I dont think other things shouldnt be attempted. However i think the "Dialogue" tree way of going about it is a dead end.
There wll be games that master this kind of interaction, but they will not arise from the likes of telltale games, they will arise from the likes of Dwarf Fortress, Rimworld and simmilar games.
There are other gameplay loops that work, such as the ever popular survival sandbox.
Also i disregard the idea that im no fun allowed. I just like to have a challenge, dialogue choices arent realy that. If they are "challenging", then they usually are so in the "adventure game logic" kind of way, where you have to guess what the developer intended, rather than judge the options laid out to you.
Im a firm believer that a game with good gameplay can be a good game without great writing, but a game with great writing cannot succeed on the merits of its writing alonge.
I know ill piss of a lot of Planescape Torment fans here, but if you wanna write a book, write a book. A game requires interactivity that goes beyond that of fighting fantasy books.
Combat plays to the strenghts of the computer RPG, it doesnt have predetermined options, the dice rolls all happen under the hood, there is variance there and unexpected situations can arise. The much hailed "Emergent gameplay" is what happens here.
Its no tthat there isnt non combat emergent gameplay. But ive yet to see many RPGs take cues from SIMS, Minecraft and Factorio.
At the end of the day, its a matter of taste, but my answer is a valid answer to the quesiton why RPGs focus on combat. Because combat is a gameplay loop that can be varied and that can create unique situations based on your playthrough, without the developer thinking of literaly any possible combinaiton.
