Let’s play pretend with RPGs

I used to be a manager for an island of dinosaurs.

I was in charge of the pterodactyls. (Yes, I know they’re not actually dinosaurs, but this island was inclusive of all monster reptiles). I coordinated transportation around the island. And protecting the eggs from the island’s other inhabitants was a full-time job.

My job as a dinosaur caretaker was much more interesting than being a fourth-grade kid who had braces and liked to read too much. When my friends and I clocked in at the island, it was more than just pretend: It was a way we could live the life we only dreamed about; a life that would never be true but should be. (Oh, and this was a few years before “Jurassic Park” came out).

I don’t think the need to live a life beyond one’s own just goes away when we become adults. People don’t fully grow up, regardless of how they act on the outside. There’s always a childlike voice inside our heads wanting to go on some adventure or discover some new thing.

Some of us try to satisfy that voice by living as close as we can to our fantasies. These are the people who become astronauts, world leaders or circus clowns. The rest of us keep pretending, but our games get more sophisticated.

One of these methods for imagination is role-playing games, or RPGs.

I don’t just mean Dungeons and Dragons, though it falls under that umbrella too. RPGs are more than stats and number-crunching (How much damage did that ogre do to you? Do you have enough strength to mount a successful attack? And so on).

I like Wikipedia’s definition of an RPG: “A game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting.”

All that dice rolling you saw those kids do in your high school is a means to that end, a way of altering the game world by chance, much as our world appears to change at random.

Still, I have never gotten into these so-called “pen-and-paper RPGs,” as constantly adding and subtracting numbers is not my idea of a good time. This also excludes me from games like Monopoly and Risk.

But you know what’s good with numbers? My computer.

Computer RPGS, or CRPGS, have been around almost as long as personal computers with the likes of “Ultima” and “Wizardry.” One of the classic systems, “Eamon,” even let people both play and create their own adventures on the Apple II.

There isn’t a single definitive template for a CRPG.

Setting varies from fantasy to sci-fi to horror to “real life.” Some are turn-based, others are real time. Some are first-person 3D, others are top-down and others are isometric. Still others have no graphics at all. Some depend heavily on stats and combat, while others are more about story. In some you can control a single character, while others feature parties of heroes. Still others give you the option to play with thousands of other players in an open world.

There are thousands of these games, with countless ones coming out every year, each with a different take on how things work, look and feel.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at what goes into an RPG. I won’t show you how to make “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” or “Fallout 4.” I’ll approach graphics, world building, statistics and programming in a simple way. You’re not going to need a horde of coders and artists to make a simple RPG, though you will have to spend a considerable amount of time and effort to make something people will want to play.

Also, this won’t be a tutorial but a jumping-off point for your creativity. And you won’t find any cookie-cutter formulas to wild success here.

Next week: how to create a believable but manageable world.

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