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Games in a real world setting?

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TimovieMan - 15 August 2018 12:53 AM

I agree with Advie on this. A real-world setting does not mean that the story can’t have any fantasy/supernatural elements.

So we can have the CSI-games and Law & Order games in the same category as The Cat Lady.

Yes, sorry my original post was unclear. But I was indeed asking for games without fantasy/scifi/supernatural elements (and preferably set in the present day), not just fantasy set in the recognizable present day - the distinction had already been made in the thread I was following up, but I should have repeated it.

(and yes, as Advie says, James Bond/Sherlock Holmes could be considered another kind of fantasy - hence the bonus points if it’s not obviously a genre piece Smile )

     
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Phlebas - 15 August 2018 05:13 AM

(and yes, as Advie says, James Bond/Sherlock Holmes could be considered another kind of fantasy - hence the bonus points if it’s not obviously a genre piece Smile )

As Roger Moore himself said in an event that I once participated, James Bond has nothing to do with real life, it’s pure escapism.

It would be kind of hard to think anything about James Bond realistic, I mean the guy is supposed be a secret agent, but he is known in every hotel, bar, and casino - by his real name too!

Anyway, I wouldn’t consider any of the mentioned games here as real life or real world, but I think we need to have very clear guidelines for real here.

If a game doesn’t have any weird/supernatural/etc. elements, but takes place in an imaginary city, is it real or not?
Or, games like Indiana Jones, which have religious artifacts, and Nazis (which really existed) hunting for these superpower items (which really didn’t happen) set in real world places and approximately right time, is that real?

I think of the games mentioned in this thread The Shivah comes closest to being real. It takes place in a setting that is based on real life, as the developer is known to use real life places as inspiration for his games, and most of the things that happen in the game don’t push the boundaries too far.
Then again, how often does a priest/rabbi/some other such person go out to solve crimes to prove that someone is innocent? Never? Not real?

     
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GateKeeper - 15 August 2018 12:54 PM
Phlebas - 15 August 2018 05:13 AM

(and yes, as Advie says, James Bond/Sherlock Holmes could be considered another kind of fantasy - hence the bonus points if it’s not obviously a genre piece Smile )

As Roger Moore himself said in an event that I once participated, James Bond has nothing to do with real life, it’s pure escapism.

It would be kind of hard to think anything about James Bond realistic, I mean the guy is supposed be a secret agent, but he is known in every hotel, bar, and casino - by his real name too!

Anyway, I wouldn’t consider any of the mentioned games here as real life or real world, but I think we need to have very clear guidelines for real here.

If a game doesn’t have any weird/supernatural/etc. elements, but takes place in an imaginary city, is it real or not?
Or, games like Indiana Jones, which have religious artifacts, and Nazis (which really existed) hunting for these superpower items (which really didn’t happen) set in real world places and approximately right time, is that real?

I think of the games mentioned in this thread The Shivah comes closest to being real. It takes place in a setting that is based on real life, as the developer is known to use real life places as inspiration for his games, and most of the things that happen in the game don’t push the boundaries too far.
Then again, how often does a priest/rabbi/some other such person go out to solve crimes to prove that someone is innocent? Never? Not real?

Yes, some very interesting points there. I wonder if we will ever see a game with the kind of realism found in say, a Ken Loach film or as someone mentioned earlier the Dogme movement - just everyday people with everyday problems, not based around “exciting” events like death, murder or theft. Would anyone even want to play it anyway?

     
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I was gripped at the mere description of it.

     
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I think Cart Life has a touch of Ken Loach or Mike Leigh about it, though I wouldn’t call it an Adventure game:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cart_Life

Façade, maybe?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Façade_(video_game)

     
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GateKeeper - 15 August 2018 12:54 PM

If a game doesn’t have any weird/supernatural/etc. elements, but takes place in an imaginary city, is it real or not?

If it’s an imaginary location that might as well be a real one with the names changed, sure.

Or, games like Indiana Jones, which have religious artifacts, and Nazis (which really existed) hunting for these superpower items (which really didn’t happen) set in real world places and approximately right time, is that real?

If they were just hunting for treasure, fair enough. The more improbable the quest, the less so. If they’re hunting for ancient artifacts with mysterious powers to turn the course of the war, definitely not. (I might make an exception if the artifact turned out not to have any mysterious powers after all, but what are the chances of that happening? Smile). As I say, I’d prefer present-day examples, but the point stands.

I think of the games mentioned in this thread The Shivah comes closest to being real. It takes place in a setting that is based on real life, as the developer is known to use real life places as inspiration for his games, and most of the things that happen in the game don’t push the boundaries too far.
Then again, how often does a priest/rabbi/some other such person go out to solve crimes to prove that someone is innocent? Never? Not real?

I’d accept The Shivah as being set in the real world, but falling into the detective genre so no bonus points.
A Normal Lost Phone is about the most ‘real’ I can think of - the phone interface is simplified and they’ve obviously made it a bit easier to guess passwords and so on than would generally be the case, but everything in there is basically plausible.

     
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you are making things too complicated, you asked for real-world setting, and put ten lines under the word ‘settings’ now with this talk going on, you might need to define what do you mean by ‘settings’ or every movie game every made might become unreal.

     
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Advie - 16 August 2018 05:15 AM

you are making things too complicated, you asked for real-world setting, and put ten lines under the word ‘settings’ now with this talk going on, you might need to define what do you mean by ‘settings’ or every movie game every made might become unreal.

Yes, I mistakenly thought it would be clear what I meant when I said ‘not fantasy/scifi/supernatural’. I did my best to clarify after the first reply, but nobody but cyfoyjvx seems to have read the clarification. Would it help if I edited the original post instead? Should I start a new thread? Just give up? We’re spending more time arguing about what qualifies than actually discussing games Frown

     
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No, don’t give up! This is a really cool thread and it’s not like there is any other actual discussion on adventure game topics on the board currently…

     
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No, No not all, i didn’t mean this, i just wanna understand to find those adventures you mean or looking for, and if it is about discussing of what is real-world adventures are, then so it, i might even join in. but just one thing i wanna add one thing if real-world adventures you mean are just the opposite if fantasy ones, i see many mentioned at the first page that suit that definition.

     
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There were a few mentioned at the previous thread, yes - but the focus there was discussing why Adventure Games tend to lean towards fantasy/scifi rather than ‘real world’ settings and stories, and that was an interesting discussion to have. I thought the question of ‘what games do stay in the real world’ warranted a separate thread so created this one.

     
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Phlebas - 16 August 2018 05:37 AM

‘what games do stay in the real world’ warranted a separate thread so created this one.

ok, seriously, Larry might fit perfectly or police quest.

but as why i think no dev cant create puzzles and inventory objects that are really interesting in a perfect real world, or we will end up opening doors and collecting desk materials into our inventory?

     
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Advie - 16 August 2018 05:48 AM

ok, seriously, Larry might fit perfectly or police quest.

but as why i think no dev cant create puzzles and inventory objects that are really interesting in a perfect real world, or we will end up opening doors and collecting desk materials into our inventory?

Yes, I’d count the Larry games. They get pretty improbable but I get the feeling they’re basically set in a realish world.

The ‘why’ is in the other thread - I was hoping alongside the discussion there we could find some games here that have a high degree of realism/verisimilitude but aren’t dull as you describe, and maybe discuss how that’s achieved!

(and I’ve edited my original post to clarify the request - it’s now a bit unwieldy but hopefully clearer!)

     

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Spycraft.

I’m not sure if it’s considered a proper AG, though, but at least it toys with a bunch of new gameplay ideas, and tries to be realistic while not relying on the usual detective tropes.

Edit : I see Oscar had already mentioned it.
There’s also The Samaritan Paradox. It has fantasy elements but they are clearly defined as being part of an in-game story, so I’m not sure if it’s fits the thread requirements.

     
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Ninth - 16 August 2018 08:31 AM

Spycraft.
There’s also The Samaritan Paradox. It has fantasy elements but they are clearly defined as being part of an in-game story, so I’m not sure if it’s fits the thread requirements.

From what I know of it, Samaritan Paradox is an excellent suggestion!

     

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