The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
This is regarding Sci-Fi games like X-Wing, Star Wars, Star Trek, Space Invaders, anything at all that is based at a time in the future removed from our own.
At present, most of them concentrate on hardware like space fleets, laser guns, colonisation of planets and so on. But more recently, if you take the lead of the Sci-Fi writing community, Sci-Fi is starting to develop branches, where on the one hand you still have the hardware type storylines, but on the other you have more and more examples of storylines where the human spirit starts to separate from it's earthly confines and develops from there.
Not much fun, that, you might say. You can't have a spiritual shoot 'em up can you? But what CAN be done with this sort of storyline? I think RPG's will be the first genre to tackle it. More of a brain game than an action game, but nonetheless pleasing for it.
The current excuse for setting games in the 'near future' is so that advanced weaponry can be put to use, or nanotechnology enhancements made (Deus Ex would be an example of this), and the excuse for setting games in the far future would be so that starfighters or interstellar warships could be brought into play.
But how about WAY into the future, when some predict that the human spirit will no longer have a use for the body, and evolve into the next generation of humanoid? Why have no games as yet tackled this aspect of Sci-Fi which is growing apace? Too new? Too risky?
A few years from now, this is the sort of game we could well be seeing on the X-Box, GameCube and so on. If Sci-Fi hardware can break into games because it is exciting, I think Sci-Fi spiritual should make it's way to the platforms too, to even up the balance.
At present, most of them concentrate on hardware like space fleets, laser guns, colonisation of planets and so on. But more recently, if you take the lead of the Sci-Fi writing community, Sci-Fi is starting to develop branches, where on the one hand you still have the hardware type storylines, but on the other you have more and more examples of storylines where the human spirit starts to separate from it's earthly confines and develops from there.
Not much fun, that, you might say. You can't have a spiritual shoot 'em up can you? But what CAN be done with this sort of storyline? I think RPG's will be the first genre to tackle it. More of a brain game than an action game, but nonetheless pleasing for it.
The current excuse for setting games in the 'near future' is so that advanced weaponry can be put to use, or nanotechnology enhancements made (Deus Ex would be an example of this), and the excuse for setting games in the far future would be so that starfighters or interstellar warships could be brought into play.
But how about WAY into the future, when some predict that the human spirit will no longer have a use for the body, and evolve into the next generation of humanoid? Why have no games as yet tackled this aspect of Sci-Fi which is growing apace? Too new? Too risky?
A few years from now, this is the sort of game we could well be seeing on the X-Box, GameCube and so on. If Sci-Fi hardware can break into games because it is exciting, I think Sci-Fi spiritual should make it's way to the platforms too, to even up the balance.
That's the one!! Ta, Grix m8. Now in that you had an original idea. You could move about from body to body, although as previous posts have mentioned, that was a VERY dark game.
How about a happy one? How about a game based on the film Dogma? You could play as Jay or Bartleby or Bethany or Silent Bob....the storyline would definately be unique.
And it would be a bright game too! I suppose the only thing stopping that is that it's a game based on religion (Catholicism to be exact), but then, think of the press hype it would get which usually doubles sales of a game on launch day.
So there we are, a futuristic spiritualistic religiousistic game. Perfect. Just what the future needs.
How about a happy one? How about a game based on the film Dogma? You could play as Jay or Bartleby or Bethany or Silent Bob....the storyline would definately be unique.
And it would be a bright game too! I suppose the only thing stopping that is that it's a game based on religion (Catholicism to be exact), but then, think of the press hype it would get which usually doubles sales of a game on launch day.
So there we are, a futuristic spiritualistic religiousistic game. Perfect. Just what the future needs.
Messiah, FM.
Its going to be hard to make an excuse for the players to go around shooting large numbers of people/aliens if everyones a law abiding, happy citizen...
Unless, everyone else s happy, and you play a homicidal manic on the rampage, going to scholls killing children, climing university clock towers and sniper rifling students and lecturers... could be fun, ELSPA would love it! :)
Unless, everyone else s happy, and you play a homicidal manic on the rampage, going to scholls killing children, climing university clock towers and sniper rifling students and lecturers... could be fun, ELSPA would love it! :)
Everyone's obsessed with the future getting darker. What a miserable idea. The future should be brighter. In fact, we should play games where the future is too bright, due to a chemical fault in our atmosphere, and everyone has to go around wearing shades all the time.
Futuristic games are always harking on about how terrible everything will be too, perhaps we could have the opposite and have a world so nice that people start going mad because they can't take it anymore. One lone person realizes this and takes on the might of the killer clown corporation which runs the world.
And while i'm on the subject, why are people obsessed with hover cars? Why can't they have hover bikes or hover busses, or perhaps direct teleportation, so no transport exists at all.
Just a thought guys!
Futuristic games are always harking on about how terrible everything will be too, perhaps we could have the opposite and have a world so nice that people start going mad because they can't take it anymore. One lone person realizes this and takes on the might of the killer clown corporation which runs the world.
And while i'm on the subject, why are people obsessed with hover cars? Why can't they have hover bikes or hover busses, or perhaps direct teleportation, so no transport exists at all.
Just a thought guys!
Didnt you develop into a spiritual essence in Alpha Centuri?
There's been several games i've seen with a futuristic background, Unreal Tournament is one, Perfect Dark, Deus Ex, Wipeout series, Star Wars series , they've all beenb successful even though they don't have the realistic touch with the times they are set.
What was the name of the game that came out on PC a while back, maybe two, three months ago, where you could jump from body to body, and it had a picture of a cherub on the cover of the box.....
I think that was getting close to what I'm thinking about, it's just that it needs a bit more development.
I think that was getting close to what I'm thinking about, it's just that it needs a bit more development.
Great point... I'm dying to see more such games.
I love Sci-fi... Star Wars is good for a while, but there aren't THAT many good Star Wars games... Deus Ex was great, but it was easy to think that society hadn't crumbled enough.
The further we go... the darker it gets...
(I've always dreamed of playing a game far into the future... counting down the week to the end of the world... Majoras Mask tried to do it... but I had expected a bit more mass panic, and a LOT more darker.)
Yeah. A first person shooter would be great for that. I'll put it on my "Things to do" list.
I love Sci-fi... Star Wars is good for a while, but there aren't THAT many good Star Wars games... Deus Ex was great, but it was easy to think that society hadn't crumbled enough.
The further we go... the darker it gets...
(I've always dreamed of playing a game far into the future... counting down the week to the end of the world... Majoras Mask tried to do it... but I had expected a bit more mass panic, and a LOT more darker.)
Yeah. A first person shooter would be great for that. I'll put it on my "Things to do" list.
This is regarding Sci-Fi games like X-Wing, Star Wars, Star Trek, Space Invaders, anything at all that is based at a time in the future removed from our own.
At present, most of them concentrate on hardware like space fleets, laser guns, colonisation of planets and so on. But more recently, if you take the lead of the Sci-Fi writing community, Sci-Fi is starting to develop branches, where on the one hand you still have the hardware type storylines, but on the other you have more and more examples of storylines where the human spirit starts to separate from it's earthly confines and develops from there.
Not much fun, that, you might say. You can't have a spiritual shoot 'em up can you? But what CAN be done with this sort of storyline? I think RPG's will be the first genre to tackle it. More of a brain game than an action game, but nonetheless pleasing for it.
The current excuse for setting games in the 'near future' is so that advanced weaponry can be put to use, or nanotechnology enhancements made (Deus Ex would be an example of this), and the excuse for setting games in the far future would be so that starfighters or interstellar warships could be brought into play.
But how about WAY into the future, when some predict that the human spirit will no longer have a use for the body, and evolve into the next generation of humanoid? Why have no games as yet tackled this aspect of Sci-Fi which is growing apace? Too new? Too risky?
A few years from now, this is the sort of game we could well be seeing on the X-Box, GameCube and so on. If Sci-Fi hardware can break into games because it is exciting, I think Sci-Fi spiritual should make it's way to the platforms too, to even up the balance.
At present, most of them concentrate on hardware like space fleets, laser guns, colonisation of planets and so on. But more recently, if you take the lead of the Sci-Fi writing community, Sci-Fi is starting to develop branches, where on the one hand you still have the hardware type storylines, but on the other you have more and more examples of storylines where the human spirit starts to separate from it's earthly confines and develops from there.
Not much fun, that, you might say. You can't have a spiritual shoot 'em up can you? But what CAN be done with this sort of storyline? I think RPG's will be the first genre to tackle it. More of a brain game than an action game, but nonetheless pleasing for it.
The current excuse for setting games in the 'near future' is so that advanced weaponry can be put to use, or nanotechnology enhancements made (Deus Ex would be an example of this), and the excuse for setting games in the far future would be so that starfighters or interstellar warships could be brought into play.
But how about WAY into the future, when some predict that the human spirit will no longer have a use for the body, and evolve into the next generation of humanoid? Why have no games as yet tackled this aspect of Sci-Fi which is growing apace? Too new? Too risky?
A few years from now, this is the sort of game we could well be seeing on the X-Box, GameCube and so on. If Sci-Fi hardware can break into games because it is exciting, I think Sci-Fi spiritual should make it's way to the platforms too, to even up the balance.