tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272524169407806923.post876307265782119995..comments2024-03-04T20:04:48.815+01:00Comments on Jinxed Thoughts: Should Game Characters Be You, Or You Them?Zinnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14935881612077507321noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272524169407806923.post-34113349574246363942011-04-21T13:19:41.631+02:002011-04-21T13:19:41.631+02:00I thought about Half-Life too, and it's really...I thought about Half-Life too, and it's really one of the best examples that having a mute character doesn't have to be a bad choice. But I think that it's a lot more difficult to make a character interesting through the interaction of other game characters, than by the character itself. Just shows what excellent story tellers Valve really are - they manage to make Gordon come to life without him actually having to do anything, but mostly through the way other people interact with him.Zinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14935881612077507321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272524169407806923.post-9521273837472517702011-04-21T11:33:44.233+02:002011-04-21T11:33:44.233+02:00I'd wanted to comment but my thoughts on the s...I'd wanted to comment but my thoughts on the subject doesn't seem to want to form into something that I can write down in a coherent matter. I get sidetracked to easily and what I tried to write argued against you for points you've already made. A few specific points though.<br /><br />I've read somewhere that part of what made Half-life great is the fact that Gordon Freeman was as empty as he was. That that it was described as something new. That previously there was always more of the character, perhaps not in the game, but in the sidelines.<br /><br />The line between empty versus ready made character is slowly being thinned out. Se Dragon Age Origins versus Dragon Age 2. They also embody another point I'd like to make. That often, regardless of how open or how free we are to make our own characters, our own personalities, the game still has set goals needed to be met, if you want to play the game. Also consider the Fable series in this regard. Though. Now that I think about it. There really isn't anything stopping you from retiring early in those (Fable) games, though there is noting else for you to do then adventuring, because such are the rules of those games. <br /><br />Ah, I can go on about more and other stuffs related and unrelated to this so lest just cut it short before it goes out of hand.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09204222169208641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272524169407806923.post-48254800371326134862011-04-21T05:59:04.391+02:002011-04-21T05:59:04.391+02:00In regard to a silent character, I think this can ...In regard to a silent character, I think this can be a useful tool for story-telling. Think of Gordon Freeman of Half Life. He never talks. Never even seems to make any gestures. In a way he's empty. Normally this character would then be filled by the player, with us giving him personality, often our own. Except instead he is filled up by the NPCs, with them building him up from a nerd with a crowbar to their own Second Coming of Jesus. Of course this doesn't explicitly tell us much about the character, but it does tell us a bit about the world and the mindset of people in it.Klepsacovichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07915576683657376929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272524169407806923.post-28128294472907446582011-04-21T01:00:39.731+02:002011-04-21T01:00:39.731+02:00It's worth considering the "role playing&...It's worth considering the "role playing" part of RPG. It's fun to play a role. To pretend to be someone else. That's what RPGs are about.<br /><br />I don't think of that person as me. But I think of what it would be like to live as that person. There is an immense level of immersion one gets just by moving around the avatar and by pressing the "attack" or "gather" buttons.<br /><br />I agree about voices in shooters. In the opposite direction, let me date myself and mention Ultima 9. Among the many awful things about that game, it has voice acting for the main character. As you'd predict, it's really jarring. I wish they'd kept him mute.Ohkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17335926195392937695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6272524169407806923.post-38934678679221437472011-04-21T00:22:24.971+02:002011-04-21T00:22:24.971+02:00This is an interesting topic, one that I've of...This is an interesting topic, one that I've often considered as it relates to my WoW experiences. For my main (Rades), I consider him an extension of myself. "Rades" wasn't saddened by that quest, *I* was. "Rades" wasn't excited to explore Azeroth by flight, I was! I find, personally, that having one character represent yourself gives you a nice, 100% honest experience about whatever happens in the game, without having to worry about your character's backstory, what they're like, etc.<br /><br />That being said, I do have actual stories for my other character! They are all quasi-people, with thoughts and mindsets, etc. Only my main is actually me.<br /><br />WoW has been the only game I've taken this approach, I realize. A game like a Final Fantasy is a little different, I think - so many things happen *to* the characters that shape and flavor them, while in WoW, very little happens directly to your character specifically (which, being an MMO, makes sense). I guess you are a blank slate in WoW, while in a traditional single-player RPG, your personality and traits are almost always predetermined to some degree.Radeshttp://orcisharmyknife.comnoreply@blogger.com