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Fantasy Vs. Sci-Fi?
Rott23
Member UncommonPosts: 56
It seems to me like more people are attracted to Fantsy mmo's, as opposed to Sci-Fi. This isn't just in 3D games like EQ, WoW, and the like, but also in Browser games.
Do you think this is because of the ACTUAL game itself? As in the quality or company that developed it? Is it the appeal of using certain armor/weapons? Or is the setting, monsters, and overall setting?
My personal preference is in Fantasy because I like the armor and weapons better. What do you think?
Don't forget to vote in the poll! 
Comments
If I were to take a wild guess, I'd say it'd be because there's more and more younger people playing these days than in the past... and fantasy is generally not very.. uh.. sophisticated
Dunno...
I know I prefer sci-fi.. fantasy just seems so.. common and dull, overdone.
I prefer the 3rd option, a mix between fantasy and sci fi.
Depends on my mood really, but I chose Fantasy because my mood sways that way more.
Actually fantasy MMORPGs and fantasy games in general have always been more popular because of the cool class differences, weapons, and magic. Sci-fi to me is just to far out there and I would never been interested in fighting with lazers and .. uh ..what else could you possibly do? Sci-fi is not for me definitely and I am no kid.
I'm not saying one is better than the other (though I did vote for my personal preference). However, I feel it is worth mentioning that there is a LOT of very poorly written material in both genres, and a person might be swayed to the opposite camp if one's early experiences were tainted by amateur designers.
I'm looking at you, Vanguard. And also you, City of Heroes. (For the record, CoH has improved a bit with their newer stuff!)
I would go for Sci-Fi.
The problem with that tho is that sci-fi lends itself more to FPS games. Ai for mobs isn't good enough at the moment to make ranged combat convincing. Most AI for mobs involves them running straight up to you which is more believable in a setting where melee combat is involved where a mob does have ranged attacks there is no use of cover or tactics.
Good point. There is a BIG difference between how one would fight tactically with swords and guns. I think that is why I didn't like AO when I first payed it upon release; it would just be your character and MoB standing 10 feet away from each other in a hallway shooting! Never thought of the determining factor being as such before.
Its always good to put a neutral vote in your polls.
I pick SciFi. Maybe next Blizz MMO...?
I have to agree fantasy lends itself more to group tactics and sci-fi works best with fps.
i'd say fantasy is more popular because it's been there longer. in actual midieval times there were " witches, " seers, " " priests " ect. people just have it in their roots. i guess. and i'd say fantasy again because it's popular.
It doesn't matter is the game Fantasy or Sci-fi as long the gameplay is good and fun.
MMORPG.COM has worst forum editor ever exists
I'd take any setting so didnt vote
I prefer Sci-Fi because the world can be built on imagination. But Fantasy usually uses LOTR/D&D monsters, so they have constraints on the genre.
But as the other posters have said, you should have had a extra line on your poll for both combined.
lol and who said sci fi is 'too out there..' lol because magic is pretty far fetched to me
have you ever played Eve?? Unless your just amazing (what i mean by amazing is playing nonstop since release) if you dont play group tactics your dead. and Eve is definitely not fps, actually i havent played a mmo that is sci fi fps yet..
I agree. Third option for me.
You can incorporate fantasy themes into Sci-fi. Things like swords and magic can run right along side nano bots and hackers. If done correctly. Granted the swords may be laser like a la Star Wars, but the Jedi basically had magic. The force, good or bad was just a take on magic and the mystical.
Ancient Societies who have withstood the times could practice magic, ancient forms of combat and such in a futuristic world. Witches still exist now, Voodoo is still practiced. As far as combat, well...it may not be a western traditional theme in fantasy, but in Asian fantasy...kung-fu /martial arts is a large part of that. Alot of that predates medieval times also. it's still being used. In fact I will go so far as to say that when you think hand to hand close quarters combat...you think martial arts. Well, the mystical plays a role in that history,present and will continue to into the future.
It's the world atmosphere and story being told that can make something like this pop.
Sci-Fi doesn't need to be earth related either. What i mean by that is that it doesn't have to be based on earth's timeline, OUR human race, or our galaxy. The story that immediately comes to mind for that would be Dune.
I have played Eve and it is the only sci-fi game that comes close to beingbelievable . This maybe due to the setting and that there are no real obsatcles in space. The AI doesn't have to be very complicated. All the AI has to do is basically get you to its ideal range and then attack which is pretty basic behaviour.
I left Eve as I was making millions a day without leaving the station and I hated the travel mechanics.
lol dude how did you make millions a day??
Personally, I prefer fantasy and always have in novels, film, and pen-and-paper games. In terms of MMORPGs, I just find sci-fi environments somewhat sterile and lifeless. When sci-fi is done right and imaginatively I love it just as much as fantasy, but in the gaming world, I have yet to find the sci-fi MMORPG that translates as well as fantasy does. I think STO has the potential to introduce a sci-fi world I would love to immerse myself in if the devs handle the property correctly. In a way, I think fantasy has it easier since it's roots stereotypically lay in medieval-type culture whereas badly executed sci-fi can look awfully dated and silly very quickly. (Why do 80% of avatars in sci-fi games look like rejects in lacrosse uniforms carrying supersoakers?)
Very good point. For me, fantasy also strips down all the smoke-and-mirrors of our technological age and addresses things on a very base, primal level whether we're talking about questions of good vs. evil, folklore, mythology, brute force vs. compassion and wisdom, etc. For me personally, this makes a more enjoyable play environment whereas sci-fi is all too often one person's often jack-assed speculation of what the future might be like with blinking lights and flying cars.
I don't really have a preferance for either one, but I will tell you what I don't like... unoriginality, poorly planned worlds and the lack of the more gritty human element that makes life so interesting.
There are many many settings, both fantasy and sci-fi, that I consider very blah. One thing is I think that a setting can't be too disattached from reality or it becomes disinteresting to me, when the world is filled with lazers and floating cars, or mystical dragons and magic weilding elves, it starts to be less interesting already.
I like a world the feels like the one I live in but is different some how in a more subtle way, not a completely different world, it could be a not so distant distopian future like Bladerunner, or a more mysterious past like Ravenous. I prefer a more surreal quality that is still based in reality for the most part, than the fantastical one that you get with most fantasy and sci-fi settings.
I think that sci-fi and fantasy elements should be added to an already realistic and believable world and should be more toned down and rare, this helps them retain the awe factor. Creating a world around such elements and making them center stage makes what was once awe inspiring things into trite and boring ones.
I also prefer to play as myself in games, and try to craft a character that is like me, because overall I think reality is very interesting, so I do not feel the need to escape that far from it.
As for which one is more popular, it comes and goes, all it takes is one hit with a certain setting to get the ball rolling for others like it, remember Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, sci-fi use to be more popular up to Star Wars and Aliens, only not too long ago did Lord of the Rings become a success, then you had Narnian and such. The same goes for games.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit
I'd love a good sci-fi MMO but there just aren't any. Too many people get stuck in this mindset that "sci-fi = boring space crap" (looking at you, EVE). I can think of plenty of "sci-fi" settings that don't use space or space travel whatsoever. Sci-fi also doesn't have to be a Bladerunner-esque "dark future" setting or a post-apocalyptic setting.
When you get right down to it, fantasy and sci-fi are nearly the same. You have humans, some big and strong, some not. You have weird furry non-humans. You can have a high-tech force field protecting you, or a WoW priest can cast Power Word: Shield or similar magic spell. You can fire a high impact plasma grenade into a group of enemies for an AoE attack, or a fire-based wizard can throw a massive magical fireball into their midst. It's all the exact same thing, the only difference is the names and graphics. The one thing sci-fi would utterly destroy is the Holy Trinity we're so "in the box" about in fantasy games. Ranged combat would be more important, but wouldn't necessarily be the end all, be all of combat. Just like you see in the better team-oriented FPS titles, a sci-fi MMO could emphasis teamwork over "in the box" fantasy groups. How many of us have been rejected because "sorry, we already have too many [insert the class you're playing here]?" There's a possibility that in a sci-fi (granted, it would depend how characters/classes/skills/whatever are designed) that players would find groups more easily because the dispersion of class dynamics would be less important.
Having said that, my ideal MMO would combine the two in a Rifts or Shadowrum type way, but not using either of those IPs. Why not? Because PnP rules don't apply whatsoever to open world MMOs, and too many people would have too many expectations of the IP based on their PnP experiences. There's no way it would live up to our own hype (just look at the Tolkien nerds bashing both LOTRO and the LOTR movies), so a unique IP inspired by them is the best way to go.
There's hope (albeit little) in Star Trek Online and Stargate Worlds. Personally I have a sinking feeling that STO will be WoW with phasers and the overall objective, much like the original series, "to seek out and destroy new life forms." Trek is too big of an IP to take any real chances with; it's going to be a "safe" MMO. The Stargate IP gives SGW potential but, right now the game doesn't exist, and some comments the devs have made lead me to wonder if it's going to be a very shallow experience ala CoX?
Sci fi all the way.
The main difference for me is that fantasy consist mainly of outrageous ideas/mechanics which could never be done, while sci fi can provide the same types of mechanics/ideas but can make them seem plausible through science fact.
For example, the possibility of someone being able to conjure a magical fireball and fling it from their hand is nil.
However, the possibility of nanites and nanomachines being eventually created to give us apparently magical abilities ( i.e. Anarchy Online) goes higher the more we learn about nano construction in the real world.
ahem mind telling me exactly how long you played eve online? Let me guess, the 14 day free trial? Please. Dont judge a game and call it 'boring space crap' unless youve given it a good try. Yes at first Eve is 'boring space crap' and it takes a little bit to get used to, but once you begin your pvp experience and join a corp, etc. the game gets very exciting. Please, play the game a good amount of time next time before you decide to trash it.