Is it just me, or are RPGs extremely reluctant to feature different settings?
It's been two decades and Deus Ex is still the only RPG that offers an in-depth exploration of cyberpunk themes.
It's been two decades and while there are plenty of RPGs that have superficial steampunk elements, Arcanum is still the only RPG that truly examines what it would mean for a fantasy world to transition through an industrial revolution.
There are barely any RPGs that take place in (a fictional version of) the real world, without any fantasy or sci-fi elements: Jagged Alliance, Mount & Blade and Kingdom Come: Deliverance are the only ones I can think of.
Why is this? Is it because the developers don't trust themselves to have the world building skills necessarily to craft different settings, so they just fall back on tried and true high fantasy tropes?
>Thaumatech is the name of the technology used to manipulate Mana, and allows humans to gain the power to perform otherwise impossible things. While it is similar to the power of Flux, it was thought as a more mechanical system, which means even people with no special knowledge or power can use it. In addition to weapons such as Thaumachines and Gauntlets, Thaumatech for civilian uses such as lifts and air conditioning has also been developed
>Explain what you think Science Fantasy means. Fantasy mixed with relatively advanced technology. Call it 'science fantasy' or Magitek or whatever you want, the point still stands: the vast majority of jrpgs have this type of setting.
Mason Garcia
>replying to the wrpg shitposter
Ryan Gonzalez
>Why is this? Is it because the developers don't trust themselves to have the world building skills necessarily to craft different settings, so they just fall back on tried and true high fantasy tropes? It's probably more that the fantasy setting is widely accepted and everyone knows it. The ideas that D&D instilled in the gaming industry is near universal, to the point where I would not be surprised if most people didn't know that there are non-fantasy tabletop RPGs. Video games take a lot of cues from D&D, and the limited theming is part of it.
Frankly, I don't think most folk, not even video game devs, put much thought into making brand new themes.
Tyler Turner
Its called fantasy science fiction.
Liam Stewart
Not true. Tyranny, for example, is set during late Bronze Age/ early Iron Age. The only RPG with such a setting.
Henry Turner
Lovely how the fag who made that pic intentionally used very specific terms for WRPGs, but then had to switch to a vague all-encompassing one for JRPGs. Really makes you think doesn't it?
Planescape is basically an animu game >MC is liked by a tsundere, a pure succubus and a cute loyal ghost and a witch (kinda) >"I must protect my friends" speeches >Zerth blade folded over 100000 times >Magic inspired by Final Fantasy >Perverted best friend >That one wizard who turned himself into an armoire to spy on girls changing
Camden Hughes
You're guilty of the thing you accuse the OP of. In your image, Literally everything on the jrpg side is a science fantasy setting. You could have used something like Persona as an example of urban fantasy jrpg, buit you didn't do that.
Also:
>dark souls on the wrpg side.
James Martinez
>"OP's cherrypicked bait image is really dumb" >posts a cherrypicked bait image
>at worst it is no different to Arcanum and is steampunk No, because in Arcanum the technology is distinct from magic: its the result of educational and scientifical advances.
in Radiant Historia you have this:
>Thaumatech is the name of the technology used to manipulate Mana, and allows humans to gain the power to perform otherwise impossible things. While it is similar to the power of Flux, it was thought as a more mechanical system, which means even people with no special knowledge or power can use it. In addition to weapons such as Thaumachines and Gauntlets, Thaumatech for civilian uses such as lifts and air conditioning has also been developed
Try to read that with a straight face and make sense of it. It's literally saying 'there is magic, but you don't have to be skilled in magic to use it, so anyone can enjoy its benefits'. Its literally the most laziest kind of world building to handhave having to explain modern technological conveniences like lifts and air conditioning. That's the problem with this kind of science fantasy setting.
Chase Richardson
Radiant Historia is more of a technomagic kind of setting.
Cooper Sanders
Gravity Rush ain't a JRPG
Brayden Lopez
I dunno, just makes me think I need to make a video game.
Parker Jackson
A truly important distinction.
Logan Jackson
>post-apocalyptic smt nocturne >fictional real-world persona >steampunk resonance of fate >cyberpunk soul hackers >superhero fiction dbz: attack of the saiyans >science fiction infinite space >alternate history valkyria chronicles >urban fantasy the world ends with you >high fantasy dragon quest >science fantasy ffxii
Liam Sullivan
What is the name of the game below Wild Arms 4 and above Skies of Arcadia?
Easton James
define define
Jace Green
mana khemia.
Isaac Baker
How is Skies of Arcadia science fantasy you fucking retard
Landon Collins
>smt nocturne Takes place DURING the apocalypse, not after it, and doesn't explore the ethics of a post-apocalyptic civilization in any way.
>persona Is fantasy. 'Fictional real world' refers to games that take place in a fictional version of the real world, without fantasy or sci-fi elements.
>resonance of fate The game where characters use modern firearms, completely at odds with the level of technology in a steampunk setting? No.
>soul hackers It has cyberpunk elements, but it's predominantly a fantasy game and doesn't explore cyberpunk themes in any way.
>dbz: attack of the saiyans Never played it, but since when are Dragonball characters superheroes?
>ar nosurge This is science fantasy, not sci-fi.
>valkyria chronicles Wrong. 'Alternate history' has as premise that our history happened. Then at some point, things diverged, that's where the 'alternate' comes in. Or, in the case of Darklands, things were always different, but the world at large is not aware of this, and history occured as we know it (except for secret happenings that we are unaware of). Valkyria Chronicles does not have that premise at all. It's a setting that superficially resembles WW2, except in that world, WW1 didn't happen, or any of our history. Instead, Valkyria Chronicles has its own history, that involves races like Darcsens and Valkyria.
>How is Skies of Arcadia science fantasy you fucking retard What else is it? It's a mixture of fantasy and super futuristic science straight out of science fiction, as this image shows.
Cherrypicking aside, the vast majority of RPG games have horribly boring and derivative settings. Even the creative ones hardly ever take full advantage of what they have.
Elijah James
>i-it doesn't count cope
Bentley Allen
Thank you very much.
Lincoln Nguyen
>cope Cope with what? The fact that you couldn't even come up with a single counter-argument means you tacitly agree with me. Those games do not fit the genres you listed at all (e.g. Persona blatantly has magic and demons, Valkyria Chronicles obviously does not take place on a fictional version of our Earth, etc.) Why would you be in denial about this?
>Nocturne isn't a post-apocalytpic setting >Persona somehow isn't an Urban RPG setting >Soul Hackers d-d-doesn't count as Cyber Punk >Battle Shounen is somehow not equivilent to Capeshit, and Capeshit is somehow a unique and special thing to itself
Hold.
Hands.
Ayden Sanchez
>Persona blatantly has magic and demons,
Oof.
Kayden Cox
>Nocturne isn't a post-apocalytpic setting Stop being so obtuse. You know damn well that the post-apocalyptic genre is all about exploring how society moves on after an apocalypse. Nocturne isn't about that at all, it's about the world being caught in some abstract purgatory that will determine its rebirth/revival.
>Persona somehow isn't an Urban RPG setting I never said that, I said Persona was fantasy, in this case urban fantasy, yes. What does that have to do with anything? The discussion was about whether it qualifies as 'fictional real-world'. It obviously doesn't, since its blatant fantasy.
>Soul Hackers d-d-doesn't count as Cyber Punk It technically does, but it's a very shallow take on cyberpunk, and it plays second fiddle to the fantasy elements anyway. If that's your only example of a cyberpunk jrpg, it only proves the point of that image.
>Battle Shounen is somehow not equivilent to Capeshit, and Capeshit is somehow a unique and special thing to itself The only thing I will concede is this. I'm not even a fan of capeshit, mind you.
