Which game backdrop/setting are you tired of

[Kaendris]

At times I look at the gaming industry and I question the level of artistic creativity that is being presented. I find myself feeling that we are in a cycle of systematic, regurgative idea production. Each "new" game presents a series of setting elements that have, to speak eloquently, been beaten to death with a stick. Then I make a sandwich and applaud my critical depth....

But in all seriousness, it did get me to thinking. What settings are people just sick of seeing in games, and so that is my question to you splendid members of the community.

What settings are you just tired of playing in?

For me, it is post-apocalyptic, specifically zombies. Usually I feel this element is selected to ease the burdens of world creation and uniqueness, as one drab environment can look strikingly like another. Yet I also feel it is a cop out for genuine plot development and character growth.

"Why are we doing this?
"Because OMG ZOMBIE APOC! Yay!!!!"

(I am aware The Last of Us may be an exception. I can not comment, I have not played it.)

 

[FourCartridge]

First off, the Last of Us is an exception. You should really play it, especially considering it has good characters and really nice environments, the things you hate about the setting in the OP. =P

On topic, I'll take your Zombie Apocalypse and raise you Modern Military. Most of it's games are derivative and seem to only chase after the COD dollars.

 

[mohit9206]

I am tired to military shooters based in some generic middle eastern country with generic brown and gray locations which is very boring,drab and repetitive.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I agree with modern military, middle East, one Russian snow mountain, final cityscape climax scene. It's not that I completely hate it, but I hate it when games are making up their own action movies in an effort to 'end the war' patriotically by one person's doing. ARMA (sort of) did it, Battlefield did it once, CoD did it three times, Medal of Honor did it twice, lots of games did it. At least with CoD's and Medal of Honor's earlier titles, it was about you witnessing a downfall, not causing it.

I want a modern game based on true events, like Six Days in Fallujah would have been. Spec Ops: The Line was a little different, because it wasn't about Middle Eastern/Russian insurgency.

 

[Thomas Barnsley]

Dungeons... You can blame Elder Scrolls for that.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Zombie apocalypse for sure.

Standard fantasy setting.

Bleak apocalypses with "magic/supernatural" elements or things that require a suspension of disbelief within this setting(like tesla guns and aliens in Fallout and ghosts/psychic abilities in Metro).

 

[default]

Fucking zombies. Fucking generic, no impact fantasy/sci-fi settings. Fucking animu angst land with random cute fluffy things thrown in because kawaii. Fucking post-apocalypse.

Basically EVERY setting the AAA industry evolves around these days. It's just so boring.

 

[immortalfrieza]

I think that ALL game settings are overused to some extent, but since everybody and his mother have said military shooters and Zombie apocalypse already, I'll go with fantasy.

I can't remember the last time I saw something original in a fantasy setting. All it seems to be is the same races (elf, dwarf, human, orc etc.) and the same creatures (troll, dragon, goblin, etc.) that have been around for centuries, with some magic thrown in. Sure, they tend to make variations on these things, but something actually original?

I think my favorite setting is Sci Fi, since there's literally endless potential for imagination in the setting without anything to restrain it there's always plenty that's new and original in pretty much every Sci Fi that isn't calling back to some previous Sci Fi.

 

[wooty]

I'm afraid I must also the zombie bandwagon, even the games that seem to take a new direction on the genre usually wind up going over the same ground, same "twists" and same outcome.

 

[Cabisco]

I can't remember the last time I saw something original in a fantasy setting. All it seems to be is the same races (elf, dwarf, human, orc etc.) and the same creatures (troll, dragon, goblin, etc.) that have been around for centuries, with some magic thrown in. Sure, they tend to make variations on these things, but something actually original?

I think my favorite setting is Sci Fi, since there's literally endless potential for imagination in the setting without anything to restrain it there's always plenty that's new and original in pretty much every Sci Fi that isn't calling back to some previous Sci Fi.

Very much agreed on both accounts. I love Sci Fi games because effort seems to be put in to create new exciting worlds and not just recreating Lord of the Rings.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Zombie apokalypse and any modern warfare setting, both are beaten to death already.

 

[teh_Canape]

I can't remember the last time I saw something original in a fantasy setting. All it seems to be is the same races (elf, dwarf, human, orc etc.) and the same creatures (troll, dragon, goblin, etc.) that have been around for centuries, with some magic thrown in. Sure, they tend to make variations on these things, but something actually original?

I think my favorite setting is Sci Fi, since there's literally endless potential for imagination in the setting without anything to restrain it there's always plenty that's new and original in pretty much every Sci Fi that isn't calling back to some previous Sci Fi.

Very much agreed on both accounts. I love Sci Fi games because effort seems to be put in to create new exciting worlds and not just recreating Lord of the Rings.

"I'm gonna make a universe set in high fantasy! the great part about it is that I can create literally any world I want with any rules I want... so I'm gonna make medieval european with long eared elves"

OT: fucking modern military shooters and zombies
sweet fuck are they done to death
can we have more apocalypses like in bulletstorm or cities like mirror's edge plz?

 

[Combustion Kevin]

the "grim, bleak world that doesn't care about you, reality isn't fair and life is hard and difficult and heroism is only naivety at play.".

how about we play an all around good-guy again, a heroic individual that deals with situations rationally and fairly with a good deal of idealism.
A paladin arche-type, but of the lawful-good persuation, not the lawful-stupid one.

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

so i can forsee this threads responses will consist of:
50% zombies
20% middle eastern terrorist/insurgents
10% nazis
10% middle earth like fantasy
5% post apocalypse
5% fluffy stuff

Pretty much. I guess when everyone plays the same games, they get tired of the same things

OT: The standard fantasy setting Immortalfrieza describes. For all their faults, games like the new Prince of Persia and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West showed us different worlds, ones that were actually fun to explore. If you want to copy from D&D, throw aside the Forgotten Realms and pick up Dark Sun or Eberron.

 

[Tazzman]

I find Desert scenery to be the most boring to look at but otherwise I find Sci fi universes to be the most boring but i'm not really sick of any settings as of yet.

 

[shootthebandit]

First off, the Last of Us is an exception. You should really play it, especially considering it has good characters and really nice environments, the things you hate about the setting in the OP. =P

On topic, I'll take your Zombie Apocalypse and raise you Modern Military. Most of it's games are derivative and seem to only chase after the COD dollars.

I agree zombie/post apocalypse is a bit overused and last of us is the exception, instead of using the tired "Im a badass zombie killer lone wolf and have loads of guns formula. it relies more on the struggle and the relationships that develop in such a terrible world"

modern military is overused but that only recently (past 5 or 6 years) decades before that it was always nazis so its not really too bad.

I know its not really a setting/backdrop but im fed of of games that claim to be "open world" when in fact they are not. I can only think of a few open world games (of late) that actually have an open world: fallout/skyrim, GTA, borderlands and maybe only a couple more i cant think of. I have no problem with linear games but just dont claim to be open world even if the linear games gives me loads of freedom (last of us) its still not open world

massively off topic: lancia delta HF integrale, what a beautiful car