"Entry-level", non-violent RPG for my soon-to-be fiancée

[Spray]

Hello,

Let me start with a bit of a story first - we're together for nearly 6 years, she's definitely the woman of my dreams and the one with whom I will spend the rest of my life with, that's for sure. I'm a webdesigner and techgeek, loving everything game-related and also fond of paper RPG and board games, while my significant other is... absolutely against all of this.
You see, there's an ongoing dispute between us regarding gaming, it has been like that since we first met. She's convinced that computer gaming is the root of all evil and while she does not make me stop playing, she's not entirely happy that it's my passion either. She treats it like a childish and dangerous hobby, potentially addicting as well. However, something happened recently. We've been talking about our mutual interests and how we want to do something new again, try something exciting and... she didn't make it obviously clear, but it looked like she somehow wants to know what "this gaming" is all about. She even expressed her interest in keeping me company on IEM Katowice, since we both live in Poland.

This led me to the thought - what if I try to get her interested in this, at least a bit, talk her in and convince it's interesting, deep and she will always be able to find something ideal for her, since there's so many games to choose from. Then it struck me - she hates violence, what is more, she's afraid of it. Everytime we see a movie and there's this moment, when a woman walks a street alone in the night or, I don't know, whatever's happening indicating that there MAY happen something bad, she closes her eyes, hugs into me and asks every 10 seconds if it's already over.

I started Dragon Age: Origins again yesterday, trying to figure out if it's a good starter to get her interested in the genre. While the beginning 6 scenarios are somehow suitable, the following story isn't. I would be forced to interrupt the intro cinematic, since there's - well - A LOT of blood. She watched LOTR, read it, but still couldn't bear the violence. She just hates the fact some people may be interested in watching this gore and enjoying it. It's sick according to her.

There goes my question - does anyone have ANY idea what to do in such situation? I really want to get her interested in it, to be able to organize some RPG night with my friends while not having to see her rolling her eyes and feeling like a dick the next day that I didn't spend the night with her instead. I really want her to enjoy it, at least a bit. Even WoW includes a tremendous amount of unnecessary violence, goblin questgiver in STV asks you to go acquire some of the Venture Co. supplies, killing your way to achieve this. Not scaring them away or even robbing. KILLING. While I do understand it, there's a war between the Cartel and Venture Co., my girlfriend would not. It doesn't matter if it's another universe, another reality and situation, she won't ever justify violence. I won't as well, but when it comes to the world we live in. In terms of games, I'm eager to dive into any fantasy/sci-fi world I consider interesting, find it enjoyable and live up to its rules.
And I'm afraid Ann won't ever do it. This is why I need to find a game being completely or nearly completely stripped of "evil", "bad" content. You see, this girl is a paragon of everything what's good in this world. Very religious, very virtuous and good. Actually we're very alike in that matter, nearly identical, with one exception - I do accept violence in books, movies, games. I love stories, I love my imagination and if violence is necessary to depict some reality - I accept it with no problem.

Does anyone have an idea? What game will be ideal in that situation? Or how to deal with her fear/acceptance towards violent decisions?

I know she would like it, she loves philosophy, human behaviour, she's very open-minded and intelligent. I know I would convince her with possibilites in such games, impact of our choices, gameplay changes based upon our behavior and character, it would amaze her. The problem is I can't find an ideal game.

I'd like to hear from you, what's your opinion on the matter and what would you do in my situation, thanks in advance!

[Mordin Solus]

every rpg has smthin that can be considered evil so you are out of luck there m8. also what platform will the games be for so i can give ya some advice

[Pool of the Dead]

Pokemon.

/10char

[Gandrake]

an rpg without violence?

why don't you try nailing a puddle of water to a tree

That is pretty much what RPGs are about. Being a hero, saving the day and getting the girl. Even Pokemon has 12 year old children commanding the smallest to largeest fantasy creatures to beat the shit out of each other.

[Maelle]

Most RPGs / MMOS have violence in the story lines, I think you will find it really hard to find stuff in that genre with no violence....

You could try some games like The Sims, some the indie games on steam have very whimsical content, Torchlight 2 is pretty lighthearted rather than grim or evil from my understanding, if she like sandboxy things maybe minecraft...

Hmmmm

[Nirawen]

You could check out Costume Quest and Stacking, adventure/RPG games from Double Fine, as a suggestion for possible games.

[Jeleh]

One would have to dispute the woman of your dreams having such a fundamental conflict with your primary hobby/method of relaxation, however, that's a different subject.

I would take a look at some of the sites with a collection of online games and look for the ones aimed at young children if you insist on giving her some insight into rpgs.

[Mordin Solus]

xbox 360: lost odyssey or tales of vesperia
gameboy (colour advance or anythin related): pokemon, golden sun
playstation 2: kingdom hearts games, final fantasy X or dragon quest.
but realy as it was said, games always have smthin evil, it just depends on how evil it is (like a racoon wants to take over the world type of evil or a badass monster wants to kill every in sight kind of evil)

[I-Thalos-I]

I'd go with the Harvest Moon or Rune Factory series.
They both have RPG elements but the main focus is on farm management and socializing with the NPCs. Rune Factory has a combat system but I wouldn't call it violent because over the course of the game, you learn to tame the monsters so that they can work on your farm.

[Spray]

She played The Sims actually, like 10 years ago, but now treats it like a childish activity ;p well, sorry, forgot to make it clear - I'm interested only in PC genre, not because of the fact I can't even hold a pad properly, but I would await a certain, sweet death if I even come up with intention of buying a console ^^

[Buttfear]

See if you can get her hooked on Dungeon Keeper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon_Keeper

[Mordin Solus]

well you could always get a emulator so you can play games that were on consoles

[Vespian]

You're not going to like me saying it, but anyone that is that affected by blood, gore, or even any form of violence, without religious motives, probably needs professional help. There's not a single game or movie that's completely free of violence, since it's often part of the narrative. The only exception being romantic comedies, although even those have mild violence. [edit2: And religious people need help to begin with, imho, but that's another matter. What it comes down to is. You can't fix religion. Harry Potter is the devil]

There's not a single kill-less RPG. It's the basic foundation of RPG. Character progression through the slaughtering of millions of innocent murderous devils that want to take over the world. Ignoring pony rainbow levels.

You're never going to get out of this. Not in the form of an RPG. I do have one game in mind that might help you at least get her into a game. A game that I haven't played personally but is supposed to be so beautiful, without any violence and can be played coop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey..._video_game%29 [ Edit: PS3 only though]

Other than that, I stand with my case. Your fiancée has issues that need attention. What is she going to do when you end up falling and break your leg with an open wound? She will look away call 911 (or similar) and that's it? What will either of you do when she is being (sexually) harassed or threatened. You don't like violence so self-defence is a big no-no? Her vision is far too black and white, it sounds even somewhat zealous to me. And zealous people are dangerous.

[Braum]

If you're looking to get her interested in tabletop gaming, might I suggest Mouse Guard. It's a very forgiving system that focuses more on storytelling and skill advancement. Combat is quick and not particularly gruesome. It's very friendly for children and newer RPGers. Also, the adorableness factor may be enough to push her into trying it.
http://www.mouseguard.net/books/role-playing-game/

[Vespian]

The guy asked for some help picking a non-violent video game, not some self-indulgent rant.

Sheesh.

As I said before OP, there are a fair few options, and I mentioned a couple Good luck!

Don't make me laugh. Look at how he describes her. It's as if she's from the Tea Party Movement for gamers.

[Vespian]

That actually looks pretty fun :O

---------- Post added 2013-01-19 at 02:55 PM ----------



And your self-indulgent quasi-psychology BS ranting has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the thread topic at hand. So why you feel the need to spout such rhetoric and horses**t I have no idea.
The girl's beliefs are her business not yours, as is the relationship the OP has with her. Why you even feel the need to bring it into the discussion I don't know, as frankly it has f**k all to do with the request at hand.

Dude, get off your gypsy horse and talk like a polite human being or get out of these forums.

[Spray]

One would have to dispute the woman of your dreams having such a fundamental conflict with your primary hobby/method of relaxation, however, that's a different subject.

I would take a look at some of the sites with a collection of online games and look for the ones aimed at young children if you insist on giving her some insight into rpgs.

I understand your concern, absolutely. But, you see, I could even stop playing whatsoever if she wanted that. I think she just realized that it's important to me and wants to accompany in it. And that's beautiful, you know? : D I want to share it with her, and if she won't like it, I'll probably still hold onto being into games myself, sharing it with a few of my friends, while spending the most of time with her and gaming only from time to time.

I can definitely make it happen - it just feels like not the best solution.

You're not going to like me saying it, but anyone that is that affected by blood, gore, or even any form of violence, without religious motives, probably needs professional help. There's not a single game or movie that's completely free of violence, since it's often part of the narrative. The only exception being romantic comedies, although even those have mild violence. [edit2: And religious people need help to begin with, imho, but that's another matter. What it comes down to is. You can't fix religion. Harry Potter is the devil]

There's not a single kill-less RPG. It's the basic foundation of RPG. Character progression through the slaughtering of millions of innocent murderous devils that want to take over the world. Ignoring pony rainbow levels.

You're never going to get out of this. Not in the form of an RPG. I do have one game in mind that might help you at least get her into a game. A game that I haven't played personally but is supposed to be so beautiful, without any violence and can be played coop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey..._video_game%29 [ Edit: PS3 only though]

Other than that, I stand with my case. Your fiancée has issues that need attention. What is she going to do when you end up falling and break your leg with an open wound? She will look away call 911 (or similar) and that's it? What will either of you do when she is being (sexually) harassed or threatened. You don't like violence so self-defence is a big no-no? Her vision is far too black and white, it sounds even somewhat zealous to me. And zealous people are dangerous.

I understand what you mean, it's just, I may have made it look a bit too tragic than it really is. If I fall down and break my leg open, she would just calm down and help, do whatever she can. It's not unconditional fear of blood itself. It's the violence and evil intentions behind it that makes it so horrible for her. Heck, she watches CSI and NCIS, since she loves the plot. Still, looking away at the most violent scenes ;p but she's okay with the blood itself, surgeries, she watched House M.D. and ER in the past as well. It's not about being afraid of bad things. It's being afraid of bad intentions. And, yes, I realize it may require some help in the future...

Don't make me laugh. Look at how he describes her. It's as if she's from the Tea Party Movement for gamers.

Hey, it's not really like that, she's not an absolutely innocent and incapable of dealing with a life person.
She's very ambitious, popular and social person. She does not live a childish dream of everyone being good and honest.
She's a totally normal person, very educated and fascinating, just... afraid of violence.

The guy asked for some help picking a non-violent video game, not some self-indulgent rant.

Sheesh.

As I said before OP, there are a fair few options, and I mentioned a couple :) Good luck! :D

Thanks a lot, mate!

Also, please do not argue - I understand both your points, just... I'd like to keep a positive spirit in this topic... Thanks for the help, guys!:)

Many thanks to everyone contributing, I'm making a list of possible solutions, thanks to you :D

[Deleted]

Dark Souls
obviously

[Vespian]

Yes, because flat out insulting the OPS gf saying she needs "professional help" is really charming and polite. Possibly analyse your own diatribe before insulting others?

I don't need to. In contrary to you, I have had to spend 20 years rebuilding myself emotionally. But that would require you to know me, so I'll let it go. As a Favour.

[glowzone]

Think rpg might be the wrong genre, puzzle and platformers maybe?
I'd almost say do portal coop, in wich you don't harm a soul, apart from a turret or two,but glados would probably not go down well with her.