but then that would make this whole thing anything BUT medieval. When the OP said the word "medieval", he could implying a LOT or maybe he's just utterly misusing the word as we know it.
I would like to see characters who expose their flaws at some point, if not commonly throughout the story. I've always loved partly flawed characters who struggle with themselves to make sense of the situation before them, often times rationalizing their actions and thoughts.
But that's more general. In medieval fantasy I love to see wild fantasy. The world should feel untamed and plenty unexplored. A deep lore makes me smile
I like it when magic isn't the cure-all to every problem. The characters should be challenged even if they have a mage. If there's magic there should be anti-magic, as a lot of magic fuels war and thus people would look for ways to suppress, control, dampen and stop magic.
We'll leave it at that. The question is rather vague anyways.
I would like to see characters who expose their flaws at some point, if not commonly throughout the story. I've always loved partly flawed characters who struggle with themselves to make sense of the situation before them, often times rationalizing their actions and thoughts.
But that's more general. In medieval fantasy I love to see wild fantasy. The world should feel untamed and plenty unexplored. A deep lore makes me smile
I like it when magic isn't the cure-all to every problem. The characters should be challenged even if they have a mage. If there's magic there should be anti-magic, as a lot of magic fuels war and thus people would look for ways to suppress, control, dampen and stop magic.
We'll leave it at that. The question is rather vague anyways.
there is an implicit assumption in this though, and that is magic is less of a mystical thing and more of a science. That is the main difference between say, a sword and sorcery game vs. a high fantasy. high fantasy while might play up the mystical portion of magic, it is often very sterile in the fashion it is treated. That is what makes high fantasy possible in the first place, the access and exposure to magic. With high access, it's only a matter of time before somebody decides to go all "magic factory" and start using magic very much like a tool. (For good examples of this, go look up a thing called the "tippyverse")
Some of you guys say you dislike high fantasy that takes itself completely seriously, but almost no video games do. I'm not sure I can think of a single commercial RPG that takes itself seriously. They all have ridiculous-looking monsters, silly sidequests, townspeople that say thing that are [meant to be] humorous, characters with absurd quirks like extreme-hunger or narcolepsy, etc. There might be one or two games out there that take themselves as seriously as books and movies do, but it's really rare. It seems to be rarer the longer the game is - like developers just get bored with creating reasonable monsters so they decide to toss in some land sharks.
Personally I can't stand that. Especially in a game where the main plot is 95% serious. If your game is supposed to be serious, make it serious. If it's supposed to be comedy, make it comedy. Either way is fine, just pick one. Making a serious game but tossing in joke monsters or easter eggs just ruins the game for me. It's neither epic nor funny - it's just a game with no discernable style.
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That is what makes high fantasy possible in the first place, the access and exposure to magic. With high access, it's only a matter of time before somebody decides to go all "magic factory" and start using magic very much like a tool.
Worlds where everyone has magic and it's not even noteworthy are extremely commonplace in RPGs. Magic has no element of mysticism - it's not special in any way. Its presence is often left totally unexplained, like people being able to shoot lightning bolts is just taken for granted. It almost seems like it defeats the purpose of including magic at all, if magic doesn't mean anything special.
Personally I like it when magic is the result of something special, and is a major plot element. If your story has magic in it, it seems like that makes sense to me. I'm working on a game right now where magic has just been discovered by the evil empire, and they're training their military to use it. Only two of the main characters can use magic - one is a former enemy soldier, and the other is a genius who understands how magic works the first time he sees it, and is able to mimic the spells he sees others cast (so he's a blue mage, essentially).
This post has been edited by LockeZ: Dec 24 2010, 09:40 PM
well, there is nothing wrong with a setting per se where magic is basically technology dressed up differently. In some cases, it can work. But in most cases, it stops feeling like fantasy and starts feeling more like sci-fi after a certain point. And certainly some games can get away with it. The default setting of the Warcraft world relies fairly heavily upon the assumption that magic while not exactly as accessible as say, a chemistry degree, is still fairly understandable. And that is fine in and of itself.
It's also not just what makes it special, but how is it used in the narrative. When you look at magic within say, most high fantasy, it is treated like a tool to be utilized. people might or might not understand it. But that's hardly the point. they will use it and that is that. It is, by itself, completely and utterly amoral. But in narratives where magic = mysticism, magic is not something you simply use. the price of magic is never quite understood beyond the basic heuristics. It is not something that people actually use. It is something that you try to influence to bend the odds your way, but it never outright control. And the desire to control it is often seen as evil. Sometimes, you can almost consider magic in these settings to be it's own character. It will act however it must. The people in setting could be exposed to it all the time, but never quite understand how it works, let alone control it. People can beseech it to act on their behalf, but to actually harness it and control it fully? that's never possible.
The moment magical powers are harnessed and controlled, it stops being mystical and it becomes technology. Think the difference in how the force is presented in the original Star Wars trilogy and the prequels and you have a good idea on the distinction.
It's definitely easier to set a game in a culture that you're familiar with. Though in high fantasy, most games have a completely fabricated culture that's not based on any real-life counterpart. Who the hell ever heard of an autonomous city ruled by a village elder, anyway? That sort of social structure is only used by, like... tribal communities or something, right?
I realize European castles are European, but I'm not sure the similarity extends beyond the architecture in most games. You might have a king, but you almost never see games with ranks of nobility, with lords presiding over peasants, etc etc.
This post has been edited by LockeZ: Dec 28 2010, 03:57 PM
It's definitely easier to set a game in a culture that you're familiar with. Though in high fantasy, most games have a completely fabricated culture that's not based on any real-life counterpart. Who the hell ever heard of an autonomous city ruled by a village elder, anyway? That sort of social structure is only used by, like... tribal communities or something, right?
I realize European castles are European, but I'm not sure the similarity extends beyond the architecture in most games. You might have a king, but you almost never see games with ranks of nobility, with lords presiding over peasants, etc etc.
Aye. The main influence is definitely northern or western european, though. There was sort of a tribal structure going on with the early germans and, to an extent, the celts. In western europe, Charlamagne attempted to consolidate the tribes that had been warring with each other in modern france, and somehow became Holy Roman Emperor.
Maybe I'm looking too deeply into it, but the typical high fantasy setting follows some kind of European model, notably the crusades-era stuff.
It's definitely easier to set a game in a culture that you're familiar with. Though in high fantasy, most games have a completely fabricated culture that's not based on any real-life counterpart. Who the hell ever heard of an autonomous city ruled by a village elder, anyway? That sort of social structure is only used by, like... tribal communities or something, right?
I realize European castles are European, but I'm not sure the similarity extends beyond the architecture in most games. You might have a king, but you almost never see games with ranks of nobility, with lords presiding over peasants, etc etc.
that's because 90% of the time, royality house structure is not the most fascinating thing to focus on. It can become tremendously important to focus on if you're going to be exploring the palace politics but as far as most games go, where the focus is on the adventure rather than on the political maneuvering, there's really not much of a payoff.
I'm a huge medieval fantasy guy, and my favorite trait is kind of weird, but here it is: I like archetypes with a twist. Preferably humorous. I like the virtuous paladin that's is a closet homosexual, the princess with a danger fetish, the evil queen that's a snobby art critic, the cleric with just a small touch of dementia, ect. Those were just some examples off the top of my head, but it really depends on your story though, so it might not fit. If you're going for a really dark tone, you're going to want something else. I just think that archetypes have power, and humorous twists on them retain the power but keep them from being cliches. Again, it might not fit,
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Dec 23 2010, 10:26 AM
