Reality vs. Fantasy

[Solitudinarian]

Which games are more fun to play (or watch), those that strive for the utmost realism and poignancy or those that are completely original creations and steeped in the fantastic?

For me, there is a time and place for either or both depending on mood and circumstance, but overall I think that the reality games offer more of a release for a simple gamer like myself. It is easier to fathom the world of the game when the environment is familiar and focus more on the details of the gameplay, but the coolness of fantasy does have its place from time to time.

 

[Elite Gamer]

I never understand what's the attraction of a game being realistic. I'm not saying I hate realistic things.. I'm just saying I don't see why some people think realism instantly equals fun and that one game is automatically better if it is more realistic.

In the end I'd go for unrealistic games because there are realistic things that I find annoying and spoil the fun of games. When designers aren't constrained by reality they are free to focus on what would make the game better.

 

[scoops]

I definitely prefer the most realistic portrayal of a fantastic world/scenario possible. I usually go for games/books/films that take great pains to build the fantasy from the ground up, covering all the bases. The more information the creator has about his world, the more likely I am to be able to believe it on some level -- which directly translates into my enjoyment of it.

 

[PrinceLUDA21]

I like fantasy. Why? Because I want to do something I could never do in real life. Is that not the point or reason we play games. Anyone can steal a car. I can shoot a person just of GP. But shoot fireballs outa my hands is not possible. Run around a city running from top to top and rewinding time so I wont die is not an easy to do. Or how about travel to fudal Japan and suck up souls through a gauntlet. IT JUST WONT HAPPEN FOR ME. And the storys are just storys. It's a way escape our own life. Thats why we enjoy movies it's not our lief that we see.

 

[Darth_Jonas]

I like games/movies/books that are fantastical and stretch my imagination in new ways, but I like for things to be explained. For instance, I love comic books, but every superpower must have a reason (Marvel did really well when Stan Lee came up with simply "mutants"). I do NOT like it when there are fantastical things that go unexplained. Much of the Chinese theater is like this. Take the movie "Hero". People are flying all over the place, but no explanation is given.

Even games that have a modern day, no super powers, no aliens, or anything else that doesn't already exist in the "real" world can come across as unrealistic, cheesy, or ridiculous. A good story (no matter what medium) will draw me in, make me believe, make me become the characters no matter the circumstances. The creativity of the fantastical or mystical comes afterwards, in my opinion.