RPG and Action-RPG

RPG and Action-RPG development at ArionisGames

RPG and Action-RPG games are some of the most popular genres in game development. Flexible multi-level leveling system, exciting plots and variety of inventory attract millions of players, forming and maintaining huge communities around them. The ability to personalize heroes causes a strong emotional attachment, ensuring a high level of replayability.

These factors create a stable demand for the development of RPG and Action-RPG games - from mobile and pixel to AAA MMORPG projects with open worlds. This is a strategically advantageous direction for monetization, brand promotion and profit. But only if you cooperate with a reliable partner who has the necessary expertise and technologies, understands the specifics of the genre and its capabilities for implementing your business goals. In the case of creating RPG and action-RPG games, the ability to implement complex mechanics, a well-thought-out plot and maintain a balance of complexity is important.

RPG and Action-RPG – what is it?

Role-playing games (RPGs) are one of the most popular and diverse genres in game development. The success of a project depends on how deeply the developers understand the genre's features and the specifics of the target audience.

What are RPG games?

RPG (Role-Playing Game) is a genre of games where the gamer controls a character or several characters at once, upgrades their abilities and makes decisions that determine the further development of events. The main emphasis is on the plot, character development and active interaction with the game world.

Features:

• character leveling – level system, skills and abilities, equipment;
• plot branches, dialogue boxes with choices, the story often has a non-linear narrative, the development of which depends on the gamer's choices;
• world exploration, interaction with NPCs;
• tactical battles – turn-based or real-time, with an emphasis on strategy;
• inventory – management of weapons, armor, resources and items, the need to select optimal combinations;
• Immersion – the player immerses himself in the virtual universe, feeling like a part of it.

Examples: Baldur's Gate, The Elder Scrolls.

What are Action-RPG games?

Action-RPG games combine the characteristics of a classic RPG game and action - dynamics, active control, and real-time battles are added to the development of characters. That is, the user not only builds a strategy, but also influences the actions of his character.

Features:

• active battles in real time;
• not only tactics are important, but also reaction;
• character development and equipment;
• the plot is presented more dynamically than in classic RPGs;
• world exploration with an emphasis on action - the player's decisions can change the behavior of NPCs, quests, and the environment.

Examples: Diablo, Dark Souls.

The features of RPG and Action-RPG games are deep mechanics, the presence of a plot and quests, character development, and an inventory system. Their main difference is that in classic role-playing titles the emphasis is on the plot, strategy, and character development, while in action-RPGs the emphasis is on the dynamics of battles and the player's active participation in events.

The RPG genre, in addition to classic RPGs and Action-RPGs, includes Japanese variations of JRPGs with deep storylines and turn-based combat (Final Fantasy, etc.), as well as MMORPGs – massively multiplayer online titles with multiplayer, social components, and large-scale open worlds (World of Warcraft, etc.). There are also single-player RPGs and two-player role-playing game variants.

Stages and features of RPG and Action-RPG development

Arionis Games specialists take a comprehensive approach to creating role-playing projects, as well as working with other genres. The production process includes 6 main stages:

1. Analytics. We study the specifics of the project, business goals, target audience, niche, and competitive environment. We decide on the platform, basic mechanics, and select the stack.
2. Game design and planning. We draw up technical specifications, a game design document with a description, work out the gameplay, and create prototypes.
3. Programming. We implement the main game systems (battle logic, interaction with NPCs, quests, etc.).
4. Content creation. We perform 2D/3D character modeling, game environments, 2D/3D animation.
5. Testing and optimization. We comprehensively test all product systems, optimize the game for target platforms and devices.
6. Preparation for release. Transfer of rights and access to the customer, briefing.

Also, within the framework of the service of creating RPG and Action-RPG games, the Arionis studio provides product support after launch: updating content, creating additional levels, characters, skins, game events. You can read more about the stages of game project production by our specialists and the services included in each of them on the Game Development page.

Specifics of developing RPG and Action-RPG games

When developing RPG and Action-RPG games, it is important to think through the progression system and non-linear scenarios, maintain a balance of characteristics, pay attention to UX/UI to implement complex gameplay elements. Particular attention is paid to the narrative and game world, the balance of the economy and the combat system. The architecture of the project is more complex than in "light" genres such as clickers or platformers - it is necessary to integrate a large number of gameplay elements.

The specificity of RPG production is due to the variety of game mechanics, plot variability, and other characteristics:

• multi-level design of the world, plot, characters (levels, choice of classes and specializations, skill tree);
• balance of mechanics – hero development, complexity of combat scenes, in-game economy, quests (main and side), interaction with the virtual environment;
• working with the script – working out the narrative line, its nonlinearity, dialogues, player choices, interesting dialogue scenes;
• technical optimization – ensuring multiplatform compatibility, quality of 2D/3D graphics. It is necessary to adapt the product to the target devices so that there are no problems with memory, processor power, or visual display.

High-quality processing of each of the listed aspects allows you to create a product that will attract the target audience and be commercially successful due to target audience retention, the effectiveness of monetization systems, and marketing activities.

Why is it more profitable to order custom creation of game projects?

Publishers and studios order games in these genres to expand their line using popular formats, investors – to create projects with high ROI, educational organizations – to implement interactive story projects. For startups, ordering the development of 2D/3D RPG and Action-RPG games for PC, Android, iOS and other platforms is a good opportunity to enter the market with a recognizable, popular product in a popular genre.

There are several advantages of custom development of RPG and Action-RPG games compared to purchasing boxed solutions:

• Unique plot and mechanics. The narrative, characters, inventory, and leveling system are modeled to the project's objectives and audience, which increases the commercial potential, replayability, monetization efficiency, and competitiveness of the product.
• Target platform orientation. When ordering custom creation of RPG and Action-RPG projects, they are immediately optimized for the target operating systems, devices and platforms. We can implement RPG games for phones (Android, iOS), computers, browsers, consoles, VR/AR devices.
• Reliability and scalability. All rights to the product belong to the customer - he receives full control over the architecture, server part, data and completely manages the development strategy of the project, which is easy to scale and modify to meet current business strategies. For example, expanding and modernizing the game world, adding current content, DLC, multiplayer.
• Branding opportunity. When developing an RPG or Action-RPG individually, the game can be designed in a corporate style, implementing unique marketing mechanics, conveying the company's values, and, in particular, advertising its services and products.

A custom product becomes an effective tool for building a loyal audience and generating income in the long term by adapting to the customer's business model and audience interests.

Technologies and tools

When creating custom RPG and Action-RPG games, our team uses advanced software and services to implement complex mechanics – from an extensive plot and character progression to multi-level combat systems and open worlds.

Basic tools:

• Game engines – Unity, Unreal Engine.
• Graphics and animation – Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Photoshop, Spine, DragonBones, Motion Capture (Vicon, Rokoko, Xsens).
• Animation and physics – inverse kinematics, Havok, PhysX.
• AI and scripting – ML-Agents, behavior trees, Lua, Python, C# (Unity), C++ (Unreal).
• Story and dialogues – Articy:draft, Ink, Twine.
• World and levels – World Machine, Gaea, Houdini, SpeedTree, Tilemap Editor.
• Network functions – Photon, Mirror, Epic Online Services, AWS, PlayFab, Firebase.
• Monetization, analytics – Google Play Billing, App Store Purchases, Unity IAP, IronSource, AdMob, Unity Ads, GameAnalytics, Firebase, Adjust.

The final list of technologies and tools that will be needed to successfully launch a game depends on its characteristics, functionality, and the scale of the project.

Why clients trust game development to Arionis Studio

The Arionis Games studio team has deep expertise in web and game development. Our game designers, writers, artists, and programmers know the specifics of the role-playing genre, understand audience expectations, and possess a wide range of technologies to implement successful releases, including blockchain, AI, and machine learning.

We work iteratively, strictly adhere to deadlines, and maintain regular reporting. We offer flexible formats of cooperation – from project interaction and dedicated IT team services to outstaffing and outsourcing. We develop full-cycle RPG and Action-RPG games, and we can also join the project for spot work.

Contact us - we will discuss your tasks, propose a strategy, ensure your product has a successful release, audience growth, engagement, and, as a result, profitability.