| Myrthos |
October 12th, 2016 23:04 |
The Nostalgia Files - Autumn and RPGs
Aubrielle invites us to gather round the fire and talk about what autumn gaming means to us, and why so few RPGs feature cozy harvest time surroundings.
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Last Christmas, we gathered around the RPGWatch tree and tried to add some chill to the air by reminiscing about the snowiest games in our collections. We griped together; that old Yuletide nip had gone out of the air, leaving us stranded in a muggy winter wasteland with solid cloud cover for weeks on end. But at least we had those good old wintry games.
As I sat down to write this article, I ran into a huge obstacle right away - there seem to be far fewer autumn-esque, Halloween-y RPGs than I thought! Here in the midwest, fall is a big deal. Pumpkins everywhere you look, corn mazes, farmers' markets with their rustic barn doors thrown wide, jams, jellies, apple bobs, primitive Americana crafts. Our local coffee - some of the best there is - is at your fingertips, bursting with flavors like cinnamon, candied pecans, apple, and of course, the ever-present pumpkin spice. And Halloween is just around the corner. But where's the fall RPGs?
I mean sure, there's a few. The obvious solution is already on your tongue - there's Skyrim and Guild Wars with their beautiful autumn zones. Lords of Xulima and Pillars of Eternity also have areas with beautiful fall coloration. Then there's non-RPGs, like Assassin's Creed: Syndicate and Saints Row: The Third, with their own taste of October. But as I write this, I'm gazing out my window into the autumn sunrise, casting its ever-weakening golden light onto the faces of leaves just beginning to turn from forest green to olive. Soon the trees will be ablaze in oranges and bright reds, the mornings will be just a little bit chillier, and here in Ohio, we'll have to start wearing hoodies.
We all play RPGs for different reasons. Some of us just like tweaking stats, crawling dungeons, trying different classes, cranking up the difficulty to test our minds and our mettle. For me, RPGs have something of a unique purpose. Video games are a whole new artistic medium, one that allows us to truly immerse ourselves in another world, at least for a little while. That's why I play. And since autumn is my favorite time of year, I would love to have rich autumn-themed games to delve into, as fitting companions to cider, sweaters, Dragonlance books, and hoodies.
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