The Geekly Discussion is a weekly round-up of staff thought pertaining to specific topics regarding video games. The following discussion is unaudited. Views expressed by each writer are not nessecarily that of Game Geex.

Hiya, Geex! Welcome to the first ever segment of The Geekly Discussion where members of the staff discuss their thoughts regarding a specific topic every week and engage in back-to-back conversation. This time around, it was our views on Fantasy Worlds vs "Real" Worlds in gaming and how they affect the characters and the audience. Fantasy can represent anything from totally fictional and unlikely while "real" world settings can range anything from past, present, or near future in terms of what we can expect to happen or have happened in actual reality.

Remember, you can join in the discussion anytime via comments! Click the jump below to join the chat.

Ken "Chaobo" Serra
Editor-in-Chief
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So what's everyone's take on video games, or any piece of entertainment for that matter, that take place in settings more true to life (whether it's past, present, or near future) vs those that our completely fantasy and totally unreal? Personally, I like it when my characters are 100% fictional like Spyro, Sonic, and Conker or something because that usually opens the game up for characters with witty writing and absurd stages but there's still room in my life for the realism, you know, because I'm a fan of war games.

How about all of you? The floor is open.

Arthur "Arturis" Orneck
Managing Editor/CEO
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I am a Fantasy and Sci-Fi fan, first and foremost. I tend to prefer games that are set in new and original worlds and lead me into experiences I would never be able to find in real life. Games that are set in real world scenarios (most often war games like Call of Modern Battlefield) actually turn me off a bit because I can't help but shake the feeling that somewhere in the world these actual firefights are currently going on. When you think about the real people that die due to military action and random gun violence, it takes the joy out of firing bursts of virtual bullets into increasingly more realistic people - something I don't have to worry about when slaying dragons or blasting space aliens.

Martin "Mavlock" Bradt
Writer
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Man check out Buzz Killington up there, whew that guy. Seriously though I'm not a big fan of realistic settings. If I do tackle one it's setup in some ridiculous conspiracy like Splinter Cell or going a step further, early Metal Gear. I can't stand the later Metal Gear games so I won't use them as an example, unless you want to talk about convoluted story and punishing game play. I'm a Fantasy and Sci-Fi man with a strong tendency towards the science of fiction. I prefer my graphics to be stylized over photo-realistic. Dragons are excellent but mecha-dragons are awesome. Space elves suck though, I'm looking at your Spell Jammer. Now with that said I'll play GTA, but only when my kids are in bed. Then I'm mostly just jumping ramps and diving off buildings and running from cops, I could give a crap about the story line. As for games like Battlefield, no. Give me Oblivion, Dagger Fall, Final Fantasy 1-7, and some sci-fi shenanigans, I'll be happy.

Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck
Writer/COO
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I actually see value in all sorts of settings.  While my heart belongs to the fantastic,  some of the strongest stories deal with versions of realistic worlds.There's something engaging about a world so like your own you're not entirely sure you won't run into the characters in your own travels around the globe.  It also allows the player to feel as if they could be the protagonist of the next adventure.  

 "Mavlock"
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Ah, Mandie makes a good point. I got stuck on violence but there are some adventure games with realistic settings that are pretty fantastic, though I'd still prefer the stylized art over the uncanny valley trip.

"Chaobo"
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Most of the adventure games I've played in my life have typically been sci-fi based whether that be future future or near future. I'm actually a huge fan of near-future scenarios because it makes me think what's happening in the game is just within grasp. Games like Deus Ex, Remember Me, and even Mass Effect depict fairly dark versions of what could come but even if I'm not a fan of the character I'm currently playing's story itself, I always wonder "you know, what if I was just a civilian in this world, far from what my character is doing?" If the game makes players ask questions like that, it means the devs did a good job of creating the world they envisioned. But yea, I do prefer some sort of stylized art-style in my games now that I think about it. While Borderlands is totally fiction, I enjoy the shell-shaded comic look it had.
 

Also +1 on Mecha Dragons... Mecha-Bahamut, why not? lol

Aimee "Maevrim" Jarboe
Writer
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Art said " I can't help but shake the feeling that somewhere in the world these actual firefights are currently going on. When you think about the real people that die due to military action and random gun violence, it takes the joy out of firing bursts of virtual bullets into increasingly more realistic people - something I don't have to worry about when slaying dragons or blasting space aliens."

That's exactly why we don't have games with more realistic settings in our house. Aside from being a family with a veteran and having friends who deal daily with PTSD from multiple tours overseas (fireworks are hell), I had an eye-opening experience a couple of years back. A friend brought her 9 year old grandson to play and he asked to use my Xbox360 while she and I talked. At one point he wanted to pay CoD4 (my now-ex's, I don't care for the games even if well-done) and with his grandmother's permission (she insisted he played at home and it was alright), I let him. After a few moments of play, I could see it was bothering her a great deal and suggested we find a less realistic game. He didn't handle the situation very well, and when I did turn the game off he began screaming that we were "unpatriotic and wanted the terrorists to win", going on for awhile along that vein. Anyways, realistic games are banned from my house until I know my younger children know fully the difference between even a realistic fantasy setting and an actual real situation. I want my kids to learn to imagine and create amazing worlds, but also walk in this one.

"Chaobo"
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@Aimee That's pretty intense :o. I've been fortunate enough to not see any child do that even when most of the yougins in my family or immediate circle play those type of games. I don't know, those violent games have been common around most households from what I've seen, whereas in the past games like Smash Bros. and Spyro/Crash Bandicoot were the commons. Guess it's a shift in what's "in" that does that. That's not to say those games aren't exactly not violent but comic mischief is still the appropriate thing for the younger group. Mind you, I have been playing Halo since I was 7 or so, but back then, a sci-fi game like that was so awesome to me.

"Arturis"
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"playing Halo since I was 7 or so" Halo came out in 2001. I was 25. /old

Aimee
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I kind of hate that my example there is CoD, because my intent was real world setting vs fantasy setting rather than violence.  For violent games, I consider the  attitude and target of violence more than presence; similar to how my parents would keep my sister and I from watching silly cartoons that treated even non-gore violence inappropriately. 

I think there were a lot of circumstances that could have contributed to that child's reaction, but seeing issues my children face already in our personal lives, I'd rather be cautious.