That discussion Mondblut started in the one Dragon Age thread got me interested. What kinds of settings seem most appealing to you? Is it true that fantasy/scifi needs to have familiar elements to be "accessible" or to explain the story better? Or do you prefer completely unique worlds where exploring the gameworld can lead to discovering things that would be impossible in conventional fantasy?
Generally, I don't believe that any amount of familiarity is required for a setting to be good, interesting and immersive. I do prefer if there are humans or at least humanoids, but I don't doubt that a non-human setting could be interesting, too. But that's all the familiarity I need. Give me a player character who looks human, but the world can look and feel as alien and unfamiliar as possible.
While I do enjoy games set in conventional Elf-and-Dwarf settings, I do prefer having a setting that is a least a little different. Yes, you can make some interesting stories in classical Tolkien-inspired fantasy worlds, but... usually it's predictable. Elves are proud and noble, dwarves are strong and like beer and gold, orcs are barbarians who like to kill humans and demons are pure evil. Been there, done that. The good thing is that nobody will have to explain the setting to you. You read that there are elves, dwarves, orcs and demons and you immediately know who's who and what's going on. That way, the game can focus on the actual story without having to explain anything about the personalities of the races and so on.
More unique settings, on the other hand, are less predictable. They throw creatures and civilizations at you that you never heard of before. Or, in the case of Morrowind, they do give you creatures you know like Elves, but their civilization is completely different of what you would expect from elves. And then you go exploring and find out things about this world's history, about strange foreign cultures... it really *feels* like exploring an unknown fantasy world. There's actually some fantasy in this kind of fantasy. It's more creative and exploration will inevitably be more fun than in a generic "we're the elves and dwarves you know" setting, because the chance to find things you wouldn't have expected to find is infinitely higher.
Unique settings, let's take Planescape as an example, also have the potential to introduce new elements of story or gameplay. In Planescape, thoughts can shape the world. There are multiple dimensions and doors to them might pop up everywhere. And there are some very different kinds of creatures that you can play. There are more surprises for the player, and generally I find it a lot more fun to play in a setting that I haven't seen before.
What's your opinion on this issue?
Generally, I don't believe that any amount of familiarity is required for a setting to be good, interesting and immersive. I do prefer if there are humans or at least humanoids, but I don't doubt that a non-human setting could be interesting, too. But that's all the familiarity I need. Give me a player character who looks human, but the world can look and feel as alien and unfamiliar as possible.
While I do enjoy games set in conventional Elf-and-Dwarf settings, I do prefer having a setting that is a least a little different. Yes, you can make some interesting stories in classical Tolkien-inspired fantasy worlds, but... usually it's predictable. Elves are proud and noble, dwarves are strong and like beer and gold, orcs are barbarians who like to kill humans and demons are pure evil. Been there, done that. The good thing is that nobody will have to explain the setting to you. You read that there are elves, dwarves, orcs and demons and you immediately know who's who and what's going on. That way, the game can focus on the actual story without having to explain anything about the personalities of the races and so on.
More unique settings, on the other hand, are less predictable. They throw creatures and civilizations at you that you never heard of before. Or, in the case of Morrowind, they do give you creatures you know like Elves, but their civilization is completely different of what you would expect from elves. And then you go exploring and find out things about this world's history, about strange foreign cultures... it really *feels* like exploring an unknown fantasy world. There's actually some fantasy in this kind of fantasy. It's more creative and exploration will inevitably be more fun than in a generic "we're the elves and dwarves you know" setting, because the chance to find things you wouldn't have expected to find is infinitely higher.
Unique settings, let's take Planescape as an example, also have the potential to introduce new elements of story or gameplay. In Planescape, thoughts can shape the world. There are multiple dimensions and doors to them might pop up everywhere. And there are some very different kinds of creatures that you can play. There are more surprises for the player, and generally I find it a lot more fun to play in a setting that I haven't seen before.
What's your opinion on this issue?
