The Surprising Similarity Between Sports and Games

 

I’m going to flat out say it. Sports and video games generate very similar experiences.

OK, now that I’ve actually made sure anyone who reads this will be angry with me, let me try and explain.

There is no doubt a difference in sports and games and the fans of each. Often time we think of sports fans as beer drinking, loud mouthed, always playing too rough guys who scream and yell. Often times people think a similar thing of gamers only it’s Mountain Dew drinking, loud mouthed when online, playing games too much and screaming and yelling at their systems. But I’m not here to focus on stereotypes. I’m here to talk about some actual positive effects that both sports and video games offer. They’re actually the same things.

Think of the sports hero. That player that has gone above and beyond. He or she is an example of physical prowess, sportsmanship and excellence. When the sports fan was a kid they idolized them, wanted to be like them, Now consider the gamer, who possibly played pretend as a kid, wanting to be Mario or Sonic or Chris Redfield or many of the other character heroes (the good guys). So they both provide the youth with dreams, sure you can argue that sports are more tangible than games but positive influences are a good thing. You could argue games aren’t as positive as sports are since you can play games like Grand Theft Auto or Hitman. My counter-argument to this are two famous names: O.J, Simpson and Michael Vick. I could easily list of a few more sports stars that are not good role models as well. So, even though both have bad examples of role models, good role models still exist and en masse, fiction or real.

Fantasy is definitely another comparison that both have in common. Easiest to pick out the video game part. Play any video game and you become that character, living in their world. It’s a game of pretend which allows for great creativity and imagination. This is even more proven in games where you create your character from scratch or upload your face to the character. Now, you are that character, you are inside that world. You’re not just assuming another character’s life.

Now for the sports side of this think of all the kids that have played baseball, football or whatever other sport exists. Remember hearing the kids cup their hands over their mouths, make a whispering sound in imitation of a crowd roar. The kids that point their finger like the professional baseball player or mimic Tebow and his prayer motion. They become that player and live in that world of the sports superstar. If you’ve ever done that yourself you know exactly what I’m talking about.

One more thing that both have in common is hope. This is actually a very big one. Hope is what gives anyone the strength to follow their dreams and pursue their goals. If even a glimmer of hope exists it can push a person to move forward and climb that metaphorical mountain. Seeing that underdog team win the championship or that swimmer recover from a life threatening injury to go to win a gold medal. That is exactly the kind of hope playing a video game offers. A feeling of finally conquering the evil demon or dragon. The savior of the galaxy. You are that underdog and that story brings hope just the same way.

So these are three of the examples that show how sports and video games are very similar and deliver similar and positive ideals. Positive influence, healthy fantasy and hope. It’s amazing how often both sides shun the other when they actually have more in common than one would think.

The RPG Paradox

 

What is an RPG? It’s an acronym for a Role-Playing Game (or a Rocket Propelled Grenade but that’s not the one we’re talking about ) but I’m sure everyone knows that. Now, the real question to ask is what makes an RPG? RPGs are games where the player controls a character and takes them on an adventure through a fictional setting. Usually, the character will collect rewards such as treasure, skill points, experience points and more to make them richer and stronger to take on tougher battles as they progress in a story.

So what makes an RPG? Well, first off, and the most important, is character. Without a role to play it kind of makes it hard to Role-Play. Secondly is the sense of adventure, from braving the darkest dungeon in a medieval setting to investigating an evil corporate entity in a modern setting to battling a great galactic evil in a futuristic setting and anywhere in between. Thirdly, is story, which is also important. A Role-Playing Game needs to have a story for it to be engaging enough to take your character on the adventure. Why go adventuring in a game like this if there’s no story to go through?

Now those are the engaging parts of a Role-Playing Game but you still need mechanical parts to it to be one otherwise you have a game of Let’s Pretend. So, the mechanics of an RPG are simple. You need a system for gaining power or strength. Often, this is done via a leveling system but can also be done through other systems such as skill point leveling or perk leveling (a system less numbered oriented and more pick from a skill you want) or even a combination of them.

So this now brings me to the video game RPG. There’s really two distinct genres of RPGs in video games, the WRPG or Western RPG and the JRPG or Japanese RPG. However, I’m not going to discuss which one of these is a real RPG. Instead I’m going to point out how very few video games are RPGs yet most video games are, indeed,  RPGs.

First off, let’s discuss the simple nature of how most video games are RPGs. In this sense all RPGs are interactive fiction. Interactive Fiction is a term commonly associated with text-based adventures and visual novels but really that’s what a lot of video games are. Tomb Raider follows the story of Lara Croft. God of War follows the story of Kratos. Uncharted follows the exploits of Nathan Drake. Castlevania follows the exploits of the Belmont Clan and others as they battle the forces of Dracula. One could go on with a list of games but these are all interactive fiction based on the fact that the stories are fictional and you interact with them. Say what you will but these are definitely examples of what interactive fiction is.

Now what makes them all Role-Playing Games is the fact that you assume the role of the character. You are Lara Croft, you are Kratos, you are Nathan Drake and you are the various characters who do battle with Dracula. You are assuming the role of these characters and going through an adventure which you experience through an engaging story. These are definitely elements that exist in a Role-Playing Game and it makes these type of games Role-Playing Games.

Now, obviously, we don’t consider these games Role-Playing Games. So, what separates these from Role-Playing Games? Well, it seems that what separates them from Role-Playing Games are the mechanics of the game. RPGs seem to have mechanics that involve adding gear to your character such as weapons and armor, a system to pick or distribute skills and a leveling system that shows your character progress. There’s also the fact that in RPGs you create your character which are major factors in RPGs.

Now with that said, let’s discuss the part no one really wants to hear and that’s how very few games, especially those claiming to be RPGs, are actually RPGs. For this part I will use the two major RPG developers: Bethesda and BioWare.

BioWare is well known for their video games such as “Baldur’s Gate,” “Neverwinter Nights,” “Dragon Age,” and “Mass Effect”. Bethesda is well known for their “The Elder Scrolls” series and more recently “Fallout 3.”  It would be easy to classify these all as RPGs but in truth only a handful of these are.

“Baldur’s Gate,” “Neverwinter Nights,” and “Dragon Age; Origins” are RPGs. You develop a system where you create your character, level them up, add skills and go on an adventure. However, the entire “Mass Effect” series and “Dragon Age II” are not RPGs. They’re interactive fiction, no doubt, and the do tell a great story. But they lack some major elements.

So why are these not RPGs? One critical element is the ability to create your character. Sure you can decide how Hawke or Shepard look and even what gender they are but regardless of that you are Hawke and Shepard. You will always be Hawke. You will always be Shepard. Being able to create the first name, though an element of RPGs, doesn’t really make it an RPG.

Gear is another factor and where “Mass Effect” actually did allow gear changing, that little feature was left out of “Mass Effect 2” and “Mass Effect 3” which takes out the customization feature of that series. The inability to customize your inventory is a factor that makes the “Mass Effect” sequels less of an RPG. This doesn’t exist as much in Dragon Age II as you can still customize your gear to a point.

Skills and leveling are factors that make up an RPG as far as mechanics go. The “Mass Effect” series and the “Dragon Age” series both allow for these. But the issue again lies in how severely limited the sequels are from the originals. Taking just the Soldier class from “Mass Effect” skilling up with that class is really nothing more than adding different types of weapons to your arsenal, from grenades to bullet types.

Now, none of these makes these games bad in any way. BioWare is definitely genious at telling stories and their games prove this. The “Mass Effect” series and the “Dragon Age” series are fairly epic and tell wonderful stories. You don’t need to be an RPG to do this.

Story is a key factor and this is where I will bring up Bethesda games. “The Elder Scrolls” series is definitely a series that is closest to what an RPG is. It has many of the mechanics that make up an RPG from a leveling system to an in-depth skill system to the creation of character. It’s story is fairly generic as far as story goes but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You still embark on an epic adventure from facing the realm of Oblivion to fighting evil dragons hell bent on the destruction of Skyrim.

The thing with Skyrim is that, even though there is a main story, the intent of the game is to let you exist in a virtual world, take on the role of a hero or villain, and exist in the land of Tamriel. It’s true to many aspects of Role-Playing and is very close to being a virtual Dungeons & Dragons. You can pick your character’s race, give them a name, and then level them in a way you’re happy with.

We tend to classify many video games as RPGs or not based on the rules set forth by tabletop gaming since these tabletop games were some of the earliest examples of RPGs. But now that can include just about every game and also just very few of these games. Call of Duty has a leveling system now. Many sports game allows you to create and name your character and add stats to them.

Setting is not a factor though we often assume a medieval fantasy setting is an RPG but EA’s “The Lord of the Rings” games based on the films are not RPGs. “Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines” is an RPG set in modern-day Los Angeles. So the setting doesn’t matter.

So this is why I present this as The RPG Paradox. Many games are RPGs and yet they are not RPGs. They are all fun to play regardless of what game style they can be classified as. In the end that’s what really matters though. It’s all about enjoyment.

Hello everyone!

 

Hello to everyone and welcome to my blog. This is my simple blog where I talk about various aspects of the video game industry and community as I see them. It is not a review site, an insider site or a how to of the game industry. It is simply an opinion site based solely on how I view the industry and community and the actions, attitudes, designs and ideas. With that said, do not expect everything I say to be held as fact. Again, this is simply done for me to express my own opinions on video games.

I welcome responses and arguments to any of my opinions as I am sure many will disagree with what I say. However, I do politely ask that you refrain from being insulting or rude. I am more inclined to engage in a discussion on a topic if it is presented to me in an appropriate manner.

Thank you for your understanding and I hope that we can have an engaging discussion on the topics to follow.