Dragon Age 2 - PulseTV with Mike Laidlaw

That wasn't because of a fixed protagonist, that was the devs being lazy and/or not wanting to go to time and expense to run the whole game through with both Triss and Shani. They could have checked the imported file and reacted accordingly. There's a short remark about Adda for instance that only happens if you saved her in TW1 and imported your save. Otherwise she's dead.

The Shani thing was extra annoying because they didn't even attempt to come up with some half baked reason she isn't there. Like they could have had Geralt say a couple of lines how things didn't work out between them or she went off somewhere or whatever but they didn't even bother with that.

That is, to one degree or another, my point. I think a fixed predefined protagonist is the lazy or easy approach to RPG design… There are some exceptions, like TNO from PST, but generally I think it's just the easy way.

If I had to speculate I would assume it is why Bio made the switch to a predefined voiced protagonist for DA2…

I really don't mind playing a female and although I realize it's some huge issue for some people to play the opposite gender, I personally don't feel that way or understand it.

It's no big deal… Just stating how some women might have a hard time playing a male character, Geralt the philanderer especially.

I don't play games to be myself, I'm already myself, I play to be someone else. If that's a woman, or alien or robot or whatever so be it.

It's not that I have to play myself, but the character I envision for a specific role. As I said earlier Geralt has his own past, motivations and baggage. As a result the players experience is very much tied to Geralt. I find that to be limiting when I would rather play as my own witcher with my own motivations and goals(at least somewhat - the role itself defines both to some extent). I prefer the role provide the framework for the experience, and to have a story built around that… With a fixed predefined voiced protagonist, you get Geralt as the major catalyst to the story and the players agency is reduced as a result.

FWIW, I think TW2 is a great game - simply more action/adventure than RPG(IMO)…

For a story RPG I want to be part of that story and not generically plopped on. I tend to think of games where you roll your character as very much being the latter. However, if a game pulls off an Ultima or Dragon Age: Origins system that gives you a fair degree of control over the character you create and still allows them to have a past and people in the game world who react to it, I'm all for it.

You bring up a good example with DA:O… I thought the origins concept had a lot of potential. Gender, race, class, skills, stats, histories(IE multiple selectable), ect are all elements that should enhance/affect the RPG experience.

-EDIT-

Sorry for the OT discussion.
 
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This resonates with me. I like her. Too bad she's already married.

These lines clearly say this : "I am a Writer. I am an Artist. I am NOT a gamer !"

And that makes her different. Someone with her dedication shouldn't work on games like ME or DA2.

Someone with this dedication should imho work for something unique !

Edit : She also says this :





So she does have some background.

Also interesting is this, imho :



I think it says a *lot* on the importance of fighting in games …

And again you bash mass effect when you don't really know the first thing about it. You still live in a dream world that it is a first person shooter.
 
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That is, to one degree or another, my point. I think a fixed predefined protagonist is the lazy or easy approach to RPG design… There are some exceptions, like TNO from PST, but generally I think it's just the easy way.

But I think Bethesda's approach is lazy too. They don't even try to tie your character into the world. They just have you be a prisoner no one has ever seen or heard of and didn't know existed until that day and throw you out in the world.

Also, if we're going to criticize choices not carrying over between games (ie Shani), Bethesda never does carry over your choices either. The Daggerfall choice at the end became a quantum event where all possibilities happened at once. Whether or not the player killed Vivec in Morrowind was sidestepped completely with rumors in Oblivion noted he 'disappeared' etc.

If I had to speculate I would assume it is why Bio made the switch to a predefined voiced protagonist for DA2…

Oh definitely. It's easier no doubt. Those scenarios take a good bit of more time and effort to make and for something where most players are going to pick one and never see the others. You're basically making a ton of content that won't get seen.

But I loved those scenarios. They were one of the things that made the game stand out and made it special. Now it's just like any other random action RPG really.

It's no big deal… Just stating how some women might have a hard time playing a male character, Geralt the philanderer especially.

Oh okay, I see your point there. You can play him as being monogamous (and I did) for the most part but they still do shove that history in your face a fair bit.

FWIW, I think TW2 is a great game - simply more action/adventure than RPG(IMO)…

Yeah, going to have to agree with you there too. They've been pushing the franchise further and further into action territory in my opinion. Although the second game is gorgeous, in some ways I kind of prefer the first.

Sorry for the OT discussion.

Oh it's fine, it's better than talking about Mike Laidlaw. And it's semi-related to Dragon Age and the genre as a whole so I can justify it. :p
 
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