RPG settings left unexplored

[thedoclc]

A relative of mine once wrote a table-top rpg that was basically Wolfenstein but during the Napoleonics rather than WW2. Something like that might have some scope for a videogame rpg. If it were a jrpg, then the reload times of weapons could be made into a game mechanic to balance the differences between ranged and melee weapons.

Why would that only apply to a JRPG? Every TT game based on D&D, Fallout 3 and the other Bethesda games, Fable, etc, etc, are all WRPGs where reload speed or weapon speed counts.

Most western rpgs I've played only have one playable character, so there's not the same need to balance between characters' equipment. Plus western rpgs tend to be more on-the-ball about how weapons actually work, so I normally assume that sort of thing is allready part of western games.

Fair enough. It seems like JRPGs like less realistic weapons. That's not a criticism; realism can piss right off in the name of fun. It seems JRPG protagonists get their swords by stealing an I-beam from a construction site and sharpening it a bit.

 

[clarissa]

I guess one in Rio de Janeiro at the present time would be...
Maybe a shooter would fit better.

 

[C-45]

I'd like to see a fantasy RPG set in a non-Tolkien based universe with an art style similar to Love.

 

[Steve Fidler]

I would think that a Ceasar-Era Roman setting RPG would do well. Medieval level combat (Archery, Swords, and Spears) as well as a huge amount of history to draw from to create Story and base Characters upon.

Also a Gaelic Irish or Scottish setting. Vikings, Tartans, Claymores, etc. would make a good Action RPG but would likely end up being another God of War type game which would be a poor use of a rich setting like that.

 

[Xskills]

Hm...how about a cyberpunk setting on a spaceship. The crew has gone completely insane, weird mutations and so forth, and escaped biological experiments. Not only that, but the player will learn more about the crew's lives via their journals. Oh, and the enemy should be an AI trying to contain the mutant/batshit crew members, only it is not the real enemy. If only there were a really famous game like that, one which everyone ought to have played...
(yes, make more of them, please!)

Yes, please.

Wasn't Dead Space supposed to be the third one? I mean, before EA decided to go all "Clive Barker directs 'Alien'"?

I'd be happy if they re-release the second one with modern graphics, no changes to layout or gameplay.

EA, had over the rights to a company that can do some good, don't just sit on it.

I'm surprised you guys never heard of System Shock (the predecessor to BioShock), where a sentient computer (named Shodan I think) kills everyone on the ship and re-uses the flesh to play god and the hacker who constructed it has to kill it.

 

[Lilani]

I'm less concerned about whether an RPG setting has been done and more concerned about whether or not it's been done well.

True that. I wouldn't care if it took place in the Garden of Eden or in David Hasslehoff's belly button, as long as it's good and fun to play it's got my seal of approval.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

An urban setting? Hmmmm,....I wish there was some way you could import a map of your city into a rpg and play it in your town...but anyways- I don't see a lot of prairie RPGs

The World Ends with You is urban

 

[spartan231490]

I really like the basic fantasy setting. I far prefer sword and sorcery settings for rpg's and books over anything else.

 

[Warforger]

Underwater? I can't remember any RPG underwater. I'm sure there are but not that many.

Fallout 3 had DLC for an underwater mission IIRC.

 

[Scabadus]

I don't see why you can't have Fantasy AND Sci Fi. Think about it, Elves shooting fireballs with one hand and laser guns with the other. And if those arn't strong enough they can call in orbital strikes of ice and lightening storms. And the elves have jetpacks.

...Wait I'm going to write this down.

 

[DustyDrB]

I don't see why you can't have Fantasy AND Sci Fi. Think about it, Elves shooting fireballs with one hand and laser guns with the other. And if those arn't strong enough they can call in orbital strikes of ice and lightening storms. And the elves have jetpacks.

...Wait I'm going to write this down.

Shadowrun, Shadowrun, Shadowrun.

How have so many people missed this game? Seriously, check out the SNES version. I think it still have fun playing it from time to time.

 

[Tarlane]

A lot of these settings already have really great games for them, though most could do with more exploration.

Modern day supernatural: Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines - Amazing RPG if you grab the unofficial patch. Before they went under Troika did some incredible if buggy things and when patched this game shows off their ability to weave a story, not to mention having one of the few genuinely scary areas of a game. Try and go through the mansion the first time and not hit a point where you go 'I'm not going to open that.'

Pulp era(1920's and 30's): Call of Cthulu - Pretty good horror/puzzler/rpg. Does a pretty good job of telling a story in the Lovecraft universe. Gives a good feel for the setting.

Pirates: Sid Meyers Pirates! - A remake of Pirates! Gold from the genesis, which was itself a remake of the original Pirates!. This game puts you more directly in the action than most of Sid Meyers games like Civilization. You directly control a character who due to luck in a duel during a mutiny finds himself in control of a ship, looking for his lost sister and ancient treasures all the while deciding if you will serve a kingdom of make a name for yourself as the greatest pirate of all time.

There actually are a surprising number of pirate era RPGs out there, though most focus on an individual aspect of the setting than having all exploration and a lot of them are instant bargain bin games. Pirates of the Burning Sea is a pirate themed MMORPG that was actually pretty decent if hosting a dwindling population.

Cyberpunk: As has been mentioned above there have been two separate Shadowrun games done right about the same time as each other. One on the SNES and the other for the Genesis(I believe the 32x or some such system had the same game). These were both great games and I think the Genesis one was actually better even if less known. I do want to add my voice to saying how much I wish they would make a more updated version of this. I had so much excitement when I heard there was going to be a new game in the Shadowrun universe then found out it was going to be a standard shooter. I'm normally not a big MMORPG person, but this setting would lend itself perfectly to forming squads in an instance based MMO.

Passing through time periods: Its hard to define it quite as an RPG, but there was a PS1 game called Time Commando that gave a feeling similar to this allowing you to pass from one era to another while battling creatures of that time and solving various puzzles. It looked fairly simplistic at first but had a surprising depth.

 

[SturmDolch]

World War II would be fun and interesting. You could play a spy/saboteur, or go to the frontlines... I have a feeling it would play a lot like Fallout: New Vegas, but with a bigger squad (if you choose to) and more focus on combat. Although I would love to play a spy that talks his way into Berlin and plugs a silenced bullet into Hitler's brain once he trusts me enough to be alone with him.

I don't see why you can't have Fantasy AND Sci Fi. Think about it, Elves shooting fireballs with one hand and laser guns with the other. And if those arn't strong enough they can call in orbital strikes of ice and lightening storms. And the elves have jetpacks.

...Wait I'm going to write this down.

I think it's because it sounds incredibly cheesy and can't really be done in a serious way... Besides, Fantasy and Sci-Fi are practically the same except that one is in the past and one is in the future. In Fantasy, it's called Magic and swords. In sci-fi, it's technology and energy swords.

 

[krugerrand123]

Ancient china or baroque era Europe.

 

[JochemDude]

A WW2 RPG
You find yourself (not a soldier) in Nazi occupied territory, with settings as Paris, French countryside, holland, and the ardennes.
with factions the Resistance, the SS, and eventually the Allied forces.
I think that with such a setting the standard 'morale' choices might actually make you feel good about yourself or a sadistic fuck for that matter.
Blend that all together in a oblivion/fallout style of gameplay and you might get yourself a very nice game
NOT A SHOOTER

Edit
Darn it, I really need to start reading the last page's before posting. it always happens to me that some guy beats me too it and i only notice it once i already posted it.

 

[Corialos]

...Firefly: Serenity, anyone?

 

[F-I-D-O]

As a toilet paper roll, trying to fend yourself from the menacing hand of the human, as he rips you apart, bit by bit.

Wouldn't that be the shittiest "Game Over!" screen you've ever seen?

*Groan. That was terrible. Yet clever. *halfhearted applause
OT: The Dune Universe. Imagine leveling up a Fremen and becoming a worm raider, quite literally a god-tamer, surviving only by pushing yourself to the limit a body can go and then farther. Real guerrilla fighting, as you summon a worm to take down a spice gatherer or grapple into the Harkonnen capital. Also, summoning and jumping on a worm could be one of the coolest quick time events ever (just the first time, the right of passage. Then, you use normal controls). I also want to see a sandworm duel, a la Battle of Corrin's Dune story climax.
Failing that, Predator/Alien universes. Where you play as them, and not like AvP. More leveling up your xenomorph so he reflects less light, but moves slower. Or it has faster movement and attack, but can only get a good kill from behind. OR, the tank that moves slowly and can go toe to toe with a marine squad.
Or the aforementioned steampunk world. That could be cool.

 

[Kryzantine]

An action-RPG set in 1920s Chicago would be pretty interesting. I quite liked the arctic idea and especially the Middle East idea as well.

But this thread has actually made me think that a GTA-styled game set in socialist Greece would be the most amazing thing ever.

 

[Condiments]

One of the most common themes out there, zombie. I would love to see a sandbox rpg where your given a zombie apocalypse. One that focuses more on the interpersonal relationship of groups of people, finding food/water/shelter or building up a home base, sanity issues if your alone too long, bows and melee weapons are the smartest move(guns make too much noise so you only use them when you plan on leaving an area).

Well, if you like isometric camera and turn based strategic combat here you go....http://www.deadstate.doublebearproductions.com/

 

[MEEBO17]

AAAHHHH BENZ SMOKE STOLE MY IDEA!

Alright, i'll settle for a steampunk medieval world.