Hilarious, TE calling out a troll.

You are good at roleplaying.

I have experience in the field.

Just because someone survived cancer doesn't mean they're qualified to treat it.

I roleplay with my balls.

Except that roleplay is hardly limited to 'chatting' with other characters. That's exactly what makes all those twits on WoW or any other mmo ridiculous. They think that roleplay entails sitting around and talking all the time. It hardly does. Roleplay is about character growth, decision and behavior whether in interacting with other characters or more importantly when going about his missions and quests in "his life".

Roleplay is exactly that : Playing a role. I don't see myself in the video game, and I'm quite aware of the game limitations and mechanics. But I make decisions and play in certain ways based on the character's personality. That is exactly what you do in a D&D table top game, minus interacting with characters. I described quite a few events that I consider roleplay in that rather long-winded post up top. Few of them involved characters and when they did, there were actually various dialogue choices that let me behave as I would want.

Additionally, character animations and graphics again have nothing to do with roleplay. Its universally known that Bethesda's characters are rather terrible. So are characters from pretty much any game out there bar perhaps Mass Effect (and roleplaying in that game is pretty much impossible due to its linear nature).

In a tabletop RPG, you can say 'I take my flaming sword of destiny and set fire to the drapes and tapestries in this very dry and dusty wizard's lair'. In a CRPG you can only do this if the programmers of the game have decided to allow this action, regardless of whether its single or multiplayer.

In a tabletop RPG, the DM can create new gameplay mechanics on the fly, that is the difference, and that is why CRPGs won't allow anywhere near the depth of roleplaying until they're sufficiently advanced as world simulators. Physics engines like Havok have moved potential gameplay forward by leaps and bounds by allowing interactions that weren't specifically designed into the game, but there's still a long way to go.

The real issue is with dialog trees, you're pretty much always given the options of; 'WRAA EVIL', 'Teehee, I'm such a joker' or 'I SHALL UPHOLD ALL THAT IS GOOD'. With roleplaying you'd almost never choose one of those options, and in tabletop RPGs you don't have to. Until we have some seriously advanced AI, this is something where CRPGs are always going to fall down (MMORPGs are slightly improved in that you interact with other characters, but they don't tend to be the ones that trigger quests and events).

I agree that RP in video games is more limited than a table-top rpg, but to say like JM and ECHO that you cannot roleplay at all or even extensively within the confines of a game is narrow-minded at best. In games like KOTOR or Mass Effect you are extremely limited to the 2-3 choices that you mention. That is a definate truth and there is little place for creative roleplay. In a game like Oblivion or Fallout 3, in an open world where there is a lot to do, you can still do a lot of roleplay. No, you cannot set fire to drapes. Yes, you are limited in options. But there are still a ton of decisions and reactions you can have.

Of course, like I mentioned in my long post, Fallout 3 is also extremely easy if you don't gimp yourself at least a little to create a challenge and cause some decisions like falling back in the face of danger and what not.

It all just takes a little imagination and creativity.

Given, not every are capable of much imagination and creativity and require to be spoon-fed every little detail. Just like a pen and paper rpg, even if you face more limitations.

In GTA:SA, you can be a ripped gangsta, a fat slob who does little to no physical activity, try to get through as clean as possible, or you can be the epic dick and kill everyone you see

The bottleneck here isn't hardware, it's imagination. You might not be able to pick many different dialogue trees, but you can pick one that kinds of fits your character, and in the scheme of the story, invent your own "explanation" for how the events turned out. You might not be able to set the drapes on fire, or any endless thing, but you can still, within the confines of the game, play a role and imagine a story. You don't need other people, you just need imagination.

like with masturbation. you don't need a girl, just imagination. or porn.

I use my mom's bras.

(Oh my god if she ever reads this it's a joke.)

I'll tell her tonight.

Oh mama.

I've just restarted Fallout 3 (I got about an hour in, then left it for months) and am playing as a fairly hot lady who I shall be playing somewhat like me if I were to be in a post apocalyptic future. IE nice to people who are nice to me, or I've not met before and sneaky and devious to those who I dislike and or mistrust.

That and make my character a sneaky sniper. I'm always crap with big guns. Small arms is the future

With Fallout 3, I tend to stick to the scoped magnum. I went with kind of a Clint Eastwood type of character. Very fun. Reminds me, i need to finish that some time.

I do roleplay a bit. Whenever I head into battle I chug about 18 beers.