What's an RPG? (Long article illiterates need not apply)

[Gabriel]

No we can't. Most of those "founding fathers" didn't really have storylines that served more purpose than framing the action. Some still don't. And as you said, other genres have storylines. Ninja Gaiden had a storyline. King's Quest had a storyline. Neither are RPGs.

OK. How about this.

If we ripped out the entire storyline of Fire Emblem, and replaced all the character graphics with abstract shapes, would it still be a RPG, or would it become a wargame?

Did Tunnels of Doom have a story? I don't recall if there's any specific reason why you're generating the random dungeons.

Do RPGs not need an in-game story? Unless Tunnels of Doom lacks one, I can't think of any which lack one entirely, perhaps Aklabeth (sp) or maybe Telengard.

I think you're right, though. The storyline requirement is meaningless. In the olden days there wasn't enough memory for a story, and in modern times there's enough memory for anything to have an in-game story.