Rank 3: Sci-Fi
- For this setting, 18.86% (371) of the participants voted.
What are the features of the setting? Although sci-fi gained popularity in the first half of the 20th century, the roots of the setting go back to antiquity. Basically, sci-fi is regarded as the genre of speculative fiction that pertains to the future.
It employs concepts of advanced technology. Space travel or colonization of other planets often plays an important role. But testing the limits of science is also a prominent topic, as in the creation of new life in Frankenstein or cloning technologies.
In general, it is difficult to define sci-fi rigidly because it overlaps into other settings and is used in many sub-settings. For instance, some superhero stories are also considered sci-fi, even if only certain technologies are highly advanced.
Examples from gaming: Games with a sci-fi setting are abundant. The most well-known examples in single-player games should naturally include Star Wars games and the Mass Effect series.
In the MMO sector, sci-fi fans can discover a lot for themselves. Besides classics like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Trek Online, there are also action-packed games like Warframe or Planetside 2.
As in other genres, sci-fi often borrows only certain elements that developers incorporate into their MMOs. This often happens in the form of “ancient forgotten civilizations” whose advanced technology is suddenly discovered, as with the Allagans in Final Fantasy XIV.
Rank 2: Asian Fantasy
- For this setting, 21.30% (419) of the participants voted.
What are the features of the setting? Although the setting is called “Asian Fantasy,” it primarily defines itself through a mix of Western fantasy elements with Asian culture. Both are part of it. The typically Western fantasy characteristics that the setting draws on include:
- Western designs of buildings or clothing
- Monsters from European mythology,
- Races from classic high fantasy such as elves,
- Names and terms that are meant to sound “Western”
Due to the influence of Asian developers, however, the Western elements are somewhat “reinterpreted” and mixed with elements from their culture.
Thus, in the Asian fantasy setting, orcs or trolls are rarely found as playable races because they are not considered beautiful. On the other hand, classes such as ninjas and samurai are more common in the setting.
However, not every MMO developed by Asian studios is set in the Asian fantasy setting. MMOs that completely forego Western elements are more likely to belong to the category of Wuxia MMOs, such as Blade and Soul.
Examples from gaming: Asian fantasy came to us with the rise in popularity of J-RPGs and other story-intensive games from Japan. The most well-known examples would be games like Final Fantasy X, the “.hack” series, or some “Shin Megami Tensei” games.
In the multiplayer sector, we primarily find many representatives of the setting among MMORPGs. These include both theme-park MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV or Astellia, as well as sandbox MMOs like Black Desert Online.
However, outside the MMORPG genre, the setting is less frequently found among multiplayer games.
Rank 1: Western Fantasy
- For this setting, 55.1% (1084) of the participants voted.
What are the features of the setting? The “Western” fantasy, also known as “high fantasy,” is a setting that most of us will be familiar with from the media. Its popularity gained momentum in the 1960s, although writings that are considered high fantasy were composed even earlier.
Its roots lie in the “Lord of the Rings” books by J.R.R. Tolkien, who himself drew heavily from the folklore of European countries. Thus, races like elves, dwarves, and orcs from the high fantasy setting are inseparable from magic and dragons.
A clear distinction between good and evil is also typical for the high fantasy setting. However, this boundary blurs once one ventures into subgenres like dark fantasy, of which high fantasy has many.
Examples from gaming: The high fantasy setting has accompanied video games almost since their inception. Many of the early text adventures and RPGs in the 60s and 70s utilized the setting, and little has changed in the past 40 years.
Classics include the Ultima games or Baldur’s Gate. In our time, the Dragon Age series and Witcher games have made a name for themselves as prime examples of high fantasy games.
There is no shortage of the setting in MMORPGs and multiplayer games. Above all, the MMORPG World of Warcraft, which has enjoyed great popularity for over 15 years, stands out. Other examples include The Elder Scrolls Online or action RPGs like Diablo and Path of Exile.
With 55.1%, the western setting received more than double the votes of its predecessor in 2nd place and is thus undoubtedly your favorite setting.
