything to do with it. I’ve sat down with a group of people I barely knew, playing a game I’d never played before, but due to the hospitality and fun-loving spirit of the players and GM we all had a blast. The people of this group are now my best friends and we have a blast every week. ^^
April 23, 2010 at 9:12 am
I have played everything from pre-1st Edition D&D to 4th Edition D&D, with Boot Hill, Top Secret, and other games tossed in for good measure.
The biggest challenge to a great roleplaying experience is finding the right group, much more than the system you use. As a result, the best system for me is the one that makes it easiest to find a fun group to play with. This often means playing the game that the most people want to play. At the moment, that appears to be 4th Edition D&D.
Before the flame war starts, with people crossing themselves and hissing at the blasphemer who sold out to the “dumbed down” version of D&D, just realize this. If you can’t find a group that can consistently play, it doesn’t matter how good the system is that you want to use.
Back in the days of 2nd Edition D&D, a lot of the rules simply didn’t make sense, so I created some house rules that made the game more playable. With 4th Edition D&D, the rules are so streamlined that it is much more approachable to new players.
In my group, whose biggest problem is that we have so many people that want to play, at times, over half of the players are females. Compare that to the typical “sausage fest” of most roleplaying groups, and you may want to give 4th Edition another look.