Why do a huge portion of WRPGs take place in a medieval fantasy setting?

[The Madman]

Anacronox
Arcanum: of steamworks and magick obscura
Mass Effect
Alpha Protocol
Jade Empire
Deus Ex
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Planescape: Torment
Fallout
Knights of the Old Republic
System Shock 2

... Hmm. Oh, just listing rpg off the top of my head that don't take place in medieval settings. Admittedly whether System Shock 2 or Deus Ex are really 'rpg' is something a lot of people tend to debate, but I've always seen them as rpg myself. I've seen people call STALKER an rpg, but that doesn't sit right with me since there's really no stat management beyond the equipment you use. Not counting hack & slash either because really that would just make this list too easy, also trying to keep it only to games I've personally played. There are countless others out there, especially if you were to delve into indie dev projects.

Point I'm getting at is that there are plenty of non-medieval fantasy rpg out there. Beyond any doubt fantasy is the most popular setting, but it's the most popular for 'wrpg' and 'jrpg' both. Reason being that it's a well loved setting, people enjoy fantasy, *I* enjoy fantasy, that's it sells well. But there's still plenty of variety out there if only you look!

 

[Kahunaburger]

Even if you're not a huge fan of JRPGS, you could at least give them kudos to their unique looking worlds and styles. Ok sure, even someone like me is going to feel a bit tired toward the whole "spiky haired kid with huge sword saves world" bit but at least. World Ends With You had a graffiti art style and mixed in pop music, dance and fashion with it's monster slaying. Meanwhile the Shin Megami series blended monster and religious lore in a modern setting where characters used swords, fists and shotguns to save the world. Hell you get insane variety with the Mario RPGs which ranged from going around the worlds of Mario to fighting INSIDE Bowser.

Yea but most JRPGS
1. Take place in a scifi/fantasy bullshit locations. "Ok lets have a sword...but put a gun in it" Now lets set it way up her o you want to go and check out this kool mountain in the back round well to bad
2. Look like an art class throw up on it
3. Have a whiny git who complains every 10 mins World ends with you is guilty as sin for this
4. Most party memebers are still in high school
5. Hair that looks like they suffered a intense energy shock
6. Stupid "defeating" an enemy
7. Force to basicly take your toon to one location and watch a cutscene bull shit i want to make a choice i want to do something else...Nope still goin to walk right into these stupid trap.
8. Music that drowns out everything else.
9. Armor for women is laughable at best. I want to see my females have armor not some bikini
10. Women come in two flavors A. The bad ass ice queen B. Helpless bibo who requires the men folk to come and save her dumb ass.
11. Taking turns to fight is dull to say the least.
12. Why o why must i be this loner who thinks hes a bad ass over and over again.
13. Random battles are a ban of mankind
14. Being tele to a pocket of space to do battle is god damn stupid
...List goes on and on

Thier is a reason JRPGs are a dying breed not saying some are not bad but dull as hell would discribe most of them

You might like MegaTen games then. For instance, Devil Survivor only fits 4 and 11.

 

[G-Force]

Point I'm getting at is that there are plenty of non-medieval fantasy rpg out there. Beyond any doubt fantasy is the most popular setting, but it's the most popular for 'wrpg' and 'jrpg' both. Reason being that it's a well loved setting, people enjoy fantasy, *I* enjoy fantasy, that's it sells well. But there's still plenty of variety out there if only you look!

I think that's what got me to making this thread. For WRPGs that use an alternative setting (which there are great titles that are made) it seems like you have to dig for them as their older games. Meanwhile with the JRPGs I listed you can find a good chunk of fairly recent examples. Then again Dues Ex is coming up soon so there's a good break.

 

[V8 Ninja]

Because making universes that DON'T involve elves, dwarfs, and dragons requires actual creativity. HA HA HA HA HA HA-

-No, it's more about staying true to what works. And also because J.R.R. Tolkien associated the word "Fantasy" with all of those things mentioned above.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

I love a good WRPG, I really do. I love how they offer character creation and have the player somewhat affect the central narrative and the freedom they bring. However with the Witcher 2 out and Skirim over the horizon I JUST noticed something.

How come a HUGE majority of games of the genre still use a medieval fantasy setting. Am I saying that Baulder's Gate is the same as Dragon Age Origins? Of course not but I'm starting to have a tricky time explaining the difference of each game universe when they involve elves, halflings and run the same array of black and white magic in each title. Why are people still fascinated with this time period when there's a huge wealth of Western settings and time periods that could be used. Alpha Protocal made a WRPG take place in present times and outside of Vampire Masqurade I can't think of any other games that fit this period. I'm not denying the existence of non medieval WRPGS cause we have titles like Fallout and Planescape. It's just that the high profile WRPGs being made recently (Fable, Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age and Wticher) still draw from the realm of high fantasy. I mean we could have a WRPG take place in Steampunk Victorian England, or the Wild West or even a 1950s-ish alien invasion with a MIB vibe, vikings or something based on Greek/Roman mythology. Hell I'll take a Lovecraft WRPG, just something different from swords and sorcery.

Even if you're not a huge fan of JRPGS, you could at least give them kudos to their unique looking worlds and styles. Ok sure, even someone like me is going to feel a bit tired toward the whole "spiky haired kid with huge sword saves world" bit but at least. World Ends With You had a graffiti art style and mixed in pop music, dance and fashion with it's monster slaying. Meanwhile the Shin Megami series blended monster and religious lore in a modern setting where characters used swords, fists and shotguns to save the world. Hell you get insane variety with the Mario RPGs which ranged from going around the worlds of Mario to fighting INSIDE Bowser.

Because it's easier to justify absurdities. Think about it, when your setting for a video game includes magic, which most WRPGs in the medieval type era do, you can do just about anything and justify it with magic.

Even with games like Mass Effect that are set in the future, you can do things with hi technology, but theirs a limit, it has to at least seem scientifically feasible. With magic you can make flaming dogs rain from the sky like in Oblivion and you can explain it with magic, if you tried that in Mass Effect you'd have to think up some crazy convoluded explanation.

Not to mention it's usually really fun and turns a buck very well. But this is my opinion it could be wrong or maybe I'm over or underthinking it, but thats the way I see it.

 

[The Madman]

I think that's what got me to making this thread. For WRPGs that use an alternative setting (which there are great titles that are made) it seems like you have to dig for them as their older games. Meanwhile with the JRPGs I listed you can find a good chunk of fairly recent examples. Then again Dues Ex is coming up soon so there's a good break.

Alpha Protocol, Mass Effect, Fallout, and indeed Deux Ex as well are all recent properties. Hardly older games.

That said Fantasy settings for 'western' are just a staple. It's like games of Japanese origin and anime. Sure there are those that aren't anime inspired or designed like... umm... that fighting one on PS3 which everyone said was extremely hard and... well... that's the only one I can think of actually which falls under the rpg category but I'll be the first to confess I don't know much about the genre. I'm sure they exist, but there arn't that many of em which is my point.

Just staples of the culture. Gotta remember fantasy didn't start with Tolkien. Lotr is just a mish-mash of existing myths and legends which have had an influence on European culture since their inception, and America as a European colony whether the US likes to admit it or not, are part of that legacy as well.

 

[Harry Mason]

Can you imagine how sweet a full-out Viking fantasy rpg would be? You'd start out small, killing trolls, but then work your way up to riding with Valkyries and killing frost giants with a battle axe in Asgard.

I think you've just invented the greatest game ever...

I have to wholeheartedly agree with the OP. I would love to see a western Horror RPG or something like that. The closest thing to a Horror RPG I've ever played is Parasite Eve, and it was drenched in so much JRPG that it didn't feel like Horror at all.

 

[Kahunaburger]

It IS getting rather stale in my opinion.

If not medieval/Tolkienesque, it's sci-fi with guns and stats that SOMEHOW boost the gun's power.

Why not mix it up?
Have the ELVES running around, being all superior and racist (as opposed to humans).
Why not set it in the modern day? Have people in enchanted Kevlar running using magic swords because they're bullet resistant.
Mages in jeans and a t-shirt rather than robes, maybe with a cane instead a staff.
It could have an emphasis on enchanting gear yourself as opposed to gear with preset stat boosts.

I actually quite like this idea now...

pretty sure the xenophobic elves has been done

Yeah - in Tales of Symphonia I think? Although I seem to remember it being xenophobic half-elves. Also Drow haha.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

It's a comfortable setting. You have the sword and bow and magic would be easier to explain then by "it's magic" without involving cops, government and what not. Think of the World of Darkness and the means that ensure normal folk don't remember vampires or mages or wraith.

There is a certain lack of rules or means by which you can establish your own that the modern world would lack.

this by far

in the medieval fantasy setting its so easy to just have things be..."things" without much need for logic/realism/relateable to modern times based on all those things, so its really easy to just do things in that setting, plus its been proven to be liked time and time again.

 

[DeltaWolfson]

Ok, major fail on you G-Force you just now noticed? It's been like that since freaking 1987.

 

[Haukur Isleifsson]

Yes, they could diversify. But so could most all genres. If anything we are seeing more diversity of setting here than in many genres. Just think of the variety of settings an themes of most modern FPS.

But if they choose to try something "new" I would love to see some steampunk or cyberpunk. Even that blended with fantasy elements would be great. Arcanum for example sounds really good.

But I have always been very interested in using fiction (and especially fantasy) to contextualize real social, economical, political and historical concepts.

 

[kidigus]

Because Lord of The Rings was so good.

Funnily enough, I tend to regard Tolkien ripoffs as making Lord of the Rings better by making it not boring. I tried to read the book and found it dull as ditchwater. I tried to watch the movies and couldn't get through the first one.

Tolkien's languages are excellent, and I'm sure his worldbuilding is fine, but his narrative stinks.

You'd have to be pretty jaded to find Lord of The Rings boring, but that's not my problem.

 

[Manji187]

A general aversion to take risks....possibly coupled with a lack of imagination.

Now that's quiet the ironic comment. I always pegged the RPG genre to require the most imagination.

Well, there's imagination and there's imagination . It can be imaginative when compared to other games in the same genre, or when simply compared to other games. But if you draw the circle a bit broader (movies, books) you will quickly find out just how lacking most games (yes, there are always exceptions) are in the imagination department.

 

[Reaper195]

I love a good WRPG, I really do. I love how they offer character creation and have the player somewhat affect the central narrative and the freedom they bring. However with the Witcher 2 out and Skirim over the horizon I JUST noticed something.

How come a HUGE majority of games of the genre still use a medieval fantasy setting.

Don't mean to sound like a dick, but I've known a lot of people who were wondering the same thing around the time Morrowind came out.
But I also agree. They all seem to take place in the backyard of England.

As for JRPGs, I'm glad they use the settings they use. Because unlike pretty much every WRPG, JRPGs seem to have an entirely different setting, year, technology, etc, every game. Hell, the Final Fantasy series go through entirely different looking universes each game (With the exceptions of the ones that have sequels.....in a game series of sequels, wtf Square?)

 

[Merkavar]

i would think it would be the simple fact that a rpg wouldnt work in the future. how can you go on an epic quest and kill a dungeon full of emenmies when in the future you would just drive your spaceship to the dungeon then bombard it from the future.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Lord of the Rings. I think I'm done here.

 

[blankedboy]

Who's this awesome mod lying around that just got here? Info dump please :>

 

[LordRoyal]

I mean we could have a WRPG take place in Steampunk Victorian England

Shut up and take my money, all of it

Has no one played Arcanum?