The term "Western RPG" can be used in two different ways:
A
Role-Playing Game developed in the Western world, specifically North America and Europe.
Or a Role Playing Game following a style popularized by Western computer developers, which is sometimes differentiated from
Eastern RPGs by having several or more of the following features:
- Usually made in North America or Europe.
- Often released on the PC instead of consoles (though recently they have been on both).
- The game rules resemble (and are often licensed from) Tabletop RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons.
- Often has a Wide-Open Sandbox game experience, but can be a Dungeon Crawler, or in recent years, a plot-based game focused on the Character Development of both the customized PC and the NPCs.
- The main hero is generally customizable, and is more of a "blank slate" than a predetermined character.
- In some games, non-boss encounters can be resolved (at least, in theory) without combat, through diplomacy or stealth.
- The art style tends to be more "realistic" and "gritty" than in Eastern RPGs.
- Usually enemies are fought on screen rather than cutting to a separate "battle screen", though the latter was not uncommon in early Western RPGs.
- Dice rolls are often visible, and stats are directly shown as they interact with the rules. In recent years, however, many of the more action-oriented Western RPGs have been moving away from this.
- In the past they were often turn-based, but today they are often more action-based.
Computer RPGs can have a flexible format. Some games are more like "dungeon crawlers" (a more forgiving version of
Roguelikes), while some others are more akin to
Hack And Slash with experience and levels. During the past decade, a number of Computer RPGs have also begun resembling
Wide-Open Sandbox games. In the past, the majority of Western RPGs were turn-based, but today more of them are
Action RPGs; ironically, turn-based RPGs had American origins, while
Action RPGs had Japanese origins.
Some games created in the West transcend this genre and overlap with Console RPGs in terms of feel (such as
Summoner,
Sonic Chronicles and
Anachronox) and this is reciprocated in Asia with games that utilize elements of dungeon crawlers and Roguelikes, which have today become more popular in the East than they are in the West.
See also our guide on how to
Write A Western RPG.
Examples of this genre:
- Planet Stronghold (An independent 2D game with many Western RPG elements, created by Winter Wolves with Ren'py, released for computers in February 2011.)
