A study of how different game play aspects can affect the popularity of role-playing video games

Role-Playing Games (RPG´s) have been one of the most popular genres in the video games market since the dawn of the industry. There are millions of people around the world playing them across various gaming platforms. This study investigates how different game play aspects can affect the popularity of role-playing video games. The paper first examines the origins of role-playing video games and the game play aspects of earlier tabletop war games which they were originally adapted from. Their video game counterparts are then examined for specific game play features that are subsequently tested for popularity on a sample of 30 participants. The results show a large majority of participants favouring strong storylines, character development and combat. Very few participants preferred gameplay that focused on the collection of in game items.