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RPGDot Feature: Why Do We Always Have To Save The World? – A
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Garrett
 
 




Joined: 13 Jul 2001
Posts: 74
Location: Munich, Germany
RPGDot Feature: Why Do We Always Have To Save The World? – A
   

In his latest editorial called <a href="http://www.rpgdot.com/index.php?hsaction=10053&ID=643">Why Do We Always Have To Save The World? – A rumination on the motives, objectives, and appeal of RPG’s</a>, limesix wonders, why we always have to save the world in RPGs:<blockquote><em>But a good RPG promises you more than that. You're the chosen one, or a child of prophecy, or an outcast, or a humble farmer asked to take on the fate of the world. You grow in power and influence, and eventually all bow to your will, or you beat them into submission with pure force. You combat the powers of evil and prevail, you overturn the dark lord, and your praises are sung by your peers (as if you had any), their children, and their children's children, forever and ever. Or you tread the black path, and your villainy is known throughout the land… although you usually still end up saving the world, even if everyone hates you by then. I'm generalizing, but I've played game after game where the plot is essentially the same - and it's always an epic struggle of good vs. evil. And as I play these games, to which I have devoted a good portion of my life, I often wonder, 'does an RPG have to be an epic adventure where you save the world to be enjoyable?' And a follow-up thought to that, 'Are the structure and motivations of typical RPG's part of what keeps them from being widely appealing and therefore, commercially successful?'</em></blockquote>
Post Fri Jul 04, 2003 11:54 pm
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NeverDark
Village Leader
Village Leader




Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 91
Location: Virtual Reality aka Life
   

Personally, I would like to see a game where you get to destroy the world and become that same evil you usually fight against in most, if not all, RPGs to date. Honestly, I don't know why we always have to save the world in games. It might be for the same reason why all Hollywood movies have happy endings - mainstreaming. Most people are good and like when stories end happily and foreces of good prevail over forces of evil.
Post Sat Jul 05, 2003 12:00 am
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Lorgosin
Head Merchant
Head Merchant




Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 69
Location: Sweden
   

I'd like to see an RPG where they'd skip the story and expand the possibilities.
Post Sat Jul 05, 2003 2:58 am
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Reaker
Guest






   

What about Planescape: Torment? You don't save world there, you don't really care about anything, but yourself. Eh.. BIS make another good CRPG like Torment, PLS!
Post Sat Jul 05, 2003 6:06 am
 
Rainstorm
Captain of the Guard
Captain of the Guard




Joined: 02 Dec 2001
Posts: 194
   

Personally I don't want to play a "real life" game....I have RL everyday and when gaming I want to escape it for a while...
Why save the world?
I'd guess it makes it easier to come up with a story and a goal for it and hence a better option for the manufacturers.
Being the evil "destroy the world" compared to saving it isn't really that different imho,only thing that differs is that you're supposed to kill the good instead of the bad...
I agree with Lorgosin,that their should be more of exploration and so on than a pure story,I don't however think it'd make a good seller...without any form of goal I'm pretty sure it'd become pretty boring after a while...(imho the Fallout's has been the games that've made it best so far in balancing between free-form and story)
Being a FPS'er first and foremost myself I've also been "scared off" from the name RPG due to its "standard" elves,save the world,tedious ring.(until I found Fallout with its gritty atmosphere,cchar development,setting and so on...so now I check out RPG's,but there are still not a lot of them that I consider getting)
Post Sat Jul 05, 2003 6:39 am
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Lord_Brownie
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 575
Location: Unfashionable arm of the spiral galaxy
   

I love "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" books. I like to save the world, and sometimes destroy it. The mondain collection of house hold graphics that is known as "The Sims" bore me to tears. Maybe bacause I work on anything in my house that breaks, run to the hardware store to get a new belt, or fitting, and back home to replace parts. Why in heck i would want a game where I try to collect more of things that keep me off my computer, I have no idea. I would much rather forget those things and square off with a collections of pixals i can loosely call an ogre.
LB
Post Sat Jul 05, 2003 11:22 am
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