I'm sick of saving the world(s)!

[tkioz]

Because saving the world makes you feel like you're doing something important, and it makes you want to defeat the villain/collect the sword/whatever. If it was just a game about some guy running down to the grocery store and buying some milk you wouldn't have any reason to continue playing it, because it would be boring and pointless.

I'm not talking about normal every day stuff, I'm not talking about boring stuff, I just think having it focused on a smaller goal, not saving the world, but rather saving something else would have more impact on the player.

What if you, as the player, do not care about the object in question? The entire plot would just fall flat.

Then the developer should make us care... honestly how many of us really give two shits about some fictional world filled with quest givers anyway? I know I didn't really care about the galaxy I'm "saving" in Mass Effect, I played it anyway because of the interesting characters and events.

 

[Kailat777]

There are vast amounts of simulation games where you save almost nothing at all, and certainly not the world. In Harvest Moon, I've never saved more than the homeland, and my days as mayor in Sim City are eventually spent calling earthquakes to ruin any progress I might have made.

I suspect your actual problem is "I'm sick of saving the world, but I don't want to play games where the stakes aren't high and the situations aren't dire". No problem with that, of course. It just means you might want to take a couple weeks break from gaming and try something else (might I recommend a netflix account?).

 

[DarkHourPrince]

Well, I would like to destroy the world.

Persona 3. You end it while saving it all at the same time :3

How... what.. huh?

You kill these monsters you think are bringing this illness/end of the world and thus you're saving humanity when in all actuality by killing these monsters you're ushering in the awakening of a world-ending evil.

 

[DMonkey]

Because saving the world makes you feel like you're doing something important, and it makes you want to defeat the villain/collect the sword/whatever. If it was just a game about some guy running down to the grocery store and buying some milk you wouldn't have any reason to continue playing it, because it would be boring and pointless.

I'm not talking about normal every day stuff, I'm not talking about boring stuff, I just think having it focused on a smaller goal, not saving the world, but rather saving something else would have more impact on the player.

One man trying to save his garden from, like 100 bunnies, and gophers?

 

[tkioz]

There are vast amounts of simulation games where you save almost nothing at all, and certainly not the world. In Harvest Moon, I've never saved more than the homeland, and my days as mayor in Sim City are eventually spent calling earthquakes to ruin any progress I might have made.

I suspect your actual problem is "I'm sick of saving the world, but I don't want to play games where the stakes aren't high and the situations aren't dire". No problem with that, of course. It just means you might want to take a couple weeks break from gaming and try something else (might I recommend a netflix account?).

Well honest that's a genre question, I like some sim games, for example I've clocked up a lot hours on games like Port Royal 2 and Tropico, however, when it comes to other genres I enjoy such as RPGs it's always about saving the bloody world.

 

[DarkHourPrince]

Well, I would like to destroy the world.

Persona 3. You end it while saving it all at the same time :3

How... what.. huh?

You kill these monsters you think are bringing this illness/end of the world and thus you're saving humanity when in all actuality by killing these monsters you're ushering in the awakening of a world-ending evil.

So, Nice Job Breaking It Hero?

Something like that, one hell of a game though. Well worth the 85+ hours.

 

[Nouw]

I don't mind saving the world. Just want to do some villainous stuff for once

 

[tkioz]

Because saving the world makes you feel like you're doing something important, and it makes you want to defeat the villain/collect the sword/whatever. If it was just a game about some guy running down to the grocery store and buying some milk you wouldn't have any reason to continue playing it, because it would be boring and pointless.

I'm not talking about normal every day stuff, I'm not talking about boring stuff, I just think having it focused on a smaller goal, not saving the world, but rather saving something else would have more impact on the player.

One man trying to save his garden from, like 100 bunnies, and gophers?

How about dude's kid gets kidnapped by a group of slavers, dude hunts them down, killing his way around the map looking for the one group that took them... only to find out they are just a bunch of slavers, not part of some conspiracy to take over the world, dude kills their leader and rescues kid.

Nothing to do with the world, hero does some good, but it's not like it makes a huge difference on a grand scale.

 

[Cab00se206]

I agree. I just think that it's pretty silly that one man is all it takes to save the world or even the entire universe (seriously?) and I reckon that a game concerned with pure survival, or the saving of a small town or city would be great. It always seems like your protagonist desperately needs to be a hero, so they venture into the heart of danger, which is officially the stupidest thing to do ever.

Don't get me wrong, some of my favourite games have been about badasses saving the galaxy (Mass Effect 2 for eg) but a smaller scale story would be refreshing.

 

[Layz92]

Just play the games that are not about saving large scale things. Like Red Dead Redemption or Second Sight. Just stories about characters rather than saving things.

 

[quack35]

Because saving the world makes you feel like you're doing something important, and it makes you want to defeat the villain/collect the sword/whatever. If it was just a game about some guy running down to the grocery store and buying some milk you wouldn't have any reason to continue playing it, because it would be boring and pointless.

I'm not talking about normal every day stuff, I'm not talking about boring stuff, I just think having it focused on a smaller goal, not saving the world, but rather saving something else would have more impact on the player.

What if you, as the player, do not care about the object in question? The entire plot would just fall flat.

Then the developer should make us care... honestly how many of us really give two shits about some fictional world filled with quest givers anyway? I know I didn't really care about the galaxy I'm "saving" in Mass Effect, I played it anyway because of the interesting characters and events.

Not all gamers care about the same things. Making a game about saving the world is kind of a universal way to make the gamer care.

I'm not saying that a smaller scale plot hasn't ever been successful or compelling though. I'm just explaining why most developers would want to make a save the world plot.

 

[quack35]

Because saving the world makes you feel like you're doing something important, and it makes you want to defeat the villain/collect the sword/whatever. If it was just a game about some guy running down to the grocery store and buying some milk you wouldn't have any reason to continue playing it, because it would be boring and pointless.

I'm not talking about normal every day stuff, I'm not talking about boring stuff, I just think having it focused on a smaller goal, not saving the world, but rather saving something else would have more impact on the player.

One man trying to save his garden from, like 100 bunnies, and gophers?

How about dude's kid gets kidnapped by a group of slavers, dude hunts them down, killing his way around the map looking for the one group that took them... only to find out they are just a bunch of slavers, not part of some conspiracy to take over the world, dude kills their leader and rescues kid.

Nothing to do with the world, hero does some good, but it's not like it makes a huge difference on a grand scale.

But wouldn't that game be really short and dull?

 

[Katana314]

"Okay, what's at stake?"
"The WORLD! The whole damn world!"
"Oh...all right. What's in it?"

"Well that was dumb."

You need to specifically make someone care about something before you can ask them to save it. Even "The World" needs some good likable parts to it. Here's a moment in Just Cause 2 that actually illustrates my point well.

"Scorpio, you need to go to a strip club and kill someone."
"A strip club. Classy. Where is it?"
"It's 8,000 feet in the air carried by a blimp. Here's a chopper."
"HOLY SHIT THAT'S AWESOME!" (you go up there and kill the guy)
"There are government troops up there trying to blow up the club!"
"Oh, FUCK no! What do I do?"
"Kill them all, disarm the bomb, and save the club!"
"FUCK yeah!"
(after disarming the bomb, you jump off the club and parachute to the ground)

 

[tkioz]

Because saving the world makes you feel like you're doing something important, and it makes you want to defeat the villain/collect the sword/whatever. If it was just a game about some guy running down to the grocery store and buying some milk you wouldn't have any reason to continue playing it, because it would be boring and pointless.

I'm not talking about normal every day stuff, I'm not talking about boring stuff, I just think having it focused on a smaller goal, not saving the world, but rather saving something else would have more impact on the player.

One man trying to save his garden from, like 100 bunnies, and gophers?

How about dude's kid gets kidnapped by a group of slavers, dude hunts them down, killing his way around the map looking for the one group that took them... only to find out they are just a bunch of slavers, not part of some conspiracy to take over the world, dude kills their leader and rescues kid.

Nothing to do with the world, hero does some good, but it's not like it makes a huge difference on a grand scale.

But wouldn't that game be really short and dull?

Why? slavers come, dude fights, gets wounded, recovers, hunt is on, you could have it take him weeks or months to chase them down, always being one step behind, needing to find the right band of scum bags in a world full of them...

It's not a perfect story given I knocked it out in 30 seconds, but it could work, you can make a compelling story out of literally anything if you spend the time on it.

 

[Katana314]

That actually pretty much worked in Lugaru. The protagonist's family gets killed, and you spend your time hunting down slavers. The 'conspiracy' goes a little deeper, but you're not really saving the world. (Not that I know of anyway. I still haven't beaten it)

 

[quack35]

Because saving the world makes you feel like you're doing something important, and it makes you want to defeat the villain/collect the sword/whatever. If it was just a game about some guy running down to the grocery store and buying some milk you wouldn't have any reason to continue playing it, because it would be boring and pointless.

I'm not talking about normal every day stuff, I'm not talking about boring stuff, I just think having it focused on a smaller goal, not saving the world, but rather saving something else would have more impact on the player.

One man trying to save his garden from, like 100 bunnies, and gophers?

How about dude's kid gets kidnapped by a group of slavers, dude hunts them down, killing his way around the map looking for the one group that took them... only to find out they are just a bunch of slavers, not part of some conspiracy to take over the world, dude kills their leader and rescues kid.

Nothing to do with the world, hero does some good, but it's not like it makes a huge difference on a grand scale.

But wouldn't that game be really short and dull?

Why? slavers come, dude fights, gets wounded, recovers, hunt is on, you could have it take him weeks or months to chase them down, always being one step behind, needing to find the right band of scum bags in a world full of them...

It's not a perfect story given I knocked it out in 30 seconds, but it could work, you can make a compelling story out of literally anything if you spend the time on it.

You have a point. I had the wrong idea in my head when I read your idea. I do think a more personal story would be pretty interesting.