Games that could really happen.

[Sixty]

How about Manhunt? I mean, you'd hope not, but it's not completely impossible someone could set something like that up.

Otherwise I was going to say Mirror's Edge. Everything in that game is handled in a realistic fashion and I'm sure some would argue the vision of the world it presents isn't too far away.

[Darwock]

The original post just reminds me of the disappointment when Uncharted took that turn into fantasy. From what I remember of the first play thread, nearly every person felt the same sense of let down when zombie monkeys started running around.

I am trying but I can't think of anything. Closest I can think of is Ace Combat, and that's only if you put a massive leap of faith in what is possible in aeronautics (arkbird, giant satellites falling out of space etc). Anyway it's still in the war category so doesn't count.

[charlesr]

Let's take a film like "Go". Exciting / entertaining film, entirely grounded in reality. It just doesn't equate to an exciting game.

It seems like you have to be shooting stuff, hanging off a some beams inside a catacomb or driving fast to make a game exciting. Or running away from zombies.

Games do scary quite well, so the more scary the better. But scary film themes like Saw don't work as games. But more action orientated thriller horrors perhaps do.

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

It's Kup!!

[Dogg Thang]

It seems like you have to be shooting stuff, hanging off a some beams inside a catacomb or driving fast to make a game exciting. Or running away from zombies.

Games do scary quite well, so the more scary the better. But scary film themes like Saw don't work as games. But more action orientated thriller horrors perhaps do.

It seems you're right at the moment but I wonder if it always has to be that way.

I played a game called Bar Oasis on my iPod Touch. You play a bartender and have to mix drinks while dealing with your customers, listening to your mate talk about the girls he's going after and, through repeat visits, developing relationships with a couple of your female customers.

Gamewise, it's pretty simple and most of the game is mixing different drinks. But the story was a breath of fresh air. I loved it. It's actually probably only the second game I really felt was made for the adult mind (Silent Hill 2 being the first). Not that other games aren't for adults - I mean, loads have stuff that isn't suitable for children but the majority of story-based games feel like, well, an extension of teenage interests. Often early teen interests. That's a whole other discussion I guess but Bar Oasis is an example of a game that is entirely set in the real world, is story based and has an everyday story of everyday people going on.

I think it's entirely possible to make good games based on real life.

They may not always sell as much, just as a huge movie blockbuster with superheroes or alien invasion usually sells more than a small film about real people. But, with a bit of maturing, I think we'll start to see more games that don't require the shooting, hanging off beams or running away from zombies.

[Brats]

How about the Phoenix Wright games? Aside from the comic book stylings, the courtroom drama seem fairly grounded in reality (note that I have never finished a Phoenix Wright game, so ignore if the aliens appear on the last case).

[Deuteros]

A Mind Forever Voyaging.

OK, I'm probably cheating a little. We're not quite there yet, both in terms of technology and society. Published in 1985, it was, and still is, a startling projection of what the near future may be like.

It also has one of the most original and interesting premises ever to grace a videogame of any description.

From Wikipedia:

The player controls PRISM, the world's first sentient computer, in the year 2031. The economy of the United States of North America (USNA) is failing. Great numbers of youths are turning to 'Joybooths' (a device which directly stimulates the sensory input of the brain) and committing suicide by overstimulation. A new arms race involving nuclear weapons no larger than the size of a common pack of cigarettes threatens to turn the USNA into a police state. Unaware that it is a sophisticated computer, PRISM has been living for 11 years (in real-time, 20 years within the simulation) as an ordinary human, 'Perry Simm'. Dr. Abraham Perelman, PRISM's 'father', informs Perry of his true nature and gently brings him from simulation mode into reality. Perelman explains that he has awakened PRISM so a vital mission can be performed: running a simulation of a revitalization plan (dubbed the Plan for Renewed National Purpose), sponsored by Senator Richard Ryder. The plan calls for 'renewed national purpose' through de-regulation of government and industry, military conscription, a unilateral approach to diplomatic relations, trade protectionism and a return to traditional and fundamental values. While in simulation mode, Perry is able to record experiences in a buffer which will be analyzed to evaluate the success of the plan. If Perry 'dies' in the simulation, it is not catastrophic; the simulation can simply be reset and reentered.

[Psyduck]

Football manager.

[ItsThere]

Football manager.

Lol.

Completed it.

[toythatkills]

But you can't complete it!

[Ady]

Hotel Dusk?