RPG Design: Fantasy vs. Reality

Over my time playing and thinking about games, it has become clear to me that there is a dichotomy between the game design approaches of Role Playing Games (RPGs). This dichotomy is found between what I call the Fantasy and Reality approaches to RPG design.

What are the Fantasy and Reality approaches to game design? The Fantasy and Reality approaches are two opposed game design philosophies. These approaches are not only applicable to RPGs, but that is where they are most prevalent. These two game design philosophies are applied across the mechanics, world, and narrative. One is not better than the other they are very different and achieve different goals regarding Player experience. But, both require cohesion between mechanics, world, and narrative, failure to do so results in a less compelling game.

The Fantasy approach is centered on designing the game as a power fantasy. The mechanics and systems the game is built on are designed to allow the Player to become extraordinarily powerful and important relative to all other characters within the game. The world is designed so that it does not move without the Player's interaction and the Player interaction has a large impact. The narrative is written with the Player in the center and usually is cohesive with the game mechanics and systems in that the Player is recognized as powerful and extraordinary, as is their impact on the story. Essentially, the narrative and world exist to serve the Player.

The primary concepts used to create a power fantasy-based RPG are power and freedom. The Player's power is not restricted for the sake of realism, nor is their impact on the narrative.

Examples of RPGs that use a fantasy approach are the modern Bethesda-made titles such as "Skyrim" and "Fallout 4". Within titles such as "Skyrim" or "Fallout 4", the Player can become one of the most powerful in the game's world through the available character-building systems. There is no restriction on the Player's ability to become overly powerful other than the time and effort required to level the Player's character. The world and narrative of the game only exist relative to the Player; quests lines do not go on without Player interaction except in some rare cases. The Player can also do all possible quest lines within the game's world without restriction, becoming the head of several major factions, which is not realistically achievable. Characters within the game's story all react to the Player's greatness.

It is also important to note the absence of characters within the world reacting to certain Player actions. Within Skyrim especially, the Player can kill entire towns, yet this will not stop them from joining specific factions, or the Player can join the guild of assassins, and their companions will pay no mind. No restriction is placed on the Player's actions, and those actions are only noticed when it is positive for the Player.

Now, what is the Reality approach to RPG design? The Reality approach is characterized by restricting the Player's power, actions, and impact so that it is cohesive with the narrative; essentially, the Player serves the narrative. This approach contrasts sharply with the Fantasy approach, where the narrative serves the Player. The game's mechanics and systems are designed so that the Player cannot become overly powerful relative to their place in the game's narrative; power and resources and restricted and not so easily gained. The world exists outside of the Player's interactions, perhaps time goes on, and the world changes even if the Player does not act on certain events. Systems pertaining to the game's world act despite Player inaction. The narrative is written so that the Player is not particularly special, and the characters reinforce that. Perhaps the Player is still an important factor in the story, but they are not the be-all and end-all; they are not saving the universe. Side characters are not governed by the Player and react to the Player in ways closer to reality.

The primary concepts used in the Reality approach are restriction and relativity. The Player is restricted across many fields through the game design to fit relatively within the world and narrative. A notable example of this Reality approach is the game "Disco Elysium". Within "Disco Elysium", the Player takes the role of a once-superstar detective who has fallen into depression, drugs, and alcoholism. Even as the Player builds their character across the game, they are never a superman able to overcome any obstacle in any way; relative to the other characters, they are of similar power. Experience and money are not abundant and must be used wisely. Time is a valuable resource and is limited, the game's world goes on, and things change regardless of the Player's actions or intentions. The characters within the game also do not worship the Player character, most looking down on him and having positive and negative reactions to his actions. The Player character exists within the narrative but does dominate it in any major way; their power and influence stay relative to that of other characters within the game's narrative.

Now that we have established the differences between these two approaches of RPG design, you may be asking, why is this important? It is important to know the difference between these two approaches precisely because we must be able to identify what type of game we are trying to make and how to ensure that the mechanics, world, and narrative are all cohesive in the approach. Far too often, we encounter points in a game where the cohesion of the mechanics and narrative break and, or deviate from each other. You will be given a quest where you are told by the characters how it is impossible to invade an enemy base and that you need help when you, as the Player, know full well you could single-handedly walk in there and achieve your objective as an unstoppable force. Or, characters will fail to react to the Player in a way that is cohesive with their messiah-like impact. To create the best possible games we can, the game's mechanics and systems, world, and narrative must all be cohesive to one approach and reinforce the experience together.

The most common deviation in the approach is between a game's mechanics and narrative. Game Designers and writers are often not on the same page or even opposed to each other when creating a game. Often, a game's mechanics, systems, and world will all exist to serve the Player's power fantasy, yet the narrative and characters are not.

Notable examples of this division are the games "Dragon Age: Inquisition"(DAI) and "Cyberpunk 2077"(C2077). Both games are designed as a power fantasy throughout the game design and the world. The Player can reach near god-like status and power.

In DAI, every part of the game's mechanics, world, and almost all parts of the narrative serve the Player's power fantasy, all but one key part, the romance system. In the game's romance system, all the romanceable characters have their sexual orientation, and some specific characters have race preferences; thus, certain romances are locked by the Player character's sex. The reasoning behind this choice, put forward by the writers themselves, is that they wanted the characters to be fully realized people with agency regarding their romantic choices. While on the surface, this may seem like a good approach, the unfortunate truth is that this is not cohesive with the rest of the game, and this should be apparent by the reaction in the Player base to this design choice; hardcore fans have where possible modded the game to romance who they want.

This break in cohesion stems from the fact that the romance system is inherently restrictive. As we have discussed, restrictive systems suit the Reality approach to RPG design but not the Fantasy approach. We must ask if almost every other aspect of a game serves the Player's power fantasy, why not this, or why is this the exception? We must also realize that when the majority of a game's aspects serve the Player's power fantasy, the Player will be conditioned to expect that from the game; thus, any break from this will be a negative experience for the Player. This negative experience that stems from breaks in cohesion is why every aspect of a game must be cohesive toward one approach. If you are creating a power fantasy RPG, write a power fantasy RPG. If attempting to craft a narrative based on realism, ensure your game mechanics support that.

C2077 has the same break in cohesion with its romance system, with the same justification from the writers, and with the Player base's reaction, albeit with some minor differences. C2077's issues regarding breaks in cohesion extend into the realm of its quest design. Within the quest design, there are many of the aforementioned cases where the narrative restricts the Player from solving objectives in ways they know they could, requiring the Player to acquire more help than they need. According to fan analysis, by the end of the game, the Player character "V" is the most powerful to have existed in the Cyberpunk universe. With this being the case, it is strange that none of the game's characters acknowledge or react to this, treating the Player like they are of relative power and capability to themselves. This lack of acknowledgment or reaction is even stranger when you consider that the Player can express this power through the gameplay. To C2077's credit, there are small instances where the character reacts to the Player completing objectives in impressive ways, but it does not extend past the moment. It is clear that C2077's writers set out to write a specific, compelling story, but they did not take into account the game for which their story was being created.

When designing an RPG, we must first decide what kind of RPG we are creating and the approach that is most suited to it. We must consider the Player, the expectations that our game's mechanics and world set for them, and how those expectations will extend into the realm of narrative. Whether you are creating an open-word power fantasy like "Skryim", "Dragon Age Inquisition," or "Cyberpunk 2077", or you are creating a narrative-focused RPG like "Disco Elysium", the same questions need to be asked about whether or not a games mechanics, world, and narrative are all cohesive. Failing to ask these questions, make these considerations, and resolve any conflicts will result in risks of harming the Player experience, thus, creating a less compelling game.