I think a lot can be said pro and con about RPG vs. MMORPG roleplaying, but
mostly it's con. I really haven't found one yet that really allowed
freedom in creating an actual personna, and I've tried several.

In single player games you are typically stuck in a particular story path,
with various "enablers" on the road to completion. Enablers are specific
things the player must do in order to continue the story path. Maybe I
don't want my character Darth Darth Binks to rescue the princess. Maybe he
got pissed off at the king who gave him this quest and wants to steal her
from her captors for his own nefarious scheme. Or maybe he's simply an elf
who would never consider leaving open ground and going on some excursion
deep under ground. Simple things that would make an actual role playing
experience for the player just don't exist yet.

In Ultima Online the best example of roleplaying I ever saw was a player
called Magical Bubba. As a high level villain he would block roads with a
"Stand and deliver!" and allow victims to hand over their goods before
hitting them with the "Bubba Bolt". "Prepare to do the Bubba Dance!..."
cor por... This was pretty much the best attempt that you could actually
call roleplaying. This player was ultimately responsible for changing the
whole alignment system of UO.

Most fantasy MMOGs have what they called roleplaying servers. However,
this generally means everyone goes around talking with "thee" and "though"
like rejects from a renaissance fair and swiftly bring down the wrath of
customer support on anyone attempting "l33t speak".

This is not saying I haven't enjoyed playing UO, Everquest, DAoC, Baldur's
Gate, Neverwinter Nights, etc. I just can't call them roleplaying
experiences. The closest for me personally are the Final Fantasy games
from Square. They don't pretend to give you any choices but alternatively
attempt to bring you into the story by making you feel more like an actor
and hopefully getting you lost in the script.

I'm currently burnt out on the "level grind" type of game, there's really
no reason for it. I don't really enjoy getting killed from a paper cut at
level 1 and withstanding nuclear blasts at level 50. Sucking a player into
months of level building is misdirection to cover a lack of content and
roleplaying.

I'm waiting for the roleplaying game that actually allows me to
roleplay. It's doable, but no one is willing to take the risk.

Dan