Give Me A Game That Cares About Its World

[Ishayu]

Try Skyrim with the Requiem mod. You'll love it.

[Celista]

So I've been thinking. I'm really interested in ship exploration, particularly in the 1800s. I'm not that interested in naval warfare or politics though, more the advance of science and charting new unexplored lands. I've been looking for a game that allows you to take control of a ship in a sandbox world were you can visit new lands and so forth. I looked into assasin's creed black flag but I've never played those games before and I'm not sure I would want to do all the other stuff like spying and combat that comes with it, although I've heard it has good exploration. Another game out there is obviously Empire: total war, but again it's more naval warfare than anything. Take a look at this image. I just love the idea of exploring a new land. Imagine being able to roam around your ship and control it yourself or have it controled by an NPC for a time, and then come to the shore of an unexplored place and then enter it and go through forests or jungles and find loot and whatever else. Does any game like this exist?

http://i.imgur.com/0h19Bi4.jpg

On a side note, of all the travel/transportation features in WoW, you'd think Blizzard would allow you have your own phased ship to explore the seas of Azeroth. I would resub for that instantly.

Have you tried playing ArcheAge?

[Deleted]

What would that be?

I'm wondering what he means too.

[Deleted]

did you know that there are boats in wow?

[Deleted]

did you know that there are boats in wow?

Yes? And? You hop in one for about 5 mins and it takes you to your destination. No control whatsoever.

[May90]

Yes? And? You hop in one for about 5 mins and it takes you to your destination. No control whatsoever.

There are controllable boats in Thousand Needles.

[Deleted]

yes shitwad - think about that!

Please post productively and respectfully. Infracted. -Edge

[Sussemilch]

There are controllable boats in Thousand Needles.

WoW is an awful game to play if you want to just explore and build.

[Deleted]

yes shitwad - think about that!

Well, you're nice, aren't you? How was "shitwad" warranted in any way?

[Deleted]

Life is Strange definetly. You will abrolutely love the shit out of that game.

[LaughingMan]

I recommend trying To the Moon. There is very little gameplay. It is mainly about exploring the levels to advance the story.

It also has one of the most moving stories I've seen in video games.

[Sussemilch]

@Saruman - here's another one I found that looks somewhat interesting: Salt

[ro9ue]

Honestly the two best exploration games I ever played (without any major mechanics):

1. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
2. Myst

[mvaliz]

See thats the thing, I can see where you're coming from with those recommendations, but I still feel like I don't really want the sorts of mechanics you'd find in those games. The stats and the blabla are all uneccessary stuff I don't care for. Maybe it was pointless making this thread because it's almost as if I don't want actually want a game at all, in the traditional sense. I tell you what, I think platforming and travel based mechanics would be the most suitable to what I'm looking for, because that isn't a road block to enjoying the world like beating enemies or leveling up is. Movement is part of the world, not separate from it. Yes, I think something like a big open world where you can climb and traverse the landscape and just check out things, meet new NPCS and all that...

Journey is not about stat-building at all. There's not a single number on any screen whatsoever. I don't even believe there's a life bar. Likewise the game doesn't even have any voice... the entire story is told purely through imagery, sound, music and visuals and tells of what this unusual world and life was all about.

It's also a platformer - one that's not designed to make you die, but to simply experience the world. If you miss the jumps, you can go back to where you need (most of the time) and/or simply explore.

Only down side to Journey is the game time... you can beat that game in just over an hour if you're just doing the story. on the plus side it's fairly cheap now too.

[Celista]

2. Myst

Myst was amazing, needs a 2015 update for the kiddies. Graphics only.

[theswapper]

The title says it all. I don't play games anymore because I'm sick of their gamey and contrived mechanics, in any genre. I can't stand the gaming community, gaming culture or conventions. I don't care at all for the "awesome sick loot bro" attitude. I'm sick of games in general honestly. I would rather read a good story or watch an involving film. I seriously have not played a new game in years because I can't stand to do trivial tasks for the purpose of advancing a plot. No, it doesn't make it make me feel a part of the game world. It just makes me think "oh okay, so this is a contrived section where I have to do this to pass the to the next bit. Just show me the interesting cut scenes already." To summarize, I think I actually dislike the act of playing a game. It's not fun... It's just meh. I don't care for FPS, RTS or anything because I know in the end you're just sitting watching a screen pointlessly clicking away. I'm really not for fast "epic bro" action or anything like that, the whole "it's fun because it's gets your adrenaline going" thing doesn't really work for me at all. It's strange because I don't even care for slow paced, well developed RPGs anymore, because they all follow the same formula and I don't care about their cliche fantasy tropes.

However, what I do care for and want to play is a game which is primarily exploration based, has very little mechanics, and is ALL about story. I want a game that actually treats its world as if it's not a game. I want a mature, deep exploration game which has bits of lore stored around the world, where you can travel by foot or by ship or whatever, and just go exploring. And maybe some mechanics are fine, after all it'd just be a simulator. But the more I think about it, I think my ideal game these days would be "Azeroth: The Exploration Simulator".....

Shit, now I'm basically just dreaming. That doesn't exist, does it?

You sound like you're describing 'walking simulators' -- and I don't mean this in a bad sense. Have you tried Firewatch? Or maybe SOMA ---> now that's a great game. Minimal mechanics, and good story.

[Pull My Finger]

I would rather read a good story or watch an involving film.

Then why don't you do it. You clearly don't get what gaming is about. It's an interactive cognitive medium, that's not only its sole, definite advantage to other forms of entertainment, it's also its unique defining aspect. It's asinine to expect a more captivating and immersive, inclusive storytelling experience from a video game, that's NOT WHAT THEY'RE PARTICULARLY GOOD AT. Games are all about play and the ways and possibilities to create that kind of experience and enjoyment. That's something that no other medium is capable of transporting in such a captivating fashion. It's what games are good at. If you can't appreciate that and find yourself expecting something completely different from them - aren't you just simply having completely mistaken expectations?

It's like going to a steak house and complaining about the lack of high nutrition veggie options. It's like bying a car that's highly optimized for offroad and complaining that it kinda sucks at race driving. Or to stick to a more practical analogy: it's like reading a wonderful book and complaining about the lack of creative problem solving and cognitive challenges. You're missing what they're BEST AT because for some strange reason, you're expecting something from them that's naturally not their biggest strength and just can't possibly be.

It's just a silly perspective. You're doing yourself as well as the medium a disservice.

[falagar112]

The title says it all. I don't play games anymore because I'm sick of their gamey and contrived mechanics, in any genre. I can't stand the gaming community, gaming culture or conventions. I don't care at all for the "awesome sick loot bro" attitude. I'm sick of games in general honestly. I would rather read a good story or watch an involving film. I seriously have not played a new game in years because I can't stand to do trivial tasks for the purpose of advancing a plot. No, it doesn't make it make me feel a part of the game world. It just makes me think "oh okay, so this is a contrived section where I have to do this to pass the to the next bit. Just show me the interesting cut scenes already." To summarize, I think I actually dislike the act of playing a game. It's not fun... It's just meh. I don't care for FPS, RTS or anything because I know in the end you're just sitting watching a screen pointlessly clicking away. I'm really not for fast "epic bro" action or anything like that, the whole "it's fun because it's gets your adrenaline going" thing doesn't really work for me at all. It's strange because I don't even care for slow paced, well developed RPGs anymore, because they all follow the same formula and I don't care about their cliche fantasy tropes.

However, what I do care for and want to play is a game which is primarily exploration based, has very little mechanics, and is ALL about story. I want a game that actually treats its world as if it's not a game. I want a mature, deep exploration game which has bits of lore stored around the world, where you can travel by foot or by ship or whatever, and just go exploring. And maybe some mechanics are fine, after all it'd just be a simulator. But the more I think about it, I think my ideal game these days would be "Azeroth: The Exploration Simulator".....

Shit, now I'm basically just dreaming. That doesn't exist, does it?

I have a feeling you might enjoy Ori and the Blind Forest (look it up)
Apart from that, I can recommend you to find a local tabletop group in whatever game you prefer, gaming gets old after a while

Also since you mentioned sea voyages and all, there's always the classic sid meiers pirates!

[Cæli]

if you're still there, missed the post:

-Telltale's Walking Dead game, I really recommend it for the memorable atmosphere
-Metroid Prime, if you like feeling lonely on an a rainy alien planet in a futuristic suit allowing you to explore radioactive zones and such. very action based
-Try a zelda, a link to the past or ocarina of time or majora's mask, which I really enjoyed because of how bizarre the world is.
-didn't tried Journey yet but apparently it's more abot the experience than anything else
-Mass effect 1-2-3 is very story driven too, but there might be too much gameplay for you.
-the first Silent Hills have a special atmosphere
-Don't know if you could like it but Resident evil 4 is really, really good. I really enjoyed exploring/completing it despite the fact that it's an action game. you should somewhat enjoy that genre if you plan to try it. the first zone looks like this http://www.consolefun.fr/upload/images/13790807781.jpg

also if you didn't, try noticing some game music, personnaly it's the main reason driving me into given games, composers are really geniuses sometimes, and to me this is something very interesting to discover, just like the game world and architecture; music to me really creates what is memorable, tied to the zones we get to explore. game system is secondary for me.

as you certainly know, it's really diverse in style, so you could certainly find something that can fit your tastes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkTkAkcj6mQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YxsxsaP2T4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1riMeMvabu0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3PKlQUYNTw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C9rnXEM9kQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhaQM_Vpiko

[EyelessCrow]

Nice necro