The Future of Single-Player RPGs
Key RPG designers discuss where the story-driven RPG has been, and where it’s going.

By Jason Wilson

Dragon Age: Origins is the biggest singleplayer role-playing game release of the season. It’s also the only big-budget singleplayer RPG coming out this season. The RPG is one of the oldest genres in gaming, but big releases are becoming rarer each year.

We examine the state of the big-budget single-player RPG with a group of RPG developers. Each comes from a different facet of the market. Is it dying?
Are the tastes of RPG gamers changing? What role do MMOs, consoles, and handhelds play? Is there hope in the indie scene? And how do the differences in American, European, and Japanese RPGs affect the overall market.

The Roundtable

Bill Roper

Design Director, Cryptic Studios

Facet: MMOs

Major RPGs: Champions Online, Diablo series

Alan Miranda

CEO, Ossian Studios

Facet: Small RPG development

Major RPGs: Baldur’s Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal, Neverwinter Nights, NWN 2: Mysteries of Westgate

Marcin Iwinski

Cofounder, CD Projekt

Facet: European RPGs

Major RPGs: The Witcher

Feargus Urquhart

CEO, Obsidian Entertainment

Facet: Traditional RPGs

Major RPGs: Fallout, Icewind Dale and Baldur’s Gate series, NWN 2, Planescape, Star Wars: KOTR 2

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