I'm sick of saving the world(s)!
- Thread starter tkioz
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Sounds to me you have a problem with a basic function of story development. The only answer is to get a game so removed of a plot that it doesn't matter. In other words pac man. Just play pacman. Your not saving the world. Your pacman. The ghost are your opponents but they are just ghosts. And you are pacman. Or dig dug. Where you dig and you kill monsters with a bicycle pump. Or that one game where you play a penguin trying to lose weight so her girlfriend won't dump him. Or Ms. pacman.
Why not have more games like Morrowind or something where you can save the world if you want but there was still as much to do just becoming the head of a guild.
That way the player can choose what they want as their small goals by way of choice of guild and yet there is still a larger story for those that want it.
That way the player can choose what they want as their small goals by way of choice of guild and yet there is still a larger story for those that want it.
I was annoyed by Battlefield: Vietnam, in that the single-player mode entirely relied on you. If you ran around in the jungle, you'd be an invincible fighting force single-handedly slaying the enemy. If you stayed with an army, they'd draw fire as you single-handedly slay the enemy. I remember one point in the North Vietnamese campaign where I had a bunch of friendlies taking fire from American soldiers. I fired artillery wherever I saw a muzzle flash, and my worthless AI teammates didn't score a single kill as I destroyed the advancing army.
Please, game developers: Let me be a smaller part in a major conflict, not always the superweapon that wins the battle. Maybe there could be a "morale" system so that my performance affects that of my teammates, but I don't want to have to personally kill everyone on the other team while my buddies stand around/
Please, game developers: Let me be a smaller part in a major conflict, not always the superweapon that wins the battle. Maybe there could be a "morale" system so that my performance affects that of my teammates, but I don't want to have to personally kill everyone on the other team while my buddies stand around/
Hm... Yes, I would like this very much. I agree. And more internal struggles would be nice too. How about someone just trying to stay sane?
Or, how about this concept: When you save the world, sure, it's epic, but it's not really personal. You don't know everyone you saved, and to me I sometimes find it a bit hard to care. [moreso if the protagonist isn't in danger, (s)he is just protecting someone defenseless]
But if you focus on one or a few people, it's a hell of a lot more personal and means a lot.
Just a though, y'know? Connections drive motivation.
Or, how about this concept: When you save the world, sure, it's epic, but it's not really personal. You don't know everyone you saved, and to me I sometimes find it a bit hard to care. [moreso if the protagonist isn't in danger, (s)he is just protecting someone defenseless]
But if you focus on one or a few people, it's a hell of a lot more personal and means a lot.
Just a though, y'know? Connections drive motivation.
There's always Plants vs Zombies. It's just you trying to protect yourself from a horde of zombies. ...with plants.
I love stories, I love pacing, but there are more narratives out there then simply "you are the hero, stop the big evil and save the world", some of the best books I've read about people just trying to get by in a horrible situation.Swifteye said:
Hell the Dresden Files are just like that, sure he saves the world in one book, but that wasn't his aim, all he wanted was to get out with his skin still attached to his body! In most of the other books of the series, if he dies he dies, maybe a few others, the world would go on, but that's part of what makes it interesting!
Maybe we would better appreciate saving the world if we did it less often. Remember how 'Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare' gradually moved you from an expendable soldier to "You ended the war with a single pistol," soldier? If we could get that expendable feel in the first game, then become the war hero in the second, we might feel better about it.
EDIT: What they need to do is really show us the responsibility resting on our shoulders. Like, show us a pregnant woman or an extremely starved man, stuff like that. And remind us of that to remind us what were fighting for.
EDIT: What they need to do is really show us the responsibility resting on our shoulders. Like, show us a pregnant woman or an extremely starved man, stuff like that. And remind us of that to remind us what were fighting for.
I don't think it's quite as prevalent as you think, it's just that it's the BIG games that involve saving the (area of space spanning at least half a planet). In fact, I think you'll find some to most terrific sleeper hits involve saving people and stuff on a much smaller scale.
The best example I can think of off-hand would be 90% of the entire Mario franchise. Save the princess save the princess beat Bowser beat WART etcetera etcetera etcetera. Except for the various Mario RPG games, the fact is you're going through a lot for... well, not a lot, I guess. Hell, in Super Mario Sunshine, you're fighting to clear your name.... and then you save Peach, but still, it starts as glorified community service!
Oh, and let's not forget all the games that have very little to do with saving stuff: Assassin's Creed, God of War, all racing/sports games, party games, and so on and so forth.
The best example I can think of off-hand would be 90% of the entire Mario franchise. Save the princess save the princess beat Bowser beat WART etcetera etcetera etcetera. Except for the various Mario RPG games, the fact is you're going through a lot for... well, not a lot, I guess. Hell, in Super Mario Sunshine, you're fighting to clear your name.... and then you save Peach, but still, it starts as glorified community service!
Oh, and let's not forget all the games that have very little to do with saving stuff: Assassin's Creed, God of War, all racing/sports games, party games, and so on and so forth.
Postal 2tkioz said:
the main character's name is Dude.
Your first mission?
Pick up pay check
Cash pay check
get milk
too bad you end up having to shoot alot of people
Huh funny. I can't recall the last world I saved. I didn't seem to impact much in Alan Wake. The world doesn't seem to be threatened in RDR. And I don't think there is anything that is going to save Cybertron so all I am really doing is stalling the inevitable. Maybe Singularity or CrackDown 2 will have a world in need of saving