Larian Studios Forums General Chat RPG Chat Discussion: RPG settings

I am personally sick of all the medieval/Tolkienesque role playing games out there. The cookie cutter story of the 'chosen one' lost its impact years, if not generations ago. Why can't nobody breath some fresh air into the genre with some success? Most of the non-traditional games I played weren't exactly best-sellers. Sure Fallout has a cult, but how about Arcanum? Bloodlines? KotOR and Jade Empires were great, true, but why nobody decided to follow the example set by Deus Ex? I'd love a post apocalyptic RPG, for a change. I have no idea what to expect from Fallout 3 but I want an RPG with guns. I'd love to see a space RPG. Not Elite or Privateer, but a game where chainmail doesn't even exist. Many interesting ideas are used to create MMOs, however I still see Diablo clones every year.

So, what do you think? Are medieval fantasy games all you want? Would you like to explore strange and unusual planets or duel disperados with plasma and laser weaponry?

Agreed. That's one of the reasons I've been playing d20 Modern instead of Dungeons & Dragons.

I'd really like to see a Shadowrun C-RPG one day ...

My ideal CRPG would be a planet-hopping space opera, because due to it's nature it allows a variety of settings: One planet can be all old and ruined (post-apocalyptic), one gritty and fuutrisitc (Cyberpunk), another filled with strange aliens living as tribals (Whatever). Too bad nobody likes Space RPGS anymore. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

I can never get enough of medievil rgp's but then again i havent played as many as you guys....it would be nice to escape the choose one thingy...say you start an adventure and its more opneminded then others..e.g you tell stories/sing songs instead of fighting...or you can be a assistant to the hero who is played by an npc.

IN Bard's Tale you play your instrument instead of casting spells, but I doubt that's what you meant.

There problem with the hero being an NPC:
- Players will whine about the AI and say "If I was the hero, I'd do much better than him!"
- The average gamer expects reward. If the hero kills the antagonist and everyone praise him, the player will feel excluded.

How about being the second guy for the hero, then the hero dies and you're forced to step in for him? Not that you'll mention this, it would be much funnier if it came as a suprize, right?

Übereil

Ube, that is a brilliant idea! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> imagine being the squire of the hero who always abuse u then suddenly he just drops dead & now u with a few more of his assistants have to decide on what to do with the dead guy's things.

yes, my thought is a ripoff from A Knight's Tale movie. but think about it - building a career out of knighting but make it fun or funny as well as open-ended. i don't really know what kind of major crisis or event that can shape the game & its climax but i imagine it can be pursuit of knighthood in proper (or improper if u are a baddie) sense.

as for tolkienesque premise of games, i agree wholeheartedly that this is the reason why i am not as game-crazy as before. got sick of medieval, romanesque, arthurian, tolkienesque etc. if they want medieval, why not asian? china or japan or korea or indian or persian ..... . there are many which they can get ideas from. too bad game devs are a bit too cautious, or that the publishers are more prone to 'popular' demands such as WW2, medieval, FPS eye candy technology etc.

i am a fallout fan due to its uniqueness in premise & game system as well as gameplay though i'm no fan of turn-based system. how i wish there are more games that are more unique than just based on 'popular' demand. anyone ever play a game made by european game dev which is called Grom? though it is not without flaw, i loved that game for it was refreshing in gameplay & style. yes, it is WW2 in terms of premise but it's RPG in a different sense (not the usual), light yet fun.

till then we will see more of tolkien, diablo, starcraft, age of empire, sims, ww2, fps eye candy & physics nocando engine etc.

Ube's idea reminds me of an old game called Fairy Tale. You had three lives. Each life was a brother who came to avenge their older brother's death. Each had different stats. You could make some quests possible only for a certain brother, since they have the necessary stats for the quest. It's not quite a jump in gameplay, but an idea.

Ub: Yeah i had that idea as well in the back of my mind.....i think i got it from <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beyond.gif" alt="" />...you play as a servant of the divine...wheras in the previous one you were the divine one....i thought if a new such game were to be come out it would be like this:

1) You start off a looking for a job...solve a few puzzles...get introduced to "the great one" do some quests and reach say level 15.
The "great one" dies and you are framed...you get some help from people and escape jail.
You go around proving your innocence and succeed at say level 30.
Then after you can go do your business openly and hunt down the real culprits..
At Level 40 you reach a point where you get transported to another world and have to try and find your way back....you do so a level 50 to find a slightly different changed world.
You hunt the evil people down and save the world at level 55...not bad eh?? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sound DD-influenced. Otherwise, in big terms it wouldn't be that bad. Some more storytwitches would be nice though (the more the merrier <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />).

Übereil

Yet in all the games you mentioned, the player is in one way or the other "the chosen one", or at least someone special. Try to come up with an interesting story where the main character is just your average guy doing nothing really. Maybe most stories or games *start out* like this, but this "boring" main character always evolves (into someone special) or discovers something special, etc.

I don't think that there would be much to tell about non-special people leading non-special lives where nothing special ever happens, let alone make a game about such utter and complete boredom <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The Sims

Like I said, utter and complete boredom.

Depends on who thinks that. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

Hint : women as underrepresented customers / gamers . <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

In Arcanum you are actually a nobody. A few people think you are the chosen one but by 4/5 of the game, turns out you are not.

Ok then

1) You are a rich man/woman who is from a rich family...you are destressed to notice that the king has died and go off to solve the problem.

To do this you need help...after all most people know who you are so you hire a peasant for spying..trying to uncover info in the poor/medium regions.

You play both characters but not at the same time...indeed as a noble person you start off level 10 and distribute your stats and skils as you wish.

Your peasent stats off level 1.

As well as following the main quest you will meet people who will offer you optional quests. As in the <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/div.gif" alt="" /> universe...you can go anywhere and do anything.

Now after solving some of the main quests you have a good idea who has commited the crime...obviously there will be demonic forces at work here as well as spells to aid your hero(s)(im saying this becuase people might think its not a rgp).

Now you reach a certain stage whe you have a option to pick which one of your caracters goes to investigate a cave...irrespective of who you choose that person dies.(when both characters reach say level 30)

*dramatically...everyone goes* "Oh no!!!"

So your only characer has to continues alone( you still manage to keep any possessions you other charatcer has..becuase of a marvellous invention called "a will")

There is a cut scene which your character has to bury his friend...(how sad...sniff)

Then you go go alone...as of now you have made may enemies and so they want you dead!!!

Now the main enemy is just plain greedy but a coward..he has unwittingly formed a pact with the demon...becuase you thwart his plan the demon manages to take over the body of the cowardly man...ths happens at around level 40...Unfortunately for you the demon casts a terrible spell on you..you are stuck... when you are unfrozen its 2 months in which time the demon has spread his influence...

His minons are around but they ae in hiding amongst the normal folk..its difficult to tell them apart...they could be merchants or anything..so again you have to solve puzzles...BUT this time becuase of the demon has cast a spell on you you also feel a bit evil...so you have a choice...you can try and find hid minions for
1) turning them in and prevent them from poising the local population
2) finding them to join with the demon.

In either case when you suceed there will be a final battle between the demon(1)/his minions and paladins(10)/healers etc. around 100 on each side.

The battle ends when either the demon dies or the 5 paladins die...so you can choose to go on the offensive and kill enemies or try and kill the main people or protect them from harm...

Which side are you on?

Hows this on then?

Restricted Area is one. I don't know whether it's been released or not, though.

yes it is already out. the game is so-so actually. very diablo 2 in style with very minimal (ok, at least a bit more than diablo 2) NPC interaction. it's mainly or primarily hack-and-slash.

if anyone is interested, i can write a review on this game as i have it.

I know, this is impossible, but I want PST 2.