Themes in Video Games

What are your favorite themes in games? Which would you like to see more of?

My favorites are:

Ninja, Samurai, Ancient Japan, etc. I guess I lump these all in one category.

Cyberpunk, when it's well done. Unfortunately most cyberpunk/sci-fi stuff is way too cheesy and unoriginal.

Future/Past mixtures. Phantasy Star and Final Fantasy would be examples of these. Ninja games often mix these as well.

Cartoon-ish weird Japanese stuff. I generally can't stand Western attempts at cartoon-style games.

These themes are all pretty common but there are tons of themes of eras and places that have hardly been touched in gaming. I'm always up for trying new stuff so I think the industry could use more variety.

Are there any important themes in life that haven't been covered by video games?

i totally dig war, sci-fi, fantasy, sci-fi/fantasy (like the ones you mentioned), and end-of-the-world themes.

what i would like to see more of are holy themes. something along the lines of armageddon; heaven vs. hell type stuff. soul blazer, sky blazer, actraiser, and valkyrie profile all kinda had themes like that. i want a more direct one, though.

I love seeing religious-themed games whether it's a game like Xenogears or Requiem.

I like WWII-themed games.

I'd like to see games based on different aspects of the conflict, though. MOH: Frontline did a good job of presenting varied aspects of the war, but I'd like to see games based on the Eastern Front, the Nazi occupation of Poland, the Warsaw ghetto uprising, etc.

We definitely need more games about pirates. Skies of Arcadia was excellent, and that Black Kat game is pretty good too from what I've played of it.

Being the villian in a game like Deception is nice.
My favorite themes are the insane ones, like Earthworm Jim, Yoshi's Island, and Gunstar Heroes. I like imagination in games. How about this for a theme: the world is modeled very close to real life, with work and a place to sleep and people going about their business (like Shenmue), but you have supernatural powers like flight and energy blasts. Shenmue works well with its spirituality, but I'd like see a super hero tale set in a very normal world.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by sleeveboy
I like WWII-themed games.

I'd like to see games based on different aspects of the conflict, though. MOH: Frontline did a good job of presenting varied aspects of the war, but I'd like to see games based on the Eastern Front, the Nazi occupation of Poland, the Warsaw ghetto uprising, etc.

---

Yes! I love games based on WWII. I'd love to see some take place in the Pacific theater, or Africa maybe. It'd be cool if you could also choose to be German, Japanese, British, etc. I'd love to play a Nazi saboteur or a British soldier in se Asia.

Quote:

---

We definitely need more games about pirates. Skies of Arcadia was excellent, and that Black Kat game is pretty good too from what I've played of it.

---

I agree here as well. Pirate games, when done correctly, are very cool. Skies was nice because it was original (what with the sky ships and all). I'd love to see some more pirate RPG games.

I think it would be neat to see games based on some of the ancient literature of India like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Aside from a couple really obscure PC games, these themes haven't been touched.

There's just something about stories with religious underlyings that bother me. Seems like it's usually used to fill in gaps or make the product seem artsy. "Why and how was he resurrected? Who cares? It's making a comparison to Jesus and that makes our story automatically deep and significant."

Regarding the topic, I'd like to see more zombie themes, if only because there hasn't been a game that has fully utilized its inherent potential.

i liked the 2001 theme in Rez.

Games with mythological themes always get me. Suff like Battle of Olympus and Valkyrie Profile that use existing myths and twist them are what I like. My favorite theme is sci-fi/cyberpunk, like Shadowrun. Jus imagining a world like that boggles my mind. Also, Pirate and Arabian themes are A-OK in my book.