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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
| Side Quest: What's in a Setting? |
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Nice and short this time with less ranting and more reminiscing.
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<br>Last week we finished a poll on preferred settings for cRPGs – and probably not surprisingly, fantasy settings romped home with a huge lead over cyberpunk and post-apoc. A poll is hardly scientific and it certainly doesn’t rule out fans enjoying other settings but it does underscore the popularity of fantasy in this genre. What did surprise me was the clear lead of “traditional high fantasy” over “original fantasy” – it’s possible respondents didn’t have a clear picture of what “original fantasy” meant but I suspect it simply represents the strength of Tolkiensque fantasy.
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<br>I have a love/hate relationship with fantasy in cRPGs. Part of me loves fantasy and can’t help but harken back to my halcyon days of youth playing AD&D (Oh, the irony that an activity I embraced as a chess-playing computer-club geek was seen as dark and rebellious by my old-fashioned parents) while another part recognises that this dominance by fantasy dooms many an interesting concept long before the design doc ever reaches a publisher.
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<br>Beyond the popularity of fantasy itself, it’s easy to see some resonance between cRPGs and fantasy – things like suspension of belief and the classic “Hero’s Journey” narrative seem well-suited to a lone sword-wielding outcast, battling to save the world against a magic evil. And yet, <em>my</em> favourite cRPG isn’t fantasy. Would Fallout still be the same brilliant experience if it was set in a fantasy world? Can the game, the world and Boyarsky’s genius in adding a 50’s twist be separated? Probably not. Can a future Fallout 3 as imagined by Bethesda capture the same magic? Who knows?
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<br>So…what is your favourite game setting – and why? Or the setting you’d most like to see – and why? |
Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:13 am |
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J Kepler
Guest
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It is quite interesting how fantasy is considered either traditional or original based on how closely it adheres to or differs from Tolkein.
I have been playing Everquest on and off for 6 years. When the LOTR movies came out and every MMO on the market had sixteen thousand Rangers named Legolazz, I often made comments about how the Everquest developers were big fans of Tolkein long before the movies came out. The replies were incredulous. "Why do you say that?" or "Well, there are Orcs in EQ but its quite different." Orcs. Goblins. Halflings. High Elves. Rangers. Trolls. Dwarves. Wizards. Dragons. Treants....I always just smiled to myself, said "Yeah." and left it at that.
As per the topic. My favorite game setting was presented brilliantly in Worlds of Ultima: Martian Dreams. Percival Lowell builds a rocket, goes to Mars, and validates his own theory that their are man made canals there. In the process, he gets stranded and you join a rescue mission with Sigmund Freud, Nikola Tesla and Nellie Bly... Lowell himself would have played that game and loved it. The historical figures and accuracy were thrilling for me. Just look at my username. What I am saying is that I prefer a setting that usses real iconic figures of the past and puts them in the fantastic worlds that they themselves dreamed of. In the 1890s, Lowell's theories were taken seriously by many even though they seem quaint today. |
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Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:35 am |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
Much as I love the fantasy setting and even though I consider PS-T the greatest RPG ever made, I would still have to say my favourite setting will always be Brittania and Serpent's Isle from the classic Ultima series!! I loved a lot of things about both Fallouts, but I can't say the SETTING was necessarily one of them. I prefer more colour!! 
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Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:12 am |
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evil_lemming
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 06 Aug 2005
Posts: 38
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I would like to see more Cyberpunk settings, Shadowrun on the SNES rocked and Deus Ex 1 seemed to have some of that falvor... but it seems its not too popular  |
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Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:46 pm |
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sealight4
City Guard
Joined: 02 Sep 2002
Posts: 130
Location: Massachussets, USA |
"Sacrifice" had individual worlds that didn't involve any suspension of disbelief. To me that's a game world. And Zen from Half Life was unexpected when I first played it. The sound did it. Finally the Warhammer Universe is delightfully depressing. |
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Sat Oct 15, 2005 1:09 pm |
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Kolorabi
Guest
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I don't mind fantasy at all, but I have grown a bit tired of the standard Tolkien-stuff that we're usually served. I like slightly more original stuff, like we get in Morrowind or Planescape: Torment. The game doesn't have to stray very far from the traditional fantasy setting, but it needs something that sets it apart.
But other than that, I enjoy all sorts of settings. If the world feels consistent and real, I don't mind if it's full of clichés. |
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Sat Oct 15, 2005 1:14 pm |
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TheMadGamer
High Emperor
Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 487
Location: Southern California |
I love traditional fantasy. Until the day I die.
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The Poster Previously Known As NeptiOfPovar |
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Sat Oct 15, 2005 5:33 pm |
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Hindukönig
Guards Lieutenant
Joined: 27 Feb 2004
Posts: 170
Location: Halle (Saale) / Nuremberg [Germany] |
| Re: Side Quest: What's in a Setting? |
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My favourite setting is the one from "Thief" (1&2). Atmosphere, people, houses - all medieval style. Horrorelements, like zombies, ghosts. Magic, occultism, sects, etc.
And then: electricity, steamengines, even robots! The battle between nature and technology is so exciting. IMHO, the third part should have been about cyborgs. Really!
/edit: BTW, Arcanum had a nice setting in the same direction.
Last edited by Hindukönig on Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:18 pm |
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HiddenX
The Elder Spy
Joined: 20 Jul 2001
Posts: 749
Location: NRW / Germany |
I like every rpg-setting, if the setting is plausible (believable ?).
I dislike black/white settings -> you are the good one and eryone else is evil - simple, but boring on the long run -> shades of grey are much more interesting.
AD&D is fun, but this rule-set allows so much more than the classic Tolkien settings -> Planscape Torment and the Dark Sun games are good examples.
Wasteland and the Fallout games are brilliant not to forget Outcast - science fiction at his best.
The Ultima & Gothic games are good examples for a "living world" you are a part of the world as long as you play.
One of the best described Tolkien-like worlds is Raymond Feist's Midkemia -> Betrayal at Krondor( read all the books, too).
The game Darklands has a very good historic setting.
A cool underworld setting can be found in the Exile/Avernum series.
What woul I like to see in the future ?
maybe a rpg that plays in the present 21st century without fantasy and science fiction at all.
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=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild= |
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Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:22 pm |
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txa1265
Magister of the Light
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 390
Location: Marlborough, MA USA |
I'm pretty open to setting as well - I've always been a Star Wars fan (well, since the movies came out, anyway), like Sci-fi, enjoy cyberpunk, and also all sorts of fantasy.
I do also like the 'alternative history' approach - I'm replaying Arcanum right now, and just love the way they handled things there. Lionheart was promising as well in that regard.
I guess I feel that any setting can be made into a RPG I love.
Mike
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Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:50 pm |
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Roqua
High Emperor
Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 897
Location: rump |
I really am not a setting guy; I really don't care. I would love to see a realistic rpg with absolutly no magic at all (darklands had saints and alchemy). But rpgs without magic users, magic potions, and buffs, etc is probably not a realistic thing to hope for. (p.s. I don't consider the JAs or Silent Storms rpgs, I consider them TBS's.)
I gues I would prefer a Hyberian Setting over a Tolkien. Another good setting I'd like to see would be a crpg in the world of G.R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire." Or even Eric Flint's and K.D. Wentworth's "The Course of the Empire." Thats a great book btw for anyone who hasn't read it. The present timeEarth is occupied by aliens, and humans are giveng them problems. But a differnt group of aliens are also planning on attacking and destroying the Earth.
Alright, it sounds stupid when I describe it, but its a really good book.
I of course would love to see any p&p rpg with a well established setting made into a crpg, like Shadowrun. The snes one wasn't much of any kind of rpg.
Of the top of my head I can think of more non-traditional fantasy rpgs I liked over traditional. Realms of Arkania was traditional, but darklands, albion, FO's, Buck Rogers, and a lot of them that stick out are not. But I'm more of a mechanics guy than a setting guy.
I know that high tech/low tech mixes anger me a little, like wiz 7 and 8.
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Vegitarian is the Indian word for lousey hunter. |
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Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:48 am |
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Grik
Guest
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My favorite setting was Arcanum's. That great victorian era steam and magic setting. It was original (as far as I know), gave an excuse for an interesting character development system, and had many NPC's talking funny.
I would love to see another Shadowrun game. I play the pen and paper RPG and it's the setting that makes that game worth playing. It manages to bring magic and cyberpunk together, and handles it all in a believable way. Nothing like having a mage with an assault rifle providing cover for a hacker orc. |
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Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:12 pm |
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