Quote:
Originally Posted by felipepepe
Then first I have a question for you: is Space Rogue really an RPG?
We added it to the book ages ago, but looking at it now there's no character creation, no stats, no level up, no party, no skills...
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I think of it sort of like a more primitive Star Control 2, though not as expansive. There's no levels per se, but you can buy better armor (i.e. HP), engines, shields, weapons, etc. for your ship. You have to make money for these and other upgrades (in addition to getting some from plots), which you can do by trading or bounty hunting or pirating. There are relations between the different groups (the Imperium, merchants, pirates, and the alien Manchi) to maintain, as well as your own reputation. You have an overarching plot which is gradually revealed as you talk to different NPC's on the different bases and outposts scattered throughout the map. If you didn't spend *some* time upgrading your ship, you're going to have a lot of trouble near the end, just like leveling up before the end boss for a D&D style RPG.
So in some ways it's sort of like Star Control 2, or possibly like Elite, or Star Trek 25th anniversary (two other games which I've dabbled in, but not as much). But although you can also upgrade your ship in Elite, that game is more about exploring an expansive universe, rather than Space Rogue where the universe is limited (there are just 9 star systems) and there's a definite central plot. Although Star Trek 25 anniversary had a plot, there wasn't really much about leveling up your ship or improving on it (that I could remember, anyway).
So it really depends on where you draw the line at how many elements are needed before a game is considered an RPG. It doesn't have a party system (there is only one character), so it lacks Star Control 2's ability to switch out your "character" (i.e. ship) for a particular fight, for example. It doesn't have a character creation system, i.e. all new games start off the same. But it does have significant upgrades to your "character" (i.e. ship) as you progress throughout the game, and there is very much a central plot with puzzles and rewards for solving them as you talk to the different people you'll encounter throughout the game.