# most games today are sci-fi or fantasy based ?



## asher marquering (Jul 4, 2006)

i think most games today with a story line are fantasy or sci-fi based 

and its easier to get your work to be produced as some form of game than anything else

wat you guys think


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## Winters_Sorrow (Jul 5, 2006)

Hmm, difficult question to answer because in my opinion it usually depends on the genre the game falls into.

Most FP shooters are either modern day or futuristic setting. I'm struggling to think of a fantasy based one (unless you class elements of Thief or Morrowind as 'shooters' as they have a FP perspective)

Conversly most RPGs are fantasy settings, although most seem to have some mechanical or industrial sections as well.

So in answer to your query, I don't think there is a major swing one way or the other - the most common type of game appears to be movie tie-in, football, war sim or driving


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## asher marquering (Jul 5, 2006)

unreal has a few magical items and weapons as well as opponents
and torok dinasaur hunter

i meant games with original story lines (eg fighting games, c/vrpg, some mmorpg, metal gear series) 

simulations and movie-tie ins without of very little original storyline do not fall under these 

wat you think ?


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## Green (Jul 5, 2006)

Ok, here's how sad and bored I am right now...

I just went through this month's copy of PC Zone and made a note of the genres of (new, non-indie) releases for this month.

I reckon they come out as:

*Sci-Fi* 3
*Fantasy* 2
*Modern(ish) War* 3
*Ancient/Historical War* 2
*Horror* 0
*Sport* 1
*(non-war) Sim* 4
*Other (including movie tie-ins)* 3

I've included things like Civilisations at War in the Ancient/Historical war column. So by my reckoning (for this month, at least), the most common type of game is sim, eg The Movies, SIMS 2 add-on packs, Casino 3d, etc.

But Sci-Fi and Fantasy are quite popular as well  And people like their wars.


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## Winters_Sorrow (Jul 5, 2006)

If you're looking for originality in gaming you can join the queue!

The gaming industry is more & more unwilling to take chances with their products.

This is why we have had a FIFA game every year for the last 15 years and movie tie-ins will always be popular as clueless parents will recognise the brand/name and buy it for their progeny regardless of how good the game is.

Also sequels - they love sequels. Game X makes a fortune, therefore slight tweak of the graphic and release as Game X2. 

The few innovative games which are released usually vanish without trace but with critical acclaim or do really well, get swallowed by the publisher and see "sequel" above.

Wow, I'm pretty cynical.


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## asher marquering (Jul 5, 2006)

like i said simulations don't fall under my statement i made because they don't really have *original* story lines

and the modern war games i would classify as sci-fi because there is usually some form of government using some weapon to cause great destruction(if it has an *original* storyline if not and their based on past events i'd classify them as sims)

and those ancient/historical war i would classify as fantasy because they have most of the traditional fantasy elements all they really lack is magic(if it have an *original* storyline if not and their based on past events i'd classify them as sims)

what you guys think


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## kyektulu (Jul 5, 2006)

*I dont think most games are based on sci-fi or fantasy, however, the best ones are! 

Setting games into the modern era are so restricted as our time is to politically correct, game makers have to watch for stepping on peoples toes, especially in war games.

Yet I totally understand most games being set on SFF, they are limitless lanscapes, being completely inagination based.

I do agree with you on 'aincent/historical' games being fantasy as they do have many charecteristics of fantasy games.*


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## Green (Jul 5, 2006)

If you're going to start defining "Historical War" as basically "Fantasy Without Magic", then of course you think that sci-fi and fantasy have a monopoly on games with original storylines. You can put pretty much everything under the sun into those two categories using a similar treatment. If you think Rome Total War is a fantasy game, and Battlefield Vietnam is a sci-fi game (or even a sim game, going off your definitions above), then what do you expect?

I don't think that historical war or ancient war is fantasy without magic, since that does the genre a huge disservice. It is not a sub-genre of fantasy, like epic fantasy or steampunk or some other such thing. In fact, these games strive to be as realistic as they can be, as historically accurate as they can be, and to me that seems to be the opposite of fantasy. Fantasy has trademarks of history, not the other way around.

All games have a unique storyline (there are very few original storylines these days), and this does not necessarily push them into the sci-fi or fantasy bracket as you seem to suggest it does. By that definition, all novels ever published would be sci-fi or fantasy.


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## asher marquering (Aug 8, 2006)

ok good point green so you agree ?

lol just kidding but thats the way i think i guess


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## Finnien (Aug 8, 2006)

asher marquering said:
			
		

> i think most games today with a story line are fantasy or sci-fi based
> 
> and its easier to get your work to be produced as some form of game than anything else
> 
> wat you guys think


I think one question would be, 'What do you consider a story line?'  Role-playing games are traditionally the games with the deepest storyline, and they are typically fantasy/sci-fi.  I can think of a few exceptions, but none that were really great games or landmarks.

I usually play RPG games, or sci-fi/fantasy strategy games, so my experience is somewhat limited.  However, games like Madden football are trying to improve the story aspect, by allowing you to coach a franchise, play as a single player, etc.  They're much more complex than they were ten years ago.  First person shooters have more scripted encounters and in-depth single player modes, although, once again, the ones I play are mainly sci-fi, so it's hard to know if that is true of Battlefield 1942 or similar games.  I mean, I believe that Max Payne or the original Metal Gear Solid had very good storylines for their genre type, but I'm not widely played in those areas.

How do the storylines of various games compare _within the same genre?_  Do sci-fi shooters have better storylines than their non-sf counterparts?   Does Command and Conquer have more of a storyline than Sid Meier's Ghettysberg?  I really don't play them enough to give a qualified opinion, but it could be that sf&f suits itself more readily to role-playing games, and that is the genre best suited to the kind of storyline depth you're looking for.   My hunch would be that it might have nothing to do with what reality the games are based on, and be more dependent upon the genre.  

I imagine developers _could _make a very revolutionary modern-day crime-solving RPG, but personally, I'm happy with sf&f as the predominant genre of RPG's.  The levelling progression basis just works well for me in a fantasy setting with magic, or technology that might as well be magic.  Increasing my gas or bullet reserve as I level my marine isn't nearly as much fun as increasing the mana pool of my archmage.  It may not be true for everyone, but I understand the reasoning behind it.

So, my guess would be storyline depth is genre-based, and sf&f lends itself more readily to the RPG genre.  I primarily enjoy RPG's, and I primarily enough sf&f settings, so call me a happy camper.

Of course, the entire industry could be avoiding revolutionary games and huge risks out of a desire to avoid displeasing me personally, which is also very okay with me.  Just please, enough with the angsty whiny male protagonists in RPG's.  Really, twenty years of them is quite enough.


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## Marya (Aug 8, 2006)

RPGs seem to be the genre of choice for the posters here.  If you want something really different and like to play a platformer, I'd recommend *Psychonauts*.  It was made by Tim Schafer (of Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango and Full Throttle fame).




> *Plot outline*
> 
> In _Psychonauts_, the player controls Raz (short for Razputin), a mysterious new arrival at a training camp for Psychonauts — elite special agents who use their psychic powers to combat psycho-terrorism and retrieve information from inside people's minds. After honing his own mental abilities, Raz discovers that someone is abducting cadets from the camp with the purpose of stealing their brains. He must discover who is behind this sinister plot and stand against this evil.
> 
> ...



I've played a couple of levels but because I'm new at platformer games, I wasn't very good at it.  What I played was loads of fun.


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## Green (Aug 8, 2006)

I've heard only good things about Psychonauts


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## Crymic (Aug 13, 2006)

Dark Messiah demo just came out. It's a Fantasy style FPS with talent points. You can choose between 3 different fields of abilities. Fighter,Mage,Theif. You don't haveta stick to just 1 tree.


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## Saranalos (Aug 13, 2006)

I've only played the demo of Psychonauts, but I really enjoyed it still. The setting and beginning storyline made me want more. I never bought it though.

There are a few games that are good, but most of the new ones promise endless enjoyment but in reality give very little of what you expect. I'm heading backwards now, digging up the old treasures of games I've never heard of before. The older games(Not too old!) hold my attention for much much longer.


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## Marya (Aug 13, 2006)

Welcome to Chronicles Saranalos.   What kinds of games do you like?


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## Saranalos (Aug 13, 2006)

Hey, thanks for the welcome Marya.

I used to only play strategy games, but then I found Morrowind a year ago, and since then it's been mostly RPGs. I will play the occasional FPS, but they usually bore me quickly from lacking a storyline. Maybe an online text based game or two as well(I own one).

A recent classic I dug up would be "Beyond Good and Evil". It's a platformer really, except it has one of the best stories I've ever heard in a game. Unfortunately it has been overlooked, and wasn't that big of a hit with the general masses.


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## Marya (Aug 13, 2006)

I've heard tons of great things about Beyond Good and Evil.  I tend to like adventure games.  I only started gaming about 9 years ago and that was the first type of game I played (Myst was my first game).  I've played a bit of Psychonauts but haven't tried an RPG yet.  I tend to play them to relax so I'm a little wary of games with combat (although Dreamfall, a recent adventure game, had a little bit of combat that I handled pretty well).  I'd like to branch out into other genres but haven't had a lot of time to game recently.


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