Game's main character: better as your own clay figure write-in, their own person with none of your agency, or something in-between?
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My favorite games are the games where the character is a blank slate. I like to be able to play whatever character I feel like when I start a story.
The one thing I wish more games did was have a reputation system. If my character regularly deals with problems by showing up in the dead of night, forgoing any agent attempts to talk things out, and personally murdering each and every person that inconvenienced me, I want enemies to react to that. Here I am walking the wastelands of fallout in a suit and a mask, eating automatic gunfire and taking out deathclaws with a combat knife, and raiders still think it's cool to take one of my serfs as a hostage? No amount of jet makes you stupid enough to think that's a good idea. Rumors spread through the wastes fast, why do the gunners take pot shots at me after I personally razed their headquarters and beat their leaders to death with my bare hands? Frank Horrigan never got this level of disrespect...
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This post did not contain any content.wrote last edited by [email protected]
Honestly I prefer to play characters without a clear personality so I can ascribe one to them myself. I loved the first GTA games because of the silent protagonist theme. It felt jarring when I played a character with clear personality traits in Vice City. It took a while of getting used to.
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Blank slate. If it's a written character they have to be really cool, like Solid Snake. I'd rather my character just not say anything and let me play the game.
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That depends entirely on the story the game is telling.
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I find mixing elements of both to be the the most interesting. A good example would be Planescape: Torment. You start as a blank character (sort of), slowly discovering who you were and having to decide who you are now. But it really depends on the story you want to tell (if the game is even story driven).
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Depends drastically on the game. I don't think that it's possible to give a single answer.
In general, I prefer Western RPG-style games over Japanese RPG-style games, and WRPGs tend to let you craft the main character, unlike JRPGs. And those kind of inhabit the same space. So I guess if you put me in a gun-to-the-head choice between the two, I'd prefer to create the main character myself. I also don't try to create my real-life self in games.
But, I mean...if I'm playing a Metroid-franchise game, I want to play Samus Aran. I don't want to play me, and I don't want to play some sort of character that I craft from scratch.
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Depends on the game. I don't do roleplay much but I min-max a lot.
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I find mixing elements of both to be the the most interesting. A good example would be Planescape: Torment. You start as a blank character (sort of), slowly discovering who you were and having to decide who you are now. But it really depends on the story you want to tell (if the game is even story driven).
This is one of the examples that came to mind for me when it comes to 'mixture of both'.
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Blank slate in an open world.
That's why Skyrim and Eve Online are my favourite games.
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This is one of the examples that came to mind for me when it comes to 'mixture of both'.
Interestingly there are not many games which feature such a mixture, the characters usually lean a lot more towards blank or fully pre-written. Which isn't necessary a bad thing. But sometimes it's nice to be surprised.
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It kinda depends on the story for me. Playing Tomb Raider as anyone but Lara Croft would be really weird, but playing Pokémon as my own character is great.
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Depends on the game. I don't do roleplay much but I min-max a lot.
"Well, I was roleplaying lawful-good healer, BUT I can only get this +5 buff if I kick this orphan and kill his dog, so.. "
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Blank slate in an open world.
That's why Skyrim and Eve Online are my favourite games.
Man, I no-lifed EVE from like 2014-2018. Had 5 accounts in my prime. Surprised people are still playing.
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"Well, I was roleplaying lawful-good healer, BUT I can only get this +5 buff if I kick this orphan and kill his dog, so.. "
Haha yeah. Hero of the land, protector of the innocent and I just threw a friend into a sacrificial pit because it gave me +1 dexterity permanently.
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Man, I no-lifed EVE from like 2014-2018. Had 5 accounts in my prime. Surprised people are still playing.
It's still getting updates and new content. They've put a lot of work into visual upgrades as well. It looks more beautiful than ever.
For anyone into complex open world games with a player-driven market, now is a good time to come back or dive in for the first time.
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This post did not contain any content.wrote last edited by [email protected]
I very much prefer a blank slate that lets me make the main character whatever I want. I also believe agency and mechanics are more important than a plot anyway.
"Story in a video game is like the story in a porno. It's expected to be there, but it's not important." - John Carmack
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It's still getting updates and new content. They've put a lot of work into visual upgrades as well. It looks more beautiful than ever.
For anyone into complex open world games with a player-driven market, now is a good time to come back or dive in for the first time.
If I had the time and money I might be willing to dive back in. But I know I'd feel like I was missing out unless I went full send like I did before, and I'm not fresh out of highschool anymore haha.
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I don't care as long as the writing is good or the gameplay is good enough to ignore the bad writing.
