How can you have cultures, secrets, and history without characters? Personally I think people are what give meaning to places; games like the Myst series which are heavily place-focused and mostly empty of people tend to feel barren no matter how lush and intriguing the physical landscapes are. I don't like the feeling of being alone in the world. But certainly places can be interesting, and are worth thinking about.

Places are a major way to create atmosphere/mood in a game. Places can to a limited extant tell about history (ruins, a crater, an abandoned building, a pastoral village, a thriving metropolis, a skyscraper buzzing like a beehive with security and workers...) But please note that books, diaries, television, posters, graffiti, all of the standard objects that are used to allow the player to discover story within a location, are all character elements, not setting elements. One particularly interesting thing to do is to allow the character to make a permanent impact on the game world (often by repairing or destroying a pathway or obstacle blocking a pathway). I am personally fascinated by the possibility of returning the player to the same setting later in the game and showing the player by changes in this setting what effects their actions have had on the world.

Places are probably the most important element of structuring play. It's important that the player always has a goal to be working toward, and isn't distracted by too many things that aren't relevant to that goal; the setting channels the player along the path of the story, helping the player to experience the story elements with the order and timing that give the best experience. Even in a non-linear game places should help orient the player to the play opportunities associated with each particular place, and there should be some sort of reward or progress achieved by exploring each place (so they aren't meaningless).

I think you could do that but it would be difficult to argue that games should focus on either. If you ask: Should all games have the same focus? Same proportion? You see that it is pretty hard to say 'Yes' and justify it.

this reminds me of Alpha Centauri, each faction had a leader character, and the planet was a character too (planetary neural network, like avatar)

Huh! I'm new to this place, but I've been thinking of game ideas for a long time. This thread makes me think of one I've been kicking around for awhile. One where you start young, alone, in pain, weak at fighting, unsure of yourself and trapped in a cramped surroundings, ending with the exact opposite adult, among friends, happy, a skilled warrior, large amount of self-confidence, and among very open surroundings. By changing the situation from world to character slowly over time or by mixing up the different aspects of character and world based design, you can create a real sense of personal change and accomplishment. I know games do this a little already, but more is better right?

You don't need to stick to the same world/character ratio the whole time anyway do you?

Quote: Original post by Phil_ATS
Huh! I'm new to this place, but I've been thinking of game ideas for a long time. This thread makes me think of one I've been kicking around for awhile.

Hi Phil,
Why don't you start a new thread rather than take an old one in a new direction.
If your question is about story writing for games, this is the correct board.
If your question is about game design, there's a separate board for those discussions.

Quote: Original post by Tom Sloper
Why don't you start a new thread rather than take an old one in a new direction.
If your question is about story writing for games, this is the correct board.
If your question is about game design, there's a separate board for those discussions.

...
Sorry, I don't have much experience with forums, and I didn't notice how old the thing was.