I started pre-development on a new medieval fantasy RPG titled "Arcadia", and my fellow developers and I were wondering what you, as a player, would look for in such a game.
We want to avoid clichés as much as possible, but to us, the satisfaction of our players is key to the game's success.
Personally, I like my fantasy settings to be more like Discworld than Middle Earth. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a dry, clinical, deadly serious tone in what is supposed to be escapism. Have some fun with your setting and characters.
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I'm not going for Middle Earth style, its Middle Ages. "Middle Earth" is a term used almost exclusively to describe the world of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings series.
My world, Falceria, is based more on the world in the story of King Arthur and Camelot, with a hint of Dungeons & Dragons.
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QUOTE (FullSpectrum @ Dec 21 2010, 01:06 PM)
Haha, no, but the story definitely has some what of an influence on the story, and is even discussed later in the game.
What kind of influence? On the characters? Such stories have special swords, like: Excalibur, Naegling, Hrunting. Or special characters with outstanding traits, like: Guinevere (great beauty) Tristam (Great strength.) And special items like: Round table, horn of plenty, holy grail
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Uh... the Round Table one isn't so much an item as it is an important piece of furniture that King Arthur used... I should know from reading all that I can that King Arthur wanted none to be more important than the other.
Hence why it's the Round Table instead of a square one... or rectangular, for that matter, as most tables in the era were more than definitely rectangular (especially for the royalty).
By the way, this had escaped me for a while, but what's the difference between low and high fantasy?
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I have a few projects going on right now, but mostly story projects, not game projects.
It's more of an era type influence, however, there are other bigger influences that I can't reveal now, as it will ruin the important plot based material of the game.
@Uzumaki: Low Fantasy is based in a real world setting, like Earth, and has more realistic qualities (like Call of Duty). High Fantasy is based in either fabricated adaptations of worlds or in completely invented worlds all together (like Final Fantasy).
This post has been edited by FullSpectrum: Dec 21 2010, 01:23 PM
I'm not going for Middle Earth style, its Middle Ages. "Middle Earth" is a term used almost exclusively to describe the world of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings series.
My world, Falceria, is based more on the world in the story of King Arthur and Camelot, with a hint of Dungeons & Dragons.
That's not what I was saying at all; Discworld is a very large series of novels that lampoons high fantasy in every way conceivable. You should read at least a few of them, their quality varies widely, but when Discworld is good, it's frickin' awesome. I'll take a fantasy story that, while maybe not an outright parody, doesn't quite take itself seriously, over something overwrought and "epic" like Lord of the Rings any day.
In essence, I was saying I like to have frequent moments of charm and a healthy sense of humor with my swords and sorcery.
__________________________
"Game development is a very special job that requires a very special person. The high stress levels often drive our staff members to become...subhuman. They're violent and need to be caged. But we need them to make good games. This is the unfortunate truth of the game industry." - Segagaga
If we're talking about arthurian legends then we are almost definitely looking at low fantasy but high mythic setting, where magic is pretty much a plot device rather than a tool at someone's disposal.
The reason why is because if you look at what Merlin really DOES in the books, he doesn't actually do that much. He can shapeshift, sure, but he's main power is the power of knowledge. He can see the future and the past in a limited fashion, and he is extremely knowledgeable. That's pretty much it. No fireballs, no flight magic, etc.
You have to remember, magic in Arthurian settings are very subtle. You never actually SEE Merlin transform or shapeshift. He simply just SHOWS UP in his disguises.
Just about every aspect of the Arthurian myths work in this fashion, and while the magical stuff can be very powerful, they are often not nearly as reliable nor is it as clear cut as your standard high fantasy. In fact, trying to compare this to dungeons and dragons is a HUGE mistake. Any game where you can potentially become Merlin is not a game suitable for Arthurian legends.
If you want dungeons and dragons, then you just have to go with your generic high fantasy stuff. Have multiple race/class combos to run with, some customization in there, and have wizards pretty much own the warriors at later levels. (Just make the spells kick ass and you're there)
If, however, you're serious about wanting to go the Arthurian route, you need to do a lot more research on the topic.
I suggest you watch the movie "Excalibur" by John Boorman (circa 1981). It's a pretty good flick to begin with, but it really does translate the essence of the Arthurian legends well.
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What you look for in medieval fantasy, Suggestions? :]
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Dec 20 2010, 11:00 PM
