The Nostalgia Files - Autumn and RPGs

[Myrthos]

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.

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.

More information.

 

[Myrthos]

Thanks Aubrielle for this seasonal article.

 

[Hurls]

Thanks also Aubrielle.

 

[daveyd]

Interesting. Yeah I can't think of many RPGs with Autumn scenery aside from what was mentioned...

They're not exactly deep immersive RPGs but there's a silly Halloween themed RPG series called Costume Quest

And Zelda Oracle of Seasons, I guess.

 

[luj1]

Speaking of autumn scenery, where is arcanum, nwn ? The idea behind this article was good but srsly dont give SJWs to write about non-JRPGs and non-dating sims, else you'll run into weird things like Assassin's Creed and Saints Row in a RPG article

 

[Dez]

Thanks for this intresting article Aubrielle.

Speaking of autumn scenes in videogames, I can't think of many outside your list, atleast not rpgs (unless autumn texture mod type of things are counted). If you're willing to look into adventure genre, Vanishing of Ethan carter would likely be a good fit to this list.

And ofcourse there is Team fortress 2 and it's halloween themed maps.

 

[HiddenX]

Thanks Aubrielle - I remember Costume Quest as Halloween RPG:

 

[SSIGuy]

Ha... interesting article but when I first saw the title I thought of it in terms of how the Autumn changes my relationship to games. While I am currently living in Southern France where Autumn feels a little ways off yet, my main home is in Canada near the top of the mountain and when Autumn rolls in there, dark and stormy nights aren't far behind (where we sometimes get literally snowed into our home for days). That's when curling up in front of my PC and a fire with an awesome game seems just about perfect. Traditionally, I love to save one really good, deep RPG for that time of the year that I know will be there to get me through those dark months!

It seems many of my more favourite games get played then. Partly because of those great games I save for then but also, subconsciously, I think there's something extra appealing about playing games in that season through into Winter and escaping into some other, awesome world!

 

[Aubrielle]

Thank you, everyone!

Ha… interesting article but when I first saw the title I thought of it in terms of how the Autumn changes my relationship to games. While I am currently living in Southern France where Autumn feels a little ways off yet, my main home is in Canada near the top of the mountain and when Autumn rolls in there, dark and stormy nights aren't far behind (where we sometimes get literally snowed into our home for days). That's when curling up in front of my PC and a fire with an awesome game seems just about perfect. Traditionally, I love to save one really good, deep RPG for that time of the year that I know will be there to get me through those dark months!

It seems many of my more favourite games get played then. Partly because of those great games I save for then but also, subconsciously, I think there's something extra appealing about playing games in that season through into Winter and escaping into some other, awesome world!

I definitely feel this, too, for sure.

 

[lostforever]

It seems that orange is the colour of autumn where you live. However its mushy brown here in UK and the best game to describe out autumn is Morrowind , specially Balmora.

 

[forgottenlor]

Parts of Ember have a autumn theme going. Especially the Farmlands area seems like its the middle of harvest time, with pumpkins in the field and baskets of apples lying around. Its true though, that summer and winter are far more popular seasonal settings.

 

[Aubrielle]

Parts of Ember have a autumn theme going. Especially the Farmlands area seems like its the middle of harvest time, with pumpkins in the field and baskets of apples lying around. Its true though, that summer and winter are far more popular seasonal settings.

Ember is a game I still have yet to play. And from what you're all saying, it sounds like I've cheated myself. It looks really good.

 

[Hastar]

It's been awhile since I played them but Baldur's Gate 1&2 seemed to have some Autumn scenery. Then you have the Autumn fests in games like EQ and D&D Online. It is also my favorite time of year and the forests in Skyrim with the Fall setting was my favorite.

 

[forgottenlor]

Ember is a game I still have yet to play. And from what you're all saying, it sounds like I've cheated myself. It looks really good.

Well it reminds me of a mixture of Dungeon Siege 1 and Divine Divinity (its may be rtwp, but I can't remember bothering to pause after the first two hours of the game) with a pleasant crafting system and some nice humor. I'd hardly call it a deep rpg, but its nice light fare and considering its only 10 dollars its nice for in between.

 

[you]

I woudl not rush to play this title. The more I play the more drag of a game. It is designed for junior high at best or extremely casual players. I'd rate it at best 5/10. It seems to be mostly bug free (which is worse as i'm downgrading it for design issues/decision).

Ember is a game I still have yet to play. And from what you're all saying, it sounds like I've cheated myself. It looks really good.

 

[Strafe]

read, Thank you Aubrielle!

Is not my screen-shot but I remember Autumn in Risen

 

[Aubrielle]

read, Thank you Aubrielle!

Is not my screen-shot but I remember Autumn in Risen

Ohh, good pick! I guess I didn't make it that far in Risen…

 

[rune_74]

Great article.

I think it would be safe to say Grim dawn is all Autumn

 

[Aubrielle]

Great article.

I think it would be safe to say Grim dawn is all Autumn

Right you are. I think that one had initially occurred to me, though for some reason it slipped my mind by the time I'd written my draft...

 

[Nephologist]

Great article Aubrielle!

Autumn is also my favorite season, and I love seeing it represented in RPGs. The Rift was my favorite part of Skyrim. I didn't mess around with mods too much, do you have any recommended autumn mods for Skyrim?

Anyhow, a few additions to the list:

Trollshaws in LOTRO. I think you knew this one though

The Elven faction in Disciples III is associated with an autumn forest. Part of the gameplay mechanics is the more of the map your faction controls, it changes to represent your faction. So if you are the elves and you control the entire map, you can turn into one big autumn forest!