Transform your video game experience with roleplaying

Deep Rock Galactic has one of the weirdest fanbases in video game history. New players will notice from the moment they enter the four-player lobbies that the players in the lobby behave similar to the behavior of NPCs. They constantly repeat a vice line, order drinks and drink in honor of each other, play football together and… Maybe for someone who doesn't know what's going on in this game, such behaviors are strange, but in DRG, the first unwritten rule is to roll play as a dwarven mine!

It was during the DRG experience that I immersed myself in my character for the first time in years of video game enjoyment. Playing as a dwarven miner who was hired by a very big and soulless company to mine precious stones with a few others in the heart of the most dangerous planet in the world and must follow certain rules and traditions is one of those experiences that It will stay with you forever. In fact, both the game and its playerbase respect their self-made rules so much like a strange cult that the creators even released an update at the request of the players to return the game's popular drill machine to comply with their famous slogan “Leave no dwarf behind”. to be

The interesting point of the story is that this role-playing game with rules and characters that may seem funny at first has created such a positive and friendly atmosphere among strangers who may have met each other only once, as if they have been working in this company for years. are work This role-playing has reached the point where the use of voice chat in the game is abandoned most of the time, and only by pinging and voice lines of the characters can you understand what they mean.

For me, as a newbie Dwarf – or Greenbeard as the fanbase would call it – it was during one of these dozens of hours that I realized how much I've become interested in playing as a character that bears no resemblance to my actual mindset and personality; In short, Deep Rock Galactic revived my passion for video game role playing.

Every video game is a role-playing game

In most video titles, it is the characters that create the way for the audience to connect with the game world. In fact, it is by controlling these characters that you can advance in the game and explore its world. In many cases, the role of these characters is greatly diminished. In fact, in these titles, there is no news of a main character with an acceptable identity, and in the best case, we see our character during the cutscenes and for a very short time.

In front of these characters, there are authentic and real characters that role-playing instead of them not only improves the experience of the audience, but also reveals a completely new way to enjoy these titles. For example, in Far Cry 3, the main character tends to enjoy killing more and more during the story, and the psychological effect of this becomes more and more evident as the story progresses. Now, by roleplaying as this character, you can find your own playing style; Kill the enemies of the game in the worst possible way and try to enjoy killing them in an insane way like the main character. Just doing this is enough to make the gameplay of Far Cry 3 from a wonderful open world shooter, to become one of the unforgettable experiences of your life.

This issue is much more visible in role-playing games. For example, in a title like Cyberpunk 2077, in addition to the freedoms that the game itself gives you for role-playing, you can try to transform your character into V and Zagai (the most skilled merc of Night City) and try to do quests in a way that is specific to the class that You have chosen for your character, easily prevent the gameplay from getting boring and always look for new and creative ways to advance your goals just to be immersed in your role.

On the other hand, this role-playing is not limited to the core gameplay of a game. For example, in titles like Bladur's Gate or Dragon Age, you have the possibility to assume the identity of your character in dealing with other characters. Of course, we all subconsciously like to be the positive character of the story and reach the best possible ending, but sometimes it is only playing as the negative character of the story that can bring out some of the best moments of a game. At the same time, this category is not only limited to positive or negative characters, in many games you can consider a general identity for your character and for example be a proud character or be kind and honorable and even in some places your play style. Adjust accordingly.

This is not even limited to a few specific genres. For example, in a strategy game like the Total War: Warhammer series, you can choose your character from several different factions, each of which has its own values ​​and identity. In such titles, you can even specify the general play style in dealing with other players or NPCs. For example, by playing in an evil faction, you can always look for a way to defeat your enemies with cunning, or on the other hand, play in a positive faction and try not to violate your honor under any circumstances.

Respectful roleplay

Aside from the changes, role-playing forces you to behave according to the rules of a game and create restrictions on your own that make the game more interesting for you. For example, in a title like Skyrim, the game world is definitely large and full of different sub-stories. Now it's enough to limit yourself to just following the main story, because the threat of dragon invasion is too big for you, and you can't have fun delivering love letters instead of saving the world.

Such a thing may at first seem against the spirit and identity of the game itself; At all, you might say that all the fun of the game is to get away from the main story and explore its world. But here's the point: By limiting yourself to a specific mission or following one of the main quest lines, you can play a continuous role that requires creativity. For example, suppose that in the same Skyrim, instead of going after the dragon's head, you want to win the Skyrim civil war, or even just want to hunt criminals and criminals in the game; With this, you can define a background for your character and interact with the game world assuming this background.

Creating these restrictions, and on the other hand, in titles like DRG, following a specific culture made for it, not only does not stop you from enjoying the game world, but also works to make the game world according to the character through which you travel. Connect more with your personality and the world around you.

In fact, one of the reasons why board games like D&D still have their own popularity, and the secret to enjoying these games is to remove any veil between the players and their imaginary characters. Since most of the time, the limitations of these games are only in the minds of their players, they immerse themselves in their different and special characters without any problems, and in the end, they get double the pleasure of a role-playing game on the table. Such a thing follows a well-known principle in art that says that the less the audience sees, the more they use their imagination to fill in the blanks, and the end result will be according to their best experience.

Role-playing in the heart of a video game

This has been the goal and art of video games since the beginning. To be able to put you in the form of a character that you not only believe in, but you can put yourself in his place and act like him during the game. It is the same even in linear games. Maybe in one title the main character is known for being agile, maybe in another title the main character is the best soldier in the world and in another title you play instead of a character with very high physical strength. All these titles require the audience to create moments during the gameplay that match the descriptions of the main character with their relatively limited freedom of action.

Undoubtedly, creating such moments can be extremely enjoyable and memorable for the audience. You may have seen videos on the internet with titles like Lore Accurate V or Dragonborn According to Lore. These videos are very interesting gameplay moments of talented people who skillfully share incredible scenes of the power and abilities of the main character of the games.

You might think that it would take years of practice to achieve this exact level of skill to achieve this level of enjoyment. The truth is that just trying to play in this style and having even a small level of continuity during the gameplay is enough for many players to taste the pleasure that they didn't know existed until now.

The fact is that the cornerstone of the difference between video games and other art forms is laid right here. Films, books, pictures, stories, etc., no matter how artistic and magnificent, always see the audience through the eyes of an observer who stares at the art from afar, and in the best case, it is his feelings that engage with each of these works; Videogame, however, considers the audience as a constitutive member of the work itself and tries its best to elevate the audience element more than anything else. That's why you will never understand them from the depth of existence until you consider yourself as the only observer of each of these works.