we’ve had many WoW headcanon threads, but now tell me: what headcanons do you have about other video game settings?
What are your deep thoughts about Fallout Lore
Do you have interesting takes on Ferelden
Have you thought long and hard about the structure of the monarchy in the Mushroom Kingdom?
Share your lore here
The the 343i games, novels, comics and all other media of Halo take place in a Slipstream shard timeline created by the Forerunner crystal exploding in Halo: First Strike and that the Prime timeline is still the Chief in cryosleep in the Forward Unto Dawn.
Idk if this is really headcanon but I really wish the Architect had been in DA Inquisition with a small group of freed Darkspawn and pledged themselves to help stop Corypheus. Would’ve been cool to see them make a return and the impact it has on the situation, especially in a playthrough with Alistair or Loghain in the Gray Wardens.
I once had this idea for a mod for Skyrim which entailed an organization of Vampires that mirrored the Empire; in that it was alliance of clans from all over Tamriel under the guidance and rule of clan from Cyrodiil whose name I can’t remember. I suppose that technically counts.
I also like to think the Order of the Lamp became independent and continued to function after the Mages Guild dissolved; which could well be true considering how little they’re ever mentioned.
Oh you’ve done it now, Miko. Now you’re gonna get all my Sonic headcanons.
Ristar, Night into Dreams and the Sonic franchise all exist in the same collective universe
Light Gaia and Dark Gaia from Sonic Unleashed were once a single entity, the equivalent of the world soul of the planet Sonic’s adventures take place on. But eons ago when the world was new the rotation of the sun caused the day and night cycle, but also made it so the world soul was constantly either hot or cold, sunny or dark, and the juxtaposition made the soul split into to waring entities, Light and Dark Gaia.
Sonic and company are radioactive mutants in the same vein as the Spongebob theory. Sonic’s birthplace is cited as being Christmas Island, a real world island where nuclear testing took place. Sonic’s genetics are highly malleable, letting him take on multiple forms. Tails has two tails. Knuckles has spiky growths on his namesake. Chaos Emeralds are totally radioactive.
Edit: I forgot to add my SPICIEST headcanon
edelgard von “sapphic tragedy” hreslveg did nothing wrong
I have some battletech head cannon that I mentioned in another thread. Mostly cultural stuff not really talked about in the novels.
Clan Wolf plays American Football as part of sibko games as well as Wolf’s Dragoons in their “sibkos” as a method of building physical readiness and tactics in their children, and the fondness of the sport is one of the reasons why the Mech The Linebacker was given that name.
Sumo wrestling and MMA are popular sports viewed in the Draconis Combine and are what is commonly celebrated when the Solaris 7 season is not going on.
The Taurian Concordat and The Federated Suns are more alike with one another than either party is comfortable admitting. Some of their cultural hostility is because both see themselves as the truly free constitutional monarchy and the other is expansionist imperialists. They are both correct in their assumptions.
The only decent people in Battletech are mercenaries as they are largely just extended families looking out for one another.
So one thing I feel Fallout 4 actually does well but doesn’t really draw attention to itself is in the opening before you get into the Vault. It’s a suburban family of three with a robot, but if you pay attention there’s only barely enough food for a couple of days in the house itself. A lot of people criticize Fallout 4 for playing up the Resource scarcity in its opening cinematic but not really demonstrating it in game (Ignoring apparently the Ration Checkpoints in Boston and the little smuggling subplot it entails. To say nothing of the Federal Ration Stockpile), but it does. It’s just it’s such a commonly known thing within the game world itself that no character calls attention to it. Because even if we’re really generous and put Nate and Nora in their late 30s (More like early 30s if not younger), they were still born well in advance of our own time and it’s established resource scarcity has been a thing for a long time. Stuff is more preservatives than actual foodstuffs (a la World War 2) which is why it’s still edible 200 years after the war (And why so much is still around. Even the survivors don’t eat that junk because it offers so little nutrition). Its rather a bleak look at consumerism since it showcases the “Modern” Nuclear Family of Fallout having a lot of stuff…but not a lot of basic essentials. Robots are advertised to families and even Fatmen are advertised to kids (its a commercial on the television in the beginning), but food is a lot harder to come by and it’s to the point Milk is so rationed they brought back delivering it to houses.
Also in Vault 111, there’s some environmental storytelling at work that I feel everyone misses. Those that played it know the nominal story about the Security Staff revolting against the Science Staff after their food runs out and the Mandatory Shelter Period is passed, and the Overseer is still scared of radiation. But there’s something I’ve not seen anyone call attention to - the sheer amount of oxygen tanks present in Vault 111. Especially in the Overseer’s office. And the Sole Survivor spends pretty much the entire journey in Vault 111 coughing and seemingly out of breath.
My pet theory is food wasn’t the only thing Vault 111 was running low on. I think they were running out of air.
Not a game but my headcanon about the atrocious GoT S8 ending involves Jon Snow and Tormund falling in love north of the wall and settling down and raising dire wolves together.
Headcanon of my choosing?
I’d easily go with Divinity: Original Sin 2. With a headcanon with an origin character’s ending.
Origin Character: Ifan Ben-Mehzd is the MAIN character of this story. OF all the the characters, he’s had the most prominence in the story leading to the events of DOS2, with direct ties to Lucien the Divine. When he ascends, he releases Source to all people of Rivellon. The sheer harm and persecutions of people blessed with Source being a crime that they did not deserve. So why not make all people equal? None are more special or feared more than others…
Though releasing Source to all people has its own ramifications of war. Ifan knows source is a power great and worth keeping. The enroaching void will not win when all can fight back with the power of creation.
Red Prince, Lohse, Sebille, Fane, and Beast are all wonderful characters. But all of their stories don’t all tie the same way that Ifan’s does. He has such a unique hook in most of the characters. Heck, Lohse is perhaps the perfect “supporting” character to clue in the demonic influence from previous games. Her story shows that EVERYONE, even celestial and demonic beings have a stake in Divinity.
Woah …that would definitely be an especially good reason to want to get the hell out of there; running low on food and water and the like is bad, but holy hell I can’t think of anything worse than suffocating to death inside what was essentially a metal tomb by the time Sole Survivor wakes up.
…I really should play Fallout 4 again. I need to actually finish it for once. I have it on PC, if I binged it and ignored WoW and all my other games for a week…
I just need the willpower.
There’s also the question of weapon’s fire in Vault 111. There’s clear evidence of a firefight in the entryway, but no gun. Two corpses, one wearing a labcoat. There are two guns located in the Overseer’s office along with a LOT of spare oxygen tanks/masks.
My theory: Science Team also wanted out at the end. Overseer snapped, shot the Scientist with the Pipboy by the Vault entrance. Calmly returned to his office and stored his pistol in lock up where he was gunned down by the survivors of the Security Detail (Note the bullet holes, they entered the room before opening fire on him. He wasn’t killed in the fighting - he was executed). Survivor sets his pistol on the desk, tries to make it for the entrance. Succumbs to asphyxiation as he enters the room (Thus explaining the two corpses without a weapon in sight).
Vault 111 is basically a tomb. Cue the Institute porting in. They’re all wearing hazmat suits (with theoretical breathing apparatus) and Kellogg’s basically a cyborg anyway. They sabotage the other cryo pods - Kellogg believes its “Tying up loose ends” and doesn’t like it, but in actuality it’s shunting the life support features of said cryo pods back into Vault 111 in order to bring the oxygen levels up enough so Shaun can be extracted safely - but it means having to sacrifice everyone in Vault 111 save the other genetic template.
A big problem with Fallout 4 (well, one of them anyway) is why the Institute didn’t just take everyone from Vault 111. But if the Vault was oxygen starved to begin with, then killing all the residents to facilitate enough of an atmosphere to grab Shaun and port out with him before HE died makes more sense. And again, clearly not a lot of oxygen left in the Vault by the time you wake up given the Sole Survivor’s wheezing and breathless comments (Also when you get up to the surface there’s a deep gasp of air. Can be considered shock at the devastation, but I interpret it as the first full lung full of oxygen they’ve had since waking up).
It’s not so much headcanon as hope but when Doom Eternal dropped and there’s the moment where the Sentinels talk about throwing pre-Slayer Doomguy into “the arena” my mind spiralled off into the moon, more than half expecting them to wrangle Quake 3 Arena into the lore somehow.
Considering apparently everything else Doom related or involving him is canon.
It makes a lot of sense, and in combination with the shock of Sole Survivor’s last memories of Sanctuary Hills and Boston ingeneral before the nuke fell, and seeing what it is like after 200 years for the first time …yeah, definitely genuine shock, but I agree that lack of good oxygen probably accounted for that gasp too.
I want a HD Quake III Arena. I wanna play Doom and all the others again. And Crash, too. And the freaky skeleton fellas. And that one eyeball monster thing.
Quake III Arena was awesome.
I didn’t like Doom Eternal. I really, really enjoyed 2016 Doom and how it was pretty serious and didn’t really give the Doom Slayer a huge backstory or the need to really explore it beyond 'You are the only thing they fear. Rip and tear until it is done".
So Doom Eternal’s story was a deviation from that and surprisingly silly for what it was. If anything I was reminded of Darksiders with all the fantasy world elements and that dumb flying space fortress. I expected and wanted something that was in the vein of Doom 2016 and make me sad when I had to put down the controller…But I couldn’t wait to put the controller down with Doom Eternal and finished it entirely because I’d spent money on it. Now it’s resting near the bottom of the ‘games Rizzy doesn’t play because she thought they were dumb’ pile along with Shadow of Mordor and Gears of War 4 & 5.
DOOM 2016 was a joy. Fast paced, taking the subject matter seriously while at the same time acknowledging the basic premise is just a bit ridiculous.
DOOM Eternal comes out with cooldowns and a story that leans so heavily into Camp I’m surprised Jeremy Irons from the Dungeons and Dragons movie didn’t have a cameo (AND LET THEIR BLOOD RAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIN FROM THE SKYYYYYYYYYY!). It was extremely disappointing given how hyped I was for it, and the story itself? Camp aside, it feels like we’re missing an entire other game explaining how we went from the ending of DOOM 2016 to the beginning of DOOM Eternal.
I get that sequels need to move things forward, but Eternal definitely threw the baby out with the bathwater. I almost see it more akin to Prey to Prey. Games that share the same names but pretty much nothing else. The only difference is the new Prey was actually good.
Quake Champions is very much an incredibly Quakey Quake game. It’s just they did the Powerpuff Girls thing but instead of Chemical X they plopped Hero Shooter into it. It’s not the worst thing in the world and smarts + reflexes will still trump everything. It’s just really annoying that maybe I have to work a little harder because as a Scalebearer player, sure I have health/armour advantages but I straight up move slower than say - Anarki who ALSO has an on-demand heal option.
I don’t know why they didn’t just standardize everyone AND give them their little gimmick (or the bold option of not adding active abilities at all, the passives are pretty cute at least). I know it’s probably stemmed from trying to get people attached to characters (when I think cosmetics would’ve been just fine, hi Halo/Gears of War/Fortnite/etc.) because that would, on paper, keep people attached to the game. But while they fishhooked me because it handles and plays like Quake I think the extra also kind of blurs it a bit. In Quake 3 I just picked the characters I liked because I legit just wanted those to be my avatars of and for me while I wrought havoc.
I kind of flip-flop with Doom Eternal’s overall outlook while acknowledging boy this is an incredibly polished video game. There are some encounter/design problems with a few arenas and mostly highlighted in the DLCs (that kind of come off as ‘mother knows best’ with how Hugo’s talked about developing) but having gone through my… 4th? 5th? Playthrough on Ultra-Violence (and casually eyeing a Nightmare run) I ultimately surrender and revel in how tight the ship is. Everything is there to encourage you to plan, learn, and react. Arsenal cooldowns. Weapon mods. Enemy types and variants. There’s a rhythm to everything (if you, uh, ignore the weapon from Ancient Gods 2 which is incredibly powerful) that I find actually very evocative of Doom 1 and 2. Weapons shining in certain situations against certain demons with consideration of how much space you do or don’t have to work with.
This is also a big part of what helps me turn kind of a blind eye to the story in a way. The game plays amazingly well. It’s just that these darn cutscenes keep getting in the way. However brief the cuts are mid-level in order to show a player “this area is now open” or have some dialogue, it’s still kind of annoying. Bonus points (in a bad light) when it rips me out of first person. Double ‘bad light’ points if it involves a character prattling on about how uber powerful I am - or when dealing with the Khan or a Hell Priest and they’re telling me how powerless I am. Triple bad points any time it’s in first person and the Slayer is actively doing something that is out of my control. Let me shoot a hole into Mars. Let me shoot the giant hell tentacles around the ARC complex. If you’re gonna guide the player into a cinematic progression turret, at least let me left click to shoot the thing.
The story kind of has the ‘full circle’ effect for me. I was REALLY mixed on my first playthrough and even on the second I was still kind of chewing the cud on the story stuff. Then it sort of got Blizzard syndrome for me - which I’m saying in a subjectively positive light. It’s like how Reaper in Overwatch is so edgy visually he kind of comes full circle ino being cool to look at. How Warcraft’s setting has ballooned so astronomically it’s like a new expansion is going to a bookstore and getting the next X-men comic to see what ridiculousness pops out. It’s not as quaint of a setting or storytelling anymore to even the previous game, let alone any of the previous Doom games whether it’s the first two, 64, 3, or 2016. But there’s still kind of a connecting thread between 2016’s vibe of the Slayer not wanting to follow the narrative exactly and Eternal’s vibe being him actively working against nearly EVERYONE’S narrative for, as Hayden said in 2016, the “betterment of mankind”.
I can ignore all the over the top art designs, sometimes silly/nonsense name conventions, and tremendously steroided scale of the setting. I wish I could do it more or as much as Doom 2016 did by never ripping you out of the Slayer’s POV or toning down the volume of cutscenes (or at least let me bounce around in place like it’s a Half-Life game because any time I can’t control the character I’m instantly having less fun, hint hint Overwatch and your tremendous amount of CC-then-kill combos).
anyways thanks for coming to my now-horribly off-topic TED talk i really like Dewm games, uhhh headcanons?
In the vein of Quake 3 and Doom stuff? I could totally buy into some new lore or the idea of that the dude under Phobos’ helmet (the orange armoured Doomguy variant skin/character from Quake 3) is or could be the Betrayer. Tool around with Phobos’ biography, squint at some of the NPC bot lines.
I like the ideas of both Crash being either the Doom Slayer’s former superior officer from his more human days or his superior within the Night Sentinels.
(i’d be totally down for a Doom co-op shooter a la Wolfenstein Youngblood but less RPG and more pure shooter starring the Betrayer and Crash maybe doing some demon cleanup in spite of the ending of Ancient Gods 2 - or even a story that takes place before Doom 2016 or Doom Eternal)
I headcanon that the player character in Skyrim is actually a descendent of the Septims bloodline. At some point Martin and the player character in Oblivion had a brief fling before his death. Resulting in the player character in Skyrim being a descendant of the Septims making them the Dragonborn.
I know the game implies the canonical dragonborn character is a Nord VPN but when you play any other race in the game it helps it make a little more sense that way.
No no, you don’t understand. The game actually factors this in.
There are books available in the Fort at the Start, Brief History of the Empire volume 1. In the lineage of the Septim bloodline early on there is Antiochus Septim. Not only did he directly precede the Wolf Queen’s machinations (Which is interesting since she resurfaces in Skyrim), but the book points out he “was certainly one of the more flamboyant members of the usually austere Septim Family. He had numerous mistresses and nearly as many wives”
It was his promiscuity that lead to the issues with Pelagius the Mad (someone else who turns up in Skyrim) because his direct heir’s legitimacy was called into question through parentage.
So basically, every Dragonborn you play as in Skyrim are distant relations to Antiochus Septim.