We have a Steam curator now. You should be following it. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44994899-RPGHQ/

How much does the setting of an RPG matter to you?

For discussing role-playing video games, you know, the ones with combat.
Ignore Topic
User avatar
Atlantico
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 2099
Joined: Feb 23, '23

Geolocation

Post by Atlantico »

rusty_shackleford wrote: ↑ June 2nd, 2024, 05:10
How much does the setting of an RPG matter to you?
Very much. Creating a good setting, a game world, is difficult.

I think Pillars of Eternity would have been pretty good in a Dragonlance setting for instance. Instead of boring af
User avatar
maidenhaver
Posts: 9591
Joined: Apr 17, '23
Location: ROLE PLAYING GAME

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by maidenhaver »

Norfleet wrote: ↑ June 4th, 2024, 13:57
My question to all you people going on about setting being super-important: How possibly important can it be when the decision to play the game is made before anything is known about the setting?
Don't games usually give you the setting in the promo materials?

Setting encompasses visual design, so a lot of artfags will pass on mid games to play a ****** one with cool looks.
Weirdest cracker you know.
User avatar
1998
Posts: 2949
Joined: Jun 23, '23
Location: Beregost

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by 1998 »

Atlantico wrote: ↑ June 4th, 2024, 16:15
rusty_shackleford wrote: ↑ June 2nd, 2024, 05:10
How much does the setting of an RPG matter to you?
Very much. Creating a good setting, a game world, is difficult.

I think Pillars of Eternity would have been pretty good in a Dragonlance setting for instance. Instead of boring af
No setting could have saved that boring slogfest. That's actually a pretty good counter argument...
My Reviews
Somnus [Not Recommended]
New Arc Line [Early Access] [Informational]
Passageway of the Ancients [Not Recommended]
Beyond Galaxyland [Recommended]
Old School RPG [Informational]
SKALD: The Black Priory [Recommended]

My Steam
38123774
User avatar
TKVNC
Posts: 3131
Joined: Feb 25, '24

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by TKVNC »

Setting is very important, but for a slightly less obvious reason.

It has to have verisimilitude. Without it, it's not immersive at all, and I see no reason to even care. Regardless of anything else.
User avatar
Norfleet
Posts: 2856
Joined: Jun 3, '23

Geolocation

Post by Norfleet »

maidenhaver wrote: ↑ June 4th, 2024, 17:06
Don't games usually give you the setting in the promo materials?
What promo materials? This isn't the 1990s, we don't even get a box to look at anymore. By the time you get to start digging into the setting, you're generally well past the decision to get the game or not.
User avatar
Vergil
Posts: 15670
Joined: Sep 6, '23

Geolocation

Post by Vergil »

bloodedhunter wrote: ↑ June 4th, 2024, 13:58
If the setting is japanese high school, the author probably needs to be put on a watchlist.
If the setting has multiple young teenagers as the protagonists the author probably needs to be put on a watchlist.
I'm just stating the facts.
Question is are you going to gargle the truth or swallow?
User avatar
maidenhaver
Posts: 9591
Joined: Apr 17, '23
Location: ROLE PLAYING GAME

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by maidenhaver »

Norfleet wrote: ↑ June 4th, 2024, 18:38
maidenhaver wrote: ↑ June 4th, 2024, 17:06
Don't games usually give you the setting in the promo materials?
What promo materials? This isn't the 1990s, we don't even get a box to look at anymore. By the time you get to start digging into the setting, you're generally well past the decision to get the game or not.
Setting includes visuals and soundscapes, not just pseud culture references and literature. A look at steam store, and I know what the setting is, and I can guess how important it'll be.
Weirdest cracker you know.
User avatar
Gregz
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 1556
Joined: Feb 4, '23

Geolocation

Post by Gregz »

Setting is the second-most important thing after gameplay.
User avatar
The_Mask
Posts: 3522
Joined: Feb 6, '23
Location: The land of ice and snow

Geolocation

Post by The_Mask »

I think I am more interested in interesting concepts and lore towards mid and high level gameplay. I usually like it when the low level gameplay/average NPC life isn't exactly that much different from our world.

In a sense I need to be told "Hello, we are here with you. Take our hand, and let's go on an adventure!" rather than... "Yo, wassup, you're on Mars. Isn't that quirky?!?"
Just like Yves, I chase tales
rusty_shackleford wrote: ↑ October 28th, 2024, 07:36
Mediocre or bad games can still have parts that are good.
User avatar
madbringer
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 899
Joined: Apr 4, '23
Location: the vast

Geolocation

Post by madbringer »

I don't care much about the setting, I care how well it is presented. You can write a good story in pretty much every genre from the classics to the bizarre, but if u suck it will fall flat.
So we walked down the hill into all those fears and maybes, all that sorrow, nothing certain in our lives except the frozen earth beneath our feet.
User avatar
Stack of Turtles
Posts: 7378
Joined: May 7, '24
Location: Soon-to-be Iran

Geolocation

Post by Stack of Turtles »

Seems like there's two basic ways to care about setting.
You can need the setting to be a certain way specifically, like having horsies or pretty art, which is also called being a girl; or you can be open to most settings as long as it isn't autistic, which is also called having good taste. These aren't really answering the same question, obviously.
VAE VICTIS
User avatar
Irenaeus
Posts: 10952
Joined: Sep 29, '23

Geolocation

Post by Irenaeus »

Stack of Turtles wrote: ↑ June 5th, 2024, 02:39
Seems like there's two basic ways to care about setting.
You can need the setting to be a certain way specifically, like having horsies or pretty art, which is also called being a girl; or you can be open to most settings as long as it isn't autistic, which is also called having good taste. These aren't really answering the same question, obviously.
What in the nine hells are you talking about?