What video game would make a good RPing world?

[Anastasia]

Disclaimer - If you feel this should be on the Testing Grounds, move it there. I'm erring on the side of General Chat, correct me if I'm wrong.

We have several game players here, as well as RPers. With the DL flux, there are even more gamers about. This leads to a question:

What gaming world do you think would make a good setting for an RP? I ask this, as I'm searching for fodder for future games and ideas, so...heck, suggestions may even become a game down the line.

[Brian]

Hmmm.  Well, the main problem with video game worlds is that the majority of them are pretty ... simple.  Very small number of towns, and more limited number of people.  Also the fact that the video game's main characters have usually already, uh, dealt with ... everything.

But, if we assume that we only see representations of the populations of these worlds, small cross-sections of the villages and people within them, then it becomes a bit more feasible.  But then it's not really the video game world as much as BASED on the video game world ... but as a den of anime-fiends and fanfiction enthusiasts, who are we to deride derivitave work?

That being said, my first suggestions would be Illusion of Gaia.  I know it's Earth.  But bear with me.  The world (pre Will and Kara's resolution) was a much simpler fantasy Earth.  Will and Kara kind of changed the way the world worked.  It'd be very easy to set a campaign in the times before (or even concurrent with!) Kara and Will's adventures.  After all ... Will knew going in that he wasn't the first person into the tower of Babel.  The theme of the game is pervasive, which is about humanity, survival, and if not morality, at least awareness of the world and others you live with.  That and the fact that the game doesn't touch on the Americas or Australia, that I recall, and there's room to expand.

Crystalis might also be a fun one -- post apocylptic Earth with mutants and magic.  There's not a lot of theme that really pervades the world ... the most compelling aspect would be Emperor Draygon, and his scheme to rule all of the world.  If he was already dead, and the Tower was disabled, then the world is actually a bit lacking in pressing issues for Heroes to deal with.  Not to say some couldn't be made -- the Empire had a huge army, and the resistance was dealt a horrible blow before the Hero and Mesia managed to stop the tower.

Earthbound is probably a bit better nomination.  This is a video game that has substantially more style than Crystalis.  On the other hand, it'd take a bit of work to come up with a story to be told in the Earthbound world that could live up to the scope of the original, without retreading some very familiar territory.

I'll stop there for now, but that's my suggestions.

[thepanda]

As much as I hate to admit it, Final FAntasy six and seven would make decent RPing worlds. I'd have to say after Kefka destroyed the world for six. Maybe even after the game ended, as the world was still pretty much in ruin and people were still looking to see if people they knew has survived the disaster.

As for seven, the ending was so painfully open that any number of things could have happened. All we know is that life eventually went on, so. . .

And though the game wasn't the greatestm the world itself had potential. Hm. I'll add more later.

[CyMage]

Fallout would be fun in my opinion.

[Dracos]

Well, my ...  'bet' on what would make an easy, flexible, open ended game world to adventure in stands out there for inspection.

I actually think most of the stuff that works well for taking from games is not the heavily defined ones but the ones that leave more of it up to the imagination, or focus on the people and provide a general worldscape.

Dracos
tired, so tired

[Anastasia]

Hmmm. Well, the main problem with video game worlds is that the majority of them are pretty ... simple. Very small number of towns, and more limited number of people. Also the fact that the video game's main characters have usually already, uh, dealt with ... everything.

But, if we assume that we only see representations of the populations of these worlds, small cross-sections of the villages and people within them, then it becomes a bit more feasible. But then it's not really the video game world as much as BASED on the video game world ... but as a den of anime-fiends and fanfiction enthusiasts, who are we to deride derivitave work?

Pretty much, though I'm trying not to overthink the question as much as just get feedback here.  Agreed, though.

That being said, my first suggestions would be Illusion of Gaia. I know it's Earth. But bear with me. The world (pre Will and Kara's resolution) was a much simpler fantasy Earth. Will and Kara kind of changed the way the world worked. It'd be very easy to set a campaign in the times before (or even concurrent with!) Kara and Will's adventures. After all ... Will knew going in that he wasn't the first person into the tower of Babel. The theme of the game is pervasive, which is about humanity, survival, and if not morality, at least awareness of the world and others you live with. That and the fact that the game doesn't touch on the Americas or Australia, that I recall, and there's room to expand.

Hm...

That might be good. Nice, simple and basic, though I'd need to replay the game. The memories from middle school gaming aren't as strong as they should be.

I'd have to play the latter two to comment, as I haven't done much in either. Yes, I haven't played much Crystalis. Shoot me.

As much as I hate to admit it, Final FAntasy six and seven would make decent RPing worlds. I'd have to say after Kefka destroyed the world for six. Maybe even after the game ended, as the world was still pretty much in ruin and people were still looking to see if people they knew has survived the disaster.

Heh, I've tossed around a World of Ruin game before. Hal and I nearly attempted one of those, but it never took off. Agreed wholeheartidly, and if there was interest, that one could spark. WoR gives such a vivid and strong working world for the players and GM.

Fallout would be fun in my opinion.

Probably, but I'm hobbled by never having played either. Sounds like a good post apocalyptic world setting.

[/i]

[Olvelsper]

Shadow Hearts? I mean, it's basically a baseline pre-WWI/WWI earth that's being altered radically as time marches on by forces by all sorts of delightfully abusable elements.

*Slight spoilers, maybe? No plot related ones, though...*
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You want Cthulhu-esque? You got it in the form of devils and gods and angels that are just outside the reach of normal society, but which could be summoned through means wicked or not through the three books sealed within the Vatican...oh, that were sealed, pardon.

We've got espoinage running rampant as the nations of the world are playing a game of keep away from each other as they try to abuse these new powers to get ahead of the others.

We've got steampunk in the form of Roger Bacon, who's genius has created marvelous new inventions in his millenia or so of life...but which have been yoinked by the governments of the world. D'oh. So I figure there'd be more and more practical applications of his tech or retroengineered takes on them.

Geez, you can do a lot with this world set, really.

[Carthrat]

Deus Ex, for fairly obvious reasons. Excellent gritty-cyberpunk setting.

I can name a number of fighters that have decent, open-ended backstories, too; Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, KOF, Last Blade, yadayadayada...

I dunno about you guys, but I found Warcraft 3 to have a nifty plot and a well-developed setting. (Pity about the game itself- though someone did write a rulebook on it, I believe. >_>)

I have to agree with FF6s World of Ruin, but, uh, make the cities into countries or something. >_>

The original Unreal was pretty damned cool, as is Half-Life. I can see interesting games made out of either of those settings.

A plug for my current favourite game, Starcraft, would not be out of place if we hadn't already seen an attempt. Bleh. Bad karma, now.

Devil May Cry. Love that game. Don't know how you'd work around the one-real-main-character drawback, but I'm sure it could be done.

[Zenthor]

Hm.  Post-game Tales of Symphonia could be interesting.  I'll second the Crystalis and EB ideas.  A WA world could be interesting, so long as it ended up dealing with the past of the respective Filgaias (IE, pre-everything rotting and becoming sandy).  Shadow Hearts/Koudelka would be rather cool, too.

However, this all could just be my fanboyism showing.  >.>

[Brian]

A WA world could be interesting

O_O

Why have I never considered this before?  I'm sold on the idea.  I've always wanted to see how that war played out ... too bad I've already got my next three games to run picked out. >_<

[Jeram]

OOOH I KNOW!
PICK ME!

Super Mario RPG! POST SMITHY!

Yeah... that'd be sweet!

-J

[Olvelsper]

It is dark.

You are likely to get stabbed by an orbital sword.

STABBIES STABBIES.

[Caliban]

There's various incarnations of Elite-style space trading/combat games that'd offer suitably anarchic scenarios ( I-war, X, that one Bruce Campbell did the V/O for, the name escapes me ) ... actually Freespace with it's large war/odd alien race setting might be more interesting. Or even Wing Commander. I'm not sure how the mechanics would work, but it'd make a change.

Or... Commandos, that ww2 isometric team game, or Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

[Celisasu]

How about one of the Shin Megami Tensei worlds?  I'd suggest the one from Persona 2 myself.  That was pretty neat how what people believed to be true could become true.  Dark Cthulhuesque world, magic accessed by merging with demons.  Modern world.  Etc.

[Carthrat]

If they believe it, it happens?

Sounds suspicious like Planescape...

...or Mage, for that matter. *wants the updated version.*