Thread: Are medieval type games overdone?

  1. #1
    Registered User ~Kyo~'s Avatar
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    Are medieval type games overdone?

    From MUDs to MMOs it seems this is the main genre. Is it overdone?

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    Lurking whiteflags's Avatar
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    It's only overdone if you honestly think it's the "main genre". It's not. Any setting does get stale, though, if you deal with it enough times. I think one of the strengths of pen and paper RPGs is that if you have a flexible enough guide, you can do any setting you want.

    I think a more worrisome problem is if the only things you can think of when someone says roleplay are survival horror and save the world stories. Again though, a lot of fun is to be had just doing pen and paper and adding your imagination.
    Last edited by whiteflags; 02-15-2011 at 01:44 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by whiteflags View Post
    Again though, a lot of fun is to be had just doing pen and paper and adding your imagination.
    So, then... not all fun comes from computers???
    Who knew?

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    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by whiteflags View Post
    I think a more worrisome problem is if the only things you can think of when someone says roleplay are survival horror and save the world stories.
    Indeed. Always wanted for Top Secret, one of my favorite pen & paper of all times to have its own PC rendition. It would be great to play again an RPG around concepts of industrial or military espionage and covert ops.

    Still, the whole RPG concept was never properly brought in to the computer. It would probably just another game with player stats and levels. That's the extent of the RPG element in computer games so far.
    Last edited by Mario F.; 02-15-2011 at 02:21 PM.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

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    Registered User ~Kyo~'s Avatar
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    Even back in the day with DnD 1st, 2nd, and 3rd edition we had levels that sprung into what neverwinter nights, baulder's gate borrowed quite a bit as well if not verbatum been forever since I played either. I was just wondering if the general "Dragon, magic, sword, staff, bow" is overdone in comparison to other types would a shadowrun type game be more intriging than let's say a DnD hack n slash game? Even a starcraft RPG would be nice although I won't be stepping on blizzard's toes anytime soon not like that anyhow. Top secret from the wiki entry could go hand in hand with shadowrun in a way... That could make for an interesting stoyline plot....
    Last edited by ~Kyo~; 02-15-2011 at 02:59 PM.

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    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Shadowrun, Vampire the Masquerade, Spycraft, Top Secret... heck even Marvel Super Heroes.

    These are all interesting concepts for PC based RPGs that would get us away from the traditional setting for these games (albeit Shadowrun like worlds are perhaps better represented than the others). But the problem here, at least to me, is not the setting. I'd play a medieval game with orcs and elves if that meant a living and truly open-ended world. But these games are not that. None ever was. In fact, technically they can't be, despite what they advertise. Our technology doesn't allow us to play games like that yet. It's a bit like watching a commercial for a video game back in the 80s full of promises of real-life experiences.

    I wrote about it before; the limitations of RPGs and what tends to drive me away from them these days. If you want, you can read about it here: Evil gaming; When all roads lead to Rome, Part I - Quiet Technologies Blog. Essentially I'd rather have games not being open ended and instead concentrate on a terrific and well told story (the likes of Baldur's Gate or Planescape: Torment). Games that try to do something they simply can't, invariably fall short. And in the end, the story suffers the most. And the story... that's the crux of the genre, or should be.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

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    Registered User ~Kyo~'s Avatar
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    Maybe not open ended, but I did like the idea of the leveling system in Top Secret, I was planning on a Shadowrunish game where in the end it put players working for one corporation against players working for another. Orcs, Elves, Humans, Deckers, Samurai, Shaman it could combine fairly well IMO at least. You go talk to a Johnson get a run setup with your group. It might be something like keep the data safe at Fuji untill we can find out who X is or something. Having one group breaking in trying to get the data away from the corporation for X. Hacking in and disabling security cameras, unlocking maglocks, and all kinds of stuff. While if your keeping the other team out you can defend the system and reactivate maglocks possibly cutting an escape path off or splitting a group in two. Turning cameras back on and who knows what else. Endless world is something that would need to be generated... I would like to point out angband/moria always had replayability random dungeons were great always had a blast with that game. Open-ended shouldn't be you can walk forever and not see everything it should be there is always content that is not the same to play on corporations have different buildings so maybe one time you are in a warehouse the next maybe you are in an office building setting. I might try a simple 2D version of it and see if I can't get something to show for it lol would let me test my multithreaded server code out to see if it works too.

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    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Shadowrun had a little more going on to it than that, though. I loved the whole character improvement mechanics through cybernetics, implants, etc... For anyone who didn't play the game it may look like nothing when said like that, but shadowrun was (still is for all purposes) the ultimate cyber game.

    They just don't make games like this anymore. PC games also used to be a little about that. i.e. trying to find new ways of doing things. The innovation wasn't just about new stories, or new settings. But also the result of serious studies (or strokes of luck) into gameplay.

    Unfortunately, big studios backed by profit-oriented producers have very little desire in taking risk. Innovation is curbed and its left for the indie studios to bring it on. However, truth be told they haven't been delivering either. Instead of genre creators, indie developers have turned into either the esoteric and weird, or followers of know and beaten genres. The whole gaming industry is going through a creative crisis for some years now, if you ask me.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

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    Registered User ~Kyo~'s Avatar
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    Yea. That was kinda the purpose of this thread. No one wants to play something that has been beaten to death. I know I don't want to play another thing that is just like another game or anything like that. It seems we get the same repackaged stuff. Old games were great for their time Dungeon Master was fun Black Crypt was alot like it as well... moria/angband/rogue were fun as well. I remember playing shadowrun on the sega and thinking wow this is a great game too bad I played it through the sega channel back in the day probably in the 90's. I would love to see some new ideas pushed into games a first person shadowrun would be great, but studios don't follow through they made a first person shooter called it shadowrun and gave no storyline. I think it could be an interesting combination between a couple RPGs even VTM to some point could be implemented, would likely be an expansion, but why not have shadowruns to hunt vampire covents? Or to manipulate the world's leaders in a game? You really an add just about anything into a game like this. It would be a huge amount of coding though probably something for a group of people to work on and not a solo gig. Too bad I haven't found $#!* for a tileset to make a small city to test the shadowrun/Top Secret idea out. Think I might just use colored blocks to represent things untill I can locate some graphics...

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    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    Just because a game theme is done time and time again does not mean the game is simply re-hashed. I take games for what they are and what they offer that is unique. Every game out there in some form or another offers a unique approach to a specific genre. It is becoming harder and harder, nigh impossible, to come up with a completely original idea that no other studio has ever done. There are some definite development risks with that type of game that most publishers simply are not willing to take.

    I buy all types of games from all different genres and have found very few complete re-hashes or knock-offs. Enjoy the games for what they are - an art form designed to entertain you for some unknown period of time.

  11. #11
    Registered User ~Kyo~'s Avatar
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    I am in no way saying they have no playability. I am just saying when you see the next medieval MMO or RPG or RTS are you going to think WoW/EQ, Baldur's Gate/Neverwinter Nights, Warcraft/AOE?

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    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    ....Mount and Blade, Mount and Blade: Warband.

    I guess my point is you can always do a game with a similar theme or in a similar time period as another and yet be completely different.

  13. #13
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Fine example indeed. The exception confirming the rule
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

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