Which game backdrop/setting are you tired of

[Mau95]

so i can forsee this threads responses will consist of:
50% zombies
20% middle eastern terrorist/insurgents
10% nazis
10% middle earth like fantasy
5% post apocalypse
5% fluffy stuff

I agree with everything in this post, good prediction.

 

[Mau95]

Fuck off with your magic that always boils down to shooting bright stuff out of your hands.

I guess you would rather them have it shoot out their asses?

Anyway, I will go against everyone and say I am fine with zombies still. Just waiting for the right game. Something like DayZ, but less really shitty clunky controls, more smooth and maybe even a little more simple.

What about a game where all the magic is cast with your feet and legs instead of hands?

 

[Grimh]

I was gonna say high fantasy but then I realised it's more that I'm just tired of the whole "Sauron, Lord of the Dark Army of Darkness" plot. That's why I kind of like Dragon Age 2 since it at least tried to get away from that. I thought it had a great setup.
It's just too bad that the execution left a lot to be desired.

But I digress.
I guess I don't really have a problem with any particular setting as long as you do something interesting with it.
Like The Last of Us.

 

[Thebazilly]

So tired of the standard fantasy setting. Fantasy can be so much more than elves and dwarves and miserable medieval towns, but very few series in any medium branch away from it.

 

[Gecko clown]

Dark, gritty fantasy. It's just such a cop out. You could have such a fantastic and vibrant world, full of comedy and fun characters and even still have room for adult themes and dialogue (see Discworld) but NOPE. You had to go set it in fake medieval England complete with the same boring characters and lack of variety in ANY of the settings 'cause Game of Thrones is the shit now.

 

[Pink Gregory]

The quirky for the sake of quirky setting. Basically every Suda51 game.

The zombie and high fantasy setting already have enough criticism to hold them in place, but the "oh look at me, I'm soooo quirky" shtick seems to dodge that bullet. Afterall, if people don't know what the hell they're looking at it must be good.

Isn't that more about the art style and content than the setting, though? In the case of Suda51 at least.

Yeah, but you know what I'm getting at. The super-duper over the top stuff where it just becomes a clusterfuck of nonsense all over the screen. See also Bayonetta.

You're talking to someone who LOVED Bayonetta to the moon and back...

How can you be tired of it if you don't like it in the first place?

 

[Pink Gregory]

Fuck off with your magic that always boils down to shooting bright stuff out of your hands.

I guess you would rather them have it shoot out their asses?

Anyway, I will go against everyone and say I am fine with zombies still. Just waiting for the right game. Something like DayZ, but less really shitty clunky controls, more smooth and maybe even a little more simple.

What about a game where all the magic is cast with your feet and legs instead of hands?

How about cast out of your...no, no that'd be immature.

 

[Racecarlock]

At times I look at the gaming industry and I question the level of artistic creativity that is being presented. I find myself feeling that we are in a cycle of systematic, regurgative idea production. Each "new" game presents a series of setting elements that have, to speak eloquently, been beaten to death with a stick. Then I make a sandwich and applaud my critical depth....

But in all seriousness, it did get me to thinking. What settings are people just sick of seeing in games, and so that is my question to you splendid members of the community.

What settings are you just tired of playing in?

For me, it is post-apocalyptic, specifically zombies. Usually I feel this element is selected to ease the burdens of world creation and uniqueness, as one drab environment can look strikingly like another. Yet I also feel it is a cop out for genuine plot development and character growth.

"Why are we doing this?
"Because OMG ZOMBIE APOC! Yay!!!!"

(I am aware The Last of Us may be an exception. I can not comment, I have not played it.)

Pretty much this. What happened to the games where I was a mercenary in a space ship? What happened to games like freelancer and privateer. The future can easily be a big, bright, and wonderful place and yet all we ever seem to do is predict nuclear doom and zombies. I want to go to space again.

 

[MacChris1991]

Its less about setting and more about implementation isn't it? I mean on paper the "Last of Us" gives us a a pretty standard setting; Zombies/Infected apocalypse scenario. And it delivers on all the mainstays that the setting brings to mind, empty buildings, crumbling cityscape and the occasional signs of horrible violence. Again standard fair, but they also show us nature reclaiming everything, they liter the environments with little details that each tell their own little stories about what happened before our protagonists arrived at the scene, and most importantly (I think) they gave us a character who was completely ignorant of the world that came before the apocalypse, giving us the players a chance to see the world through her, drastically changing the experience.
And we see this in other games too, Spec Ops is a military shooter set in the middle east, but the game is set in Dubai ( a megacity, that has been devastated by a series of sandstorms that have left the city almost unrecognizable. Saints Row 4 is an open world gangland game that takes all the drugs and then throws in super powers and aliens. Skyrim and Dragon Age both take typical fantasy elements and turn them all around, imperialist elves, slave elves, no dragons, some dragons, demon dragons. Skyrim is a fantasy setting that keeps itself entirely up north so the game environments go from really cold to why are people living up here it is way to cold oh my I think my nose just fell off my face its so cold. A great game can feature any setting, it just requires proper implementation.

 

[EMWISE94]

I'll go with the whole post-apocalyptic setting, rather than hate on the whole "post-apocalyptic" setting in general, I'll say i dislike the whole dirty scavengers setting we always see. Can't we get some more light-hearted post-apocalyptic scenarios? If you're wondering how a light-hearted post-apocalyptic scenario would even look like, turn to Adventure Time. The Land of Ooo is in a PA state (after the Mushroom War that blew off a chunck of the planet), you see ruined cities everywhere and stuff.

 

[Kaendris]

I think that ALL game settings are overused to some extent, but since everybody and his mother have said military shooters and Zombie apocalypse already, I'll go with fantasy.

I can't remember the last time I saw something original in a fantasy setting. All it seems to be is the same races (elf, dwarf, human, orc etc.) and the same creatures (troll, dragon, goblin, etc.) that have been around for centuries, with some magic thrown in. Sure, they tend to make variations on these things, but something actually original?

I think my favorite setting is Sci Fi, since there's literally endless potential for imagination in the setting without anything to restrain it there's always plenty that's new and original in pretty much every Sci Fi that isn't calling back to some previous Sci Fi.

I wanted to highlight this post, because it is so accurate it makes me laugh. Well done oh wonderful person of the internet!!!

I absolutely agree, I do get saddened that it seems space really is the final frontier for fantasy. Sci-Fi is a wonderful genre because they can bend the rules with ease and still make the material relevant. It gives them a freedom of creation that modern fantasy writers seem to find unapproachable.

I loved the Fallout games, and even though the setting for them was Post-Apoc, Fallout 3's use of the 1940's culture was phenomenal.

Thanks for the response

 

[RedDeadFred]

I'm going to agree with Zombie Apocalypse. The Walking Dead was the last game of this type that actually liked (and even it was kind of stale). Every game since then just feels like it's retreading the same stuff. Yes I am partially talking about TLoU. Although, kudos to them for not making a generic self sacrifice ending though. One of the better (despite horrifying) endings in a while.

 

[Kaendris]

Its less about setting and more about implementation isn't it? I mean on paper the "Last of Us" gives us a a pretty standard setting; A great game can feature any setting, it just requires proper implementation.

This is certainly true, and I concede it is a fair point worth considering. I suppose it could be debated whether it is the setting we are tired of or the lack of innovation in that settings usage. As many have said, they dislike Post-Apoc/Zombie Apoc, but that Last of Us stands above that ire.

Fair point sir. Thank you for your response.

 

[Kaendris]

the "grim, bleak world that doesn't care about you, reality isn't fair and life is hard and difficult and heroism is only naivety at play.".

how about we play an all around good-guy again, a heroic individual that deals with situations rationally and fairly with a good deal of idealism.
A paladin arche-type, but of the lawful-good persuation, not the lawful-stupid one.

This one made me laugh as well, excellent point. I really do miss being just a good guy. No moral ambiguity, no choices, just a paladinesque character out to save his princess, and the world (if it is in his general direction).

Where are you Mario? Why has Link abandoned me?

 

[ninjaRiv]

I'm not really sick of any game settings. I think there's still a lot ot be done, even with zombies. They're not really doing anything new, yet but I think they'll get there.

 

[Mister K]

I am TIRED of high fantasy, especially tree-hugging elves and drunk bearded dwarfs. Is it so hard to change them a bit? Steampunk scientist with pointy ears... Sounds nice.

Also, I'll jump on the "anti-zombies" bandwagon.

 

[Kanova]

What about a game where all the magic is cast with your feet and legs instead of hands?

I think you can aim with your hands.

 

[Not Gabe Newell]

I'm getting a little sick of Bioware's setting.

When I say "setting," I mean "there's this big evil threat looming over the horizon but everyone's too busy with their own stuff to help the legendary Protagonist McGee save the world and not have everyone die."

 

[Shoggoth2588]

On topic, I'll take your Zombie Apocalypse and raise you Modern Military. Most of it's games are derivative and seem to only chase after the COD dollars.

I can get behind that but I would still love to see a modern military style FPS that goes from standard in level 1 to having you fight technicolor anthropomorphs from space into level 2 and beyond.

---

Standard Fantasy Setting. I like elves, dwarves, zombies, skeletons, Lich Kings, Brood Mothers, Beholders, Dragons, Animal people, Golems (I love Golems actually), Clockwork Knights (a variation on Golems, I know...but then Skeletons are variations on zombies)...Anyway, I like all of those things but I hate how they all tend to exist (in video games anyway) in some pre-industrial Europe. Always. Sure, there are variations on some of these things in sci-fi but nobody on The Citidel would claim to be a Night-Elf Druid and nobody from Coruscant would claim to be a Dwarven Paladin. As much as I'd love to see a futuristic game that shatters the line seperating Sci-Fi and Fantasy (organic vs synthetic vs magic would be awesome) I would love to see more fantasy games set now. Or better yet: set between now and as far back as World War one.

 

[immortalfrieza]

I'm getting a little sick of Bioware's setting.

When I say "setting," I mean "there's this big evil threat looming over the horizon but everyone's too busy with their own stuff to help the legendary Protagonist McGee save the world and not have everyone die."

Eh... That's kinda true of all fiction though. Fiction in general seems to have the hero be the only one able and/or willing to do anything about the looming threat. Those few that do care to do something about it either join up with the heroes or drop like flies trying, even if the hero is just some guy/gal and isn't some Chosen One with special powers, and thus there being little to no reason why the hero should be any better at dealing with the threat than anyone else. It's the way writers make the player character relevant. I agree though that making it so blatantly obvious that hero is the only one that can do anything about anything is terrible, but that's how fiction as a whole tends to work.

OT: This is more of a gameplay mechanic than a setting, but one thing I'm tired of seeing is games that CLAIM that the player's choices matter, only to not only be railroaded down a plot and into areas that are basically the same every time but to end up fighting the same enemies and ending up in basically the same situation at the end regardless of the choices made. Despite everybody panning it, this is the reason I like Shadow The Hedgehog so much, the plot, path, and actual ending are different depending on the choices made, even if the last story invalidates that in the end it's still better than the alternative.

Despite the praise it gets, a good example is

Spoiler: Some The Walking Dead spoilers

The Walking Dead. No matter WHAT the player chooses to do, most everybody except Clem including the protagonist Lee dies and there's absolutely NOTHING the player can do about it.

Wow! Sounds like you're choices really matter doesn't it?[/sarcasm]