How realistic is your cup of tea?

So, how socially realistic do you desire the Eternity world will be ?

Note that choosing "Hard realism" doesn't mean there will be gore, sex, etc every 60 seconds, but only when artistically needed.

 

EDIT: fixed the polls.

"Brutal Realism" is now "Hard Realism"

Edited September 18, 2012 by exodiark

Only so much you can do with an isometric style game so I assume most of that stuff will be text based anyway.

You had me at rape..

 

But seriously, I would want them to not back down from any subject, no matter how offensive. You're free now, guys, use this freedom! But realism does not a good game make. It still has to be fun, so for example one-hit-one-kill firearms may be realistic, but not so much fun in a game.

I think that there should be the freedom for their to be full realism, but it would probably have more off an impact if it were subdued, or at least not completely in your face. When that happens, there's a chance that you'll just be taken out of it because you'll distance yourself from whatever is happening on screen.

I'm not sure how to vote for the options that are present in the poll. I don't want watered down realism, but "brutally realisitc" with child murder, rape, cannibalism and all the best things about humanity, implies a tone that is oppressively dark.

 

If it's done right, I would like "brutal realism," but I don't want to finish the game feeling even worse about society and people than I already do. A good example of getting it right was the way it was handled in Fallout 1 and most of the time in The Witcher games.

Not realistic at all. This is fantasy so world should be full of spectacular phenomena like talking mushrooms and exploding trees. I'm pretty tired with grim and gritty realistic fantasy that looks almost exactly like our world except nations are fictional some people shoot fire from their hands (and are of course hated/prosecuted by religious organisations) and some have pointy ears.

Edited September 18, 2012 by BasaltineBadger

Tamed. We can have all that stuff, but I'm not a fan of having it thrown in my face every second. The entire world cannot be cynical, can it?

for example one-hit-one-kill firearms may be realistic, but not so much fun in a game.

I don't think it's about realism in battle situations, just social realism.

Not realistic at all. This is fantasy so world should be full of spectacular phenomena like talking mushrooms and exploding trees. I'm pretty tired with grim and gritty realistic fantasy that looks almost exactly like our world except nations are fictional some people shoot fire from their hands (and are of course hated/prosecuted by religious organisations) and some have pointy ears.

 

Oh no, we're not talking about realism in biology, science, etc

We're talking about social realism.

 

Will the talking mushroom be racist to the exploding trees? Will there be dragon bunny raping deer turtle?

But I guess surrealism suits you most

My preference is TW2-Level, which is ESRB friendly (the game was rated M, not AO). Fact is, there is a dark side to the medieval-esque fuedal systems we all love, and that side has to be considered, but I really would rather not watch it.

Well, once a developer uses the word "horror" I'm expecting exactly that. Unless it is meant in a psychodelic context, with more focus on topics like madness and the surreal.

Tamed. We can have all that stuff, but I'm not a fan of having it thrown in my face every second. The entire world cannot be cynical, can it?

 

Brutal realism is not about 100% cynical and frequent taboos.

There will be lots of good and heartwarming things :D. But when the **** hits the fan, you can be sure you can see the splatter in HD. Just like IRL

In order for there to be the most investment in the game/story there needs to be some controversial and frowned upon events that take place. Not only would this add more variety to the game but it could also start to influence the player's world view. Seeing a child being molested/raped could turn a lawful neutral character into a vigilante chaotic good character (ex: Rorschach from Watchmen).

I chose #1, "Brutally realistic", but I want to make something clear here: "Realism" doesn't necessarily mean "Brutal", or rapes, murders, and definitely not "sociopathic disorder". There are good things and there are bad things, and the fact of the matter is that during much of European history, people have lived relatively quiet lives in relatively serene surroundings - not sunk into post-apocalyptic destitute hellholes filled with suffering and purgatory-ish-ness.

 

...sociopathic disorder? Dear gods, man, where do you live anyway?

Erm. I want the first, brutally realistic, option, BUT: if cannibalism is accepted in a certain culture, I don't want it to be presented as a problem! No underlying social work here, please. And if someone views, I don't know, charity a problem ('cause it's counter-darwinian or something), then I want charity to be presente like one. So I guess my answer is "surrealistic", but not really.

 

What I don't want is black-and-white morality, that's for sure.

I chose #1, "Brutally realistic", but I want to make something clear here: "Realism" doesn't necessarily mean "Brutal", or rapes, murders, and definitely not "sociopathic disorder". There are good things and there are bad things, and the fact of the matter is that during much of European history, people have lived relatively quiet lives in relatively serene surroundings - not sunk into post-apocalyptic destitute hellholes filled with suffering and purgatory-ish-ness.

 

...sociopathic disorder? Dear gods, man, where do you live anyway?

 

Exactly :D

What I mean with "brutal" is...

There will be benevolence, charity, prosperity. Lots of them in fact, but no sugar-coating the brutal and ugly truth either Just like IRL.

 

My uncle is a butcher, so sometimes I get to chop live chickens. Chicken meat is cheap, healthy and tasty, but there's no denying that I have to drench my chopper in blood to clean their innards.

I like the idea of not shying away form the issues, but the wording of the poll implies that "brutal realism" is horrific. Like you can't walk down the street without seeing hobos chowing down on one another. Realism isn't defined by taboo.

 

However, surrealism sounds the most interesting. Exploring different cultures is fascinating enough that I don't have to debate between the other choices.

I think the Witcher 2 found a good balance on the issue.

 

In general, it is important to me that a franchise is frank and open about there being very real, authentic darkness and suffering in the world. Seeing horrific things happening on screen is important is important from time to time, but you don't need to see a simulated rape to know that it happens in the setting.

I chose #1, "Brutally realistic", but I want to make something clear here: "Realism" doesn't necessarily mean "Brutal", or rapes, murders, and definitely not "sociopathic disorder". There are good things and there are bad things, and the fact of the matter is that during much of European history, people have lived relatively quiet lives in relatively serene surroundings - not sunk into post-apocalyptic destitute hellholes filled with suffering and purgatory-ish-ness.

 

...sociopathic disorder? Dear gods, man, where do you live anyway?

 

Marital rape was normal and legally supported for most of history, at least among the land-owning class. Serene life on the countryside could be broken up by brutal violence, death, and rape when soldiers went "foraging" in times of war. Fuedal lords had insane levels of control over the peasants who worked their land. Disease was rampant, and people were helpless against it. Sociopathy isn't a new thing, but police forces are. Child mortality rates were very high, and many cultures coped with this by not fully considering infants to be people. Among the old norse, you only got a name at around age three. Once castles were invented, seige warfare came - a tactic in which two forces sit in constant fear of battle, waiting for one side to slowly starve to death. The writings of french Knights show us that PTSD was a concern for soldiers, long before therapy was ever invented.

 

There were really horrible problems in life back then. There was also a lot of quiet afternoons spent shearing sheep. The game should show both.

 

Erm. I want the first, brutally realistic, option, BUT: if cannibalism is accepted in a certain culture, I don't want it to be presented as a problem! No underlying social work here, please. And if someone views, I don't know, charity a problem ('cause it's counter-darwinian or something), then I want charity to be presente like one. So I guess my answer is "surrealistic", but not really.

 

What I don't want is black-and-white morality, that's for sure.

 

This is a good (if likely irrelevant) point. Cannibalism is really just unhygenic, not particularly evil. Even in those cultures that kill people in order to eat them, the victims are usually just people who the cannibals would have killed anyway (because they were at war or whatever).

I voted "Brutally Realistic", because I don't want any taboos or ESRB crap to restrict expression in the game. Of course it's up to the developer how far they want to go, and if they really want to go there. What matters mostly is entertaining story.The thing is to NOT glut in all imaginable and unimaginable social depravities and ****ed up things you can do to a human being. Just make sure that whatever **** happens, the world reacts to it right, and you're good to go. The player can connect the dots, we're not idiots.

Erm. I want the first, brutally realistic, option, BUT: if cannibalism is accepted in a certain culture, I don't want it to be presented as a problem! No underlying social work here, please. And if someone views, I don't know, charity a problem ('cause it's counter-darwinian or something), then I want charity to be presente like one. So I guess my answer is "surrealistic", but not really.

 

What I don't want is black-and-white morality, that's for sure.

 

To be precise, surrealistic is kinda more like this...

"It's fine to fart in front of girls, in fact, if you fart louder, they will consider you much more attractive."

"Girls are considered more attractive if they have thick, bushy mustache and armpit hair"

"It's fine to slap people, it's how we say hello in Eternity"

 

...and many other mindbending social interactions

Most of the time, I think explicitly showing brutality or its aftermath has much less impact than leaving it to the player's imagination. Setting the stage, then leaving it to the inner eye, so to speak.

 

Uncovering the horror through dialogue or innuendo, observing the effects and psychological scars - this is the kind of presentation I'd like to see. I don't want to see lots of it, but what there is should definitely be told without sugarcoating. I'd love to see something surreal. Btw., consuming small amounts of the deceased is a funeral rite that actually exists. As soon as you read up on the motivations behind it, it's actually not horrible at all.

ESRB. Don't really mind some dark, yet implicit stuff happening in the background, but I don't want The Game to be about it and I don't think that it should play any major role.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Mutasir

 

Erm. I want the first, brutally realistic, option, BUT: if cannibalism is accepted in a certain culture, I don't want it to be presented as a problem! No underlying social work here, please. And if someone views, I don't know, charity a problem ('cause it's counter-darwinian or something), then I want charity to be presente like one. So I guess my answer is "surrealistic", but not really.

 

What I don't want is black-and-white morality, that's for sure.

 

This is a good (if likely irrelevant) point. Cannibalism is really just unhygenic, not particularly evil. Even in those cultures that kill people in order to eat them, the victims are usually just people who the cannibals would have killed anyway (because they were at war or whatever).

 

That's the wording of the poll, really. I want cannibalism, yes, but I don't want it to be generally presented as a problem. Let my character (and others, of course) decide if rape, murder and stuff are bad.

 

I just hate it when games try to be gritty. "Look, a murder!" In PS:T you bashed enemies with your own hand and plucke eyes out on a daily basis, and it wasn't a big deal. And that is precisely what I want: not making something a big deal in that world just because it is in ours.

Erm. I want the first, brutally realistic, option, BUT: if cannibalism is accepted in a certain culture, I don't want it to be presented as a problem! No underlying social work here, please. And if someone views, I don't know, charity a problem ('cause it's counter-darwinian or something), then I want charity to be presente like one. So I guess my answer is "surrealistic", but not really.

 

What I don't want is black-and-white morality, that's for sure.

 

To be precise, surrealistic is kinda more like this...

"It's fine to fart in front of girls, in fact, if you fart louder, they will consider you much more attractive."

"Girls are considered more attractive if they have thick, bushy mustache and armpit hair"

"It's fine to slap people, it's how we say hello in Eternity"

 

...and many other mindbending social interactions

If that's logical ang forms a general picture, then yes, this is exactly what I want. Once again, like in PS:T — it's fibe to remove your own hand 'cause the border between life and death is somewhat blurred and mutilation in Sigil is common. I don't want random quirkiness, but a set of weird morals is the best variant possible for me. Definitely better that "ooh, we have rape, we are mature!"