Ive noticed lately alot of people complain about there not being enough realism in fantasy games. (yes this is kinda brought up by realism junkies on the tes forums) and I am finding it baffling that not only are these people who want more realism in a game like skyrim ignoring the fact that you can do unrealistic things like magic but complain that weapons are not realisticly weighted or stuff like that. even though logically there is no reason to complain about these things in a fantasy setting I have noticed that more and more people are demanding realism.

so I was wonder how other people felt about this.

No, I don't want realism in games, fantasy or not. Adding realism is just distracting, the most important thing is a good game mechanics system.

I hate the realism trend going on. Id much prefer graphics like Borderlands than that of ME2. As for mechanics/physics and all that. That should be game world specific, but I don't really give two craps about that either.

"Realism" is not "like real life". Magic is not "unrealistic". Magic is real in that setting.

An example of realism would be gore; it is not easy at all to dismember someone, certainly not in a single swing of a weapon held in one hand. People might argue for more realism there because they find excessive, unrealistic gore to be stupid-looking. Many people want more realism because it increases immersion, and the game is more fun to play for them if they can feel more involved. Realism is in no way threatening or contrary to a fantasy setting. I would say something like "there's no levitation because it's illegal" to be lack of realism, because it's not at all plausible.

There is a balance between realism and, well, balance. If the guns in Call of Duty shot glitter, but still killed exactly as effectively, people would still complain about the lack of realism. People have their own standards of what is "acceptably ridiculous", and what bothers them because it just seems stupid and obnoxious. People arguing for realism want the fictional world to feel more real, NOT for it to feel more like real life.

i actually long for a roleplaying game that has realistic encumberance - like halo with it's two-weapon limit - where you'd see all your gear, and you'd have a backpack that you'd have to drop for combat etc.
this would mean a simplified system of usable items, which, again, i would like to see.

well, the kinda realism that I have been hearing from the forums is stuff about how the doors aren't realistic or way back when people wanted fire attacks to melt armor and lighting attacks to be an instant kill if the person attacked was wearing steel or iron armor. that kind of stuff

Do I want my fantasy games to be just like real life? No.
Do I want my fantasy games to feel real while I'm playing? Yes.

I'm all for more realism in fantasy games! In the next Elder Scrolls everyone should have yellow teeth and rugged, unwashed hair. There should also be no option to play as a female protagonist, nor any type of female guard/adventurer NPCs.

Realism is for simulations, fun art is for games.

There are driving sims.

There are driving games.

Don't blur the line and upset everyone.

Aw I thought we were talking about painting or philosophy

Why would it have to be realistic while you indeed can use magic or be hit a thousand times before you die...

Nah, I prefer believability in the setting. I'd rather not eat, drink, poop, sleep, etc in main games (unless it's a survival game and/or integral to the game and setting). However, I do like being able to kill something with a reasonable amount of strikes. Turning someone into a pin cushion isn't very...immersive or believable. The biggest annoyance is stuff that makes a game a chore, instead of adding towards fun. It's stuff that makes sense, pretty much. Being able to carry 100 claymores...nooo....Carrying 2 main weapons, and a side arm or 2, sure. Having to fight a goblin warlord for 10 minutes, despite wearing armor that bends reality...no....Fighting a Her Hands, while dressed in leather and an iron dagger and getting completely stomped, yes.

Tamriel, while pretty xenophobic, is actually a very gender neutral place. Also, magic makes teeth and healthy.

There's a huge difference between Realism and logical in-world consistency - which is what most people mean by realism. The amount of money you got for items in Oblivion was unrealistic - NPCs complained of having a monthly wage of a few coins and yet even the cheapest of items sold for at least one. In the same way, people getting seriously ill is unrealistic because magic is there to cure all ills. The player not having to eat is unrealistic because NPCs do have to eat, but the played taking a mace to the face without even blinking isn't, because that's just how it works in nirn.

Realism? Yeah, go away. Consistency between lore and gameplay, where possible? Abso-bloody-lutely.

I coin that as "believability," and a movement games should continue.

I hit idc because I haven't really fleshed out my opinion on this subject yet, I think the Mass Effect series has struck a chord with me concerning "realism" though. I like the lore in that game and the way they explain everything, it's one of the few games where I don't have annoyances concerning realism. I don't know how they did it, but I can immerse myself in the mass effect universe seamlessly.

Depends on the game's tone and setting. As long as the game is consistent with itself, I'm pleased, but this is harder to accomplish with extremely realistic games. That's because reality is quite complex and not so easy to emulate as creating one's own world with its own, simple, physics.

Example: Super Mario Bros is unrealistic, but it's consistent with itself. Fallout 3 is a strange mixture and is not really consistent. The problem is that, to make Fallout 3 more realistic (to match its art style and world) would be very complicated. Mario is based of a set of rules created by the game designer on his own. It doesn't try to emulate our own (ridiculously complex) world much, so it's actually pretty simple to keep constant.

Now, neither of these are fantasy genre, but the same principle applies to a fantasy game.

Morrowind wasn't realistic at all, and it was still an amazingly great game. It's the size of the game that makes it good, not realism. Realism/graphics make a game into like chewing gum, it's really sweet and awesome for the 1st 5 mins of chewing, but then it loses it's flavor and becomes a mass of blah that you need to spit out. Game companies really need to learn this.

yeah, I mostly agree with this. except the part about only being able to have two weapons. some one some where else said something like that and I was going to post something like this *eye bulge open in a silent shriek* I think it was a suggestion that TES should be more like halo in that you could only carry two weapons. besides, in OB we could never carry 100 claymores. I don't think there was any issue with weight, in fact many "realism" people have been saying weapons are too heavy. I don't like the idea of inventory limitations beyond weight, but maybe there could be a hard mode toggle that makes it harder to carry lots of weapons.

I cant complain if the game is fun and well done. I picked I dont care.

I think when most people talk about realism in games they're really talking about less abstract representation of gameplay mechanics. For example, throwing a boat anchor sized harpoon at a monster, then having that monster wait so you can go get it and throw it at him again. The massive harpoon being thrown is unrealistic but it's fantasy so you can let it slide a little. The part where you run up and grab the harpoon then run back so you can throw it again with the monster just sitting there, that's a very artificial representation of a gameplay mechanic.

Luckily for us we're blessed with a series (the elderscrolls) that goes to tell us how much items weigh, what they're made of, where to find those materials, and so on.

To the series, that would seem realistic. So if I know that ebony is a rather cumbersome raw material, i'd hope to think an ebony sword would be heavier...and thus swing slower. Is it necessary? Probably not. Would it be nice? Of course!

I'd like for my games to look real. I feel i like if a game doesn't look realistic, it must look artistic...a good example of this is Limbo...its incredibly effortless to create that art, but its executed in such a manner that its visually stunning.

How about... no.

I agree that believability within the setting of the game is what matters, not pure realism. And realism shouldn't get in the way of gameplay if it doesn't add anything. Just because there are toilets in Fallout 3, Deus Ex, etc. doesn't mean the need to use them would be a worthwhile addition. That's something for The Sims.

Or Duke Nukem.

:)

but where does; getting shocked when using lightning attacks in water, knocking on doors before entering npc's houses, or seeing through/ breaking windows, fit in to believability. sure they are realistic and make the game feel more real and therefore more realistic. but my own stance against realism is that even if it makes the game seem more likily or believable its not worth it if it becomes an obstical that unnessecarily holds back my game play.

I guess what I am trying to say is, I don't thing any realism that hampers game play for nothing more than for the sake of being more believable should not be in a fantasy game. not every realism idea is bad, but they are only good if they add gameplay rather than make it harder.