Your favorite themes in games? a study, please help.

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I'm doing a little study..
I'm wondering what everyone's favorite themes in games are.. ya know, like there is Alien themes for example, or ninja themes and many others.. Anyways, what is your favorite theme you like in games? Please explain why you like a theme. feel free to give more then one theme if you can't narrow it down to one.
This shall hopefully be most helpful, thanks. :)
 
I like realistic or semi realistic FPS games, Like halflife. Where there are something unrealisitc about them, yet somehow they are realistic.

Why I like them I dunno, maybe because they somehow relate to reality but in some ways they don't. They are a blast to play imo, and I wish more of them were made.
 
For me, it's an RPG. RPG's are so interactive. In the best of them, you can roam around and do pretty much whatever you want. The fact that you can customize your character as fit is a major plus side. NOTE: This is not all RPG's. These are only my favorites. IE: KotOR, NWN, Morrowind, and Diablo series
 
Anything immersive, really. I don't really have a favourite "theme" (could you be any more vague using that term? :P ). I am quite fond of science fiction though, especially dark science fiction, if that counts for anything. Film Noir inspired games are brilliant as well.
 
I like dark, gritty, serious games. What comes to mind immediately is Max Payne 1/2, The Getaway, Manhunt, that new Shellshock game, and to a lesser extent Splinter Cell and MGS (even though neither of them are incredibly dark, they're still great, serious games).
 
hm, I'm kinda more interested with the content side of games, like what is in it, what the theme of it would be. Like what type of content in games interests you most. I'm not really looking for genres. for example maybe an rpg has alot of medieval stuff in it or fantasy things, so like possible themes could be like fantasy or medieval. and then you would explain why you like them, you could also share stuff you think helps like interaction or immersiveness like whats been said and such.. but yeah.. hopefully that is better description of what I'm looknig for..
 
I like any theme that can be a good backdrop for a fun game. :)

Sorry, but theme isn't really that important to my gaming experience.
 
ww2 games...only era in recent memory where both sides were equally well equipped.
 
i dont give a damn about reality,my favorite reason i like hl2 is science fiction.
 
These are only my favorites. IE: KotOR, NWN, Morrowind, and Diablo series

Have you played Fallout, in that game you can even **** whores if you want to.
 
I find the sense of immersion to be the most important quality in a great video game. Interaction should be simple and actions predictable, while mapping well to the controls that trigger them. The easier a system is to use the more powerful it is.

The game world has to be believable and therefore consistent, obeying various 'laws'. This allows the user to apply their reasoning and problem solving skills to the tools they've been provided in order to achieve various goals within the game.

Mario 64 is the best example of this that I can think of.

//edit - my favourite theme is anything that involves a first person perspective and shooting lots of people :)
 
FPS'es or strategy games that require a little more tactic skill and brainpower than others.
 
Sci-fi settings, or better yet: post-apocalyptic worlds like Fallout! I've always liked that feeling of surviving in wastelands trying to scavenge whatever you can, each man for his own type of thing you know?
 
MaxiKana said:
I like realistic or semi realistic FPS games, Like halflife. Where there are something unrealisitc about them, yet somehow they are realistic.

Why I like them I dunno, maybe because they somehow relate to reality but in some ways they don't. They are a blast to play imo, and I wish more of them were made.
Click to expand...

i understand what u are saying...sorta like keeping a balance of the two.
 
^ basically you like games which are like movies? That's how I see Half Life, and what I personally enjoy.
 
Bio said:
Have you played Fallout, in that game you can even **** whores if you want to.
Click to expand...

Both times i played fallout i had sex with both the daughter and the mother in the family in new reno. But after this... in the real world... i couldnt shake the feeling that i had actually done something dirty. strange... it was like a very, very, very watered down version of the actual concequences of sex and drugs... I think this is because because both me and Suicide42 (my character) were very alike both phisically and mentally (the choices he made), so when Suicide went to bed with the sleezy hooker, to a certain extent it felt like i had done it too.... not that i would really do that or anything. just proves how powerful games can be, with or without havok engines and shiny new graphics.

*edit* i just read what i said and that sounds so ***ING SICK ROFL!!! i am now replacing the "****ed" s.

Above is a prime example of why i like RPGs. and not just specific RPGs either, i like all types of RPGs. Final fantasy is my favorite when i want to be told a story, but for realistic, character development i like BG and fallout.

and soon i will get WOW, because then me and Suicide42 can join the world of the MMORPG, meaning we can actually have relations with real people who are somewhere in the world (no, not THAT kind of relation...). I really cant wait for my character to mingle with the ohter people and become a well known character in an online universe... i just ****ing hope the game comes out in the summer holidays so i have enough time to play it.

but i also like most other games too. whether it be a story telling game, a game based on the player's skill, a game based on the player's choices, a game following a set rouitine or a mix of all of these elements... as long as its a well made game i will like it :)
 
Oh yeah, you can do that if you want to. You can deal drugs to children. You can dig graves for loot. You can become a porn star. You can be a bad guy! How many other games do you know that let you do all these things?
 
CB | Para said:
Oh yeah, you can do that if you want to. You can deal drugs to children. You can dig graves for loot. You can become a porn star. You can be a bad guy! How many other games do you know that let you do all these things?
Click to expand...

*edit* NEVER MIND

shit, i wrote like 3 things wrong here.

yup, games are kewl.

*SORRY ITS TOO LATE AT NIGHT FOR ME TO DO ANY DECENT POSTING
if you think the stuff i have been writing sounds a little weird lately, blame the fact that i have had hardly any sleep for ages...
 
I don't think it sounds wierd except for the schizophrenic part heh!
 
i like WWII settings too. although there are very few games that capture the spirit of the times. most games just want to focus on the FPS elements of WWII. only a handful of games like Hidden & Dangerous and (tentatively) Call Of Duty, have captured something other than just 'run n gun' attitude.

fantasy settings are good when done well, Morrowind, Baldurs Gate II, Planescape Torment etc. they're just pure escapism, and it's nice to sort of 'learn' all the little minutiae the devs have decided to put in to flesh the universe out.

on a side note, i am sick to flippin death of "your name is Joe Death, a soldier in the Colonial Marines in the year 837467585 with an iq of practically nothing...." ie. sci-fi settings. very few sci-fi games have been done well. i think mainly due to the fact that most of the content ends up being very similar between each game, eg. using 'credits' as currency, bio-implants, plasma powered outlandish weaponary, equally outlandish and seemingly pointless gadgets, weird aliens doing bad stuff...

military themed games are ok i guess. i like the feeling of power and responsibility some games bestow upon the player.

but overall i guess my favourite theme would have to be 'survival' or 'self preservation' or something. games based around that theme tend to be a lot more persnonal and seem to be more challenging both cranially and in terms of your hand-eye co-ordination, ie. Half-Life.

i think...
 
Medievil Fantasy, like Thiefs Steam Punk world etc.
 
I made a thread about htis a few weeks back. Anyway I prefer more organic settings, like the outdoor sections of Far Cry. But what i prefer overall is an artic theme, like the last few levels of Halo.

I like these because they make me feel more... ....free? I guess that's it.
 
hm , interesting replies so far. I've got another question to add. What do you feel are the most popular themes and such in gaming. Are there any statistics and such out there?
 
Killing things seems to be a pretty common theme. :)

Same could be said for building things I guess... so it balances out. ;)
 
I like movie themes alot, anything cinematic. Star Wars and LotR games come too mind.
I also like anything to do with amusement parks (Rollercoaster Tycoon) and Ancient Romans (Age of Empires, Rome: Total War)
 
I like science fiction, especially sci-fi that has stealth elements. Half-life/expansions and MGS1/2 are my two favorite game series.

Still, I like any games that are unrealistic, but where all the unrealistic elements are explained.

Half-life is very realistic, except for the aliens, and Gordon's ability to survive everything. But, it's explained through the resonance cascade, the HEV and the copious medkits. I like games where it's obvious that thought has been put into how the game mechanics have real-world basis.

The best (if not only) way to get that is from science-fiction.


The alternative, which is almost as good, is to have everything so over-the top that seriousness can be ignored.
Like in Soul Calibur 2 (My other choice for best-ever game :)).
 
you see alot of games focusing on saving the world :P obviously and romance save the girl type things... heh wow im not that helpful. But look into games like Metal Gear Solid and the Final Fantasy series and you will find a library of themes from the effects killing has on the mind and family type things (ok sorry to tired / late to elaborate)
 
ok, I got another question to add to the list.. What type of things should be included in a game or you feel add to a game and why?
for example, I heard that things you can relate to helps because it makes you comfortable and understand the game.
 
I like a classic flawed hero, preferably within some style of bildungsroman. A kind of Max Payne / Master Chief style frame story revenge tragedy. Analysis of character traits and motivations as well as literary allusions and obscure revelatory thematic references are icing on the cake.
 
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