03-15-2004, 11:23 PM
It depends whether we are talking about real RPGs, or anything that passes for one. If we are talking about "serious RPGs", then you have already pretty much defined roleplaying as the most important aspect. But on the broader scale: Angband is classified as an RPG, has no story line, no character depth, no actual roleplaying, a basic plot consisting of one quest, and an interface that is ugly and not very intuitive. I own most of the games mentioned in this thread, and I'd take Angband over nearly all of them. Diablo, of course, is closer in nature to Angband than it is to Morrowind or Torment, and it's the game I've played the most.
So, I think LadyVashj has the right idea in saying that fun is the most important aspect. Ultimately that fun can come from any of the factors you mentioned, but putting them all together well is difficult. If you want to give characters the flexibility to determine their own fate and make their own choices that will change the entire plotline, that makes it more difficult to have balanced mechanics (since you don't know what the character will be doing in order to balance for it), and also makes it more difficult to have a detailed storyline (since the more "branches" you put in a plot, the less time you have to devote to each of them).
So, I think LadyVashj has the right idea in saying that fun is the most important aspect. Ultimately that fun can come from any of the factors you mentioned, but putting them all together well is difficult. If you want to give characters the flexibility to determine their own fate and make their own choices that will change the entire plotline, that makes it more difficult to have balanced mechanics (since you don't know what the character will be doing in order to balance for it), and also makes it more difficult to have a detailed storyline (since the more "branches" you put in a plot, the less time you have to devote to each of them).