6th March 2007, 4:20 PM
Quote:You forgot the particle of the article where it said tactical role playing games are:
Quote:A tactical role-playing game (sometimes referred to as tactical RPG, Tactics RPG a strategy role-playing game or S-RPG) is a type of computer or console role-playing game which incorporates elements of traditional turn-based strategy games (including classic forms like Chess and Shogi). This genre is also known as turn-based tactics, and is the computer and video games equivalent of tactical wargaming and table-top role-playing. In Japan these games are known as "Simulation RPGs", a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers.
"Forgot"? No, I think that the 'SRPG/Tactical RPG' article is flawed, that's what i think. It fails to recognize the point that there is disagreement about the question of whether these games are actually RPGs -- the point about that article calling Wesnoth an SRPG, while the game's own website calls it a turn-based strategy game, is an important one.
Reading that it made me guess that perhaps "SRPG" as "Strategy RPG" came about because of the Japanese term "SRPG" meaning "Simulation RPG" but people only saw the short form and they filled in the "S" as "Strategy" since that genre is obviously the other main influence for the category; I don't know if that's true, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was...
Also, that paragraph isn't correct. "computer and video games equivalent of tactical wargaming and table-top role-playing."? No, that's wrong. Table-top role playing games do not have larger troop numbers like tactics games usually do (unless that is 'the players and their NPC allies' in some cases, but that's different -- the players do not directly control those NPC allies.). As for tactical wargaming, that's probably true, but that only reinforces the strategy/wargaming side of the tactics genre, not the RPG side.
PC tactical combat games consistently do NOT use the terms "SRPG", "Strategy RPG', or "Tactical RPG" to refer to their games. Those are console-exclusive terms. PC tactical combat games call themselves what they are: tactical combat games. Wikipedia's article fails to mention those important facts.
Examples:
http://www.jaggedalliance2.com (FAQ page link)
http://www.nma-fallout.com/fallout_tacti.../faq.shtml (mirror of the now-dead official site FAQ)
In both cases, the games are called tactical combat games with RPG elements such as character development. JA2 also discusses strategy elements like mines to control for income; FT: BOS only talks about tactics and RPG elements, which implies that the tactics elements are the strategy elements, but that the game doesn't have as complex an economic model as JA2.