Table Top RPGs can be anything

A few weeks back I had a remarkably brief discussion about what is the greatest game of all time. It's a subjective topic, but you can try to tighten it up a bit by identifying what makes a good game. Things like "interaction, reward, story, skill development" or whatever. At first I kept myself limited to the classics (chess, go) or video games (super mario brothers, Final Fantasy 7), but then one of the folks I was talking too said "D&D" and I had no response.

Now, I feel D&D is no more the best game ever than any other table-top RPG than say d6, shadowrun, or rifts. But, I really had a hard time thinking of a good reason why they are not the best. There is precious little you can do in any other game that doesn't exist, somewhere, somehow, in a table top RPG, particularly D&D.

Seriously, we've been here for 2 hours, can we start playing now?

That was about the end of that conversation and I didn't think about it much until a few days ago.

I want to talk about how I want to design an RPG game. A campaign I suppose.

First, I like simulation games like Sim City and Civ 2. So, I want an aspect of that in the game. I want my character to be able to control and make decisions for developing cities and even nations. I want this to focus on the 4 Xs: explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate.

This, but, you know, more awesome.

Second, I do enjoy a good bit of strategy, but I don't want to get bogged down in the minutia of it. So whatever system I use needs to allow for quick, but functionally believable battles.

not. this.

 Third, I want my character to improve and I don't mind a good deal of random tossed in there. I don't want to spend hour upon hour "building" my character, but I do want some choices and a clear line of improvement. Quests and loot are fine, as long as you don't ask me to weight too many decisions because I tend to obsess and it ruins things for me. So keep the options limited, or make the options nonexclusive. That is, I can have it all, it will just take more time and work.

This is what I really want.

 Fourth, I want my character to personally kick some ass from time to time. Give me things that need a good beating and opportunity to do that beating. I don't need to be super powerful and getting clobbered from time to time is fine with me. I just want my chance in the ring against a good opponent.

I don't need to be Vader, just give me a chance to fight him - and his horde. 

 Fifth, I want a story. It doesn't have to be Shakespeare. It doesn't even have to be Michael Bay. I'm easy and very forgiving. But seriously, give me a setting, characters, a sequence, some exposition, some conflict, a climax, and some resolution. That's all I need. It doesn't have to be good, or even consistent. If it gets emotional and intense, awesome. I promise I won't claw at it too much and find all the inconsistencies. I've had my work critiqued too and it sucks. I promise, give me a story that makes any kind of sense on the surface and I will roll with it happily.

This picture damn near has everything I need for a 'story'. It has a setting, characters, suggests a sequence, implied exposition, conflict, you can assume a climax and a resolution.