Why are there almost no RPGs set in the present?

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Yeah, that's a question i'm kinda asking myself. I mean, there are a lot of RPGs with a tolkienesk medieval setting like the Elder Scrols series, the Dragon Age series or the Witcher series. There are even quite a few RPGs set in the near or far future like Fallout, Mass Effect or Deus Ex. But there are almost no RPGs set in the present. The only ones i can think of are Alpha Protocol and the Yakuza series. I mean, it's an interesting world that we live in there are a lot of great opportunities for interesting, unique stories, characters and quests. So... why aren't there more of those games?

 

[RJ 17]

I mean, it's an interesting world that we live in

Problem is it's not interesting enough. People use videogames as a form of escapism, a fun way to just absolutely murder time and keep them all too busy doing absolutely nothing.

As such, in RPGs - which are generally even MORE used for escapism than, say, the Madden "series" - people don't want to be in the same boring world they live in. They want to go to the future and be dazzled, or go to Fantasy Land and kill themselves some trolls.

 

[Hazy992]

One of the major appeals of RPGs is that you get to play a role and live a life that's vastly different from your own, hence the fantasy or sci-fi settings. If it's just modern life what's the point?

 

[hazabaza1]

It'd just be a bit too "realistic" methinks. I'd like to see a sort of Shadowrun like setting but in modern day, that'd be cool.

 

[Folji]

You'd probably just wind up with something like Grand Theft Auto, only with RPG elements. Because obviously, crime is the only way to make a modern day set game interesting. Either that or zombies. Right? Riiight?

 

[veloper]

The biggest hurdle is replacing magic or advanced sci-fi tech with a real thing that can do similar things or atleast add the same kind of depth to a game.

Straight up melee or shooting is always the most basic thing in a CRPG. The advanced tactics come from magic or gizmos.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Technically The Sims is an RPG set in the present. The latest iteration even has stats and quests!

No one likes it though. "Oh, I can't try the Sims. I left my vagina in my purse at the office!" they'll say. And laugh. And laugh and laugh. Because let's face it, it's pretty amusing to make fun of The Sims.

Sorry what was I saying?

 

[Kahunaburger]

It's related to genre roots, IMO. Considering the closest thing to a definition for "RPG" we have is "game with mechanics rooted in P&P RPGs," and most of the P&P RPGs that are the source of CRPG mechanics involve hitting stuff with swords, it's unsurprising that most modern CRPGs use their RPG mechanics to model hitting stuff with swords.

 

[ColeusRattus]

Alpha Protocol. It's okayish.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

The most common RPG systems depend on magic users to make party dynamics work. When we say that there are plenty of science fiction or near future RPGs most of them are just fantasy settings with magical nanobots or space wizards. Present day games are compromised the same way by having things like vampire magic, internet wizards or something.

 

[Scarim Coral]

To simple put it, present day is boring well not fantasy enough.

Ok sure they can try to make a good game in that setting if they try hard enough.

 

[Tazzy da Devil]

There's the Shin Megami Tensei games (well, most of them) and The World Ends with you, off the top of my head. They're both JRPGs, but that counts, right? Anyway, I agree that there needs to be more.

 

[Rawne1980]

*Protected by my raincoat and armed with my trusty wallet nothing shall stand in my way*

*Marvel as I slay this evil fiend .... the sausage sandwich*

*You have levelled up, may I suggest putting points in DIY, you have a shelf that looks a bit wonkey*

*Your quest for the day is, to buy some potatoes for supper*

I think the modern is a little bit too dull for an "exciting" RPG experience.

 

[EscapeGoat_v1legacy]

El snip

Once you beat the sausage sandwich, you should gain a new weapon:

Reluctantly on topic: As a rule, real is dull. Also, there's a distinct lack of magic and monster-type enemies as well, both of which are usually considered staples of your average RPG. While adding these elements in as well as embracing other standard RPG tropes could result in a decent game set in the present day, it still wouldn't avoid the fact that we could be doing all this in a fantastical world, as opposed to our rather grey one.

Not that it couldn't happen, mind. I just suppose developers might be unwilling to move from a well-entrenched set of settings. Perhaps it could work, but it definitely depends on how you handle both the story and the mechanics. Keeping it realistic might work, but how realistic do you keep it? Is your main character an average Joe, bearing in mind that a 'normal' RPG average Joe is actually highly likely to be the secret heir to a long lost kingdom as well as destined to slay any number of Gods. This, in a realistic setting, is highly unlikely to say the least, but might still be an interesting way to take it, if only to see and show how differently a modern public might react to that.

 

[DoPo]

If you are only looking for present day world, as in, time-wise - then Bloodlines is set there. And the entire World of Darkness but Bloodlines in particular is the cRPG that represents it well (also Redemption but that goes to the present later on in the plot).

If you are looking for present day as in this world we're living in right now, then an RPG might not make much of a sense, as much as, say, an FPS. The reason is that you can easily justify the RPG mechanics in a fictional world. But if it's the real world you're playing in, the mechanics might break the suspension of disbelief, as we know how things work. Either that, or the mechanics need to be fairly light, which almost devalues the point of an RPG.

 

[edgecult]

Mostly because it's reality based in reality.. that doesn't tend to mesh well with fun in an rpg

The only games you'd find like this are the alternative life games. ("games" like alterego) or the sims. A game where you take over someone elses life.

Outside of standard reality you start getting games set in the present with fantasy elements. (Just about any MegaTen game. really particularly the persona series and Devil survivor 1 at least but others I think are set in the present or near present future.. but with a small twist of post apocalyptic and such as well) Another someone mentioned is the world of darkness games.. modern setting with a fantasy twist.

Otherwise you get more crime based stories like yakuza and your later GTA games (san andres being the closest to RPG out of them but it really depends entirely on your classification of RPG)

The other reason might me a mechanic issue.. where does a shooter end and rpg begin after all. (any modern rpg with combat is inevitably fall into two sides.. fight and street fighting and/or gunplay. depending on setting and such.)

 

[Smertnik]

I've actually been wondering about that just the other day. One of my favourite settings, and as far as RPGs are concerned probably the favourite setting, is present fantasy, i.e. supernatural secretly existing in a modern-day-world, like in Bloodlines or the Persona series. But there're so few such games, it's kinda depressing. In fact, I can only think of the two examples I already mentioned.

 

[Squidbulb]

I don't see why not. There are plenty of realistic situations that are nothing like anything we will ever experience.