"Elders Scrolls III: Morrowind" is a role-playing game (RPG) for PC and Xbox in which players roam a seemingly endless countryside enlisting in minor quests as they fulfill a greater destiny.

The term "RPG" has many meanings in the video and computer gaming worlds. For Americans and Europeans, it conjures up images of such recent PC hits as "Baldur's Gate" and "Dungeon Siege," in which animated miniatures move across dark fantasy worlds. These games are set in medieval Europe. Indeed, most of the popular RPGs in the West have a medieval flavor.

Role-playing is the most popular genre in Japan, but it has a very different connotation. In Japan, where "Dragon Quest VII" was the most popular game ever released for the original PlayStation, RPGs are games in which players put together a team of adventurers and embark on a quest.