Traditional vs. weird settings

[Spike]

I want my fantasy the way I want my Catholicism: Traditional.

 

[VonMiskov]

Typical Tolkienesque fantasy sells because normies know that. It feels safe, it's easy to sell.
Not to mention that it doesn't require much from the writers and "game writers", just to know the fantasy tropes. 10% effort, 100% effect.

You don't have to invent new races, write backstories, build the world around that. 'Here's your generic elf, your dwarf, you know them. Don't bother me to put some work into it. Oh! And the boss is a dragon, you love them big lizards with wings, probably have a dragon dildo.'

This is the reason.

Personally I love non-standard settings because someone put some effort and his imagination in it. I love to explore that idea, read about the setting. With your Tolkien-based setting is the same setting most of the time - elves - forest, dwarves - mountains, orcs - probably some swamp. Everyone hate each other.

 

[ShaggyMoose]

I want my fantasy the way I want my Catholicism: Traditional.

For some reason this made me want to say "missionary RPGs"...

 

[Serus]

I want my fantasy the way I want my Catholicism: Traditional.

For some reason this made me want to say "missionary RPGs"...

An RPG about missionaries on an alien planet could be cool. Your goal would be too create first Christian communities among the natives. Could be even about moral choices. Use deception and maybe even become ruler to "trick" or force people into the Church or do it the "good" way, try to spread the Word and lead by good exemple to bring people to God willingly and fully aware what they are getting themselves into. All that in some bizarre alien setting. That would be weird, especially by today's standards.

And yes, I know that it wasn't what you meant.

 

[Lord_Potato]

I want my fantasy the way I want my Catholicism: Traditional.

For some reason this made me want to say "missionary RPGs"...

The only missionary rpg about Christians among the natives I know is Expeditions: Conquistador.

And then Expeditions: Viking reversed the formula!

 

[NecroLord]

Use deception and maybe even become ruler to "trick" or force people into the Church

Yes.
We call that Jewish Subversion.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

So, no Deathtrash or caves of crud… kid.. Qud. Eh… mooooooooooo!!!

 

[RPK]

I want my fantasy the way I want my Catholicism: Traditional.

For some reason this made me want to say "missionary RPGs"...

An RPG about missionaries on an alien planet could be cool. Your goal would be too create first Christian communities among the natives. Could be even about moral choices. Use deception and maybe even become ruler to "trick" or force people into the Church or do it the "good" way, try to spread the Word and lead by good exemple to bring people to God willingly and fully aware what they are getting themselves into. All that in some bizarre alien setting. That would be weird, especially by today's standards.

And yes, I know that it wasn't what you meant.

that actually sounds like a really interesting premise.

 

[9ted6]

If you can't make a traditional setting interesting then making it weird probably won't help.

Weird can definitely work but weird for the sake of being weird can result in an uninteresting lol randumb game world where you don't even have a sense of familiarity to hook onto. See Dark Souls 1 compared to 3. 1's weird and by no means perfect but it's interesting and grounded enough to maintain some engagement. 3 is by design a bunch of random weird shit happening because of the canon shift and the world lacks a grounded structure to engage with, becoming a chaotic mess. You need some traditional to make the weird weird.

 

[luj1]

How many RPGs with weird setting actually sell well?

Morrowind saved Bethesda from bankruptcy

gg wp

 

[Spike]

I want my fantasy the way I want my Catholicism: Traditional.

For some reason this made me want to say "missionary RPGs"...

An RPG about missionaries on an alien planet could be cool. Your goal would be too create first Christian communities among the natives. Could be even about moral choices. Use deception and maybe even become ruler to "trick" or force people into the Church or do it the "good" way, try to spread the Word and lead by good exemple to bring people to God willingly and fully aware what they are getting themselves into. All that in some bizarre alien setting. That would be weird, especially by today's standards.

And yes, I know that it wasn't what you meant.

Oh but your idea is kino.

Use deception and maybe even become ruler to "trick" or force people into the Church

Yes.
We call that Jewish Subversion.

Not quite. Unless you mean that's a (((tactic))) to attempt to illegitimatize Christianity. Then, sure!

 

[lvl 2 Blue Slime]

I love traditional settings. I love Elves, Dwarves, Dragons and magic, there's something about settings that try to be comfy and familiar to western high fantasy that I love. I don't think it's a coincidence that in recent years it's the RPGs that try too hard to be "unique" (ie Pillars of Eternity, Tides of Numenera etc) that end up being boring.

 

[Feyd Rautha]

I like it when the weird colonizes the traditional and that you have the choice to either purge the weird or embrace the change it brings.

 

[Beastro]

Both.

You cannot have the periphery without the center, the strange without the familiar.

 

[Pocgels]

Battle for Wesnoth is perhaps a quintessential example of generic fantasy, and I loved the art and setting in that game.
I also really liked the settings of Kenshi and EYE divine cybermancy. So there's room for both.
The thing I really hate is generic settings with 1 or 2 dumb edgy twists. If you want a race of 6-legged artic cannibals, don't call them "elves".

That said, weird settings get made less often and fall flat on their face more frequently, so it is more exciting when you see an interesting one.

 

[ropetight]

I like it when the weird colonizes the traditional and that you have the choice to either purge the weird or embrace the change it brings.

Arcanum did this perfectly, steampunk invading fantasy land.
It was glorious, but then nobody managed to replicate it.

 

[Konjad]

steampunk > sci-fi > weird > modern >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> fantasy (especially generic like Forgotten Realms)

 

[Nifft Batuff]

I want my fantasy the way I want my Catholicism: Traditional.

I want my classic satanic D&D fantasy.

 

[Spike]

steampunk > sci-fi > weird > modern >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> fantasy (especially generic like Forgotten Realms)

Reverse those. Just kidding, but medieval fantasy is definitely on the most-left.

I want my fantasy the way I want my Catholicism: Traditional.

I want my classic satanic D&D fantasy.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Christian RPG? Is that even possible? A tbt story driven Christian game where you are trying to get as many as possible to follow Jesus Christ? Funny it hasn’t seem to be done as biblically, Super Bookish, etc as possible. Technically, if not rushed it could be a serial rpg of sorts from even before the Garden to the very end. It’d have to take a few creative liberties though if a party goes through the entire thing. But this would be rushed trash more than likely as feathers would be ruffled etc. and then other religions might want their episodic game as well.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Christian RPG? Is that even possible? A tbt story driven Christian game where you are trying to get as many as possible to follow Jesus Christ? Funny it hasn’t seem to be done as biblically, Super Bookish, etc as possible. Technically, if not rushed it could be a serial rpg of sorts from even before the Garden to the very end. It’d have to take a few creative liberties though if a party goes through the entire thing. But this would be rushed trash more than likely as feathers would be ruffled etc. and then other religions might want their episodic game as well.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/449040/Jesus_Christ_RPG_Trilogy/

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Psh… that’s done “God awful!”

 

[Spike]

Christian RPG? Is that even possible? A tbt story driven Christian game where you are trying to get as many as possible to follow Jesus Christ? Funny it hasn’t seem to be done as biblically, Super Bookish, etc as possible. Technically, if not rushed it could be a serial rpg of sorts from even before the Garden to the very end. It’d have to take a few creative liberties though if a party goes through the entire thing. But this would be rushed trash more than likely as feathers would be ruffled etc. and then other religions might want their episodic game as well.

Turbo based idea, but I am thinking if you are going to want to make a Christian/Catholic-appealing video game, you go full Catholic mysticism in the middle ages. So my dream game if I make it ever will be like a classic (maybe open world or open field) action-adventure type game (MAYBE RPG, unsure) where you are a knight learning about and gaining virtues. It actually would be similar to Ultima. You would fight demons and figures from European folklore (chimaera) because it would be in the middle ages. And the game would subtly teach about the Church's view of virtues through fantastic combat, battles, dialogues, and character interactions (NOT in a fruitcake modern-gaming way though). In this game there is no character choice to be an edgy tryhard. You are explicitly learning how to be a paladin basically, because morality is concrete and not relative despite what the communists who have infiltrated this country would have you believe (and the free masons). The game WOULD deal with choice and consequence and moral nuance, but murder hobo-ing is not allowed. It would be an exploration from our limited human gaze of "what is the ideal/best moral way to treat this given scenario?" And explore what it really means to be a knight in title and deed. Very heavily Arthurian as well. Very medieval European aesthetic, proudly. Maidens to rescue or ignore for their salaciousness, etc (or maybe you rescue them any way but then give them the boot for suggesting things unholy). And based on your choices you may invite demonic influences toward you. I have a lot of ideas. But the base thing is teaching Aquinas through actually enjoyable, engaging "normal" video gamery with combat against knights, creatures, demons, exploring sprawling levels, taking on quests...Etc. All in C++. Maybe. But the combat must be action-based so normies play it and learn about virtue without realizing it, so they think twice before hooking up with a clueless woman in college and spread AIDS or kill a baby and then vote Democrat so they don't have to face their own moral failures.

 

[luj1]

There is an infinite number of possible settings, some you can't shoehorn into labels.

Gamma World, Tekumel, Metamorphosis Alpha, Perihelion, Oaxaca, Hylics, Kenshi, etc.

You can say that Gamma World and Metamorphosis Alpha are examples of how "weird colonizes the traditional", but I have no idea what the others are.

 

[Konjad]

Christian RPG? Is that even possible? A tbt story driven Christian game where you are trying to get as many as possible to follow Jesus Christ? Funny it hasn’t seem to be done as biblically, Super Bookish, etc as possible. Technically, if not rushed it could be a serial rpg of sorts from even before the Garden to the very end. It’d have to take a few creative liberties though if a party goes through the entire thing. But this would be rushed trash more than likely as feathers would be ruffled etc. and then other religions might want their episodic game as well.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/449040/Jesus_Christ_RPG_Trilogy/