Why are there hardly any games about being a Dragonrider?

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Dragonriders are tied with mech pilots as one of the most awesome fantasy ideas ever. You see them in books, paintings, movies, etc. But hardly ever in video games! Yeah, sure, some games like the Sega Genesis Dragonriders of Pern game or MMOs let you get dragon mounts, but they are just there to transport you to the real gameplay of fighting on foot. There are some games where you can play as a dragon, like Spyro or that Ubisoft Clash of Giants: Dragons game, but again that's not being a dragonrider. The closest you seem to get is an ocassional dragonrider unit in SRPGs, like Suikoden 3 or Fire Emblem, but most of your units are infantry or horse cavalry. Even the titular World of Warcraft Dragonflight only has four moments in the entire expansion where you use a dragon to do something (world quests where you ram bugs out of the sky, world quest where you plant flags on mountains, the penultimate Emerald Dream quest where you ram enemy dragons out of the sky, and the Tindral boss fight where you mount up and chase him to the other platform). I think the only game I have heard of where you actually do stuff while riding a dragon is one of those dirty Yoko Taro games. This seems like such an obvious market niche waiting to be fulfilled and yet no one is going for first mover status of having figured out how to do it.

[wndrbr]

I have never played Yoko Taro games. What's so dirty about them?

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I have never played Yoko Taro games. What's so dirty about them?

From what I've heard one of the major party members in one of his games is a MTF tranny, and in another game the female protagonist sleeps around a lot.

[ManjuShri]

Divinity 2: Dragon Knight Saga is the best game by Larian imo, although technically you turn into a dragon on command in that versus riding one.

[wndrbr]

There's also Divinity Dragon Commander. That game marks Swen's transition from a normal guy to a romancing-obsessed degenerate. You can romance undeads and lizardfolk in this game.

[Kalarion]

Drakan: Order of the Flame
Drakan: The Ancients' Gates

You switch seamlessly between ground combat and mounting and fighting dragon-back using its abilities. I'm a little surprised it hasn't already been listed.

It didn't sell well (180k for Order and only 20,000+ for the sequel) but I remember it being good fun when I bought them.

[rusty_shackleford]

Divinity 2: Dragon Knight Saga is the best game by Larian imo, although technically you turn into a dragon on command in that versus riding one.

It's very underrated, at least.

[J1M]

Because focus groups hate vehicle segments.

[Oyster Sauce]

Here you go, brother!

[gerey]

I can see two major issues that would need to be overcome:

1. How do you stop the dragon from trivializing every encounter that is designed around the player being on foot? The easiest and most obvious choice is to structure those encounters in such a way that the dragon cannot be used, but that seems to defeat the whole purpose of having a game with a rideable dragon.

2. Which in turn segues into the second challenge - scale. If the character has access to a dragon, that can fly, and said dragon can be accessed during the majority of the game's length, how do you design enough content in a landmass big enough to account for a flying mount?

Naturally, both the issues are made under the assumption that the game is open-world, instead of mission/level based.

Then again, maybe design a game in a setting similar to that of the Mercenary?

[Oyster Sauce]

This game kind of fucking sucks but it's also kind of cool (but it also fucking sucks)

[asf]

too much weebery in this thread

[ArcaneLurker]

I have never played Yoko Taro games. What's so dirty about them?

From what I've heard one of the major party members in one of his games is a MTF tranny, and in another game the female protagonist sleeps around a lot.

I suppose. Kainé is a replicant of a woman that came out as intersex due to an error in the replication process.
But the intended moral of the backstory is "don't bully trannies or freaks like these backwards, evil people" anyway.
It's pretty clear that Yoko Tarro just has a fetish for them, so trannies still have something to complain about.

[SoLong]

I have never played Yoko Taro games. What's so dirty about them?

From what I've heard one of the major party members in one of his games is a MTF tranny, and in another game the female protagonist sleeps around a lot.

I suppose. Kainé is a replicant of a woman that came out as intersex due to an error in the replication process.
But the intended moral of the backstory is "don't bully trannies or freaks like these backwards, evil people" anyway.
It's pretty clear that Yoko Tarro just has a fetish for them, so trannies still have something to complain about.

I genuinely can't tell if this is just japanese weird shit, weird sci-fi writing or western gender freaks projecting their hang-ups on a video game character.

Also, there once was a game called Scalebound in development which, unfortunately, got cancelled in development. It sounded exactly like that and I'd love to see it some day.

To actually answer the question: Lack of interest, an intricate dragon model needs more time than a generic human, the problem of making a game in which you ride a dragon remotely challenging because you ride a fucking dragon...

I do think there's a market for it though. Maybe raise the dragon from juvenile to adult so the whole powerful burn-it-all part can come lategame?

[ArcaneLurker]

I suppose. Kainé is a replicant of a woman that came out as intersex due to an error in the replication process.
But the intended moral of the backstory is "don't bully trannies or freaks like these backwards, evil people" anyway.
It's pretty clear that Yoko Tarro just has a fetish for them, so trannies still have something to complain about.

I geniuely can't tell if this is just japanese weird shit, weird sci-fi writing or western gender freaks projecting their hang-ups on a video game character.

Yoko is known for being weird, even amongst the Nips.
It's from 2010, so just before the stuff described as "woke" took over, but it's clear that the West has influenced Japan a great deal in any case.
Things like the sexual revolution tend to have a knock on impact on a vassal country. With the remaster, came a bunch of Journo retardation about "LGBT representation", etc.
Worth keeping in mind that East Asians haven't had a period of Christianity, so their view of gender & sexuality is inherently culturally different.

It's a blend of fantasy & sci-fi.
Essentially humans were eradicated by a disease that turns people into salt, so they developed replicants (not the robot ones in Nier Automata, but genetic ones).

► Show Spoiler

The enemies you fight are actually the souls of long dead humans that are without bodies to inhabit.

Also, there once was a game called Scalebound in development which, unfortunately, got cancelled in development. It sounded exactly like that and I'd love to see it some day.

To actually answer the question: Lack of interest, an intricate dragon model needs more time than a generic human, the problem of making a game in which you ride a dragon remotely challenging because you ride a fucking dragon...

I do think there's a market for it though. Maybe raise the dragon from juvenile to adult so the whole powerful burn-it-all part can come lategame?

It's a shame House of Dragons was perverted with niggerwashed characters & making all the cities of Westeros "diverse & inclusive."

[Statesman]

Properly making a dragon game would be a very complex endevour. In my opinion, with a little creativity, dragon being overpowered can be easily be handled by proper game design (mooks being a threat, projectiles, projectiles weapons of all flavors, machines, monsters, other dragons/flying creatures, weather/world conditions, etc.)

I suppose there is the Panzer Dragoon/II Zwei/Saga/Orta/Remake which kind of fit if you are interested in a rail-shooter with a bio-technological dragon, but there is no Ace Combat: Draconic Edition out there.


EDIT: I found this free-to-play multiplayer that seems to fit the bill (but seems chuck full of microtransactions). Haven't tried it out personally.


Then there is also Hoard, which could scratch another side of the dragon itch...if it didn't look like a mobile/browser game.

[Manny V]

dragon riding is always just childish wish-fulfilment stuff, like ye it's fine when used sparingly but having it as the basis of your game is dumb, just an OP powertrip

that said in regards to this:

To actually answer the question: Lack of interest, an intricate dragon model needs more time than a generic human, the problem of making a game in which you ride a dragon remotely challenging because you ride a fucking dragon...

I do think there's a market for it though. Maybe raise the dragon from juvenile to adult so the whole powerful burn-it-all part can come lategame?

the ol browser based game Dragon Fable was a neat classic one of that, even if it was weeby

played the shit out of that as a kid, you raise a dragon and at times get to ride it in it's fully grown form (gimmicky fights though)

[Havitner]

it's clear that the West has influenced Japan a great deal in any case.
Things like the sexual revolution tend to have a knock on impact on a vassal country.

[maidenhaver]

Its a pain to saddle a dragon, when walking is so easy.

[Norfleet]

Because being a dragon RIDER is entirely superfluous where a fucking DRAGON is involved. Who cares about the irrelevant human when you've got a fucking DRAGON?

The better question you might ask is "Why are there so few games about being a dragon?". Adding a rider would actively detract from the coolty of the entire thing. Just be a man, or a dragon-man, or maybe just a dragon, burninating the countryside, burninating the peasants, burninating all the people, and their thatched-roof cottages.

[maidenhaver]

I'm surprised there never was a Trogdor mod for Skyrim.

[Norfleet]

The environment wasn't destructible enough to capture all of his majesty and burnination.

[Norfleet]

Properly making a dragon game would be a very complex endevour. In my opinion, with a little creativity, dragon being overpowered can be easily be handled by proper game design (mooks being a threat, projectiles, projectiles weapons of all flavors, machines, monsters, other dragons/flying creatures, weather/world conditions, etc.)

The dragon being overpowered doesn't necessarily require a threat. A dragon game can purely be time-attack, based on how quickly you can lay all to burnination. Perhaps compete against other dragons to hoard the most treasure and lay waste to the most countryside. Sure, being sworded or arrowed can be an element, but they aren't the important one. Your goal is simply to do what dragons do best: Burninate the countryside, burninate the peasants, all the people, and their thatched-roof cottages.

[Norfleet]

To actually answer the question: Lack of interest, an intricate dragon model needs more time than a generic human

Nah, don't be ridiculous. Drawing a dragon is easy, even I can do it, and I suck at art: S, more different S. Close it up real good at the top for his head, and then using consummate Vs, give him teeth, spinities, and angry eyebrows.

because you ride a fucking dragon...

Well, you don't need to RIDE a dragon. The only reason we have mech pilots at all is because everyone knows a mech doesn't drive itself. The pilot is nonetheless otherwise wholly unimportant. The game is always about the mech, which is the real character you're building and customizing.

Dragons don't need any of that. Dragon is perfectly capable of going about its thing on its own. It doesn't need some human to be able to fly around burninating the countryside. If anything, an added human would just be an impediment to doing cool dragon shit. Who wants lame human plot contrivances when you can be a dragon and just keep burning everything and not even care? Realistically, the only possible thing a rider could add would be eyecandy as some hot chick. But on the other hand, a dragon-only protagonist can still have its fair share of hot chick eyecandy, since dragons also abduct princesses, with the side benefit of being able to eat the ones that are too annoying.

[Element]

This seems like such an obvious market niche waiting to be fulfilled and yet no one is going for first mover status of having figured out how to do it.

There was a 2007 ps3 exclusive called Lair that centred around this. The game was a colossal failure that led to the devs closing shop. Was in the news on gaming sights quite a bit leading up to the release so it wasn't an entirely obscure title, and neither was their failure. Devs were German, which I think is what soured most western devs on the idea of trying to wrangle a good game out of the genre.

edit: devs were US based for almost a decade by that point, and worked with Lucasarts on a couple of star wars pilot games which were well received. The budget on this was $25m. So yeah, the magnitude of failure here is likely what killed the genre.

[Element]

Polygon's writeup on what went wrong here. It's quite interesting.

[ManjuShri]

Roar of Revenge has a little dragonrider segment.

viewtopic.php?p=93815-screenshot-thread ... ost#p93815

[ArcaneLurker]

[Statesman]

Looks like someone took the Warband Dragon mod and made a game around it.

[BobT]

Properly making a dragon game would be a very complex endevour. In my opinion, with a little creativity, dragon being overpowered can be easily be handled by proper game design (mooks being a threat, projectiles, projectiles weapons of all flavors, machines, monsters, other dragons/flying creatures, weather/world conditions, etc.)

I suppose there is the Panzer Dragoon/II Zwei/Saga/Orta/Remake which kind of fit if you are interested in a rail-shooter with a bio-technological dragon, but there is no Ace Combat: Draconic Edition out there.


EDIT: I found this free-to-play multiplayer that seems to fit the bill (but seems chuck full of microtransactions). Haven't tried it out personally.


Then there is also Hoard, which could scratch another side of the dragon itch...if it didn't look like a mobile/browser game.

Saga is more of an exploration RPG than rail shooter.
Fantastic game.