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Fantasy: Standard races, silly armor, disgusting weapons...
Seival
Member Posts: 136
I'm not sure if anyone agree, but races, armors, and weapons in some of the most famous fantasy MMOs are absurd and rediculous.
Long-eared elves, green-skinned shreks (...sorry, orcs), undersized bearded dwarves, baby-like or toy-like races (like gnomes... I HATE GNOMES
)...
Armors that look like plastic halloween costumes or silly bathing suits...
Weapons that have rediculous toy-like appearance and should waight more then the person who uses it (according to the weapon's size)...
I know, "game" and "realism" should not always be the same thing, but come on! These features above are just shoking... Sinse when fantasy became a parody on fantasy?
Anyone else wants to see some more realistic armor/weapon and non-standard (or "semi-Tolkien") races in future MMOs?
It looks like ArenaNet is one of the few developers who decided to get rid of these silly standards (at least partially). I think we should support this idia for the sake of fantasy MMO development.
Comments
You're talking about a "high fantasy" setting and correct that practically no one makes games around that type of aesthetic anymore. If you'd like to see more games that can take their settings seriously don't buy/play the ridiculous ones. These are just games though and people would actually have to read Lord of the Rings to get a sense of what serious fantasy can be but that's too much trouble and the movies take less time ;D. Just in case you would like to read something besides LotR but of about the same caliber check out George R. R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire. Much darker in many respects than LotR and I love it all the more for it!
I wholeheartedly agree. The hammer that weighs more than my character in Aion and the spiked shoulder pads that would cut my head open if I raise my hand in WoW make me uninstall.
However, I can see the double standard in my own thinking. Somehow, I don't find being able to shoot fire outta my eyes to be ridiculous, but swords and axes should conform to known physics.
There is no excuse for gnomes. I don't mind dwarves - RIP agent 00 http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1755976
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
also, have you looked at Age of Conan. Very little of that stuff there.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
I'll have to disagree.
It comes down to an aesthetic and a way to create a hyper reality.
The weapons aren't just "weapons" and shouldn't be thought of in that way. They become an iconic representation of the damage they and their wielder can do. Of their power.
I think the issue is that you are applying the "that could never be" mentality. And you are right.
But that's not the purpose. It's about "going there". About making things as outlandish and silly as possible in a context that allows them to be real.
Like the Impossible Horns on the Devil creature in Legend. It becomes a sort of signature for the character.
It works if one allows it to work.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I actually like all the fantasy stuff.
Getting killed by a cute popori will only make you rage harder
So I'll add:
I play a lot of Oblvion.
some characers only use more realistic weapons and armor. And sometimes I want a more other worldly feelign and allow for outlandish weapons and armor.
It really depends on the character and experience I'm going for.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
There isnt much games coming up with such features. I dont see point of this thread tbh. Just look at hype top7
Guild Wars 2
8.71
#2
8.36
- Rift
#3
7.96
- TERA
#4
7.95
- Star Wars: The Old Republic
#5
7.89
- The Secret World
#6
7.86
- Earthrise
#7
7.85
- The Agency
I doubt any of those games have "features" you named in your post, maybe except Rift. So I would say high fantasy is nice time from time.... And even without that in most games you will find somewhat normal (size wise) weapons. I dont see problem with races, as long as they have different from usual storyline.
Agreed. Fantasy was always laughable on its own merits. Parody is just superfluous.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Well...that's why they are famous.
Would love to see some good S&S MMO tho. Maybe in Bethesda's turn?
Well, historically some armours were designed to strike fear among enemy soldiers. Spikes, horns and other decorations were quite common. I agree with oversized weapons and armours though. Whenever I see these screenshots with tiny female characters with swords twice their size and weight i chuckle a bit.
When seen in a certain light I couldn't disagree.
There's a reason I don't go around telling people that I play fantasy video games.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
They've made so many of the cutsy asian anime mmos half the time I visit this site my eyes are scoured from their sockets by a melange of pastels and neon in the form of ANOTHER cat girl. When is someone going to make a darker Diablo-esque mmo for those of us that are looking for that style?
** Perhaps then some of us won't feel wholly inhibited in our ability to talk about how we have fun to *gasp* strangers ><!
Rift is a mild case i believe. TERA on the other hand, from the screenshots I've seen, fits the OP's description perfectly.
I'd be "so" into that.
A few years ago I actualy wrote Blizzard and indicated that if they were to create a Diablo type world that I would play it in a heart beat.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
It's easy to tear down the work of others, when you are incapable of creating something yourself.
In War - Victory.
In Peace - Vigilance.
In Death - Sacrifice.
The OP criticized orcs for being green and elves for having longer ears. I'm pretty sure he can find reasons to be outraged over every single one of those games you list.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
A lot of that stuff is iconic, rather than functional. Given the more animated style of a lot of the games, it's not out of character. In a game like Rift, where the characters are a little more realistic, the oversized shoulderpads and giants swords would look out of place. Ditto for Lord of the Rings Online. I guess for Guild Wars as well. Tera and WoW characters without the oversized shoulderpads, bikini armor or giant swords would look out of place.
As far as style goes, it doesn't much matter to me, as long as it's consistent, and doesn't look dorky for what it is.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I'd almost rather Blizzard didn't make it and someone else made a dark, gothic styled fantasy without the tendency Blizzard might have when making the game to add too much WoW in. Just tired of that system for the most part! If Blizzard could put a different team in the works that knew how to assimilate a great art style and fresher game play I would have no arguments.
Sure, whatever works.
I want dark, gritty, huge evil forests where I can get lost and die, deep dungeons where I can um, er, get lost and die, Storms, rain, lightning, mature themes (read "not porn but mature themes") huge world epic battles chance that I can run across a being that isn't level specific to the area, etc.
But still I can enjoy 10 foot swords and bikini armored ninja nymphs as well.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
MORE humans?!
The outrage! The inhumanity!
er....the humanity!
I demand a race that is not so cliche and overused! I demand, uh, dwarves? no...
Elves? no
Sexy green aliens? ...no...
Well bugger me. o_O
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin
I'm simply not a fan of the Asian "fantasy kitchen sink" approach to world building and style. It's just me, though.
Funny enough a friend told me that my Rift character looked like a Hooker from Star Trek.
I couldn't disagree.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Common for ceremonial armors, not for what you would actually wear to a battlefield. All those little ornaments and affectations would tend to catch weapons instead of deflecting them away. Although I do seem to remember that often high ranking officers or lords would show up at a battle in their Sunday finest. But I think that was because they had no intention of actually doing any fighting. Armor that's actually meant to protect its wearer is usually pretty plain and functional.
Example: the reason you don't see "boob plates" on historically acurate suits or armor isn't because there were no women wearing armor (rare but not unheard of), but because those two cute little spheres in the middle of the chest could easily direct the force of a blow into the center of mass, not away, then possibly upwards to slip beneath any throat protection that might be worn. Seriously bad news. The only benefit to it that I can see is as a mild distraction for the enemy.
For ceremonial purposes though, anything goes, including armored bikinis. Personally, I don't mind overly stylized armor in games. But it's refreshing to now and then see armor that looks like it's actually designed to keep it's wearer alive rather than how it would look being modeled on a Milan runway or in a Victoria's Secret catalog.
Besides, too unrealistic armor and weapons really can cause not just misunderstanding, but also some quite real in-game issues. Oversized armor or weapon parts can intersect with the character's (who wares it) body or even terrain (2H sword at character's back too long and character himself is too low-sized... and scaling not always helps).
It looks not just unrealistic. It looks like a bug that has to be fixed.
I kind of like those high-fantasy settings like Aion/L2, or even EQ and EQ2 when you get up to the higher levels. It makes the setting seem alien, and it keeps me wanting to see what new zones and gear will be like as I progress.
Not that theirs anything wrong with having a medieval European look and feel, but those settings don't really hold my attention for very long.