A game or something more

David F

English 1A

Professor Rogers

A game or something more

The gaming community is one that is often looked down upon.  What most people don’t realize is that video games are just as immersive as a book or movie. But, just like these two, video games have different genres. They offer multiple varieties to accommodate different personalities and interests. One of these genres is an RPG “Role-Playing Game”. Role playing games are the most immersive because the fact that they put make the player the character game. Strategies used for this include graphics, character development and storyline. Paper Mario is an RPG for the Nintendo 64 and it is the best RPG because of its storyline, characters and playability.

            The storyline of a game determines what the player will feel and experience. Paper Mario does this well. Storyline can be split up into three parts: Tension, Complexity and Influence, and Originality. Paper Mario gets five stars on all three of these categories. How fast the game throws you into the action or the tension you feel when you do not want your character to get hurt or be in harm’s way. Complexity and Influence go hand in hand in RPG’s. The complexity of Paper Mario isn’t too high which means a lower influence on the character. However, due to the simplicity, a much broader audience is able to enjoy the experience. Paper Mario was the first RPG of its kind. Mario was always a two-dimensional character with no interaction among other characters. This game revolutionized the genre due to its creativity and originality. The story is really one that sticks with you throughout your life.

            Characters offer insight into the world of the game as well as someone you can get attached to. Paper Mario’s approach would involve you meeting this character, usually during an unfortunate event. Once they are acquired, the characters fight a long side Mario in various battles. Each character needs to have a storyline and background, which the game does. These characters develop throughout the game with the choices you make. Upgrading a character gives them more attributes and makes them more effective in battle. Depending on a characters relationship with the player determines who gets the upgrade. By the end of the game, all the characters are in the party. When the game is over the characters are gone, never to come back. The characters were people you did not want to get hurt and wish were real

            Playability is what determines the ease, duration and quality of game play. This is a huge factor in an RPG because a player will either get bored and stop playing, or finish the game and never come back to it. The length of a game is critical. If it is to short then a feeling of emptiness would be felt by the player. But, if the game is to long then the player gets bored unless the story can back it up. The length of Paper Mario is long but every second just adds on to the adventure. How smoothly the game performs also determines if people decide to keep playing. A game with many glitches and performance issues will put off the player and ruin the role playing experience. The end of the game hits you really hard. You ask yourself “Is it really coming to an end”. Playability is what makes a game one you long to play again.

            While there may be many games out there, a true Role-playing game stands above the rest. The three main attributes to put a game on top of its kind are storyline, characters and playability. The storyline is one that sticks with you throughout your life; the characters were people you did not want to get hurt and wish were real; And, Playability is what makes a game one you long to play again. Without these, this type of game would not be successful and Paper Mario exceeds all of them.