Sci-Fi VS Fantasy: Which direction do YOU want to see the game take?

What's the distinction?

Some would probably call it magic, but that doesn't mean anything. They'd probably also call the wielder of the flashlight a witch, but that doesn't mean s/he is one.

Not really. Unless you're hinting at the vagueness of the definition of magic, and are including things like illusionism and slight-of-hand, but given the context of this discussion (fantasy) I'd expect you know better than that.

For example...?

Science and fantasy can be mixed, and often are; Starwars, for example, is predominantly sci-fi, and follows the laws of science... with one big exception: the force, which is magic. The presence of the force doesn't make things like the blasters or spacecraft in SW any less sci-fi, nor does the tech make the force any less fantasy. The "laws of magic" either follow the laws of science, making it not magic, or they don't, which would be what establishes it as magic.

The bone dragon was identified as fantasy in the very first post in this thread, so, y'know, what's your point?

 

Not a fan of Star Wars, always seemed pretty corny to me. Would like pure sci-fi, since you don't see it that often.

So far this game reminds me a bit of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, in that you explore worlds that are in various stages of technology and civilization. I guess that counts for Star Trek too.

 

If you're going to get so defensive, I'm just going to take my leave and let this thread die. You don't have to agree with me, but the minute you try to take on any sort of condescending attitude is the minute I'm out.

 

There is none in an objective view.
In my subjective view, i'd say everything that is completely impossible by any possible natural and physical law.


=> The universe is (probably) infinite, we have NO single clue what natural law can create outside our own worlds.

=> Our scientists believe we only use a small percentage of our brain, we have NO single clue what the remaining percentage would actually do.

=> Research of mental capabilities and means to increase those resulting in "fantastic" abilities completely blurr the line inbetween.


You know what's the only things in this game that's unrealistic and fantasy when it comes down to it ? Saving a Game and Loading it. And near-instant respawning after death with your utterly exact possessions, thoughts, mind and soul. That's it.

My conclusion: Fantasy and Science are too close together and include too much personal taste to be judged or mutually excluded from a game.

 

Science Fantasy , emphasis on the Fantasy
I'd like to see a bit more fantasy in the game.

 

Really I'm very happy with how the game is at the moment - the inclusion of fantasty elements in the sci-fi setting adds to the tongue-in-cheek feel of the game that I get through the codices and NPC speech.

 

I voted for Science Fiction. Because that's the way this game is going and I like it that way.

Both Sci-Fi and Fantasy have one thing in common: They're fiction. The major point distinguishing these two is how do the characters react to these things: What happens when you give a lightsaber to a filthy peasant living in a 17th century or when you bring a baby dragon to a Vogon. This is very important, because we are almost never told how does a laser blaster or a magic wand work. Fantasy bases this on mystical properties and Scifi on technology and understandment.

3 well-known examples: Lightsaber, the One Ring and Matter manipulator. We don't know how they work, and never will. It's not explained properly. Only things we're given at the start are: Lighsaber is a weapon of Jedi, the One Ring is the source of Sauron's powers and Matter manipulator manipulates matter lod:You don't say). It's always about how stuff is presented. We assume that somebody out there knows how to construct a Matter manipulator or a lightsaber. We know that Sauron made the Rings of Power using his might, he knows how to do it. But we don't expect to understand how he does it, even if it there actually some sense behind it. The difference is between "We can understand" and "We can do".

Much is also context dependant, there could be a dragon described in a scifi book without mentioning word "dragon", and readers would believe it's some kind of alien (Bad example). Force in Star Wars is an element that could be fitting in both Fantasy and Scifi, pointing again in the relation between the element and rest of the universe ("We can understand" or "We can do").
Therefore I can identify Bone Dragon as a scifi structure in this specific context. What would separate it from every other imaginative monster we see in the game?


In my opinion Starbound is a damn good Space Opera and I'd like it to stay that way.

 

I dont think this game GaF...

 

Id say that conjuring a fireball isn't necessarily creating energy, they might be getting energy from somewhere or something else, like the air or something, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it CAN be transferred

 

wow I'm surprised to see how many people want science fantasy with emphasis on science. I selected 'science fantasy', why not both?

 

I want science so high-tech that it might as well be magic to anyone that's not some sort of super scientist.

 

I'd like to see Science Fantasy, with a BIG emphasis on Science, there are already many games of this kind that go the fantasy route (Terraria, Minecraft to an extent .etc) and I'd like to see one that's different than the rest

 

I votes for science fantasy with emphasis on science. But to be honest the only difference between sci-fi and fantasy is that one has an explanation for how it works. However a lot of sci-fi now doesn't even have much of an explanation so the two are moving closer together. So much sci-fi is about genetic mutations now that there isn't a difference between a warlock and a mutant because both can summon fireballs at will. The only area I'd like to see go towards technology is the weapons and mining. Assuming this game is futuristic I'd like to see more technologically advanced weapons. An axe is cool for about one planet. Once you have enough resources you should be able to build motorized weapons such as a chainsaw for example. No bow and arrows please.

 

Why not have emphasis on both? I think it would be cool to be able to fight using fantasy elements against sci-fi elements, and vice versa, and i mean technically, Sci-fi IS fantasy because its not real, its fiction, its something someone dreamed up, just more technology based, giving something an explanation so people can understand it in some form, doesnt make it non fantasy.

 

Nicely said

 

Science fantasy, emphasis on fantasy!

 

I just want biotic powers. Then I'll be happy.

 

Starbound should be a sci-fi game. It gives it a chance to be unique on the market and cater to an under served gamer population.

Far too often games with sci-fi potential change to cater to the fantasy genre because it's assumed that they will be better selling. This approach forgets to take into account how well a game is executed and developed playing a major role in it's appeal. The truth is that there aren't many good sci-fi games available and that quality drives sales. Mass effect can point to the popularity of a well done sci-fi genre game.

I believe the game should have a sci-fi base with the option to go fantasy through mods. When I see the title and description of the game I'd be disappointed to find 'magic' in the game and feel like it wasn't accurately described to a buyer.



As I've become older my tastes have changed. While I was and still am to a degree a big Star Wars fan I prefer Star Trek now. I realize that the only difference between myself and someone in the Star Trek Universe is that they have advanced technology and it speaks to the human ability to advance and grow. Star Wars however is fundamentally different due to the nature of the force and those that have it and those who never will.

The magic and mysticism in things like Star Wars I've always thought that it was taken too far. I could accept the force and it's powers as shown in the movies and the slight attempt to remove the mystical from Star Wars with the midicolorians is most likely Lucas realization of this as well.

The force while certainly powerful it was never overused and couldn't save anyone from the impossible situation (In the movies). In fact with the exception of Luke all the force users in Star Wars died and proved their own mortality. When it came to the Star Wars books however this where things got out of control. New force powers were introduced and and individuals power increased exponentially. This is the point of departure from the willing suspension of disbelief for me.

Mass effect however has a scientific explanation for biotics and it's enough to suspend disbelieve in a technology setting. It works in providing those that need those mystical powers while giving it the explanation that is needed by people that want a pure science fiction setting. That's the way to go I think.


PS: Please stop using the small percentage of our brains BS quote. It's far from correct and invalidates any argument based on it. We use all of our brains at different times for different tasks.

 

I wanted to correct this. I used to be misinformed and used to believe the same thing, but then I married a neuroscientist, and yes, she corrected me very quickly. We indeed use pretty much all of our brain.

Also, this: http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percent.asp

 

So... It has been awhile since I last thought about this aspect of the game.

I'm not playing the nightly build myself, but from what I heard, Starbound is gradually moving away from Terraria-ish fantasy bits, yes?

What I want to ask people who plays the nightly, or people in the know in general, is, do you feel the game is feeling more Sci-Fi at this point?

Are there some things that still feel out of place? Are you okay with it?


Will the next big patch address some of this Sci-Fi vs Fantasy topic that has been bugging a good portion of players?

What is the Chucklefish's current vision regarding this?