The only RPGs that I can really think of that fit the bill are Deus Ex and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. I know there are more FPS RPG games out there, and RPGs with simulation elements, but not games that have both. Ultima 7 is probably the most interactive RPG ever but its not first person. Ultima Underworlds and System Shocks have the RPG elements and interactivity but don't really feature NPCs to talk with - it's all about survival. Ultima Underworld has NPCs, but the games feature very little dialogue and interaction between characters. I don't feel that the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games qualify either, as they are very survival oriented, rather than the game taking place in a city like Deus Ex and Vampire. Also the writing and quests are very peripheral in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. And I don't feel like Fallout 3 or New Vegas really live up to this standard either. I've heard that Alpha protocol and E.Y.E.: Divine Cybermancy are like this, but I haven't played them.
So what I'm looking for is a RPG that's really immersive, to the point that it feels like you're really in the game world and that it's a real place. Even though Vampire the Masquerade was rushed out, and as a result quite buggy and the last 25-35% of the game was dissapointingly average compared to how great the game was up to that point, it's still one of the most enjoyable RPGs I've ever played and I'd like to find another game like it.
Things I really enjoy about this game:
-Excellent writing and characters. Vampire had some of the best characters I've seen in a video game, really well written, voice acted and animated. And there many fascinating and different characters. The whole concept of malkavians and many of their dialogue options are brilliant. I really enjoyed conversations with some of the NPCs and listening to the radioshow Deb of night (and many of the satirical commercials
)Like I said, games like Thief, System Shock and S.T.A.L.K.E.R don't qualify even though I like them, because I want there to be a stronger emphasis on story and dialogue.
->You can roleplay different types of characters and decide to side with different types of people. You can try to seudce and intimidate people, team up with the bad guy, backstab the good guy etc. Vampire had 4 different factions and as a result 6 endings (1 faction had a choiche between 2 different endings and you could decide to not team up with anyone of them)
-The dark horror athmosphere. Granted I don't expect to find another game like this, but I really enjoy the dark athmosphere in games like Vampire, Deus Ex and Thief in general. Sneaking around, exploring the nonlinear levels, hacking computers and reading emails and diaries I'm not supposed to, eavesdropping on conversations, talking to different people and learning more about the gameworld that way (in other words it feels like I came across the information myself, rather than being forcefed it in cutscenes and mandatory quests, so it feels more rewarding when you start to unravel what's going on in the gameworld)
- Gameplay/RPG mechanics that have depth. Both Vampire and Deus Ex did this, but I think Vampire did it better as it had many different clans to play so you had a lot of options when it comes to creating a character (and roleplaying with it). System Shock 2 also did a good job, and if we go beyond the realm of first person view games, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura also did this, as you had many different races, alignments and playstyles to choose from.
->There are multiple ways of solve quests. Like say you need to get into a building; you can go in guns blazing from front door that's heavily guarded, picklock the cellar and sneak in, seduce a guard to giving you the key, pile up crates so you can access the building through a window etc.
-How the world feels believable and "alive" because:
1. Level and quest design isn't linear and there's a lot of areas that don't serve a direct purporse - they're either for finding more info about the game world, getting sidequests or something along those lines. I think the Santa Monica area in Vampire is a good example of this: there aren't many buildings you can't enter and the game area feels "real" because of this. And by hacking into computers and reading emails you can find info about all kinds of different people (like patients at a hospital or the inhabitants of an appartment complex) that serve no purporse, other than to make the game world feel more alive, as its seemingly inhabited by all kinds of people, not just by the NPCs who give you quests.
2. There's a lot of interconnectivity. Happenings in the game world are referenced to in different contexts. Like if you blow up a warehouse during a mission ->The news anchor in the TV speaks of an explosion or a possible terrorist attack in the news later on in the game. Or it could be in the newspaper. Or two people talking in a convenience store or in the streets about it.
3. Because you can read emails, diaries etc, many important NPCs feel like they have lives of their own rather than just standing in a corner giving quests to you. For instance in Vampire you can read an e-mail in a hacked computer during one mission, in which the person you're working for currently is talking to your enemy -> you can predict that character will betray you even before the scripted sequence for betrayal happens. And if I recall, you can confront that character and tell what you saw. And that leads me to
4. Branching quests and conversations as opposed to linear ones that are the same to all players. Everything from characters reacting differently to you based on your looks, faction and reputation to being able to have multiple outcomes to a single quest, like say betraying the person who gave you the quest, or able to finish the quest in some other way if you happen to kill the quest giver.
I know that many of the best 2D/Isometric and turnbased oldschool CRPGs are like this and I like that kind of RPGs, but having a 3D game world with real time, first person combat like in Deus Ex and Vampire just makes the game world and espescially many of the missions where you can use stealth, talk your way out of fights etc so much more immersive and intense.
I do aknowledge that both Deus Ex and Vampire were flawed and were far from really creating a world that's truly "alive", but they're the closest any 3D RPG has managed to capture that feel imo.
