One of the first rules of writing is that there are no inherently new plots to be developed. Therefore, a successful writer will either do something a little bit different (adding a twist to an existing story) or do something a little bit better (improve the delivery of a story). Unfortunately, many RPG writers seem to mistake "different" and "better" for "more complex and/or ambiguous." It seems like every RPG these days tries to go balls-to-the-wall with its plot, including numerous seemingly mandatory philosophical references direct from a community college Intro to Philosophy textbook (if not throwing in the whole book altogether and hoping for the best). Most of the time, combined with translation issues, this approach results in a poorly realized plot. Of course, when the general design philosophy of most RPGs is the dangling carrot of slogging through battles to reveal the story, the story had better be pretty damned compelling – and unfortunately, this is seldom the case. (Perhaps even more unfortunately, many RPG players actually think that this complexity for complexity's sake makes for a BETTER story. The writers cannot take all of the blame for this problem, I fear.)
Quick, why was Knights of the Old Republic II noticeably inferior to its predecessor? Too many bugs you say? Well, yeah, but what else? Uninspired combat with waves of generic baddies? True, but what else? That's right: the shambled train wreck of a story that tried to be complex simply for complexity's sake. Star Wars has never had a complex plotline, as it's always been little more than a pseudo-myth ripped straight from the pages of Joseph Campbell. The first KOTOR realized this, and as such provided a plot that was suitable in scale, albeit with one incredibly compelling (yet somewhat foreseeable, if you pick up on all the clues) twist. KOTOR II, on the other hand, made things sound much more complex than they actually were, giving the illusion of a deep plot while in reality delivering very little of note. By doing something different (i.e. adding a twist to the standard Star Wars story) while staying fairly simple, KOTOR crafts a compelling story that accentuates the game rather than taking away from it.
Similarly, Final Fantasy XII's story is nothing to write home about at first glance: a standard story of regency and succession. Its beauty lies in its simplicity, however, as it is streamlined enough to be compelling. Compare that to Final Fantasy VII's "plot" – a horrific monstrosity whose construction is the RPG equivalent of a Jackson Pollack painting, but less coherent – and it is easy to appreciate how much care and effort went into making sure that XII's plot actually makes enough sense to render game world interactions worth undertaking. Again, if you're going to utilize the dangling carrot, make sure that the carrot is tasty. Better yet, make sure it's a carrot, not a genetically modified carrot-like substance with all kinds of unnecessary additives and carcinogens.
Conclusion
Many console-style RPGs suffer from most if not all of these genre-killing problems. Perhaps it is simply due to the fact that, for whatever reason, this style of game is still popular and selling well with the gaming audience. Necessity breeds innovation, and there is apparently no financial necessity for RPG developers to change what they are doing. (As I write this, the DS remake of Dragon Quest V is utterly annihilating its competition on the Japanese game sales charts.) Unfortunately, their stagnation results in a genre that has become bland, rife with problems, and for the most part unappealing to those such as myself who once counted themselves part of the RPG fanbase. The console style role-playing game is anything but, as it has become more of a pseudo-interactive B-movie platform than anything involving actual role-playing. Furthermore, these console-style design sensibilities have infiltrated the once-fertile PC RPG landscape, as evidenced by games such as Oblivion and Mass Effect, making the descendants of classics such as Fallout and Baldur's Gate as desolate and unappealing as their console cousins. It is for these reasons that I have divorced myself from the console RPG fanbase, and can no longer support the direction of the genre that I once held in such high esteem.
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