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[1982]

Oh, I see what you mean.

So basically GTA with more RPG elements?

Yeah, for example. Lets put it this way: Less GTA, more RPG 

[Hijinkz]

I think the fantasy genre lends itself well to RPGs for a number of reasons. The same reasons that Sci-Fi lends itself well to RPGs. You can paint yourself out of any corner by using a new spell or "technology." It also serves the leveling up system because the more you use your powers, the stronger they become like in books and games before the video game RPGs.

Above all, from a story teling perspective, fantasy lets you define characters in more of a black/white, good/evil way. The good guy can be as much of a shining white knight as you want. The opposite is true for the bad guy. In Final Fantasy 3 when Kefka poisons the water, that is a truly dastardly deed. The impact of that might be lessened if he were more nuanced.

[Gorgoo]

I think it's probably a matter of tradition more than anything else. Like Archibald said before, Dungeons & Dragons kind of created the RPG genre, and it was a fantasy game.

And really, there are a good few RPGs without that aren't fantasy games, but when they break out of the tradition of "fantasy", they also have a tendency to break away from some of the traditions of RPG design. That makes them slightly less recognizable as RPGs.

Look at Fallout, Mass Effect, Deus Ex, and Alpha Protocol. I've heard people argue that some of those aren't RPGs, that they're shooters with "RPG elements", but to me they've always seemed like RPGs with "shooter elements". That is, they've swapped out the traditional battle system the same way they've swapped out the traditional setting. Most everything else still plays like an RPG.

[baconman]

1. It is certainly by far the most diversified and developed set of everything. Settings, creatures, characters, tales and tropes.

2. It is basically Creative Commons.

Space/Sci-Fi is a close second, but it's so trademarked to death that it's impossible to develop from - you know Aliens and Predator; that Vulcans and Romulans are from Star Trek and Wookies and Ewok are from Star Wars - and that you never bring the two brands together without a "vs. fanfic" involved. Sci-Fi geeks are WAY too fucking territorial and proud to allow that setting the full range of diversity it has; although practically everything "Medieval Fantasy" is always fair game.

A third would be videogaming fiction as a whole, and it's competing pretty tightly now.

[1982]

Space/Sci-Fi is a close second, but it's so trademarked to death that it's impossible to develop from - you know Aliens and Predator; that Vulcans and Romulans are from Star Trek and Wookies and Ewok are from Star Wars - and that you never bring the two brands together without a "vs. fanfic" involved.

But what stops to develop new worlds and universes?

[RAMINATION]

Mother/Earthbound was a game that had really down to earth start. I haven't played them much but I've tried the NES game (the first of the series?) and the SNES game (the third of the series?).

I recall these games being set in a "normal" world. The places to visit aren't fantasy type of places and the enemies are real animals or other normal things. And you use normal everyday items.
BUT!
Some alien stuff start to happen and if I know correctly, at least one of these games end up being a surreal fight against a womb or something like that.



I don't know why there aren't any "real life" RPGs around (as far as I know). There is no reason not to do a game like that, unless the reason is money and that people just prefer fantasy. RPGs don't need fantasy at all, in my opinion.

I like RPGs, but the fantasy setting just has become a bit too boring now. I'm quite tired to deal with magic in nearly every single RPG out there.




OH WAIT!!
River City Ransom / Street Gangs was pretty unique as an RPG! It's like Double Dragon RPG.

[Hangedman]

That aside, fantasy has greater justification for a wide variety of weapons/tools/actions and locales. It also allows you to force the player to deal with things that technology has shortcut for us. Transportation, creating items, exploration, communication, etc.

If it deals with technological themes it is more likely science fiction, not fantasy which this thread is about.

My point was that they intentionally don't deal with technological themes. Technology has shortcut things like transportation and creation and exploration. In the fantasy world, you don't have a car or whatever (maybe you get an airship later, but that's once you've walked everywhere). Fantasy doesn't have mass production or fabrication, just individual crafting, smithing and chemistry/alchemy that involves the player a lot more in the system. In the past/fantasy world, you can't just email someone or look up the answer to a question. You have to go talk to people and find out.

[iffi]

Mother/Earthbound was a game that had really down to earth start. I haven't played them much but I've tried the NES game (the first of the series?) and the SNES game (the third of the series?).

Earthbound (the SNES game) is the second of the series, Mother 3 is the GBA game.

Earthbound (and, I presume, the others in the series) takes place in a parody of '90s America. Ness uses bats and yoyos instead of swords and stuff like that, for example. The game has plenty of "psychic powers" that essentially correspond to a magic spells in fantasy-themed RPGs, and there's a lot of other strange stuff but for all intents and purposes it's a modern-day setting (or rather, modern at the time of its release).

[baconman]

But what stops to develop new worlds and universes?

Nothing does. It just creates an artifical "work/effort barricade" that doesn't exist in the medieval fantasy realm. In sci-fi you have to "reinvent the Klingon." Nobody working in fantasyland ever needs to "reinvent the Ogre." (Although they're always welcome to.)

[RAMINATION]

Mother/Earthbound was a game that had really down to earth start. I haven't played them much but I've tried the NES game (the first of the series?) and the SNES game (the third of the series?).

Earthbound (the SNES game) is the second of the series, Mother 3 is the GBA game.

Oh, okay. Thanks.

Earthbound (and, I presume, the others in the series) takes place in a parody of '90s America. Ness uses bats and yoyos instead of swords and stuff like that, for example. The game has plenty of "psychic powers" that essentially correspond to a magic spells in fantasy-themed RPGs, and there's a lot of other strange stuff but for all intents and purposes it's a modern-day setting (or rather, modern at the time of its release).

Were these powers there from the beginning?
I recall them appearing quite in line with all the alien stuff?

It's been too long since I've played these so I might be completely wrong.

[Dragonmaw]

I don't think a majority of RPGs are fantasy, they just happen to be the most visible RPGs. There are a LOT of non-fantasy RPGs. Roughly half the Final Fantasy series (ironically) is more sci-fi or steampunk than fantasy. the large SMT series is horror/sci-fi, not fantasy. The post-apocalyptic Fallout series has done very well, not fantasy. Mass Effect is not fantasy. I could go on.

The reason why people generally think of fantasy first in RPGs is because the most famous RPG of all time (D&D) is fantasy. But it's hardly the only one.

[Paul Eres]

i think it's just tradition; dungeons and dragons was the first popular rpg and is fantasy, and most rpgs got their start by copying dungeons and dragons; even final fantasy 1 used the same 'spell levels' system that dungeons and dragons does. the stats from d&d are basically the stats of most rpgs: strength, agility/dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, stamina/constitution. even the idea of "HP" comes from d&d

i think that all genres are basically "the first popular game in that genre and all its clones", and that's d&d in this case. with fps games it was doom, with platformers it was mario, etc.

[RAMINATION]

Roughly half the Final Fantasy series (ironically) is more sci-fi or steampunk than fantasy.

I think those games are just set in a steampunk or sci-fi setting but are still clearly fantasy. Dragons and magic are everywhere in these games no matter how much there is sci-fi and steampunk with them.

Even Final Fantasy 6 which was quite much full-on steampunk at the beginning became clearly fantasy as the game progressed. One of the biggest thing in the whole game was the plot about magic disappearing and the heroes getting it back and starting to bring the magic back to the world. Or something like that. I never much cared for the stories in those games. I just liked to find stuff and places and level up the characters and abilities.

[1982]

with fps games it was doom

Yeah.

From twisted satanic occultism:



To boring realms:



I don't know what happened.

[Paul Eres]

it didn't change all that much -- remember that in doom you played as a *space marine*. you still play as a space marine in most fps games (e.g. halo)