What's a setting that we don't see often in games that we should get more of?

[krakenking189]

The setting is one of the most important aspects of a game, but over the past few years, it seems that we haven't gotten anything super unique. As much as I love fantasy games, I want something that is a little more off the beaten path in terms of setting. Stuff like Tolkien is getting boring at this point I guess. Morrowind is a pretty good example of a pretty diverse setting. It felt very alien with the giant mushrooms and the Ashland and then an architecture style based upon giant crab carapaces (well, maybe not literally)


We have had some outliers recently, such as the Fantasy Caribbean setting that Pillars of Eternity 2 that strays from the common European Fantasy.

So, I ask you, what's a unique setting that we should see more of in games?

 

[Chairman Yang]

A few rare outliers like Ghost of Tsushima aside, Assassin's Creed has basically monopolized many underused historical settings. I'd love to see more, and better, stories and gameplay using these.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

modern-day English-speaking Caribbean islands.

 

[Aska]

I can think of many settings from Africa and South America.

 

[Nazgûl]

Western or Pirates. Though, I'm not sure if we do get these often.

I want game about the Pirate Henry Every by Naughty Dog.

 

[Nepenthe]

Literally any country with a multitude of Black and Brown people (outside of a wartorn setting).

 

[Mukrab]

Dark Fantasy

 

[TaySan]

Turkey/Greece and the Baltics we don't see many games.

Would love to see more wild west games.

 

[Glasfrut]

I can think of many settings from Africa and South America.

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Literally any country with a multitude of Black and Brown people (outside of a wartorn setting).

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Yup

 

[Dezzy]

Completely underground worlds.

Arx Fatalis did this. The outside world was unlivable, so humanity moved underground and the entire game takes place there. Really interesting underground biomes. It was so atmospheric and immersive.

 

[Deleted member 15240]

Any setting based in/on a place in Africa. Even something mainstream like ancient Egypt is under-utilized. The same goes for India, crazy how few games are based on a place and time from Indian history. China too. The Pacific Islands. South America. The Caribbean.

We also don't see enough settings with dinosaurs.

 

[Ascenion]

Literally any country with a multitude of Black and Brown people (outside of a wartorn setting).

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Damn shame Ubisoft is our best chance at this. Hell they gave us the most positive portrayal of a black protagonist so far imo (Marcus, Watch Dogs 2).

 

[Nepenthe]

Damn shame Ubisoft is our best chance at this. Hell they gave us the most positive portrayal of a black protagonist so far imo (Marcus, Watch Dogs 2).

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*coughcoughLuciocoughcough*

 

[julia crawford]

neptune

never saw a game set in neptune, not to mention uranus

 

[Lowrys]

South America in general.

 

[Helix]

you could definitely have an epic within the confines of the Southern Asian history. there are really amazing stories that can be told from that region considering their deep roots in the Old World.

 

[ohitsluca]

HA! totally misread the question. Nevermind LOL

 

[Ales34]

Completely underground worlds.

Arx Fatalis did this. The outside world was unlivable, so humanity moved underground and the entire game takes place there. Really interesting underground biomes. It was so atmospheric and immersive.

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I second this. Arx Fatalis's atmosphere was incredible and very unique.

Literally any country with a multitude of Black and Brown people (outside of a wartorn setting).

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Do fantasy games count? If yes, TES VI will likely be one if it's really set in Hammerfell.

 

[SofNascimento]

Ancient Rome. Particularly if the focus in the Eastern part of the empire.

 

[Nepenthe]

Do fantasy games count? If yes, TES VI will likely be one if it's really set in Hammerfell.

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I will take fantasy settings to a degree, because a lot of times those settings are still based upon European folklore even if you've got Black people running around. You might luck out with something like Horizon and get some Native appropriation going on. (I will admit I know nothing of Hammerfell so excuse me if none of this applies.)

Like, I want a full blown game with properly researched Aztec folklore where Quetzalcoatl busts in at the last moment to wreck the bad guys' shit.

 

[Shiz Padoo]

Antarctica.

 

[Voyevoda]

Literally Not-New York.

 

[ngower]

Cities. Like, a modern day rom com city. Intact, full of live, etc. We see cities as they're destroyed or in the backdrop of something like Spiderman but we never really get to like...live in one. Something like Yakuza comes close but I want to see Boston or New York where I can take the subway and explore.

 

[Jimnymebob]

The one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism.

 

[Ales34]

I will take fantasy settings to a degree, because a lot of times those settings are still based upon European folklore even if you've got Black people running around. You might luck out with something like Horizon and get some Native appropriation going on. (I will admit I know nothing of Hammerfell so excuse me if none of this applies.)

Like, I want a full blown game with properly researched Aztec folklore where Quetzalcoatl busts in at the last moment to wreck the bad guys' shit.

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The Redguards (Hammerfell natives) appear to represent a wide range of North African and Middle Eastern cultures all at once from different time periods. From the Moors to the Egyptians and maybe even as far north as Turkey. If there's European influence, I haven't noticed it.

 

[Neoxon]

Literally any country with a multitude of Black and Brown people (outside of a wartorn setting).

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This

 

[Worldshaker]

I'd love to see more games take on dark fantasy.

 

[N.47H.4N]

Old West, more please.

 

[Truly Gargantuan]

Sci-Fi/Future/Cyberpunk India is one of my favorite settings for fiction and I rarely see it happen at all in any media.

 

[bounchfx]

Native American culture feels like it would make for a really rich and interesting rpg style game

 

[Stencil]

pre-internet Pacific Northwest USA. Rainy, foliage... Sounds nice.

I'd also say modern-day Philippines just bc when I went there my family wouldn't let me roam around and I'd really love to explore.

 

[GamerJM]

Japan from the 50s to 80s. I liked Yakuza 0 but I'm disappointed it didn't go full whole hog and give us a game with a 80s Japan City Pop aesthetic.

 

[Laver]

4k ultra

 

[J-Tier]

Mid century retro future. Like the Jetsons and Tomorrowland. I'd like to see more of that in a game.

 

[Pyro]

1920s, anywhere really but I'd love to see a game set place specifically in that New York or Tokyo.

 

[BlodiaMkII]

Completely underground worlds.

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Wanna say the PS1 armored core games had a lot of underground city levels, tho that was probably a technical limitation.

 

[dom]

Mesoamerica

 

[Tyaren]

Mayan or Aztec culture would be amazing to see in a game. Imagine an Assassin's Creed set there. O:

Also, Germany that is not set during WWI or WWII. The country has landscapes and towns straight out of a fairytale...

...yet games and movies only just focus an dark and grey war settings. :/

 

[YourFriendLevi]

Alien perspective sci-fi

 

[SxP]

If you compare it to movies or books, it's incredible how narrow the scope of settings are in games. Like even a contemporary European setting is pretty rare. All contemporary games are set in America or Japan, racing games being the exception. And you'd think that's much less "risky" than some of the other responses in this thread. So the fact that those games aren't being created says a lot about the chance of us seeing something even riskier.

 

[His Majesty]

Completely underground worlds.

Arx Fatalis did this. The outside world was unlivable, so humanity moved underground and the entire game takes place there. Really interesting underground biomes. It was so atmospheric and immersive.

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Good shout, wish Arkane would go for Arx Fatalis 2. Might want to check out Underrail, also an underground setting that is strongly inspired by the early Fallout games.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

The Old Testament Action RPG

 

[skobuffs]

We've ventured into beehives with Donkey Kong Country 2, but where's the love for the humble termite mound? They are by far the most impressive examples of insect architecture and urban planning. With the current focus on Metroidvanias, I think it would be a match made in heaven. They can be as big as 3 meters tall and 30 meters in diameter, and are connected by complex systems of subterranean tunnels as well. There is an area of Brazil that is the size of Britain with 200 million mounds spaced about 20 meters apart. 10 km of dirt has been excavated for the tunnels connecting them. Some have been occupied for thousands of years.

I started this comment as a joke, but now I want a vast Termite epic game series spanning thousands of generations. Metroidvania could just be the beginning. RTS, platforming, slice of life agriculture, Sim City and The Sims style, RPG, Tactical RPG, battle royale and more could all be viable options. Or a game that incorporates features of them all!

 

[Mg.]

Himalayas. I'm absolutely fascinated by that whole area.