old talk please do not add computer rpgs here they are already listed in computer role playing games article nov utc should the games listing come out of the main page and instead go to somewhere like rpg rpg listings well there are also listings in the subgenre articles so i think we should merge them jan utc i think the more useful distinction is between role playing games and role playing generally i'm taking the latter from this page and making a new page just for the more general case also note that i use role playing as the generic term more commonly linked to psychological uses because it is so cited in webster's new world college dictionary moreover i am adopting the role playing game usage hyphen between role and playing in order to follow that convention and because it makes sense grammatically hyphenate compound adjectives modifying a noun however i am thinking that role play game follows common usage better than role playing game but i'm not going to redirect the page now anyway dec no one i know of and i know lots of gamers says role play game it's always role playing game and i am sure that's the most common usage not to sound like a nerd or anything but white wolf is not strictly speaking a role playing game they are a publisher their role playing game universe world of darkness encompasses between and or so depending on how you count them role playing games ok i'm really not that much of a nerd ok maybe just a bit dec utc i added the notable rpg developers and publishers heading for links to companies and maybe individual creators dec utc isn't battletech more a table top war game and not an rpg i have never played it but isn't there mechwarrior which is an rpg based on battletech's world jan utc battletech was purely wargame then mechwarrior was made to turn it into an rpg however they are basically the same thing mechwarrior is like ad ds player handbook and battletech rules are simply the rules for combat battletech being more complex than ad d battletech is notable from other rpgs in that correctly played one's character is as mortal as all the enemies one fights so usually you die its basically a wargame where the units have stats which change over the course of a campaign and most people generally have the commander of their forces represent themselves thus an rpg and a wargame also its common for the gm or dm to be replaced by a classical referee and then the players instead of playing as a team go to war with each other battletech was a miniatures game based on japanese anime in the mech genre later a set of rules was developed that allowed one to play a mech pilot in an ongoing campaign battletech was published fasa which is now out of business along with battletech fasa also published games such as behind enemy lines world war two skirmish game shadowrun cyberpunk 'magic returns' roleplaying and earthdawn fantasy roleplaying at present both battletech and earthdawn have found new publishers for a list of rpgs i recommend trying the yahoo and google directories you will find listings for literally hundreds of games have fun finally when i have it composed i will be uploading an essay on roleplaying games and why they really aren't games at all at least not in the traditional sense of a game as something with victory conditions and competition among the participants hope this finds you all well feb utc sounds interesting but remember that wikipedia tries to maintain a neutral point of view it may be better to simply provide a link to your essay feb utc merriam webster's definition of game includes as its first entry activity engaged in for diversion or amusement and then equates it with play dictionary com defines again as the first entry a game as being an activity providing entertainment or amusement just by these two references alone and you'll find similar in any good dictionary attempts to declare role playing games as somet