Hello GIO! This is my inaugural blog here, and I thought I'd write about something I've thought about for a while. So, without further ado...
I'm a bit of a history nerd, and as a result, I've always enjoyed historical fiction games, particularly Assassin's Creed. Despite the great job that the Assassin's Creed franchise has done exploring historical settings, I feel that there is a lot of untapped potential for great settings. Below are three settings that deserve a game of their own. Just a few things I'd like to note before I begin: The settings described below are NOT meant to be exclusively applied to the Assassin's Creed franchise; these settings can be applied to almost any type of game/franchise.
Early Colonial America
The earliest period in American history was a fascinating time ripe with stories of adventure, conquest, glory, and even dark tales of survival. The time frame that I'm referring to begins in the early 16th century and spans all the way to the late 17th century. One of the most enticing aspects of that time frame is the sense of exploration. Imagine playing as a Spanish Conquistador exploring the jungles of Mexico and South America, or playing as a Aztec or Mayan interacting with and fighting against the invading Conquistadors. Another appealing aspect of this setting is the amount of hardship and struggle that many early settlers faced. For example, imagine a survival game set in Jamestown. Players would be tasked with surviving the harsh winters, gathering food, interacting with the natives, and ensuring that the colony survives.
American Frontier/Wild West
The Wild West is arguably one of the most used settings in all of modern entertainment. There is a countless number movies and TV shows set during America's westward expansion. Despite the abundance of Western movies and TV shows, the genre remains uncharted waters for the video game industry. Aside from a few Red Dead games, the Call of Juarez series sans the Cartel, and a handful of older games, there has been a very small amount of Western games. And even more interesting, only one or two of the aforementioned games have had a lot of success. A western setting provides a great sense of exploration, and freedom. It also provides a perfect atmosphere for tales of redemption, vengeance, crime, and justice.
US War in Vietnam
The US War in Vietnam remains as the most controversial conflict our nation has ever been involved with. It is therefore not surprising that the video game industry has largely passed over this setting (Battlefield Vietnam is one of the few exceptions). However, despite the controversy and politics, the war would make for an interesting setting.The lush jungles of Vietnam, the stories of young men fighting for their country, or for a war they didn't believe in, and an awesome soundtrack full of songs from the 1960s all make Vietnam an enticing setting. Assuming any games using a Vietnam War setting could manage to keep politics out of the story and maintain an unbiased viewpoint, I think that a Vietnam setting would make for a great game.
Thanks for reading everyone. This was my first blog, so just bare with me through the rough patches. If there are any settings you want to see explored, post them in the comments below.