gamegrene.com

From memory, it all started with Quakeworld. Online gamers, previously at best able to pick a colour and nick name to signify their character, suddenly became able to download or create their own skins. Online gaming was revolutionised, you could proudly display your personality clearly for all to see.

Things haven't been the same since.

In fact, with the release of online playable games such as Diablo II, Dungeon Siege and Everquest, this ability became more than a feature of gaming, it became a genre all it's own. "Wait a minute" I hear you cry, "those games are RPGs!"

Not at all, I say. I say those games are fashion shows. After all, once past the initial rush of figuring out that if you click on a monster your character will hit it, click on a shop keep and your character will be able to flog stuff off to them, click on a spot and your character will move there, etc., you have pretty much explored the full extent of the gameplay involved. All that's left is to get some gold, go shopping and to show off your shiny new toys.

The online RPG scene at the moment is little more than one big catwalk to show off the latest and greatest uber items designers put into their latest winter collection, err I mean expansion. In fact, it is somewhat ironic, but not at all surprising, that a part of society stereotypically identified for their lack of fashion sense and unwillingness to conform should so whole heartedly embrace this in the medium they often call their own, the 'Net. While they may not be wearing Versace or Gucci there is a whole host of suffixes and prefixes with which gamers get to show off, such as Godly Plate of the Whale. Or is that old hat these days? Like fashion, keeping track is difficult and it's easy to suddenly find yourself behind the times.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with these games; a competitive fashion show is just as good a premise as any other for a game. However, just as some people insist on mistaking professional wrestling for the sport it imitates, rather than the soap opera it is, and entire community has mistaken OFS (Online Fashion Shows) for RPG's.

That's of course not to say there aren't computer based roleplaying games. Of course there are. The much applauded Fallout series totally avoids the fashion show syndrome by having deep intriguing plots and the general ability to continually explore and advance without having to have the most nifty of toys.

But for most computer roleplaying games, especially the online ones, to me they have more in common with the catwalks of Paris than the pen and paper games from which they take their name.

Am I right or am I right?