Role Playing Game

Role Playing Games (often abbreviated to RPGs) are... well, games in which you play a role!

Overview

Internet RPGs are born from the same tradition as classic Tabletop RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons, where the player assumes the identity of a character and role-plays as them, generally under the supervision of a "Game Master" (or in Zoids RPG tradition, a "judge"). It could more or less be compared to improvosational, interactive acting with rules; or, rather, improvosational, interactive writing.

The setting New Century anime easily leant itself to internet RP scenarios, as it was simple, well defined, yet open-ended and easy to expand upon. Players would join together to form their own teams and battle against others, winning points and prize money that could be used within the context of the game to purchase modifications or accessories for their Zoids, such as Custom Parts or Organoids. Battles were typically held in messageboard threads, or over IM clients such as AIM for more immediate feedback. Story-driven character interactions were also held, typically outside of the recreational Zoid battles. During the height of the english-speaking Zoids fandom (from around 2002-2006), there were many RPGs to choose from, some run better than others. Zoids Evolution itself even had an RPG once upon a time.

Probably the most noteworthy Zoids RPG was Metal Machine Music, insofar as it contributed significantly to fanon due to its size and popularity. Metal Machine Music's detailed Zoid profiles were sometimes mistaken for canon; in actuality, they deviated from the Official Stats, ostensibly for the sake of gameplay balance. Among the fanon it helped to perpetuate was the Dark Spiner's possession of a Charged Particle Cannon, and the Psycho Geno Saurer and Toge Sniper's fanon names ("Crystal Saurer" and "Peirce Sniper", respectively.)

Now that the fandom has since shrunk considerably due to a lack of new fiction, the Zoids RPG scene has all but vanished.