Poll: Fantasy or Scifi?

[Jute88]

I like them both, but with different medias of entertainment. With fantasy I like it in written form, while scifi (namely the ones involved in space) I prefer as a visual entertainment (movies, tv-shows). That doesn't mean that the opposite couldn't be entertaining (I remember liking scifi book series the Hyperion Saga), but I just have trouble imagining futuristic ideas, like clothes, architecture and ships, while with fantasy it's pretty easy, since most of the basic fantasy takes it's setting from medieval Europe, so my imagination just goes to autopilot.

Also, there seems to be more good scifi movies than there are fantasy ones.

 

[renegade7]

I get that they're 95% the exact same thing, but the devil's in the details. It's much harder to justify the kind of action you see in sci-fi in a fantasy setting, and it's much harder to justify the aesthetic character and mysteriousness of fantasy in a sci-fi setting.

Sure you can make analogues, like instead of a spaceship you have a boat or airship, instead of tanks you have siege engines, instead of scientists you have wizards, etc. But that can be such a tricky thing to pull off without feeling forced, like you're a fantasy author who really would rather be doing sci-fi, or vice versa.

It's especially apparent in video games. It just often seems like there are many more fast-paced science fiction games than fantasy games. At the other end of the spectrum, it also has the market overwhelmingly cornered in grand strategy kind of games like EVE Online, as well as in simulations like the 4X genre or the (thankfully) returning space sim genre, where fantasy seems to usually prefer somewhere in the middle with RTSs and RPGs. I'm not picky, but sometimes you really just want to make something explode, and sci-fi is much better at giving you that.

On the other hand, fantasy is much better at creating a feeling of mystery and curiosity, as well as with aesthetic variety. It also does drama a little better, in my opinion, because it has that mystery to back up the storytelling. For instance, it would be pretty difficult to work some of the environments you saw in Skyrim into a science fiction setting. Definitely not impossible, there's a lot of promise with upcoming titles like No Man's Sky, but it does seem rare.

So, for me the breakdown is:

Science fiction: immersion, action, scale, and detail.
Fantasy: storytelling, exploration, and variety.

I'll go with sci-fi, but only very slightly.

 

[babinro]

Fantasy.

I find the entry barrier to a lot of sci-fi to be too great. There's just soo many unfamiliar terms, technologies, races and environments to learn that it's tough to get invested into the actual story.

Something like Mass Effect can be engrossing but requires many hours of play to reach that point. It's entirely possible I'll grow bored and leave before the world/universe hooks me.

Fantasy on the other hand is more often routed in familiarity. It's largely focused on medieval times or focuses on the core stables created in the works of JRR Tolkien.

I realize that fantasy can get overwhelming at times (see Final Fantasy 13) and sci-fi can also be mild at times (see Terminator or Robocop) but these are the less common scenario's.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

I love both, but I'm a fussy bastard when it comes to the flavour. I like my fantasy high and have little tolerance for the darker settings - a problem greatly exacerbated by A Song of Ice and Fire's success. I also like my sci fi to lean towards the space opera but can be happy with Star Trek style trappings too.

 

[Zhukov]

Sci-fi.

Waaaay too much of fantasy seems to be produced by boring nerds who think they're going to be the next Tolkien but are barely qualified to write a D&D campaign. Christ, if I have to read through one more exhaustive explanation of a "magic system" I'm going to set something on fire. With matches.

Then there's the Totally Gritty and Dark Fantasy For Mature Adults Who Definitely Aren't Children Anymore. Which often feels just like vanilla fantasy but with someone geting raped every now and again. I should like that stuff but most of it is trying way too fucking hard. I like George R.R. Martin about as much as the next fellow, but I'm not looking forward to the tide of wannabe imitators.

Favourite fantasy series would have to be Discworld. Silly and whimsical and regularaly hilarious and still manages to feel more mature than 99% of the stuff that says "mature" somewhere on the blurb.

I daresay this opinion is shaped by the fact that I've read a great deal more fantasy than sci-fi.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Being a low brow scrub, my favourite examples of either are 40k and prior to exploding Warhammer. Judge Dredd/2000AD, Forgotten Realms & Cyberpunk 2020 (yes, not sci-fi, I know, still futuristic hi-tech fiction), come in after them.
I don't really read beyond those but I do like art from both and a tendency to go for games with fantasy/sci-fi/Cyberpunk theme. Still, it's 40k/Warhammer uber alles. I tend to buy a good number of fantasy/sci-fi games and then give up because they aren't Warhammer.
I suppose I'm a bit more open to general fantasy than sci-fi even though on balance I prefer 40k to Warhammer.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Both, honestly, it's hard for me to decide which I like better. Though I do like when they manage to mix the two, maybe in an Urban Fantasy kind of way.

 

[Something Amyss]

I voted fantasy because I prefer magic and stuff, but the "it's all fantasy" thing is pretty accurate since much of science fiction is basically just space magic. At that point, I generally consider it fantasy set in space, anyway. Doctor Who and Star Wars, to me, are fantasy. Star Trek sometimes goes that route, too.

But I did vote using the OP's definitions, and I legit favour fantasy.

 

[Something Amyss]

Both, honestly, it's hard for me to decide which I like better. Though I do like when they manage to mix the two, maybe in an Urban Fantasy kind of way.

So...Shadowrun sorts of things? Hacking and elves?

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Both, honestly, it's hard for me to decide which I like better. Though I do like when they manage to mix the two, maybe in an Urban Fantasy kind of way.

So...Shadowrun sorts of things? Hacking and elves?

Pretty much, yeah. Fantasy by itself can get a bit boring, why not spice it up by adding sci-fi elements, right?

 

[AlSabbah-Almuhmat]

It really depends on how good the stories are, but I guess I tend to favour sci fi, doesn't suffer from being too anachronistic and has a wider range of ideas and settings.

I Agree!
Then you have Hard Science Fiction which works with a dedication to the limits we know in since, with a little sprinkle of what's theoretically possible. With that you get Honor Harrington, Lost Fleet, along with basically everything done by the likes of Heinlein, Asimov, and to a lesser extent Larry Niven. Basically Hard Sci-Fi uses very little if any theoretical science, grounding it self mostly in what we know and accept to be the limits of what we can do. Sure there might be FTL travel, maybe fusion power, but it's still a lot less "magical technology" when compared to the likes of Star Wars and Star Trek.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

It really just depends what I'm in the mood for. Sometimes I want Aliens, plasma cannons, augmentations, and planetary exploration, sometimes I want Elves, swordfights, magic, and dragons. It's just like watching action movies: sometimes I want to see fight scenes with fisticuffs only, sometimes I want shootouts, sometimes I want melee fight scenes.

And then sometimes you're in the mood for both: things that combine fantasy elements with sci-fi stuff, like "The Iron Kingdoms" series, or "Shadowrun".

 

[Timeless Lavender]

I am in a funny area. I liked both of them equally but I am not a fan of any of the genre defining medium like Stars wars or Lords of the ring . I prefer when these genres utilize themes and conflicts in their story rather than being plain escapism.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I like fantasy more so then Sci-Fi it just feels more at home. But if there is one thing I love about both is that they give great orchestral soundtracks:

Example of Sci-Fi Orchestra:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ihPGketlQA&list=PLZ-UX2ux7q9ETty2hET3AU-7Eh6EwRBFP

Example of Sword and Sorcery Fantasy Orchestra:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKcTSN7Sr9s&list=PLC5AE6E1EEA630D30

 

[Valiance]

I like both a lot, but I lean towards sci-fi a bit. Maybe 65/35 or something, but they're both very enjoyable for me

In books I tend to prefer sci-fi, but I like videogames in all settings equally.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

I like both, but what really grabs me is when a work goes to the extremes of its genre. I like my fantasy when it goes really out there, if only occasionally, (see a lot of Michael Kirkbride's writing for Morrowind) and I like my sci-fi respectably hard (see The Martian or Moon. Although I really need to read more sci-fi. Or just read). I also really like it when the world has interesting history and characters behind it, stuff like Dark Souls, the Elder Scrolls, ASoIaF and occasionally 40k, but a lot of it is so grimdark with so little self-awareness that it just loses me.

 

[Something Amyss]

Pretty much, yeah. Fantasy by itself can get a bit boring, why not spice it up by adding sci-fi elements, right?

Makes sense. I'm usually more into urban fantasy in the sense of magic and the supernatural in the modern world sans tech. Less Cyberpunk and more World of Darkness (most flavours), except for the fact that pretty much everything in WoD is some form of supernatural being, whereas I like playing with what lurks in the shadows of an ostensibly mundane world.

Still, the glut of fantasy out there managed to make even dragons boring.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Pretty much, yeah. Fantasy by itself can get a bit boring, why not spice it up by adding sci-fi elements, right?

Makes sense. I'm usually more into urban fantasy in the sense of magic and the supernatural in the modern world sans tech. Less Cyberpunk and more World of Darkness (most flavours), except for the fact that pretty much everything in WoD is some form of supernatural being, whereas I like playing with what lurks in the shadows of an ostensibly mundane world.

Still, the glut of fantasy out there managed to make even dragons boring.

Yeah but spicing things up with Sci Fi elements can make the world seem "Inconsistant"

I mean look at world of warcraft, The Alliacne has the Gnomes who are a technologically advance race that pretty much made the modern tank, helicopter, and a litiral flying Warship.

The Horde has the Goblins who are the counterparts of the Gnomes and the have a giant War Blimp.

Both sides have access to such advance machinary yet Humans still live in the middle ages using Swords and Bows and Catapults. And don't get me started on Ulduar.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah but spicing things up with Sci Fi elements can make the world seem "Inconsistant"

I mean look at world of warcraft, The Alliacne has the Gnomes who are a technologically advance race that pretty much made the modern tank, helicopter, and a litiral flying Warship.

The Horde has the Goblins who are the counterparts of the Gnomes and the have a giant War Blimp.

Both sides have access to such advance machinary yet Humans still live in the middle ages using Swords and Bows and Catapults. And don't get me started on Ulduar.

That's not so much the fault of sci-fi elements, but rather the hamfisted way they were stuck in, though.

Having said that, doing it hamfistedly seems the norm, not the exception.

 

[Mister K]

I prefer Sci-Fi. I always liked stories about future(ish) worlds, about development (or regression) of humanity. I also like mechas, future weapons, aliens and such (yeah, yeah, too much Fi, not enough Sci, sue me).

Butr I don't DISLIKE fantasy. However, I do feel negatively towards everything that is set in Medieval setting and everything that tries to follow Tolkiens steps too much.

Although you know what? More then anything, I like when Future Gadgets and Magic colide. Someone mentioned Science Fantasy. Is that the name? Cool, I like it.