what is needed for a truely epic rpg?

to me, it needs to have interesting combat, an open world with lots of interesting side quests, which leads me to my next one: the quests must be fun and by no means can there be any fetch quests!

here's a few i like, but don't need: party's of up to 6 characters, turn based, fantasy or post nuclear setting.

When your choices affect the game world and how other characters interact with you. When your choices impact the storyline in big ways.

difficult one, i think alot of it is personal.

for me, i have to truly love the world,

for instance, DA:O is perhaps not really thought of as a truly awesome RPG, however, i really truly love it as the world and narrative (especially human origin) is fantastic and hints to me of tolkien, feist, george rr martin etc.

as a side note, i remember back in the day loving baldurs gate so much because of the same sort of ideas, the world, the narrative, also the booming music etc.

but like i say, i reckon its mostly personal. im not TOO huge a fan of kingdoms of amalur just yet, its not really grabbed me, but im sure others were straight in there!!!


Adam

Good combat, preferably turn based. Real time with Pause is also good, if done right (Infinity Games). Real time if controling only one character.

Good and varied encounter design. I don't want to fight the same small trash mobs over and over and over again.
The Gold Box games had good encounter design, the the Baldurs'a Gates even better. In which other games than BG 1 and 2 can you face both other adventurer parties as well as have mage duels with high level mages?

An open world to explore. Places to find, hidden loot to find, interesting NPCs to talk to.

Good character development. In a party based game characters should complement each other, not be copies of each other.

Finding new loot. You should never be maxed out on equipment before the final fight. There should always be new and better equipment to find.

NO LEVEL SCALING. If monsters and loot scale with your characters, there is no point in exploring, since where you explore will be irrelevant.

A background story that is not "an evil wizard/demon/warlord has raised an invincible army and only you can save the world by finding the four crystals/artefacts/whatever".


Baldur's Gate fits all criteria. BG 2 fits all except the open world, but it has the best encounter design of any CRPG I've played.

Divine Divinity 1 was a (Hack`n Slash) RPG, which was nearly perfect. I liked really the dark, gloomy and sordid look of the game. Also the affection, when you were killing civilians or talking to someone with your weapon in the hand was interresting. And the world, which was split into 3 huge scenes, was really well made.

If there would be a new game like this, with a better graphic but the same look, the free choices which affect into good or bad acting NPC`s and such a huge world, without different levels or so, and lesser bugs :), this would be a perfect RPG for me.

For me it would be:

Immersion. I love getting wrapped up in a world so great. Story can be gripping; almost movie-like or book-like. If it doesn't keep my attention, then it isn't worth a lot of the time playing.

Customization/personalization. It isn't extremely necessary to have, but I love creating a character that I can role play as. To put myself into someone else's shoes writing their story.

Average play time. It has to last and not be repetitive! I was clocked in over 80+ hours on Skyrim. Almost done with side quests and was working towards end of main quest. It HAS to have lots to do; both main and side quests. I love short games, but for an epic RPG; it has to take a long time to complete.

Choice impact, as said by mondo84. This also adds to the game. It adds emotion and also adds some replayability. It makes the game even more personal; making your character the way you want and having others react to it. Kind of like Walking dead's choices in game. I would love to see RPGs go that in depth with their choice system.

Having other members with you. Adds to the story making it more immersive. I love hearing other's stories with some nice omgwtf plot twists!

Open world. I'm one that loves to go exploring when I'm bored or doing some sort of quest. Finding some cool hidden easter eggs and references are also cool to see. It has to be close to real scale as possible. I just don't want to be stuck in small areas running in circles doing quests. More to do, more to see; makes it so much better.

Sounds & music. What more can I say; makes the game that more immersive and better!

This is about the basics I can think of. It doesn't always impact my RPG choice but the more the better!

I'd say : a good player.

The best RPGs, for me, are very open, let you explore a world in every direction, and in every style. This means, it can't be very story-driven. You have to provide. You had to somehow incarnate your character, fill the blanks, play pretend, project tones and motivations and attitudes to all the encounters or situations you find. Either in total "Elite" void, or in "Morrowind" disjoined quests and minimal dialogue structures. The best RPGs are closer to toys than to games.

I would rather vote for an open world with lots of interesting and diverse backgrounds, places, cultures, architectural styles, but still coherent, open world which reveals itself step by step. The reference being Morrowind.

Great nonlinear story. In real RPG game you have to make choices, and your choices have to make impact on the game world, character and the outcome.

- (semi-)original setting
- good atmosphere
- immersive story (or stories), ideally including memorable characters
- enjoyable gameplay (of any variety associated with RPGs, as long as it works and is entertaining)
- choices (beyond a simple right-wrong dichotomy)
- room for optional exploration

Yeah, this here is very important. That's the exact reason why I never got far in Dragon Age.

I don't mind cliched/generic settings as in Dragon Age as long as they're well done. I found there were enough interesting parts in the Dragon Age setting that it was quite enjoyable. The way the Dwarf society was set up and the fact that the elves weren't the usual mystical aloof holier-than-thou elder race were two of the things I liked about it.

RPG is such a wide genre that I think it is hard to pinpoint any single thing that makes the genre great. There are CRPGs that have poor combat but a great story & writing (planescape), CRPGs with great gameplay but a so-so story but great gameplay (Grimrock), and then there are those with so-so gameplay, a so-so main plot, but with a great setting (Morrownid). I would consider all of the above mentioned as great games, but for very different reasons. Here is a list of CRPGs that I really love:
Planescape: Torment
Drakensang
Realms of Arkania
Morrowind,
Avernum: Escape from the Pit
Legend of Grimrock
Icewind Dale
Fallout 1-2 & New Vegas
Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines
The Witcher
Arcanum
Alpha Protocol
Ultima 7
Might & Magic 4-5
Nox
Ultima Online
Jagged Alliance 2 (I count this as an SRPG)
Fire Emblem (Same)

With a list as diverse as that, it is hard to really pinpoint any one thing that makes any CRPG "great". I can appreciate an open world game for the amount of freedom that it gives, but I can also appreciate a tightly woven story, that leaves little room for deviation, or a game that has interesting gameplay.

And don't tell me I'm missing any games from the list, I just wrote down the ones that popped up in my head as I was typing :P there are plenty of other great CRPGs out there.

what about jrpgs? too linear?

I myself like final fantasy a lot, and another game called Faery that everybody else hated. neither of these games are open world, and the combat is pretty crappy in both of them. but the story's! man the story's are epic!

Can't get past the obstacle that is the fucking formulaic anime shit artwork.
Fortunately for me they seem to rely on endless grinding and lots of cutscenes, so I don't feel I'm missing out on much.