Categorizing Settings

[Ent]

How would you categorize the settings you have read/played (published, homemade, or otherwise)?

The list that first came to mind:

Prehistoric
Stereotypical Fantasy
Steampunk
Post Apocalyptic
Modern Day
Future
Surreal Realities


Please associate any additions with some material/source so I can read up on them.

[Sinfire Titan]

Try searching TV Tropes. They've got a solid list going of the various RPGs out there, and each of those is bound to list what type of game it is (Eberron is Dungeon Punk, for example).

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Bliss Stage: Giant Mech soap opera set in a post-apocalyptic world.

[Ent]

Sinfire: TY. I looked it over and it does help. I was hoping to go over categories with Playgrounders though, as I respect the community and everyone's opinions here.

Kid: Is that Giant Mecha, Soap Opera, or Post Apoc?

[tyckspoon]

Kid: Is that Giant Mecha, Soap Opera, or Post Apoc?

Yes. Bliss Stage is weird- it's a Post Apoc world where the survivors have to fight for their survival in Giant Mecha that are powered by Soap Opera dramatic interactions with the other survivors. If you really must assign it to just one category, I would say Soap Opera is probably the core that really distinguishes the game.

[Jalor]

"Stereotypical Fantasy" is a little too broad. Medieval Fantasy like Greyhawk, or High Fantasy like Dragonlance? Two very different things.

[RTGoodman]

"Stereotypical Fantasy" is a little too broad. Medieval Fantasy like Greyhawk, or High Fantasy like Dragonlance? Two very different things.

Indeed, and then there's stuff like Eberron that I guess you'd call "Magitech Fantasy" or something, that's not quite generic fantasy but not quite Steampunk, either.

There's also Historical games, like Gunslingers & Gamblers or d20 Modern Past, which are not fantasy at all, nor are they Modern Day or Future.

Ooh, and then there's the kind of setting for things like Mouse Guard, Burrows & Bunnies, The Veggie Patch, and things like that, which aren't generic or stereotypical fantasy, but aren't "surreal realities" either. Stuff that's like the Redwall series or maybe Watership Down (though I never read that). I don't have a clue what you'd call that.

[Myiven]

Let's not forget Cyberpunk, which can include magic in futuristic or modern settings.

[bosssmiley]

Sci-Fi
Sci-fi, hard (Traveller, Cyberpunk Deep Space)
Sci-fi, soft (LUGTrek, BESM, Star*Drive, Blue Planet)
Space opera (Star Wars, LUGDune, Once & Future King)
Space opera, gothic (Rogue Trader)
Space passion play (Fading Suns)
Space comedy (HOL, Tales from the Floating Vagabond)
Spacewar (Starship Troopers, Mechwarrior, Bughunters, Aliens RPG)

Fantasy
Fantasy, Future (Tekumel, Dying Earth, Book of the New Sun)
Fantasy, swords-and-sorcery (Conan, AD&D Lankhmar, Iron Heroes)
Fantasy, sword-and-planet (AD&D Dark Sun, GURPS Barsoom, Earthdawn)
Fantasy, space (Spelljammer)
Fantasy, Arthurian (K.A.Pendragon)
Fantasy, baroque (Agone, Nobilis)
Fantasy, talking animal (Mouseguard, Burrows and Bunnies)
Fantasy, low (WFRP, GURPS Fantasy, SoI&F)
Fantasy, low, high magic (Ars Magica, Stormbringer)
Fantasy, high (Greyhawk)
Fantasy, glossy (Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms)
Fantasy, Over 9000!!! (Exalted, Scion, Wrath of the Immortals)
Fantasy, limp-wristed (Blue Rose)
Fantasy, urban (Underworld, GURPS Goblins)

Punkpunk
Dungeonpunk (Eberron, Iron Kkingdoms, Dragonmech)
Cyberpunk (Cyberpunk 2020, GURPS Cyberpunk)
Cyberpunk, satirical (SLA Industries, Judge Dredd, Underground)
Steampunk (Aetherscope, Forgotten Futures)
Magicpunk (Shadowrun, Castle Falkenstein)
Spacepunk (Shatterzone, Spacemaster)
Cowboypunk (Cold Steel Reign, Deadlands)

(an aside: the typo 'caberpunk' just inspired the best near-future genre EVER!)

Kitchen Sinkery
KS, gonzo (Over the Edge, Tabloid)
KS, played straight (TORG)
KS, overheated pubescent (Rifts, SenZar)

Horror
Horror, modern (Cthulhu and variants)
Horror, historical (Masque of the Red Death)
Horror, zombie (All Flesh)
Horror, Barkerian (Chill, Kult)
Horror, fantastic (Silent Vault)

Post-Apoc
Irradiated world (Gamma World, Mutant Future)
Lost in Space (Metamorphosis Alpha)
Machine World (There Is No Spoon, Zero)
Catch 22 (Paranoia)

edit: Of course, the only true way to categorise RPGs is by the retro-stupid-pretentious threefold model.

[Yora]

Between Prehistoric and "Generic" Fantasy, I would add "Rise of Kingdoms" or something like that.
It's mostly like generic fantasy, but with much more wilderness and magical monsters and few magical industry orheavy armor. That time when all these massive ancient ruins of generic fantasy have been build and bare chested warriors drove the dragons and trolls into the mountains with only a big sword and their teeth!

On second thought, that's probably pretty much the same as sword and sorcery.

[Strawman]

Enviromental - A setting defined by its single enviroment. A desert world, a water world, etc.

[Tyrrell]

I like your low fantasy with high magic category. Those settings are quite different from high fantasy and low fantasy.

[Zeta Kai]

I like your list, BossSmiley, but where are the World of Darkness games? You'd think that they'd get a mention.

Oh, & F.A.T.A.L. is categorized as Fantasy, Psychopathic.

[Sinfire Titan]

I like your list, BossSmiley, but where are the World of Darkness games? You'd think that they'd get a mention.

Oh, & F.A.T.A.L. is categorized as Psychopathic.

Fixed. You need a straight-jacket to play that game.