You know, when I coined this blog concept it seemed like a innocent way to theorise on... oh who am I kidding; it was conceived as a surrender to the most basic draws of escapism. I suppose with all that is going on around the world right now, it's becoming ever more desirable to seek some new and fantastical life, even if only in the realms of our imagination. Some achieve this by putting aside some time and submerging themselves in a thrilling book; others like to find the hot new show of the week and lose themselves amidst a visual spectacle; and a few settle for playing 2016's DOOM for 15 hours straight. I, on the other-hand, do that last one and then come to this blog to pontificate about the many wild and fantastic worlds of video games and pop culture in general. Though many of these worlds are unrealistic, pomp-fuelled, death traps, somehow that still seems preferable to the one in which we currently reside. (Think that says more about myself than the worlds in question.)
Before I delve into the three titles for this entry, however, I should like to elaborate on some ground rules that I neglected to last time. The point of this exercise isn't to imagine what life would be like in the shoes of an immortal gallivanting hero, that sounds boring. Instead I want to think about what it would be like to live the life of a nobody in that space, with no powers, fame or secret destiny yet to be revealed. In that way I reinforce the idea that this is about the settings within which these stories are told rather than the characters. If that sounds sad and pathetic to you: Welcome to the blog, it's kinda like my thing. With that out of the way, let me challenge my own claim that this is a 'gaming blog' by diving into one Universe that predates all of it's significant games by quite a wide berth.
Okay, so the Star Wars Galaxy clearly didn't start out life on a console, but rather in the 1977 blockbuster which changed cinema forever. (For the better? Yeah, let's say for the better.) As most of you likely know if you've ever watched a single Star Wars property ever, the story takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The Star Wars Universe is a diverse and alien galaxy positively brimming with so many distinct extraterrestrial species that new ones are introduced all the time and no one seems to bat an eye. Amidst and, inexplicably, on top of it all are the humans who seem to populate more worlds than any other species. These humans obviously don't hail from Earth, but all different alien worlds and thus are not the united force that one might see from the space dwelling humans of Mass Effect. Throughout the centuries the Galaxy has been ruled by the militaristic might of the Galactic Republic, although that memorably gave way to an empire for a generation or two. (And yet somehow the Galaxy accepted a 'New Republic' immediately afterwards. Why is it the more I think about the sequels the more frustrated they make me?) Perhaps the most notable aspect of this universe that makes it unique is the manner in which the natural order is governed my a mysterious spiritual force known as- well... the Force. This concept apparently lives in every single living being in the universe and can grant magical powers to those who learn to manipulate it. Okay, all caught up? Good, let's get to the hard part.
For you see, as Star Wars has existed for a great many years in the public zeitgeist, so too has existed a good many stories in the Star Wars universe taking place over a great many number of eras. (With the impending 'High republic' we have 4 canonical eras with a fifth one still pending on it's canonicity) So there's actually a decent number of factors one must take into account when picking a period of history within which to live, let alone a planet. Ultimately, however, I've settled for the Prequel Era and the planet of Taris. Although I could have just as easy chosen the Original Era, because Taris is such a back-water nowhere planet, yet surprisingly industrial, that one could feasibly live there indefinitely without having to worry about which tyrannical organisation decides to claim this planet as theirs. (Provided that you are human, of course. The Empire seem to have some unspoken racism amidst their ranks, so it's probably better not to tempt fate.)
On the bright side of coming to the Star Wars Galaxy, one can enjoy science fiction pleasures that are completely unrivalled by anything in the Milky Way, despite this series apparently taking place such a long time ago. There is instant space travel, personal droids, holograms literally everywhere and a mythical space magic with the power to wipe all life out from your planet if someone gets angry enough. (To be fair, that power was only ever used in KOTOR. So I'd say the chances of it being used again are slim.) Living in the rebuilt Taris would grant you all the luxuries that a Ecumenopolis would provide without you having to worry polluting the atmosphere, because if things get too bad everyone can just move to another planet. Keep to yourself and you'll never even have to worry about the fall of the Jedi, or the corruption of the Galactic Republic, or the subsequent rise of the Galactic Empire, or the rise of the Rebel resistance, or that entire cycle repeating itself for the sequel series. (With any luck you'll have died by old age then anyway.)
Unfortunately, this is a series called 'Star Wars' so if there is one things you'll have to get used to, it's living in war times. (Because there's literally always a war happening.) Luckily, I think it's so common that the populace likely don't even bother converting to a war-time economy anymore, so it shouldn't impact your day-to-day. That is provided that you follow my earlier advice and keep your head firmly down, because the second that you start displaying any aptitude for any feasibly war-useful talent, such as medicine or engineering, you can expect to be drafted by the Empire or kidnapped by the Rebels. But then, even if you do manage to stay off of everyone's radar long enough to start a life in an exotic galaxy and get settled, then you'll get hit by the Galactic recession courtesy of the Rebels blowing up the single biggest, and most expensive, space station of all time. (I don't even want to think about the level of debt that the Emperor put his senate in to remake, and then lose, another Death Star.)
But let's leave Sci-fi behind for a bit and take a holiday somewhere a bit more whimsical. Somewhere were space magic gives way to good old traditional fairy magic. Of course, I'm talking by the classic land of Hyrule; setting of the vast majority of the 'The Legend of Zelda' games. This a land that was designed in everyway to be that fairy tale fantasy kingdom out of classic European fiction. (As translated through the mind of a Japanese man, of course.) This means that the land is a very uncomplicated monarchy ruled by the knife-earred Hylians who seem just enough. Their neighbour kingdoms, usually the Gerudo, Goron, Zora and Rito societies, generally seem to hold a well enough rapport with the Hylians and respect their sovereignty. Such makes sense, when you think about it, seeing as how their powers were literally divine granted by the three golden Goddesses who bless the land and make up the vertices of the legendary Triforce emblem.
Once again, The Legend of Zelda is a series that prides itself on re-envisioning, and quite a few of those remixes have changed the very makeup of the land of Hyrule. In fact, it's quite normal for the land to be so changed that the only familiar points of reference are the folk who inhabit it, not even the landmarks that one might have become familiar with. Heck, in one game the entire kingdom is entirely flooded and the people have become nomadic. In the end I choose to reside in the most recent incarnation of Hyrule, that which we saw in 'Breath of the Wild'. This is a world in which the forever resurrected avatars of the goddesses, Link and Zelda, (I think the Mastersword makes up the other triangle or something) have both vanished from the world after a perilous battle against the influence of Calamity Ganon. What follows is a hundred year slumber where the Hero must recover from their wounds in order to have a chance at saving the now-trapped Princess who struggles to keep Ganon at bay for all this time. What a perfect time for my villager to plop into, no?
On the plus side, whilst this may seem like a tumultuous time of shifting lands, in truth the greatest upset to the land of Hyrule is the loss of it's ruling class. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Princess Zelda, (Who at this point should be Queen. Her Father is dead, hereditary rule makes her Queen. Someone teach Nintendo how royal succession works.) the many Moblin and undead demons of Calamity Ganon are suppressed from destroying the living world. So this means that you have close to 100 years of peace to enjoy the world of Hyrule, and what a world it is. Besides being as beautiful as a masterful painting in motion, Hyrule is a criminally peaceful place where folk seem to exist off the simple pleasures of the land. Every village boasts rolling fields of wheat and a modest farm, and magic ensures that the daily toil is never too overwhelming. The ingenuity of the Sheikah mean that even modern technology has come to this world, albeit in a distinctly 'steam-punk' fashion, and the gorgeous landscape makes it so that you'll be spoilt for choice on where to chose in order to live your peaceful life. Best of all, there's no upper class. You can live good for cheap.
Now come the problems. You see, whilst the land of Hyrule was immediately free from Ganon's minions, 100 years is a long time to hold out, even for a Princess. (Besides I can only assume she spent the majority of her power preserving her youth, seeing as how she hasn't seemed to have aged a day.) This means that as the years go by, the minions of Ganon will start to show up on your rolling green hills in increasing numbers. This hits a practical fever pitch by the end of Link's century-long nap, wherein every now and then a blood moon would rise, calling hundreds of deadly monsters upon your land. And the nuttiness doesn't even end there, as for some inexplicable reason the Yiga Clan, a group of Ninja's from Gerudo territory, start to become active in this time in the vein of kidnapping and replacing villagers. (Fingers crossed that ain't you.) Basically, things get so bad that you'll be unable to leave the village for fear of being brutally murdered and eaten, kidnapped or both. And if you think you're safe due to the fact that all this happens on year 100, think again. There are no humans in Hyrule, you see, which means the only way to successfully integrate would be to become a Hylian. Unfortunately, Hylains seem to have lifespans much longer than humans, and they would easily live through all the hardships of Calamity Ganon's wrath as well as relative peace in-between. So what's the altogether take-away? Hide for 50 years until Link comes and saves the land, then you can come out from under the bed and partake in all the wonders of Hyrule again.
We've gotten a bit too fictional of late, I think. Let us conclude with something a little more familiar, shall we? How about trying on Metal Gear's Earth for size? Metal Gear takes place in an Earth much like our own with a history very similar to our own; in fact, a lot of the big changes only come into the series post 20th century. Although any learned fans of the franchise might tell you that the first definitive point of divergence was during World War 2 when a team of frea- I mean 'Special forces soldiers' called Cobra Unit conducted several on-the-ground covert missions against the AXIS forces. After that war, the same folk who assembled the Cobra Unit decided to make a covert pact across nations to ensure that a World War would never happen again. These people were all oligarchs in their own right and so founded an influential cabal of super-rich elites with a hand on global politics called 'The Philosophers' (Because that's not pretentious at all.)
That is simply the most basic way that I can explain the background of Metal Gear's Story. (And bear in mind that every single bit of that lore was only introduced in the 3rd game of the Solid series. The fifth game overall. God knows what people thought was going on before then.) Aside from that, Metal Gear's Earth pretty much evolves alongside the real world with the exception that a great deal of our conspiracy theories throughout the years are real. (Kojimi didn't quite go hog with this concept like Deus Ex did, but he included his own version of the Illuminati so he clearly was interested in that field.) This really hits a zenith in 1964 after which every single world event has been in some way aiding the construction of autonomous nuke-toting war robots known as Metal Gears. Their existence still stay somewhat unknown to the public until 2009 when a giant underwater facility called Arsenal Gear built in order to tamper with the world news in order to shape the direction of society ended up crashing into Federal Hall on Manhattan Island. (This game was made in 2001 by-the-way. Yes, it's story was very much ahead of it's time.)
The good thing about living in the Metal Gear World is very much a matter of opinion, because it is essentially the same world as our own until 2009. Sure, there's cool secret projects happening, and the whole world nearly ended due to nuclear annihilation no less than three separate times, (That's in addition to the Cuban missile crisis) but all that has happened in the background whilst the vast majority of us have no idea what was going on. Even as clandestine forces look to seize control of the white house by installing their own man in office, all of it is above board in the eyes of the public, so life is business as usual. I suppose that some folk might enjoy such a world, personally I'm only in it for the negatives. (Because there's some positives there too.)
On the rougher side: After 2009, sometime in the next 5 years the world completely changes. As the wider world cottons onto the fact that technology is much further ahead than folk originally thought, there is a boom in commercially available goods. We're talking police robots, cybernetic limbs, adaptive camouflage, (okay, that last one might not be exactly 'commercial') the whole nine yards. Now upon first glance you could be forgiven for looking upon all these as positives, but in reality they're all just tools which 'the Patriots' (who are the remnants of 'The Philosophers'. Long story.) use to gain control over the world. Wars are now fought with their weapons, in locations that they dictate with the number of causalities that they want; cities are policed to their specified standards and practically every public commodity in the world has a backdoor for them to seize control with. (Including guns. So you can't even shoot at them.) If you're one of the 'privacy is key' types, than welcome to your own personal hell. For folk like me, at least it'll mean that the Internet infrastructure will finally be sorted out. Afterall, how is Big Patriot gonna spy on us effectively without a crystal clear 5G connection?
So that's my, rather practical, assessment of three video game worlds that I would want to live in, given the chance. (For better or for worse.) This time I did take into account the events of the game as it pertained to the state of the world a bit more, because I feel like it's quite fun that way. That being said, the last three I have stored us should be quite interesting to sift through, especially since one of my all time favourite games will be bought up in it. (Although I did just bring up my all time favourite game in this blog, so don't take that as a guarantee of quality.)
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