Generally, more than one path is offered, and the player is allowed to choose whichever path best suits what they imagine their alternate self's personality would dictate. In a 'good' role-playing game, the player is never forced to follow a preconceived path. While the player may enjoy the story and feel compelled to see it through to the end, the player's primary objective in playing a role-playing game is to live an alternate life in which they get to write their own narrative. In role-playing games, the player's motivation isn't typically provided by the events of the story, no matter how well written or engaging. Players are moved serially from plot-point to plot-point along a track of (hopefully) well-orchestrated interactive events punctuated by cinematic interludes in which the plot is explained and advanced.
Although role-playing games and action/adventure games are frequently synonymous terms in the mind of the public, they represent two fundamentally different types of gameplay.Īction/adventure games depend upon plot (narrative) as a motivating force: without the impending threat of cataclysmic events, there is no reason for the protagonist (player) to act, and without obstacles (non-player characters and environmental hazards) there is no challenge or enjoyment in acting.
