Beautiful relaxing ambient.... RPG???

[Simon D. Aelsi]

If you know about relaxing ambiant games (Like Osmos and NightSky) you know how amazing they can be. I wonder why I haven't seen any "Relaxing ambient RPGs"?

"It can't be done."

OF COURSE IT CAN! Actually, if you put your mind to it ANYTHING can be done!  When I get tired from working on Island Quest I'm going to work on such a project.  A relaxing game with soothing music and soft sound FX.  If there's  a battle system, even that will be low-key and not stressful. The sound-effects, music, and graphics of Osmos and Nightsky are absolutely GORGEOUS!

Also, they're really relaxing to play...

An LP of Osmos

An LP of NightSky


It will take a lot of heavy editing on my part, but I AM up for the challenge. Will it take a lot of time? Oh sure it will. But hey, that's why it's a labor of LOVE. ^_^
It doesn't need to be hours of gameplay, per se... but this seems neat. As a side project, of course!

Anyway, have you seen any relaxing or ambient RPGs before?

Discuss:  

- Games that relax YOU

- Have you ever played a so-called "relaxation/ambient game"? (I gave two great examples, there are more though)

- When you're stressed, what relaxes you?

- Would you ever consider playing a so-called "zen" or "relaxation game"?

 

[Sharm]

What's the point of this post? To talk about your project? There's no real discussion subject.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

What's an Ambient game?

 

[SLEEP]

more than ambience, games as moodpiece exist for all kinds of emotions. it means, intentionally or unintentionally, all aesthetic choices (including the gameplay kinaesthetics) point towards one mood, rather than being unified by any of the other things that can tie games together (mechanics, service of a story, etc, which isn't to say a mood game isn't those things, just what the unifying theme is in those things). relaxation is certainly one of them, evoked by non-demanding gameplay, and obviously the audiovisual design. Proteus is another "ambient" game, as well as a lot of indie art games.

I'll try to think of some more examples, but i wonder if anyone else can name some games tied together by the mood they're trying to evoke, and games where that mood isn't relaxing. Because it makes an interesting discussion in and of itself, how a moodpiece game is defined as well as how to evoke a mood with aesthetics.

hmm... metroid II might be a moodpiece game about isolation and tension... is it? i can't make up my mind.

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

What's an Ambient game?

Ambient games (The relaxing ones) are games designed to relax you, like the two I linked in the OP

 

[Alexander Amnell]

Ambient games (The relaxing ones) are games designed to relax you, like the two I linked in the OP

I just want to point out that by that logic alone Fallout/Skyrim/GTA/any game really that is designed with player choice and screwing around in mind would be an ambient game. Along with, to a lesser extent, just about any game other than a rogue-like or multi-player meant to test your reaction and such. One of my primary reasons for enjoying games is to relax.

Basically Casual games...

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

I just want to point out that by that logic alone Fallout/Skyrim/GTA/any game really that is designed with player choice and screwing around in mind would be an ambient game. Along with, to a lesser extent, just about any game other than a rogue-like or multi-player meant to test your reaction and such. One of my primary reasons for enjoying games is to relax.

I see, but I used ambiant just to describe it... just like the LPer does. Usually such games are soft, with soft music and... well... everything else.  Do ya see where I'm coming from?

 

[C-C-C-Cashmere (old)]

I think Iron Croc means ambient as in creating a relaxing atmosphere, e.g. ambient music. In which case I'd totally agree. We need more RPGs that are relaxing, since too many games increase stress. I am creating a game called Lexical Node that tries to keep gameplay really light with exploration-driven gameplay.


Yume Nikki is an example of a good "ambient" game. You basically just explore a trippy world full of crazy things. I wouldn't call it relaxing per se, but I'd call it exploration-based and very "zen".


Dear Esther, even though it's not an RPG, is the pinnacle of relaxing and yet eerie exploration. You discover an island that is not all as it seems. It is 100% exploratory with explanations & dialog attached. You should really check it out, and even if you don't like it I bet you'll learn something.

 

[amerk]

Using the RPG Maker to make such a game, I agree it's possible, if not challenging.

However, I'm not sure about making an actual rpg in this style. These kind of games seem best suited for platform side-scrolling, or incorporates some unique style of game play that I think would be hard to do in an rpg. Some have come close, though. I would classify games with a strange setting/story, and left up to the player's interpretation something of ambience, although it comes more from the story than the background.

Games like Wither, Sunset over Imdahl, heck, even Space Funeral - would seem to fall into a more ambient mood than traditional rpg's.

 

[aozgolo]

Well I don't know if this counts but I would consider Earthbound the most relaxing RPG I've ever played, seriously even if I am being beaten to a pulp and dying that game CANNOT make me mad, it's just too good, it's hard to explain but it possesses a certain charm that is really hard to recreate.

I wouldn't call it an "ambient" game though, it's more of a "whimsical light hearted" game, despite some obvious very serious stuff thrown in there from time to time.