Real worlds, alternative history, fantasy worlds... any preferences?

Hi everyone,

I was just curious, then it comes to designing your games, which kind of a world setting do you find yourself using the most? 

Personally I almost always go for the real world featuring some kind of an alternative timeline, usually with some fantasy elements, not really sure why. I guess it's because I'm a history nerd and a fantasy nerd, so it kinda mixes well together.

So, what about you? Also, is there a setting that you just don't like and never end up using?

I tend to design games in a medieval or fantasy setting mostly because I enjoy imagining and creating more nature orientated worlds.

It is probably an influence from childhood, but I can relate to magic and fantasy more when it is not associated with the 'real' world.

That said, I do not have a setting that I don't really like or will never end up using. I enjoy games made in worlds based on many different settings/themes, and would use any of the possible settings needed to complement a story.

The most important thing to me in the end is the story and how it is written and handled. Choosing a specific type of world (real world, sci fi, fantasy, etc) is more of window dressing to me and serves to provide a variation to the elements that can be used in a story.

My games all happen within the same universe. So definitely a fantasy place.  But it is set on Earth and a lot of cultures and places are inspired by various real life cultures, but they all have fictional names. 

My stories are rather 'inspired by' history more so than an alternative history. A lot of the setting and design choices in my main project, for example, have a lot of inspiration from the Victorian and Industrial Revolution time period but it's very much it's own "time period" with it's own technology, science, and social issues.

I'm sure others are great at it but for me I think there is a lot that can be messed up or gone awry if I veer too much into the real world.

I either create the classic medieval fantasy game, or a futuristic sci-fi game.  Basically, I love creating entire worlds from scratch, rather than having to do some measure of research to make sure the "realistic" parts I include match what we know.  For example, if I wanted a WWII game, I'd have to do a fair amount of historical research to make sure I get general names, unit names, countries, governments, landmasses etc accurate.  Or if I wanted a game set in today's real world, I would need a similar amount of research for accuracy.

That doesn't mean I'd need a PhD in History, but any elements from an already existing world I include would have to be accurate.  So the more detailed the RPG, the more research I'd be doing.

When I make a custom world, I'm free from any of those constraints.  My only concerns are the many facets of making an RPG --- plot, characters, battles, puzzles, etc.  I don't have research requirements added in as well.

My games tend toward straight-up modern settings with mostly-realistic, modern societies.

But in general I'm a huge fan of urban fantasy settings in games and other media, even if I haven't dabbled in it too much in my own works.

All of my games are all pretty much pure fantasy based. Though now they are slowly being more inspired by real life settings and/ or a re-imagined post apocalyptic Earth. Though fantasy worlds are much more fun because you don't have to conform to real life conventions are go completely wild and bizarre. The Rayman games are good examples on wacky brilliance! (I'm almost convinced everyone in the level design studio gets high lol)

I tend more towards a modern setting in a fantasy world. I might come up with more plots based in real world history but it's a bit intimidating because I don't want to get anything wrong... I suppose I'm comfortable enough with early US and ancient Egyptian history/culture to be able to set a game in those periods with some supplementary research, I've just never felt compelled to do so. A lot of fictional settings I come up with are loosely based on real places though i.e. a desert trading post in modern times built on what used to be town from an ancient Egyptian-like civilization.

I have a strong distaste for alternate history mostly because it is done so horribly 90% of the time. Except when you have things that would've been completely different like the X-Men movies with good reasons for our timelines not exactly syncing up. I don't like things like Napoleon somehow becoming the King of England because that would be just stupid... and yet I've seen horrible travesties occur like that... and no one in their development process had the courage to stand up and say, "Hey this is REALLY, Truly stupid, we must stop now and go back to the drawing board."

Going to pretty much repeat what Whitesphere said. I prefer to create my own worlds from scratch, whether they're medieval fantasy or futuristic sci-fi. Since history is one of my weaker subjects (with the exception of ancient mythology), I wouldn't do so well with alternate history or anything set in the real world. Doing worlds from scratch also puts less restrictions on what I can pull off and lets me stretch the limits of my imagination.

Likewise, I also prefer to play/read/watch stuff that's set in completely made up worlds. Although stories set in the real world can captivate me, I tend to incline more towards fully imagined worlds. In either case of course, the story has to be executed well and I need to be able to care for and relate to the characters on some level at least.

RM games have been medieval fantasy, largely because that's what the rtp supplies. It also makes the magic seem a little more natural.

I've run pen-and-paper games in straight-up fantasy worlds, historical fantasy, urban fantasy, steampunk and cyberpunk.

My writing tends to lean towards urban fantasy, steampunk, and historical fantasy. I have dabbled in hard sci-fi space operas, but it never really grabbed me.

My current game takes place on the internet so I can use any kind of resource and it will technically fit.