Why do you play RPGs?
What is it you get out of an RPG you don't gt from another genre?
What about a Bethesda RPG do you like?

loot and violence


open world/replayability/amusing bugs/khajiit

-I play them because they allow a lot more freedom. You can be who you want and get the all-important immersion factor rather than just moving a pre-made character around on the screen.

-Again, freedom. I enjoy other games where you are a set character, but I don't very often continue playing them after the story is over.

-Their huge open worlds. You can go where you like, and not just at a specific point in the game, and do whatever you want. There's a lot to discover and anything can happen. It's a very nice way to play.

RPG because I like to pick attributes and perks and see how they enhance my gameplay.
Bethesda because of big open world, first person view and rich lore. And Argonians

*hiss*

I play all sorts of RPG's, Bethesda style RPG's I play for the rich lore, setting and environments which can easily svck you into their atmosphere, JRPG's I play also for story but not as much the lore, beauty and environments but rather the challenge of building your team or character and of the fights that are often a lot more restrictive than in Western RPG's but a lot harder. And 'Pen & Paper' RPG's I play for the freedom and for the actual roleplaying of which you can do little in most all video games.

And that, is why I RPG.

Back to work, slave!

As a person who doesn't have enough willpower or magicka to conjure up enough attention span to read books, the lore from more story-based RPGs (opposed to endless/pointless grinds) has been my substitute for that.

I like the character development, the stats, shaping a personality via dialogue options, I like to roleplay different characters. I also enjoy stealth mechanics a lot, that's why I favor the rpgs that allow a good stealth approach. Bethesda hooked me with TES III: Morrowind and despite the simplification route they've taken I still find their fluid gameplay in an open world the most enjoyable.

i got told..

For the story, mainly. Although I like some RPGs with a weak/nonexistent story if they provide a decent challenge.

A lot of things, depending on which RPG it is.

Not much.

It's not actually a rpg-typ of thing. I just want a good story (in a well-thought out universe) with proper gameplay mechanics. The feeling of being the protagonist and the environment should be consistent and logical (which doesn't mean fantasy isn't allowed.
It's much more difficult for an open world game (escpecially with a linear MQ) than a linear game to create this feeling.

Edit: Just take Skyrim as an example (I never played completly, I'm going to wait for the addon/dlc and some nice mods).
Because of the open world, Skyrim lacks detail and a consistent, logical universe /canon (it's not as bad as it sounds like, but this is very important for me). Skyrim's population is like at maximum 1000. The cities are way too small. Everything is too small. The great battles are more like skirmishes (maximum 30 persons fighting). If you attack castles for your factions, npcs will (re-)spawn in random locations. Dialoge options with no choices. The only options to influence the world are ...

...
Factions & Guilds, I guess? But not really, you can become grandmaster of every faction and nothing will change.
The items are still so generic. The special artefacts are just enchanted stuff. You just collect them, because they have names. I don't really think it's because the game becomes more "causal" (that is a different problem). Oblivion had the same problem.

I favor RPGs for their focus on plot, character development, occasional open world design and freedom of choice, and while I don't necessarily consider them an RPG element, I really enjoy the statistics and levels present in the genre. It's fun for me to watch my characters' stats grow and figure out how each one's formula affects my combat performance or otherwise.

The freedom really, to use a Bethesda saying "Live another life, in another world". That pretty why I play any RPG, the ability to create a character and experience the stories and world they encounter. Bethesda's game appeal to me the most because this is exactly what they do. There is a nearly endless amount of possibilities in their games. You don't even need to use their story. The majority of my time spent on a Bethesda game consist of me creating my own story.Although I love games like KOTOR and the Mass Effect series they are far more linear. The benefit of that is a the chance fro a excellently crafted story.

This + Elves.

To explore strange new worlds, to seek out life and new civilations. To bodly go where no man has gone before.

If you attack castles for factions, NPC's respawn in different locations. What?

I like all kinds of games, but one of the reasons I love RPG's is because the world is made for you to explore, you create your own story go your own path. I've always loved fantasy and such so being able to put myself in another world where I'm capable of doing whatever I want is awesome.

I love many games that aren't considered RPG, I often find myself liking the characters featured in those games and their goals and purpose (like for instance the Zelda series). Sometimes this makes me think "I wish I could be a character (or act out a character) in a game and see how it would be if I lived in a fantasy universe like that", and that's what RPGs give me. RPGs gives you the opportunity to put yourself in a fictional world, and play your role in that world.

Character development(personality-wise and stat-wise), freedom of choice and deep and interesting lore mainly.
The stories tend to be deeper and broader then other games. Choice is also one of the most important things in an RPG for me.
They have large worlds that look interesting, but they aren't my favourite RPG developer.

I like the sense of progression and growth. I like struggling through part of a dungeon, then getting that level up, skill, or weapon that changes the game, and breeze through the rest of it like a living god. I like that the time I've spent is rewarded with a clear increase in character ability. I also like the amount of replayability, either due to multiple classes, play styles, or story branches.

You're picking the wrong books for your taste, if that is the case. A good book should immerse you to an extent that transcends games and film. It shouldn't be an effort.

Mostly for the story, characters and settings. Big adventures that span continents, worlds, space and time, etc. Games in other genres usually have multiple locations, but few offer the scale or variety that many RPGs do. I also like the numbers; managing characters' stats, skills, equipment, etc.


Their concept art occasionally looks pretty neat.

This.

I like the idea of living a second life, especially one with the ability to mash heads in with a mace with no undue consequence.

Honestly though, as a kid I created elaborate fantasies in my head. I would play them in my head at night before I went to sleep, picking up from where I left off the night before. It would be anything from a typical Tolkien fantasy setting to sci-fi. I had a couple of storylines that lasted months. One in particular that I remember was set a few hundred years in the future. A world war was being fought, and everyone was in giant Armored Core style mechs. There were two main factions in the world. My mech got destroyed, and I survived by crawling into a nearby cave. In the cave I met a hot female mech pilot from the other faction (I was 13. Give me a break). For the next few months I played out us banding together, forming a rebel alliance and overthrowing both factions, thereby creating a newly independent world. There were twists and turns a plenty, and about 20 secondary characters. This story existed entirely inside my head, and I just played it out in my mind as I fell asleep. I wish I had wrote some of it down...

So yeah. I guess I like RPGs because they allow me to play out a character of my design in a new and exciting world.

I like to wander aimlessly and gaze at the virtual countryside.