Figuring out my setting (call it Yggdrasil or something)

[Christoffer Lernö]

* Standard fantasy as in ...
* Standard fantasy as in ...
* Standard fantasy as in ...

Problem - you are telling me what it IS NOT.  What do you intend the game to ACTUALLY BE in order to meet your goals?

Oh, but the above wasn't about my game, was it? Only about my definitions. But you're right, I did talk about my game being standard fantasy.

In a way it's all of the above, but that's not very helpful is it?

A formula then:
* Set it in the old days, pre-medival times stuff, europe like
* Add magic (in my setting, demonic source magic, but not with the feeling of DOOM, because that would make it dark fantasy)
* Spice it with legendary creatures (but not legendary creatures distictively identified with non-european cultures because that would change the setting from feeling europe like - which is ok for other parts of the world setting, but not for the basic one)
* Add some other humanoid races according personal whim and taste (but again, see the rules for adding legendary creatures)

Something like that would work to create a standard fantasy setting.

Avoid DOOM, weird inventions that never happened in earth history and/or in european mythology because that usually steers it off course into variants.

There is some space for violating these rules without ending up with fantasy which isn't pure fantasy, but they have to be small or interact only weakly with the setting.

You can see it as a subset of General Fantasy which is pretty much anything incorporating pre-industrialization culture, history and myth in some way that isn't an attempt to make a historical setting.

[contracycle]

Is it because of the AD&D taint, or what's the problem? It seems the fantasy genre is the only one evoking such strong feelings. Not that it would suprise me if AD&D is to blame mind you ;)

The genre as such does not necessarily attract strong feelings; but lots of people feel that AD&D was an unusually BAD implementation of fantasy.

Some of the problems are: the mechanical rules deny wonder; the magic system is silly; the place (such as it is) has no internal consistency.

It does not, in short, feel like a fantasy landscape as per fantasy novels, like Elric or Conan.  The only thing a game LIKE D&D can be is, well, like D&D.  It will never be more interesting, and the problems run too deep to be fixed by minor adjustments.

Many people are interested in playing fantasy, but not of duplicating the mistakes made by D&D.

[contracycle]

Oh, but the above wasn't about my game, was it? Only about my definitions. But you're right, I did talk about my game being standard fantasy.

We are ONLY discussing your game.  This is the Indie Game Design forum.