There are games that have a “big fish in a big pond” feel - e.g. sandbox D&D games, or a “big fish in a small pond” feel, e.g. games with contained campaigns/missions.
There are also games that do a “small fish in a small pond” feel really well, e.g. Fiasco.
Are there any games that do a “small fish in a big pond” feel well? e.g. games where the players are not outstanding heros, and where the world feels big - not only spatially, but also socially and politically?
Edit: lots of good suggestions so far, but maybe I could have added:
- it’s fine and good if the small fish somehow end up having a big effect
- it would be amazing if the big-world had well fleshed out other goings-on. Ideally some mechanics that let all players contribute to this feeling, so it doesn’t depend entirely on the quality of the DMing
Edit 2: title, to avoid all the computer game suggestions. I guess the community name isn’t hint enough, huh?
tbh, any system can accommodate this. It’s on you as a DM to create/use the various larger factions/entities. You can really make a world feel alive by writing up a few basic opposing factions and having the results of their conflict intertwine with whatever your group is doing. Wanna run a Shadowrun game? Focus on the megacorps going at each other, have the party work some of those jobs, but maybe have another group of NPC runners crash a job. Wanna do D&D? Well, they added factions like the Harpers so that you can have some big players pushing pieces behind the scenes, and have your players stumble onto a wider conspiracy.
I think the biggest thing is that you can’t be afraid to give your party a challenge you know they have no hope of defeating. If they’re small fish in a big pond, they have to encounter a big fish and learn their place in the hierarchy. If your group is smart, you can give a lot of hints that they need to flee and escape the bigger fish. If they’re dumb, have em get wiped out in combat and barely survive.
True, political parties, corporations, unions and factions are probably a big part of what makes the real world feel that way too