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Fallout creator asks why triple-A RPGs focus on violence, doesn't provide very hopeful answer
(www.rockpapershotgun.com)
this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
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I have another answer: It's because true innovation is hard.
We have a ton of super-popular violent games to source ideas from for new games. We take an idea and modify it a little, and it's fun.
We don't have nearly as many super-popular non-violent games to source from. They exist, but there just aren't as many of them, and they're generally pretty "cozy" instead of pumping the adrenaline. Sports/racing games are an exception, but "non-violent" still depends on the exact sport and implementation. Many of them aren't non-violent.
It's the same reason that fantasy often still uses elves, trolls, and dwarves. They're really easy to source from, and coming up with compelling new races that aren't essentially the same as the tropes is hard.
Indies are into innovation. AAAs are into money.
Yeah, I tried to create a non-violent game for a while in a genre that's typically violent (roguelike) and so often, I'd play some existing roguelike and then have an idea, like for example, I could make the ice spell cover an area in the shape of a snowflake. Yeah, alright brain, what exactly is that ice spell for? Cooling the snacks?
And if you decide – fuck it, we'll cool some snacks – a food-themed roguelike sounds nice and non-violent, then that leaves you with a ton of new questions. If the ice spell targets snacks, does that mean you're defending against them? Why are you defending against snacks? Do they just make you fat? How do you reflect that in the gameplay?
And then you spend two days coming up with all kinds of ideas for making this work, until you realize it sounds like a fever dream and you have no idea, if it'd be any fun.