Where should a PA game be located?

[Haris]

Europe cause than you would be able to have a wierd cult that act and dress like natzies. So you allredy have your enclave without actually riping off fallout 2.

 

[Balor]

Hmm, Europe is nice. I'd like to visit charred remains of Kremlim myself .
And about Eiffel Tower... We have a lot of them, only a bit smaller, scattered across countryside. They are called high-voltage cable supports, and look exactly the same .

 

[DarkUnderlord]

If basing it in CA is a rip-off of Fallout, then surely basing it in New York is a rip-off of almost every other damn post-apocalyptic movie ever made?

Really, who gives a shit?

 

[Sol Invictus]

I voted for Australia, but I meant to vote for Europe. Sigh. Anyway, I voted for Europe because it's a much more varied location and it'd be nice to see post-apocalyptic versions of the leaning tower of Pisa, the Notre Dame, the standing ruin of the Eiffel Tower, a Buckingham Palace that houses a military organization, post-apocalyptic pubs :D, the post-apocalyptic ruins of Greece, backdropped by the even more ancient ruins of Athens. It'd be a pretty cool "war, war never changes" statement.

 

[Sol Invictus]

We would already get a PA London later this year - though no MMO game, Hellgate : London sound pretty awesome.

I'd say nuke the US, though Europe is obviosly a way better setting for whatever the purpose.

Yup, and if Hellgate : London (which covers the tunnels, as well as the "Tube". think Neverwhere) goes as planned, there's a Hellgate : Rome in the works, too, based on the catacombs. American settings are way overused.

 

[Shagnak]

NEW ZEALAND!!!!!!

Err..okay....Europe it is then

 

[errorcode]

I'd vote for Detroit. i mean, hell, some parts of it already look like the apocalypse came.

Huge industrial areas, wide stretching suburbs, corporate hotspots, an already high crime/violence rate, near a large body of water for variety, large population density prior to an apocalyptic event means more survivors/mutants/zombies etc etc etc...all in all it would be a fun place to use for a setting, plus it's well known by folks without anyone knowing any real details giving you name recognition while still being able to take some liberties without folks freaking out.

 

[DarkSign]

Ah.... perhaps the answer lays in NO SETTING at all.

Where the gameworld is has been lost to the apocalypse, time, and human carelessness.

Of course Id have to have a topography that wasnt easily recognized.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Norway! With Sweden just a little damaged.

Correction: Norway and Denmark completely razed and Sweden totally unharmed, because they pushed the button. More swedish villains in games, I say! I mean, our politicians got the right looks...

Okay, I can think of at least one interesting landmark in Europe, and that's the Eiffeltower. It's recognizable. Plus, it doesn't bore me out. Castle Neuschwanstein would look nice engulfed in flames, but I'm not sure many people know what it is. For research though: play Gabriel Knight 2.

 

[Dirk_Gently]

Ah.... perhaps the answer lays in NO SETTING at all.

Where the gameworld is has been lost to the apocalypse, time, and human carelessness.

Of course Id have to have a topography that wasnt easily recognized.

You'd also have to change the story. :wink:

 

[DarkSign]

Yes Dirk...we would

So.... California it is!

This has been a fun excercise. Dark Underlord's post "who cares" was the confirmation my muddled brain needed.

While Europe would have tons of points of interest, western USA just feels right...with Wasteland and Fallout having been set there.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[Sol Invictus]

What

You fucking suck. There's nothing remotely interesting about California. I'm honestly sick to death with every game and movie being based in California all. the. fucking. time. Okay, so I get it, it has deserts. It must be post apocalyptic, because it's too hard to imagine a desert-like Europe.

 

[Trash]

Well, good luck with it. To be honest I'm a bit disappointed that you chose a rather overused setting instead of going for something new...but heck, at least you asked for people's opinions. :wink:

 

[DarkSign]

Or perhaps Im throwing you off...

 

[Sol Invictus]

You are one warped cunt.

 

[Fez]

You could just make up your own fictional country for it to be set in. Mapping the whole of PA Europe with monuments, subways, etc. is a mammoth task that you will never complete. If you were going to do something like that, you'd be better to choose one region/country/state. A whole continent to walk across in such detail is too ambitious.

If you choose your own time period and make up your own new location, you can make it pseudo-European/American/whatever and you don't have to worry about mistakes. You can even include your own monuments and model them after real ones, but you can put them wherever you want. If you are going to have player built towns and changing maps with each server wipe then it won't be a good idea to try to map an area carefully. It'd be better with a random element to it, to keep the game fresh and interesting to explore after each wipe.

 

[DarkSign]

This is still under discussion. I mean a decent chunk of work and concepting has been done for the Western US, but my good buddy Dirk has made me stop and think again...which is always a good thing (although I think he's regretting it now - dont wrry Dirk, soul searching is a good thing)

Our decision-making process will come from these questions:

1) What eschatological message are we trying to send about the apocalypse?
> corporate greed ?
> citizen apathy ?
> advancing technology with no morality to guide it ?
> ease of warmongering ?
> community after devastation ? in light of scarcity?

AND what location best fits is the source/best illustrates these trends?

2) Preferred terrain qualities?
> mtns
> water (fresh and salt)
> desert (can be attributed to devastation)
> forest
> swamp

3) What would be cool?
> unused before
> visually stunning look

4) Must it be the US bec of knowledge?
> i.e. do I have enough knowledge of another country to use it
> do I want to do more research.

So this is my thought process. Im flip-flopping like ...well dare I say it?

 

[Vykromond]

Im flip-flopping like ...well dare I say it?

Sandals?

 

[jiujitsu]

I voted for New York, because I live near there. I've since changed my mind and would like Australia or California due to the deserts. Gotta love the desert.

 

[Ryuken]

I would love to see the Atomium in a PA state for once. (it's the only 'reasonable' one we have here).

But pure imagination can deliver cool landmarks too idd. If you always need landmarks, that is. Even in a PA-setting you don't need to get all the 'goodies' survive the nuclear bombing. And I never actually saw a mmog where the gameworld is just earth. The whole world... perhaps a bit too much work.

 

[dunduks]

But pure imagination can deliver cool landmarks too.

True, just make a city full with destroyed skyscrapers add some reddish sky and setting sun and you are all set.

 

[Dirk_Gently]

You could go all Planet of the Apes on it and have a seemingly make believe world that is actually California. :wink: Y'know Player crests a Dune and walks into a Half submerged 'H'.