The future of RPGs

Hello.


   This might or might not seem like a long(or short) complain list or rant, but please bear with me. I'm sorry for any grammatical errors.


   I've been playing RPGs since 2001, which isn't that long. I've seen and played some of the most brilliant games ever to see the sunlight; Baldur's Gate II Shadows of Amn, Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic, Icewind Dale II, Gothic, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind to name a few. In most cases I really do not care much for the game mechanics(I can adapt, just like everyone else out there), because the most important part in RPG's is the story, nothing beats quality writing. I'm not saying that gameplay mechanics can be completely overlooked, because it's still an important part of a game, but other elements seem to be pretty trivial if the tale is trash.  


   There have been many changes in the last 10 years, the genere did evolve, people changed. I can understand that some people seem to think that computer games are nerdy, especially the "old school" ones. I can understand many things, trust me. But I can't understand why game companies are constantly dumbing down the RPG genere and are calling it innovation. I just can't understand it. In 2009 we did see the premiere of Dragon Age: Origins, It is a good game, it has this "old school" feeling, quality writing, and it really doesn't feel oversimplified at all, it really like a classical RPG. The most important thing is; it sold really well, around 3,7mln copies so far (According to vgchartz.com, vgchartz does not include digital downloads, which means that it could've sold far more, probably around 4-5mln), which is astounding. It really does show that people still do want those "old school" games, people really like them, and it also proves that people are not afraid to play more complex games than Mass Effect(Which does have a good story, but the gameplay looks more like an TPS than an actual rpg, I'm not calling it a bad game.) I really dsilike the dialogue wheel, it's as complex as a peanut. "Good", "Evil" and "Funny/Neutral" options, no thinking, nothing. You can't even read the exact sentence, just some short summary, god forbid you spend less time in action, killing everything that moves and more time reading.


   I'd like to ask you here; Do you really want oversimplified gameplay? Do you really want every rpg to be a mindless game, where you do not have to think at all? Why even dumb down a game in the first place, when a more complex game sells fantastic as it is? Innovation and progress need to be made, but simplification is hardly innovative.