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The A – Z of RPGs (G - O)

Published By: Sherrin English On: 05/12/2008 09:59

All the initials and RPG terms are enough to make your head spin.

This is the second part of clearing up the meanings of initials and words that are a mystery to those who don’t play RPGs. There was, initially, only supposed to be two parts to this A - Z, but I got rather carried away with it. Never the less no one is the loser here: you win because you now know something you didn’t and I win because I get my article submitted way ahead of schedule. Rather than waffle on I’ll get straight into it where I left off.

GameFAQs: GameFAQs.com is an excellent place to go for walkthroughs, hints, cheats, game information, player reviews, box and screenshots. GameFAQs' Board, or forum, is also an excellent place to go for answers to questions that arise during Gameplay that you need answered NOW.

Garage Kits: Primarily heard of in Japan, Garage Kits are resin figures from RPGs that have not been released as boxed figures. There are several places to purchase Garage Kits but the best, and most reputable is E2046.com. After purchase the figures must be painted and assembled, but, believe me, it’s more difficult than it looks.

Genres: There are many sub-genres within the RPG genre itself, and if you go deeper into those sub-genres, most of those have sub-genres too. Yes indeed, it can get very complicated. But the main ones are: strategy, action, fantasy and turn-based.

Hero: The main character of an RPG is usually the Hero, or Protagonist. In many RPGs he – and he’s almost always male - is most often a young, androgenous looking orphan with spiky blue hair, who speaks seldom - if at all. The object of the game, and therefore the hero’s goal, is to save the world from an insidious evil that’s creeping across the land.

Hot Key: In many RPGs a spell, ability or potion that is used often can be assigned to a key on the gamepad for quick use. The only problem with the HotKey is that you can strike the key by accident and wind up using all your potions instead of attacking, or using an ability when you should be defending. But some RPGers can use them in the appropriate circumstances – I can’t.

Houses: For some strange reason few people lock their houses in RPGs – or if they do the lock is nothing to even a mediocre Thief. But what’s stranger still is that the house owners leave their valuables lying about. As you can see, a life of crime can be very profitable indeed.

HP (Hit Points): HP is the life of the character and is always in plain sight as some sort of gauge – it’s red! If the red gauge falls below halfway it’s always in the players best interest to eat something, drink a potion or sleep. If not death will result and it’s Game Over and then back to the last save.

HUD: The Heads Up Display shows enemies as red dots on the games’ mini map. It gives you time to prepare the party for battle, or if your character is a Thief to sneak around behind the enemy and Backstab him/her/it.

Hype: Sometimes, when a game is highly anticipated, the makers catch onto the buzz and start to feed the waiting masses titbits of information on what the RPG contains and tantalising screenshots appear on websites. As the RPGs’ release dates draws nearer the makers begin to believe their own kak, while the masses, like baby birds, are clamouring for more. Eventually, when the RPG finally hits the shelves, the buyers realise that the game has precious few of the things that were promised.

Inn: Sleeping in a bed will restore characters’ HP and MP and will often be a save point as well, so an Inn is the ideal place to, figuratively, put your head down. It may cost a few gold coins but it’s cheaper than gulping down a couple of potions.

Inventory: Imagine your character is carrying a backpack. Your inventory is what is inside that backpack, from weapons to potions, armour to food, jewellery to books. Some RPGs limit their characters’ inventory by weight, so the stronger your character the more s/he can carry. Other RPGs have a limited number of ‘slots’ for items. And some RPGs have no inventory limit at all.

Invincibility: Unless you use a cheat for ‘immortality’ your characters will never be invincible however much you want him/her to be. Reaching level ninety-nine will certainly make your character a damned site harder to kill, but are all those hours of eating cold pizza and going without sleep in order to level grind really worth it?

JRPG: Put simply Japanese Role Playing Games, or RPGs made in Japan. Japanese RPGs have a distinctive look and feel to them: the art is different, the characters look different and the story is usually different too. Basically, Japanese RPGs invite you into their world, while western RPGs try to emulate the real world. Japan produces RPGs more than any other genre, and it’s a crying shame that only a small percentage of those RPGs are made available outside Japan. We could, of course, all learn Japanese, but then we’d be putting the localisers out of a job.

Legendary Weapons: The reward for a particularly gruelling Side Quest will sometimes be a Legendary Weapon. Legendary Weapons are more powerful and have a bit more ‘zing’ than usual weapons so they’re extra good to have in a tough fight. What makes them ‘Legendary’, though, varies from RPG to RPG. Some will have a slot – or more than one – for an augmentation, while others were once owned by a well-known hero.

Level Grinding: If a ‘God’ (immortal) cheat isn’t available, the only way to get high levels is to ‘Level Grind.’ Whether it’s so s/he can equip the kewl sword that the last Boss dropped or that the next Boss can be faced confidently without worrying about how long ago the last save was or merely to brag online, the Level Grinding RPGer will spend more than three-quarters of the game time levelling up. In fact they can spend so much time levelling up that they forget what the story is about.

Levelling Up: The RPGer spends three-quarters of his game time levelling up. Whether it’s so s/he can equip the kewl sword that the last Boss dropped or so that the next Boss can be faced confidently and without worrying about how long ago you last saved.

Limited Edition: Limited, or Special, Editions always cost more than the usual release. And for a very good reason. It’s the extra stuff that comes with the game that pushes the price up. That ‘stuff’ can vary widely, from a ‘Making Of’ disc to a game figure, an art book to a monogrammed watch, a poster to a printed memory card. Do not, however, be dazzled by the word ‘Limited’ because the games are only ‘Limited’ by the number of ‘Editions’ that are sold. There are, of course, some ‘Special’ exceptions.

Localisation: To bring an RPG from NTSC/J (Japan) to PAL (Europe) it goes through two localisations: from Japan to the US and then from the US to Europe. The second localisation is, of course, much easier than the first. Localisation from Japan to the US involves more than merely translating Japanese to English – much more. Keep your eyes open for an Article about localisation in the coming months.

Manual: Every RPG sold comes with a printed manual and it’s the second most important item – the first is, of course, the game disc. The Manual will, basically, tell the RPGer how to play the game. It’s a good idea to at least skim through the manual before beginning to play in order to avoid making costly (read: ‘stupid’) mistakes.

Map: Most RPGs will have an area map either in the manual or via the menu. It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with your surroundings so that you know where you’re going and to avoid running into enemies that may be too difficult for you.

Melee: Getting up close and personal with a sword or mace is Melee fighting. While the Ranger fights at a distance and keeps his hands clean, the Melee fighter smells the enemies’ breath and looks into his eyes as he drives his sword into enemies’ gut.

Menu: The push of a button takes the RPGer into the games’ Menu. The Menu provides access to everything to do with the RPG and its character/s: inventory, map, stats, time, skills, options, loading and/or saving. Everything can be changed at the touch of a button. Just make certain you know what you’re changing.

Merchandise / Memorabilia: The release of modern RPGs also results in the release of a variety of merchandise, but being tucked away at the end of the earth means NZ doesn’t see many of them (I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not). Final Fantasy has arguably the most merchandising associated with it: from jewellery, posters, calendars to pens, art books to t-shirts, cups to figures, plushies to bedspreads, you name it SquareEnix probably has a licence to print money off it.

Mini Map: In one corner of the screen there is usually a Mini Map of the immediate area - and it may, or may not, be a HUD. The mini map is an excellent way to keep your character on the right track.

Mission: Often, while playing through the RPG, your character/s will be sent on a Mission, which will be a specific task and will have a definite goal. Upon completion of the – successful - Mission your character/s will usually gain extra XP.

MMORPG: The Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game is an addiction. It will lead to sleepless nights, under-nourishment, swollen joints and loss of friends. Many MMORPG do away with plot lines and story progression and go straight to level griding to keep up with a social network who are keeping up with another social network who are keeping up with a different social network.

Money: RPGs money comes in all forms and from all things. It can be found in barrels in the street, chests in unlocked houses, NPCs pockets, dead enemies’ entrails, flowers, almost everything has money in, on, or under it. Unfortunately, when it’s needed most, at the start of the game, it’s the hardest to find, but that can be simply remedied by using a ‘Max Money’ cheat.

MP: MP is magic’s HP, so its gauge is next to HP’s gauge. It’s blue! If your character is a magic user and the MP gauge runs dry there had better be a potion handy because no magic can be case; either offensive or defensive. Unlike HP, MP will usually refill as the character moves.

Multiple Endings: Many RPGs have a story that involves making decisions at specific points in the game, which then steers the player towards a particular ending. Some RPGs have only two or three endings while others can have as many as fifteen or sixteen. The choices can be moral or merely deciding to turn left or right.

NPCs: Non-Player Characters make up ninety-nine percent of the RPG. They can be found everywhere and are recognised easily because they invariably look, dress and sound the same. NPCs will also repeat the same three sentences over and over until you want to kill them – which, of course, you can’t.

Optional Bosses / Quests: During, or after, the RPGs’ main story there may be Optional Bosses to fight and/or Optional Quests to go on which will, invariably, be much more difficult. Although why a player would continue to play and level up once the story has finished is beyond my ken.

Options: Options can be found in the Games’ Menu and can offer anything from changing the X – Y axis to brightening the colour, from removing the subtitles to softening the sound. It’s always a good idea to check out the Options when beginning a new RPG because there’s nothing worse than getting into a fight and finding that your character doesn’t turn in the direction you want him/her to or you didn’t hear what your first Quest was.

OST: An Original Sound Track can be a magnificent orchestral arrangement that spans the entire game and blends in perfectly with the onscreen activity. It can also be a disaster of gigantic proportions created by the game maker’s cousin that consists of weird sounds on a synthesizer that makes the Mute button your best friend. The OST can sometimes come as an extra with the game.

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COMMENTS (6)

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ReplyPosted by Srassy on 5 December 2008, 03:05PM

Eventually, when the RPG finally hits the shelves, the buyers realise that the game has precious few of the things that were promised.

Haha Peter Molyneux. Then again I thing half of these referred to Fable.

ReplyPosted by Koopa18 on 5 December 2008, 05:29PM

More games should come with OSTs. I want to buy the F-Zero GX one, but its like $40 USD..

I would have thoughtg G would have been "Gold Pieces" for sure :P