For people unaware of all the role-playing game (RPG) subgenres, here’s a brief explainer:
TTRPG – Tabletop RPG. The original RPG. Played on a literal table. Dice, paper, friends, arguments. Everything else evolved from here.
Examples:
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Pathfinder
- Shadowrun
LARP / LARPG – Live Action Role-Playing Game. The version where people physically dress as their characters and act things out in person. Foam weapons, costumes, fake accents, and enough in-character drama to power three soap operas. LARPing as a concept goes back to the 1970s, right alongside early tabletop like D&D, but it didn’t get the “LARP” acronym until the 1980s.
Examples:
- Vampire: The Masquerade LARP events
- Amtgard
- Dagorhir
CRPG – Computer RPG. Born from tabletop, moved onto computers. The CPU handles all the dice rolls you don’t want to argue about.
Examples:
- Baldur’s Gate
- Fallout (1997)
- Planescape: Torment
TBRPG – Turn-Based RPG. Everyone takes turns. This is the “classic” RPG format, so people often just call it an RPG.
Examples:
- Divinity: Original Sin II
- Wasteland 3
- Trails in the Sky
SRPG / TRPG – Strategy (or Tactical) RPG. Same turn-based idea, but on grids—squares or hexes—with multiple units to command.
Examples:
- Fire Emblem
- Final Fantasy Tactics
- Tactics Ogre
RTwPRPG – Real-Time with Pause RPG. You pause to assign orders, unpause to watch them happen. Baldur’s Gate fans still swear by this.
Examples:
- Baldur’s Gate II
- Pillars of Eternity
- Dragon Age: Origins
ARPG – Action RPG. Real-time combat. No turns, no waiting—just swing when you feel like it.
Examples:
- Diablo II
- Dark Souls
- Kingdom Hearts
IRPG – Idle RPG. The game mostly plays itself. Perfect for people who like progression bars but don’t like playing.
Examples:
- Clicker Heroes
- Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms
- AFK Arena
JRPG – Japanese RPG. Made in Japan or heavily inspired by Japan’s approach. Console-heavy. Drama-heavy. Usually turn-based or action hybrid.
Examples:
- Final Fantasy VII
- Persona 5
- Dragon Quest XI
KRPG – Korean RPG. Similar to JRPGs but usually more PC-oriented. Often online.
Examples:
- Lost Ark
- MapleStory
- Vindictus
WRPG – Western RPG. Pretty much any RPG from the West that isn’t imitating JRPGs.
Examples:
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Mass Effect
- Fallout: New Vegas
RPG – Polish RPG. Technically a WRPG branch, but with its own personality. Darker tone, folkloric influences, and PC-first mentality.
Examples:
- The Witcher series
- Seven: The Days Long Gone
- The Thaumaturge
LatRPG – Latin American RPG. RPGs from Latin America, often mixing local folklore, indigenous mythology, and JRPG/ARPG elements. “LARPG” isn’t used because Live Action Role-Playing already took it.
Examples:
- Mulaka
- Tunche
- Cris Tales
MORPG – Multiplayer Online RPG. Small-scale online RPGs, often instanced or lobby-based.
Examples:
- Phantasy Star Online 2
- Monster Hunter: World,
- Dauntless
MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online RPG. Persistent worlds, thousands of players, endless grinds.
Examples:
- World of Warcraft
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Guild Wars 2
MOORPG – Massive Online Open-World RPG. Marketing term for the “bigger” MMOs. You’ve seen the ads.
Examples:
- Black Desert Online
- ArcheAge
- EVE Online
MRPG – Mobile RPG. Made for phones. Often gacha-heavy, session-based, or both.
Examples:
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Raid: Shadow Legends
- Summoners War
BRPG – Browser RPG. Runs in your web browser. Lightweight, accessible, usually free-to-play.
Examples:
- Kingdom of Loathing
- AdventureQuest Worlds
- Urban Dead
VRRPG – Virtual Reality RPG. Built for VR platforms. Often more about immersion than traditional RPG mechanics.
Examples:
- Zenith: The Last City
- OrbusVR
- The Mage’s Tale
BBRPG – Bulletin Board RPG. Forum- or post-based roleplay. Writing-heavy, rules-light.
Examples:
- Gaia Online RP forums
- NationStates roleplay boards
- Myth-Weavers
So yeah, there’s a lot of alphabet in the RPG soup. Some of it’s legit, some of it’s marketing garbage, and some of it’s just fans inventing labels because that’s what fans do.
But they’re all chasing the same dopamine hit: numbers go up, loot gets shinier, and suddenly your “quick session” has eaten the entire weekend.
eezeebee@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Everybody’s talkin’ 'bout the new massively open-world online multiplayer virtual mobile browser bulletin board tabletop Japanese Western Polish Latin American Korean idle action real-time turn-based strategic role playing game, funny, but it’s still RPG to me 🎶