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Do you find fantasy games as interesting as you used to?

Blanky

Blanky

Platinum Member
I've felt for years my interest in the fantasy genre was waning. As a kid I would read the books but, other than game of thrones, I've not touched much "fantasy" fiction in 15+ years.

I know the same has happened in video games, too. I really find the old mage/rogue/fighter dynamic to be appallingly uninspired. Most of the worlds also just read like a whole lot of rambling detritus. Elves live for a long time and like magic, dwarfs live in mountains, humans are more reckless, etc. it's all so very cliched and so completely overdone.

I love sci fi, though, probably more than I used to. Good sci fi still seems intelligent and exciting. Unlike fantasy it requires a thoughtful futurist's view of what the future can be. Contrast with fantasy: somebody can just sit down, research absolutely nothing about anything, and begin vomiting over their keyboards.
 
Definitely. I'm 45 (started playing fantasy games like 25 years ago), and it's still my preferred setting for a game. To me it's just much more interesting/fun/awesome to cast a fireball than throw a grenade, even if the effect is the same.

I think the issue is that, when in a fantasy setting, my mind can easily accept whatever happens in the game, but when the setting is in a real world or futuristic, my mind switches to "this doesn't make sense" mode when something weird happens.

Also, if we're talking RPG games, I much prefer party based games with classes, where each class is fundamentally different than the others (a fighter is a fighter, a mage is a mage, a healer is a healer), but in most non-fantasy games you usually don't have that, everybody can throw a grenade, everybody can use a shotgun or a laser rifle.
 
I never found "standard" medieval fantasy interesting to begin with. I usually ignored those games as a kid, and only started playing RPGs a lot 4 or 5 years ago even though I have always liked that type of game. On the other hand, I love games with original fantasy settings that are different from that standard one (for example, Grim Fandango, and Planescape Torment to a lesser extent).
 
Well, I think one of the things that we have with "fantasy" is that it is mostly Tolkien based. Not to say there is anything wrong with that, but just about everything in most fantasy genera games can be attributed to The Lord of the Rings/Hobbit/Silmarillion.
 
I've found the whole standard "fantasy" setting is definitely having less and less appeal to me. Not just in games, but in books and films as well.
 
I lost interest in fantasy after childhood, and I still wish modern RPG makers would please lose the death grip on it and create something inspired.

The stories that interest me now are "human" stories. You can place them in any environment; supernatural, sci-fi, or even "fantasy," as long as the focus is about real character depth and interaction, and not just about the typical attributes of the genre.

For example, I don't want to read lore about some shiny object that has special powers, or some sword made out of steel mined from hell or stuff like that. I don't care. I would rather read about two characters who actually have something meaningful to convey.
 
Honestly it really depends on the game. I was losing interest years ago, then I played Final Fantasy 10 and was reinvigorated. Went through some other crappy games to me and was losing interest again and found the Dragon Age series. I have played many good games and many many more crappy ones. In the end, in any genre for me, a good game will always suck me in.
 
Blanky said:
I know the same has happened in video games, too. I really find the old mage/rogue/fighter dynamic to be appallingly uninspired. Most of the worlds also just read like a whole lot of rambling detritus. Elves live for a long time and like magic, dwarfs live in mountains, humans are more reckless, etc. it's all so very cliched and so completely overdone.
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Yep. I hate elves to death. The genre hasn't seen any originality in years. It's like every Call of Duty rehash.
 
Stringjam said:
I lost interest in fantasy after childhood, and I still wish modern RPG makers would please lose the death grip on it and create something inspired.

The stories that interest me now are "human" stories. You can place them in any environment; supernatural, sci-fi, or even "fantasy," as long as the focus is about real character depth and interaction, and not just about the typical attributes of the genre.

For example, I don't want to read lore about some shiny object that has special powers, or some sword made out of steel mined from hell or stuff like that. I don't care. I would rather read about two characters who actually have something meaningful to convey.
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This is why Dragon Age Inquisition and The Witcher are so good IMO. They aren't playing off Excalibur or as you call it "the shiny stone" which I would call "the search for the holy grail that will save the world". They are focused on characters and the choices of those characters along the way.
 
Blanky said:
I love sci fi, though, probably more than I used to. Good sci fi still seems intelligent and exciting. Unlike fantasy it requires a thoughtful futurist's view of what the future can be. Contrast with fantasy: somebody can just sit down, research absolutely nothing about anything, and begin vomiting over their keyboards.
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Umm, bad writing is bad writing, whatever genre you choose. There is plenty of vomit covered keyboards in the sci fi genre as well, whether it be books, movies, or games.

Heck, not even looking at the actual thought they put into the setting, you have fantasy role playing games, fantasy strategy games, fantasy action games. You have tolkien-esque fantasy games, greek mythology fantasy games, nordic mythology fantasy games...hopefully you get the picture here.

For every Deus Ex Human Revolution out there, there are 3 Deus Ex The Fall games to balance it out....Crap games are crap.
 
pathos said:
Umm, bad writing is bad writing, whatever genre you choose. There is plenty of vomit covered keyboards in the sci fi genre as well, whether it be books, movies, or games.

Heck, not even looking at the actual thought they put into the setting, you have fantasy role playing games, fantasy strategy games, fantasy action games. You have tolkien-esque fantasy games, greek mythology fantasy games, nordic mythology fantasy games...hopefully you get the picture here.

For every Deus Ex Human Revolution out there, there are 3 Deus Ex The Fall games to balance it out....Crap games are crap.
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This.

The setting is pretty much moot and subjective. You can have world class writing, character development, and plot exposition in any genre. Or, similarly, terrible writing that relies on tired cliches and boring character archetypes.

That's not a function of the genre, that's just bad/lazy writing.
 
cmdrdredd said:
This is why Dragon Age Inquisition and The Witcher are so good IMO. They aren't playing off Excalibur or as you call it "the shiny stone" which I would call "the search for the holy grail that will save the world". They are focused on characters and the choices of those characters along the way.
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But even DA can't get away from the conventional dynamics. Mage/Rogue/Fighter. I still don't understand why warriors can't wield a bow, but of course they can't; that's for rogues. And the same races, elves, dwarves, humans (not including horned dudes).
 
Blanky said:
But even DA can't get away from the conventional dynamics. Mage/Rogue/Fighter. I still don't understand why warriors can't wield a bow, but of course they can't; that's for rogues. And the same races, elves, dwarves, humans (not including horned dudes).
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Well then you have games like Skyrim, Kindoms of Amalur, Divinity II, etc. which are still fantasy but let you build any hybrid type of character you can think of. Some people like more rigid class based system and there are games for that. Some people like a "blank slate" system and there are games for that too. I think by the third game of the series you should know going in you aren't going to be building extreme hybrid characters in Dragon Age games. If this doesn't appeal to you, look to a different game.

As to the original question, I lost interest in most fantasy fiction right about the age of 16 I guess but I have found myself drawn back in recently to some of the more gritty fantasy series like the Song of Fire and Ice and Malazan books. As far as gaming goes I still like the fantasy settings for the most part. It makes for interesting worlds to explore.
 
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They are not making them interesting anymore..

Look at Dragon age Origins and the Mass Effect series.. Perfect.. Would keep one glued to the screen, wanting for more..

Present day sequels are uninspiring..
 
I still enjoy Fantasy. Especially when it comes to books. However games such as Warcraft that fall into the Fantasy genre are no longer as appealing. It does feel like the same regurgitated material over and over again. However, it novels, characters are the key driver to engagement rather than the magic and environment. Fantasy will allows be special to me. Sci-Fi is great too, but I like the feel of the worlds in which Fantasy typically encumbers i.e. Lord of the Rings.
 
It waned, because of at least ONE major reason:

In fantasy it is all about exploring and discovering an unknown, potentially dangerous world. You never know what magic or foe is around the corner.

MOST, IF NOT ALL games have abandoned the idea of exploring (which is essential for me) in favor of grinding and repetitive tasks.

MMORPG games have added fast travel and other nonsense which entirely contradicts the idea of exploring the unknown...you don't even need to GO somewhere anymore, instead you log into [insert random MMORPG name here] and wait for a certain time to do "dailies" or transport to a group inside a dungeon because you grind the dungeon in hopes to get a certain drop.

THIS is why I am not playing those games anymore.

The cliches of classes and races etc. otherwise I would not even mind. I still prefer a fantasy/medieval/magic setting over "modern", normally.
 
Good and bad story telling can happen in any setting, from the book perspective I find the long series often get into trouble with keeping their world consistent in both the fantasy and Sci-Fi settings. I think the big advantage of the fantasy setting is that it is more of a medieval combat system where one person can have so much more of an impact. Sci-Fi or the current environments have a much harder time creating that hero that can stand up to anything, do the right thing and still win. I know I still enjoy that style of story be it in a game or a book.
 
As a JRPG lover, I never found the whole Westernized stuff AS appealing (although I still enjoy them, no doubt).

Give me a setting like Phantasy Star (16-bit Genesis days), Tales of the Abyss or Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (new fave), any day.
 
Agreed, I care more about the mechanics than the setting.

I mean, I like fantasy, but I would rather have a JRPG with fighting robots than an "action RPG" or whatever that WOW style is called in a fantasy setting.
 
flexy said:
It waned, because of at least ONE major reason:

In fantasy it is all about exploring and discovering an unknown, potentially dangerous world. You never know what magic or foe is around the corner.

MOST, IF NOT ALL games have abandoned the idea of exploring (which is essential for me) in favor of grinding and repetitive tasks.

MMORPG games have added fast travel and other nonsense which entirely contradicts the idea of exploring the unknown...you don't even need to GO somewhere anymore, instead you log into [insert random MMORPG name here] and wait for a certain time to do "dailies" or transport to a group inside a dungeon because you grind the dungeon in hopes to get a certain drop.

THIS is why I am not playing those games anymore.

The cliches of classes and races etc. otherwise I would not even mind. I still prefer a fantasy/medieval/magic setting over "modern", normally.
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There's an economic issue: re-use of content.

Giving you an area to explore can take you an hour wandering around exploring at great cost to develop, and then you explored it.

But crafting a dungeon you run hundreds of times over and over to try for a drop or get faction or reward points re-uses that investment far more.

Every one of these fames it seems has some amount of exploring, but which one can simply provide that much fresh content for exploring?

Everquest could have you spend an hour or two travelling somewhere, before people got used to getting ports, but competition if nothing else pressures against that.

I still get a lot of exploring from MMO's, any of the big fantasy ones I've played, but it's just one part now.

Rift tries to reward it some. It has hidden puzzles to solve and hidden 'cairns' with one-time rewards.

It also has 'artifacts' if you poke around behind bushes and rocks, but that has become more grindy since they made money purchase 'tracking' showing them on the mini-map.
 
Stringjam said:
I lost interest in fantasy after childhood, and I still wish modern RPG makers would please lose the death grip on it and create something inspired.

The stories that interest me now are "human" stories. You can place them in any environment; supernatural, sci-fi, or even "fantasy," as long as the focus is about real character depth and interaction, and not just about the typical attributes of the genre.

For example, I don't want to read lore about some shiny object that has special powers, or some sword made out of steel mined from hell or stuff like that. I don't care. I would rather read about two characters who actually have something meaningful to convey.
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You should check the new P&P RPG series from Fantasy Flight Games: The End of the World. The first out is called Zombie Apocalypse.

What's amazing about this RPG is that instead of playing a Mage or Paladin, you play yourself in the game world. You also give yourself stats based on what you think your basic attributes are and others can chime in and adjust your scores lol.

The intro of the game is simple: You are all gathered in the living room of Rhezuss to play this new RPG. You're in Quebec City, it's february, it's cold outside. You start a nice fire in the chimney, crack open a beer and start the game when all of a sudden someone barge and scream at your door. What do you do...

Four settings are planned. Zombie Apocalypse, Wrath of the Gods, Revolt of the Machines and Alien invasion.

I'm starting this game next month and can't wait! Look really cool!
 
yeah definitely! i start playing ff maybe 9 years ago, actually its final fantasy7 to be exact..and until now i still play final fantasy,,when they have a new release, im finding a way to play it hehe..
 
I still like fantasy games, or medieval games. I like the combat options given with swords, bows and magic. I like the action in a battle when using these weapons. I still play some modern and post apocalyptic games as well.

The story is only as good as the writer. The era isn't that important, though I like the vibrant atmosphere of the fantasy genre.
 
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