RPG settings

[Marat]

Every historical setting needs more games that are actually done well.

Well, obviously. Anyone would take a good high fantasy medieval RPG over no RPG, but I'd like devs to unleash their creativity and explore a little outside the boundaries of what market research deems viable. I've no doubt that there are gigantic untapped reserves of creativity between various creators, but the ones with monies are keeping them down.

We could add tons more to that poll. Three Kingdoms era China, Aztecs/Incas just before/during colonisers arrive, Gran Colombia 1819-1831, anything with god damn Phoenicians.

I realized halfway through writing the poll that it comes out a bit eurocentric, but decided to keep it that way for the sake of clarity. Also Phoenicians fall into Early Antiquity.

 

[Marat]

i voted "Contemporary Period (seriously?)"
just to make Rabbity_Thing even more butthurt about this great setting

I don't see why it is such a bad option to be honest. Conspiracy theories coming to life, UFO crap, Virus shenanigans. Maybe another Deus Ex style game.

Well, setting based on contemporary world loses out on much of the sense of wonder you experience while exploring strange setting developers have cooked up. And if you go overboard, you'll end up with a cyberpunk/sci-fi game, which is markedly different. I don't think much outside of urban fantasy can work in this kind of setting, but I am open to being proven wrong.

 

[Marat]

Only three choices?! Fuck you!!

Curse you for limiting the answers to three Rabbity_Thing !
I want everything

Which is precisely why the poll must have only three choices. Elsewise most people would pick most options and the poll would tell us nothing.

 

[Sentinel]

High, Romantic, Nostalgic Fantasy.

 

[JarlFrank]

I don't think much outside of urban fantasy can work in this kind of setting, but I am open to being proven wrong.

- Crime RPG. Drug smuggling ring, modern mafia, etc. Plenty of cool things can be done with that theme in a modern setting.
- Modern war RPG. Play as a civilian in a war-torn middle eastern region who can either join the insurgents or the government loyalists. Tactical battles a la JA2 would be the focus, but also improving the people's perception of your side so you get more recruits than the other guys.

 

[Cat Dude]

White people are more familiar with their heritage hence more rpg settings are related to European caucasian heritage. Just a common sense.

 

[JarlFrank]

White people are more familiar with their heritage hence more rpg settings are related to European caucasian heritage. Just a common sense.

But if I want something familiar I can just go for a walk in my region, plenty of medieval castle ruins, cozy old towns, etc.

When I play an RPG I want to discover an exotic, otherworldly place. It's called fantasy for a reason. It's supposed to be different from reality, and not just a pastiche of familiar tropes I've seen a hundred times before.
I don't mind medieval fantasy as such, I love the middle ages and medieval atmosphere, but the majority of high fantasy is barely medieval (just a pastiche of what modern people think medieval is) and it's all very similar to each other.

It's funny that a genre where the main premise is Your character is going on an adventure!! re-hashes the same setting over and over again until it's grown so familiar, there's nothing adventurous left about it.
Clearing out yet another goblin cave is about as exciting as going to the mall.

 

[SlightlyRadioactive]

Been wanting to see more contemporary fantasy settings since I've played VtM:B, there is just something that tickles my fancy in seeing these completely ordinary places for us being home to supernatural beings that may or may not just be trying to live their lives in the shadows of our civilization.

 

[Erebus]

As far as the real world is concerned, Antiquity is the time period I love the most. But as inspiration for the setting of a CRPG, I'm afraid it would lose most of what makes it interesting. Tyranny is set at the end of the Bronze Age and it barely shows.

Anything between the early 16th century and the end of the 19th century could be good, as long as the writers managed to devise a story more interesting than just "Colonialism bad".

 

[MrMarbles]

A game that appears to be set in a prehistoric/ early antiquity setting and then, as you uncover the lore, slowly evolves into a forgotten empires/sci-fi setting like the desert planet in Stargate.

So basically AoD.

 

[Marat]

What about you Rabbity_Thing?

My three votes were for Renaissance, Industrial Revolution and Cyberpunk, though truth be told coming up with the poll stimulated my imagination and I had very compelling ideas for RPGs in most of the time periods.

Renaissance would make for a fantastic base for an RPG setting since the shape the period took was a mix of influences from medieval era that preceded it and a newfound fascination with the legacy of (Roman) antiquity. I could imagine a game set in a tumultuous region of wealthy city states crammed between mighty empires striving for influence and balancing on the brink of open war. PC would chose his city of origin and social background and be thrust into a world of scheming and intrigue, his adventures would take him from seedy underbelly of his home through gruesome battlefields and all the way to palaces of doges and dukes trying to outcompete each other in both patroning grandiose art and backstabbing. Marble columns, zweihanders and gaudy hats.

Industrial Revolution because Arcanum. I could elaborate and share my own ideas, but what for? That game played it's hand masterfully when it comes to the setting. I'd like to see some RPG very much in that spirit and if I'll ever get it, I'll take it from there.

Certain recent release from cyberpunk genre felt like a spit in the face, especially given how I hoped, despite all good reason, that it might be the one to fill the Deus-Ex-shaped void in my heart. Tropes of the genre are rather well known and require no elaboration, so all I'd like is to have them incorporated well into a grim, noir-y RPG with good deal of attention devoted to storytelling and C&C.

There are others, like the Prehistoric setting where the story would depict PC rise (or fall) within his tribe living in magical wilderness with spirits and old gods and primordial beasts rife with tribal conflicts, feuding deities, shamanic magic and perhaps a Kurtz-like character that would force the PC to unite the tribes/make a valiant last stand/attempt migration to avoid enslavement/abandon his tribe altogether - each of those paths shaped by decisions made in the past, with friends to call upon or vengeful rivals to confront. In my mind such an RPG would require completely new idea for itemization - one stone-tipped spear wouldn't be much better than another and there would be no master craftsmen to create legendary armors. Maybe gathering magical ingredients from powerful beasts, rare flora or as a reward from magical beings and then using them to craft shamanic runes that would grant buffs or modifiers? Haven't really thought it through enough to make a pitch, just throwing this idea around.

And so on, and so on... This brainstorming made me realize that good ideas are cheap. Someone skilled, determined and dedicated enough to bring them to life - that's where true value lies. Such people however need to eat like the rest of us, so they work for corpos churning out bland, imitative shit day in and day out. Fuck this bullshit.

 

[Darkzone]

Which historical (or not) epochs would you like to see more often as the basis for RPGs? We all know late medieval period is drastically overrepresented and I've never seen anyone complain about lack of games set therein. But what about other possible settings?

This is not a question of strict adherence to a certain periods, but rather of employing esthetics and exploring themes relevant to those times.

Three Choices are not enough.

 

[Marat]

Which historical (or not) epochs would you like to see more often as the basis for RPGs? We all know late medieval period is drastically overrepresented and I've never seen anyone complain about lack of games set therein. But what about other possible settings?

This is not a question of strict adherence to a certain periods, but rather of employing esthetics and exploring themes relevant to those times.

Three Choices are not enough.

Only three choices?! Fuck you!!

Curse you for limiting the answers to three Rabbity_Thing !
I want everything

Which is precisely why the poll must have only three choices. Elsewise most people would pick most options and the poll would tell us nothing.

 

[Saduj]

I’ve been waiting for a proper wild west rpg but am resigned to never getting one. Low magic colonial North America like setting would be cool too (Greedfall doesn’t count).

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I'd like some industrial revolution era. Basically, Arcanum style. Major turning point in humanity, so there is a great deal of material to work with while still being grounded in something familiar and timeless. To a lesser extent, this is also true of the Renaissance era. What I really don't want are more post-apocalyptic settings. Absolutely worn out and uninspired. They are even less imaginative than medieval fantasy. Like others, I would also appreciate more non-space Scifi. Hopefully Odds Gods doesn't officially become vaporware. We might actually get some.

 

[HighCalibreWizard]

Anything with muzzle-loading guns is fine. From blunderbusses to Navy Colts I want to see more muzzleloaders in games and turn-based RPGs are where they would work best.

19th century is an interesting setting since it had a mix of muzzle loaders, sabers, spears and more "modern" tech like prototype machineguns and repeating rifles (late 19th century). Was why I wanted that for my game.

 

[VonMiskov]

Action games like Biomutant and Horizon or ME are discussed here (on codex) as RPGs so in this vein any Civ-like game 4X should count too. You role play a civilization - check, research new technologies/skills - check, you level up your units/characters - check, diplomacy - dialogues -check. And it would take place in most "settings" listed in the poll.
Or play Assassin's Creed - they are rpgs just like the previous titles I've mentioned

As for settings I will take any alt-history setting that something took different turn on events, diesel-punk or magic-scifi mix like Might and Magic. Just no for your generic fantasy settings with a dragon as main antagonist.

 

[Darkzone]

Which historical (or not) epochs would you like to see more often as the basis for RPGs? We all know late medieval period is drastically overrepresented and I've never seen anyone complain about lack of games set therein. But what about other possible settings?
This is not a question of strict adherence to a certain periods, but rather of employing esthetics and exploring themes relevant to those times.

Three Choices are not enough.

Only three choices?! Fuck you!!

Curse you for limiting the answers to three Rabbity_Thing !
I want everything

Which is precisely why the poll must have only three choices. Elsewise most people would pick most options and the poll would tell us nothing.

Only Thac0 wants everything.

Add Early Space Age (Expanse) choice and give us 5 choices for selection. Then i can add it and Prehistoric to my preferences.
I'm currently divided in the early and late antiquity and Sci-Fi, without covering the necessary bases.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

I picked Early Antiquity, Enlightenment and Interwar. If I had a fourth choice I would have picked Space Opera. Unlike the others, we've got at least a lacking amount of games set in a Space Opera setting. They're not close to perfect, but they exist.
Antiquity in general is underutilized, there are a few cool RPGs set in Greece, but IIRC, they're all from that period of Windows games that are hard to get running, or on Mac. There's so much you can do, In addition to all the obvious choices, like Greece again, Crete, or Babylon, there are tons of other places that aren't well used. Like Etruscan Italy, Gaul, or Britain when the Welsh first arrived. You also have tons of other things you could do, like the Bible leading up to the great flood, or a typical DnD fantasy world, but set during whatever their antiquity is. No old elves talking about their great war, just young elves wondering if they're going to be able to fight against the dark ones and there's nothing to compare it to.

I don't really care the location or time, but I'd like to see more games set during the apex of popularity of Tricorne hats. People using muskets and sabers are optional, I just like the aesthetic. It can just be a farming sim for all I care.

Interwar is one of the more interesting time periods. Its close enough that you can touch on modern themes, but far away enough that you can disguise those themes a bit. You can have roughly modern equipment, while also having a good excuse for pre-19th century equipment. And its easier to insert occult/mythological themes into a game because we're all so conditioned by Lovecraft.

Heat death of the universe is cool in theory, its a general universal decline. But then there's a problem with how to handle it. If you're some new alien race, just venturing out into the universe, you're going to be severely outclassed, and on the other hand, I don't think we can begin to think of what tech someone would have then, if they've survived millions if not billions or trillions of years. I'd like to see someone try though.

 

[thesecret1]

Late medieval, but actually set in, you know, the late middle ages, not some hipster retard's mental image of the period.

 

[gurugeorge]

Late mediaeval is popular because it's the best. Games always start that way to inveigle you in, then they drop some molten lava shit on you at some point and you lose interest.

 

[Desiderius]

i voted "Contemporary Period (seriously?)"
just to make Rabbity_Thing even more butthurt about this great setting

I don't see why it is such a bad option to be honest. Conspiracy theories coming to life, UFO crap, Virus shenanigans. Maybe another Deus Ex style game.

Well, setting based on contemporary world loses out on much of the sense of wonder you experience while exploring strange setting developers have cooked up. And if you go overboard, you'll end up with a cyberpunk/sci-fi game, which is markedly different. I don't think much outside of urban fantasy can work in this kind of setting, but I am open to being proven wrong.

Kamchatka or deep sea would be strange enough.

 

[Ravielsk]

The problem with setting for games in general, not just for RPGs, is that games are mechanical products that have to actively work with said setting. So the question for the most part what does this different setting bring to the table mechanically? Story and narrative are cool but most can be carried over between settings with little effort but how do you capitalize upon not having iron weapons or only having flintlock guns? And mainly how do you do it without becoming the new "dark souls of X"?

Because to make any use of a setting specific quirk you need to get a bit experimental with the mechanics. The thing is that today's discourse has been so poisoned by ca*uals that anything the even slightly deviates from current norms is immediately branded as "hardcore" or "oldschool". Which naturally tends to damage sales as most will be deterred by those tags alone. Dark Souls is my favorite example of this. The whole series is essentially a action RPG with like 8 stats to manage that are as straight forward as straight forward can be but because the games dare to expect you to learn enemy patterns and do something with them they are considered to be these uber challenging games when really most of the struggle comes from people trying to skyrim their way through the game. DS is not even the first game to suffer this fate. Gothic was similarly shafted by critics because it dared to expect the player to think beyond the contemporary "game logic" setup.

I see this as the main hurdle for modern developers. To make new stuff without making it actually seem new else the run the risk of ruining their prospects by asking too much from the players(a.k.a as absolutely anything from them).

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

So the question for the most part what does this different setting bring to the table mechanically? Story and narrative are cool but most can be carried over between settings with little effort but how do you capitalize upon not having iron weapons or only having flintlock guns?

There's nothing to say it has to have different mechanics in that regard. Setting is mostly to do with worldbuilding, that's not to say you couldn't design some systems for each of the periods, but I wouldn't think they'd have much to do with weapon use. (excluding tactics) Stone and bronze weapons just lose their edge faster than iron, and flintlock muskets have an abysmal rate of fire, slower than a bow. Not that it would be desirable, but D20 could already compensate for these weapons. Other areas could pick up that creative slack, perhaps magic could be more ritualistic or something.

 

[Marat]

Add Early Space Age (Expanse) choice and give us 5 choices for selection.