i read the first couple of posts a few days ago. Couldn't make too much sense of it, Now, the light dawns from puzzling over the title rpg = role playing. Maybe i'll be in the know some day.
A role playing game is a genre of computer game. I'm not sure why the genre is called "role playing game."
The main characteristic of a RPG is that you play a character that advances their skills over the course of the game by gaining experience. Experience is usually gained by killing enemies and completing missions. As you gain experience, you are able to increase the attributes of your character in whatever way you choose. You might choose to be a mighty warrior, in which case you would likely choose to increase your strength and swordfighting. You might aim to be a mighty mage, smiting your enemies with powerful magic, in which case you would be likely to improve your spellcasting abilities. There are usually other classes of character such as thief.
Most RPGs are set in a very Lord of the Rings-like world of humans ,elves, dwarves, halflings, and lots of magic. The most noteable exception to this rule being the Fallout games. They are RPGs set in a post nuclear apocalypse wasteland.
The thing that I like about these games is that they tend to be set in a huge game-world, where you have the ability to go off and explore and do different things. You could spend a day just going around underground tunnels stealing loot, and killing monsters.
OK. I'm officially a geek, and I need to get a life
"Is she gone yet?"