I’ve been thinking for a long time about how much I keep wanting games that take place in the real world. Games, as my preferred medium to consume, I feel lacks something I like in movies, real stories about real people dealing with ordinary shit. That means NO MAGIC, NOTHING SUPER NATURAL, NO SCI FI.
I think games really need to grow up a bit, to start having the breath of stories and settings as movies and books do for example. And I'm not talking about aping story telling techniques. Since I believe games should be as player driven as possible. But more about just being in the real world, in a setting that feels familiar and intimate, something one can relate to.
Some genres that naturally feel real are simulation games but it lacks that human element. And on a completely different note, visual novels are great at this, they are always about the human element, and often do stick to reality, when they don’t delve into anything magical/super natural and such. Also indie games are good at this but they often don’t dare to be too real and mask their real stuff in goofy package, for example Night in the Woods, about real life stuff but with cartoony animals so it still “fails” in what I want. One edge case is the GTA series, while it takes place in reality and stays there, it's still about very extraordinary things and doesn't feel real as a result.
So! I want to hear some examples and if you have some thoughts on what you think gaming needs to feel more real and relatable?
I think games really need to grow up a bit, to start having the breath of stories and settings as movies and books do for example. And I'm not talking about aping story telling techniques. Since I believe games should be as player driven as possible. But more about just being in the real world, in a setting that feels familiar and intimate, something one can relate to.
Some genres that naturally feel real are simulation games but it lacks that human element. And on a completely different note, visual novels are great at this, they are always about the human element, and often do stick to reality, when they don’t delve into anything magical/super natural and such. Also indie games are good at this but they often don’t dare to be too real and mask their real stuff in goofy package, for example Night in the Woods, about real life stuff but with cartoony animals so it still “fails” in what I want. One edge case is the GTA series, while it takes place in reality and stays there, it's still about very extraordinary things and doesn't feel real as a result.
So! I want to hear some examples and if you have some thoughts on what you think gaming needs to feel more real and relatable?