Grand epic RPG vs Smaller storylines.

[Clive Howlitzer]

Hey Hey
It feels like so many RPGs are all about a grand epic storyline to defeat some massive evil threatening the land or the universe. Am I the only person who really prefers a much tighter narrative focused on characters or a characters plight where the world isn't at stake?
I know a lot of people don't care for it since it makes everything feel less grand but I am really dying for one. One of my favorite RPGs, Planescape: Torment I always felt walked that line rather well. All the characters were so well crafted and it was great to see their progression over the game. The whole story itself also was more personal and less epic.
Any thoughts?

 

[JesterRaiin]

Any thoughts?

How many times have we tried to save the realm/planet/world/universe/metaverse/reality ?
It's time to say "f*ck it, find another Chosen One. I'm here for fame, money and hookers".

I miss "Darklands". Old, ancient game that begins with party of some heroes sitting in the inn, agreeing to go together just for the sake of adventuring. Good days.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Some games suit epic stoylines, some don't, so it's really just a game by game basis for me.

However, if I had to say what the best formula for a game story was, I'd go for a tight and contained plot, but set in an epic and expansive universe.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

I'm not adverse to either one, as long as it's done well.

Though, I have to say that I feel the "You're the chosen one/stop the world destroying evil" angle is a bit cliche'd, but again, it's all in how well it's presented.

 

[endtherapture]

My favourite storyline in an RPG ever was that of Baldur's Gate 2. It's scope was quite large but it was still very focused and character driven.

It doesn't have a world destroying evil in it, but focuses on the fate of one elven city and your character's soul being stolen. On the way you come across a war between thieves and vampires, destroy a dark elf city, have dealings with loads of dragons, and very powerful but secret mages.

It was an epic adventure spanning loads of environments and locales, but it wasn't world changing - if you were an every day peasant you wouldn't know what was going on.

I really loved this kind of "shadow war" in the story, because it felt epic but the scope wasn't ridiculous (as it is in so many RPGs).

In many RPGs you can only have a few characters on screen so you're limited to skirmishes and stuff, but when the entire fate of nations and the world is in the balance, it's weird that the opposing armies only have like 10 characters. BG2 storyline fit the game mechanics and also the world. It was great.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Some games suit epic stoylines, some don't, so it's really just a game by game basis for me.

However, if I had to say what the best formula for a game story was, I'd go for a tight and contained plot, but set in an epic and expansive universe.

I agree a lot with this. I don't have any problem with the world being epic and huge. I just prefer when its more about something more personal to do, rather than trying to save said epic world.

 

[Zhukov]

Yeah, saving the world got old many years ago. It's lazy device that gets wheeled out over and over again because (a) people have come to expect it and (b) the developers can't come up with a relatable goal beyond "safe everything ever".

I'd really, really like to see a few more personal narratives. Sadly, for that to work a game needs to be able to come up with well defined, well humanised and well developed characters, something which only a tiny handful of game developers are capable of.

 

[Agayek]

It entirely depends on how the story is built/delivered. It really doesn't matter to me if the driving force behind the plot is saving the world or saving the main character's pet. As long as the story is well-told and interesting, I'm all over it. The scope of it really doesn't bother me either way.

 

[JesterRaiin]

Yeah, saving the world got old many years ago.

I'd like a few more personal narratives. Sadly, for that to work a game needs to be able to come up with decent characters, something which very few developers are capable of.

That or alternatively interesting surroundings.
I don't know why developers abandoned idea of crpgs taking place in closed, secluded, small areas, let's say tiny island, pocket dimension, flying city, spaceship, mountain village or convent...

Sandboxing is ok, but it doesn't mean exclusively map stretching of thousands of miles in every direction... :\

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I totally agree, I really wish a lot of RPGs would do away with the "save the world" storylines and focus on the characters. Also, I think doing that will allow for much more gripping storylines. I would love to see a RPG to be structured like Firefly (very episodic), every job is completely different while allowing each character to come to the forefront in climatic scenes. You have to have an overarching story as well but it doesn't have to be "save the world." Resonance of Fate actually did something very much like this; during the first half of the game, there was no main story really, just various jobs the group was doing to make money. The game failed to execute on the overarching story though as some rather important things aren't even hinted at in-game (even if you talk to everyone) and you have to read a wiki plot summary to piece together the main plot.

 

[ReinWeisserRitter]

Depends on the game, but chances are I don't care at all about the plot as a whole, so in general I prefer a smaller-scale, character-driven narrative, though most games fall on their face in that regard as well.

Incidentally, the first RPG I made starred a mercenary on a job that revolved around an unknown force threatening a small hamlet. To them it seemed like the end of the world, which was partly my intended angle with the plot, that it doesn't have to threaten this and seventeen other universes in order to feel important and immediate. The thing probably would have caused more widespread havoc had the protagonist not slain it, sure, but this thing was abducting their people, who were like family to them, so they scrape together what they can to afford your services. So I suppose my preference for a more "intimate" scale showed up even in that.

 

[krazykidd]

Eitherway i don't care . I am a rpg fan for the story, if the story is well written then the rest is not important . I hate to nitpick on little details like that , i just enjoy the overall experience .

 

[spartandude]

how about KotOR II, its kind of a mix between grand epic and personal.

the story is focused on you and your team and while it is saving the galaxy its all behind the scenes, nobody in the galaxy knows whats going on and nor do they care.

 

[krazykidd]

What about Lost oddesey? Or Nier ? ( And to a lesser extend Tales of grace F ).They both focus mainly on the main character and their struggle .

 

[hazabaza1]

Nier ?

Very true.
An idea of "saving the world" pops in now and then, but it's mainly just a coincidence that the main character's actions to save his daughter helps the world.
There's also a very small group of characters, two who come along with him permanently, and they're all very well developed and explained.
There was also a book called the "Grimoire Nier" that explained some extra stuff but sadly it's Japan exclusive.

 

[sextus the crazy]

I care more about execution than theme, really. Fire Emblem: Geneology of the Holy War pulled off the "grand continent spanning war" theme very well, whereas FE: Radiant Dawn did it very poorly.

I think the reason why so many games try for grand scale is because it's easy to get people invested in something grand like "saving the world" or some shit.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Try The Witcher 2. It has the trappings of a grand RPG, but the actual storyline is rather contained. You don't cross huge swathes of land so much as you travel from one localized area to the next, with regions a reasonable distance from plot specific areas.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

I think they should try to come up with stories other than "save the world" more often. It's obvious why they do it, but it's overdone. And it lends itself to lazy writing. You can just tell it doesn't even occur to the writers to flesh out the MAIN FREAKING CONFLICTbeyond introducing the villain or maguffin. I think as a writer you just think "you have to save the world, what's there to explain?" and it just doesn't occur to you to flesh things out and relate the story/world/characters to each other.

 

[Fappy]

Try The Witcher 2. It has the trappings of a grand RPG, but the actual storyline is rather contained. You don't cross huge swathes of land so much as you travel from one localized area to the next, with regions a reasonable distance from plot specific areas.

That's the first game I thought of when I read the OP. I feel like this is exactly what DA2 did, which sounded awesome, but BW just fucked it it up badly. Could use some more small-scale stories... especially in RPGs.