Okay, free game $4.99 or less (your choice) to the first person who answers the following question to my satisfaction.
Often a video game's setting can reveal a great deal about the world its characters inhabit. Sure, a game's protagonist shoots, slashes, and casts their way to victory, but without a memorable setting, you're less likely to enjoy these actions.
Some might call a game "immersive" or "atmospheric" in an attempt to describe a sense of place. The game draws you in and regardless of whether you're targeting foes, you want to stay for a while longer.
Details such as a turning windmill or a distant castle leave a lasting impression on you regardless of whether you are able to interact with these things. Sound design is perhaps equally important in creating a game's world.
So here's the question.
1) Pick a game that made you completely immersed in its world.
2) Tell me what non-gameplay details the designers used to create their setting, and why these were effective to you. Be as detailed as possible.
3) Briefly describe a setting which has either been underrepresented or entirely absent in games.
1. + 2.)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I know a lot of people are probably in awe, or confused, but hear me out. Playing Oblivion was basically one of my fondest gamimg memories. I poured limitless hours into it. The world was one of those reasons as to what made it so memorable in my eyes. You start out in this completely creep, moody, dank sewer system, and after fighting your way out, you open the door, and as the light blinds your eyes, you see this vast surrounding area, this beautiful coastline. Water, sand, buildings, and forest lay in front of you. A mixture of things to come in your adventure. This single shot is ingrained in my memory.
After a while, you truly get to see the world for what it is. It's fantasy at its purest form. Stone buildings, towers, roads all surround you, as alien objects among this lush greenland. Deep forests that hide creatures, bandits, and secrets. Every town having a unique identity, from a huge capital city built almost fully out of stones, extending into the skies, a sea-town, that had a beautiful port, with the sunlight always washing over, another put up deep into the mountains, filled with snow and bitter coldness, all the houses huddled together, almost as if they were clinging for warmth, to a beautiful town in a perpetual Summer, with beautiful terraces and mini-bridges, and finally a town in completer ruin after a recent attack.
You see, while the visuals were fantastic, the game really set itself apart by the innovations of the time. The AI was something nobody had seen done so well, with townsfolk doing daily deeds, talking to others, and sleeping just as if they were alive. Animals would clash with others, regardless of the player getting involved, and sometimes rival humanoid factions or groups would clash. All of these AI functions running in the background was something that was unexpected, and it really sold the game as something that truly showcased the 360's power.
Even with all of that, there was just a mood to the whole game. It never was necessarily dark, as it always had brightness and enjoyment in it, but it could always go there if it wanted to. The lore felt like it had weight, the races were fleshed out, there were prejudices and alliances, sometimes only caught to the more observant player. There are rumors of guilds who dedicated themselves to thievery, or even murder, but the people are not sure what's true, or what is just gossiping rumor. It all builds up together to make something that's special, and all these factors are what make questing just a bit more fun. The Dark Brotherhood quests were always just a bit more fun because you had heard about these people before, but now you
were one of these people. You were the rumors. The same goes for the thieves guild, and its fantastic final reward for your work.
Everything just clicked for me, and that's why Oblivion is still one of my favorite games ever. I know some people think it's generic compared to Morrowind, but I still think that it's a damn special game, and an amazing setting.
3.)
This was a tough question. I think that a lot of settings have been given a great deal of respect, even those I would have never expected. If I had to pick a setting that I wanted to see more of, it would have to be the idea of a wasteland, or post-apocalyptic world. I feel like there's so many more unique gameplay ideas that feel organic within this setting that just don't get utilized. I really was curious about the idea of seeing "I am Alive," where fighting was over water, or likely food, instead of money or weapons. I feel like while this sounds like it could be tedious, there's a primal instinct within all people that understand that sometimes the stakes are raised to their highest when people are willing to kill simply for bottled water or bread. There's something really tangible about that, its something that people could see themselves do if they were put in this kind of situation. No zombies, no monsters, no demons, but rather people, or sometime, the scariest thing that we all fear, the thought that we are completely alone.
