Ahh, life on good ol' Earth. It's not bad, all things considered. But, what if we could go to someplace more fantastic? Someplace that has different day-to-day challenges? Someplace that's so different from our own that our lives would be completely different? This is what video games do (or should do): they offer a chance to live another life in a fantastical setting. No spoilers today (that I know of)!
If I had my druthers, I would love to live in the future proposed by Deus Ex. I love the thought of augmentations. I would love to be able to run faster, leap farther, see through (and punch through) walls, breath underwater and even have weaponized limbs! I know that there are all sorts of pitfalls to this. Deus Ex: Human Revolution showed people suffering from the augmentations. Folks that had to take a myriad of addictive drugs to keep their bodies from rejecting the cyber-parts ended up on the streets without their new parts if they couldn't afford them. Then there was the dystopian future filled with riots and terrorism brought by both sides. While some lived their lives out with new parts and were happy, others were scorned, murdered, left homeless or became terrorists themselves. Truly, it's a troubled world, but one that I would love to experience. I would love to see how augmentations could make my life better. I would love to experience the world through a new way. I would love to transcend what I was to become something different (or better). Really, this could be reality in a few short years, so we'll see if it really is someplace I'd want to live.
The awesome city of Hengsha
If history had been a tad different, we might be living in the world of Crimson Skies instead. This setting fascinates me. The entire economy is based on blimp and air travel. Pirates are not sea-faring chaps, but instead use aircraft to pillage and plunder. I love flight and the expansion of personal aircraft over cars is exciting to me. I would love to fly to my destinations instead of driving! Oh, the places I could go in a day through the air instead of a highway... The other interesting part comes from my love of history. Since America broke apart in the Crimson Skies world, it's fun to see speculation on how that would shake out. The enclaves of power now becoming full-fledged city-states is something that has always intrigued me. Would Washington, D.C. become a meaningless dot? Would the heartland fall to pseudo-Communists? Would the territories that last came under the rule of law (the Wild West) reassert independence and become Libertarian havens? Would other nations pick apart the remnants? All of that gives the Historian in me an intoxicating high. I would love to live in this setting just to see how different it all is and see how one little turn of Fate can change the entire nation into something else.
Hell of a different shape for the former USA
On the non-realistic side of things, I think I would enjoy the world of Ivalice as seen in Final Fantasy: Tactics and Final Fantasy XII. This world has so many things that would be amazing to discover! Magic exists, for one. Being able to command elemental destruction or heal injuries with these powers would be an incredible experience! The fantastic creatures wandering the world would be another joy to discover. Sure, most would rather see me in their bellies than be observed, but still! Watching elemental Flans loll about like sentient Jell-O molds, seeing the dinosaur-like Adamantoises plod along plains and, the best part in my opinion, riding on a chocobo! I mean, come on! It's a 7 foot tall bird that can wear armor! Yes! Another facet of Ivalice that intrigues me is the flying continents and the magic of airships. It's almost like Crimson Skies in that air-travel isn't airlines but blimps. Going to floating cities and exploring would be an amazing experience! And the great cities are all so different! I would enjoy travelling the world and seeing everything I could!
I would love to see this stuff!
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