Well, I don't know about that--there are the "points of light" settings for example.

But I guess what I'm getting at, at the risk of being redundant, is that most any "setting" conceived as an entire world or universe can be a place for adventure. Or for other types of activity, too, if you prefer say skirt tugging and braid pulling. It's just a matter of picking the place, geographically/socially, where that stuff occurs, and choosing to develop your game/campaign based on that.

This isn't to say you couldn't take a broad focus if your group and game mechanics can't handle it. However J Arcane's mini-essay is, for me, a jumping off point into rebutting the idea that an RPG world without an overarching meta-focus can't be the location for any number of "settings", in the sense of frameworks for various types of campaigns.

I would say "Yes", with the caveat that any particular space need not be amenable to shows of force. Adventure is as much solving mysteries and intriguing as shooting and looting.

Quote from: Elliot Wilen;335413Absolutely. Then again, do superhero & horror games even have, or (to be mindful of RPG publisher/purchaser habits) need settings--in any kind of broad detail? Sure, superheroes need a city to defend, and maybe some horror games similarly need a city to haunt, but do you need comprehensive maps/descriptions of continents and all the major urban areas?

No, not at all. BG II has no setting as described. OHMAS, while not strictly horror, has maps and area descriptions, but only because Elizabethan England is not familiar even to most Brits.

-clash

So do you agree with the broader premise, then Clash? I.e., some genres are more naturally dependent on a detailed setting?

(That's a sub-premise of the thread as a whole. The main premise: you could have, say, a diverse fantasy or SF "world/universe" but it might still be a good strategy to effectively restrict the action & detail to a certain region...just as you can get a whole campaign out of "19th century earth" without going east of the Mississippi.)

Quote from: Elliot Wilen;337792So do you agree with the broader premise, then Clash? I.e., some genres are more naturally dependent on a detailed setting?

(That's a sub-premise of the thread as a whole. The main premise: you could have, say, a diverse fantasy or SF "world/universe" but it might still be a good strategy to effectively restrict the action & detail to a certain region...just as you can get a whole campaign out of "19th century earth" without going east of the Mississippi.)

I think all games benefit by a detailed setting, but the degree of that detail, and whether that detail is supplied at designer-level or group-level, is devisive. I personally prefer broad strokes at the designer-level with details supplied at group-level, but others differ strongly. As a GM, I prefer room to interpret and develop what aspects of the setting interest me. As a designer, I feel what interests me won't necessarily interest other GMs. On the other hand, a strong initial structure is vital, with in-built conflicts and big potential for change. So, strong structure, conflict, broad strokes, and lots of undeveloped threads that can be developed to the group's taste and interests.

-clash

I think I just changed the frame of reference for that last post. Sorry about that! I just think sometimes implied settings are awesome because you can detail them through play the way you like, while other times the designed-in details can absolutely change the way you approach things by taking you out of your comfort zones and making you think.

-clash

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;335708I would say "Yes", with the caveat that any particular space need not be amenable to shows of force. Adventure is as much solving mysteries and intriguing as shooting and looting.

Yeah, that's about the way I see it.  There doesn't have to be a princess to be rescued or a villain to shoot in every location, but there should ALWAYS be something for PCs to do if they go to a given region.  Otherwise, to me it feels like a waste of written space.  

Pete