- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Messages
- 97,228
Most people on this forum probably know what "theme park design" is. A theme park is a world full of AWESOME locations with AWESOME quests. These locations and quests don't really fit together into a coherent setting, don't have anything to tell you, and don't really have any connection with each other. Such games are called theme parks because playing them feels like you're travelling from "ride" to mindless ride. Stupid and artificial.
But what if they're not stupid? That's when you get what you might call "museum design". In a museum world, locations and quests do make sense and form a coherent, sensible world. Isn't that just normal, good design, you might ask? No, because it still shares one quality with the theme park - it feels artificial.
How do you a recognize a museum? It's when you play an RPG and all the quests feel like obvious lore "exhibits". "Oh, I get it, this is the quest that shows you the consequences of the War of X." "Ah, here's the quest that introduces faction Y, I was expecting that."
Museum design isn't a terrible thing - it's better than a theme park. Some people might even prefer it. It may just be a theoretical construct - I'm not sure if there's ever been a game that fully felt like one. RPGs are generally pretty good about giving you a few lore-agnostic quests to make things feel more natural. There's lore-heavy quests, but they're interspersed with fetch quests and random heroics.
But as the genre enters a new age, with more titles aimed at a higher-brow, more hardcore audience, this may be something to watch for.
But what if they're not stupid? That's when you get what you might call "museum design". In a museum world, locations and quests do make sense and form a coherent, sensible world. Isn't that just normal, good design, you might ask? No, because it still shares one quality with the theme park - it feels artificial.
How do you a recognize a museum? It's when you play an RPG and all the quests feel like obvious lore "exhibits". "Oh, I get it, this is the quest that shows you the consequences of the War of X." "Ah, here's the quest that introduces faction Y, I was expecting that."
Museum design isn't a terrible thing - it's better than a theme park. Some people might even prefer it. It may just be a theoretical construct - I'm not sure if there's ever been a game that fully felt like one. RPGs are generally pretty good about giving you a few lore-agnostic quests to make things feel more natural. There's lore-heavy quests, but they're interspersed with fetch quests and random heroics.
But as the genre enters a new age, with more titles aimed at a higher-brow, more hardcore audience, this may be something to watch for.