sixchange and hormone treatments to fit the characters or bust!
sixchange and hormone treatments to fit the characters or bust!
I see roleplay as one thing and playing a role as another. And I need freedom to be able to roleplay.
Using TES and Mass Effect as examples (I like them both for the record):
When I play Mass Effect, I play the role of Shepard, but I can't roleplay very much. Partly because the semi-set protagonist and the fact that the game is totally centered around the Main Quest - and partly because of the Paragon/Renegade mechanic that needs you to be either a total saint or a total jerk to succeed at many things in the game. The dialogue options that I pick are usually the ones that will lead to the best results, and seldom reflect my Shepard's personality - which tends to be rather vague anyway. I also do as many side quests as possible in every play through. So even if I like the games, I can't replay them as often as I can with TES, because every playthrough is almost the same - what differs is the character's looks, gender and combat style.
When I play TES, I roleplay. Most of my characters don't do the Main Quest - but some do, and those have all different backgrounds and personalities and the Main Quest means something different for all of them. When I choose dialogue options I base them on what my character most likely would say (but sometimes nothing really fits). My character's actions in the world mostly are based on what that particular character would do in that situation, rather than what the game tells my character to do. I say no to some quests or avoid them - I don't feel like every character has to do it all.
I don't know if a voiced protagonist will limit my roleplaying in FO4. It's possible, but I don't know.
And what point are you trying to make? I know perfectly well what Live Action Role Playing is, I also know that it's entirely different from RPing in video games since it's, you know, live action rather than a video game.
I'll have no difficulty in creating unique characters in Fallout 4. And I'm hopeful the voiced protagonist means the usual dialogue selections won't make it out to be my high intelligence and perception character to be very dense and unobservant of the world around him.
They are different beasts/experiences for sure... Different places on the openworld scale and there are games alot more linear than mass effect series. I think bioware does a decent to good job at telling a cool scifi story and most certainly are very good at making you feel attached to the characters in the game. I see the tradeoff there, as having had to scale down the openworld, for better and more fluidly following the story and social interactions.
Anyways that's off topic...
My lesson from having played me3. Is that the voiced main character, isn't that big of a deal. You can choose to roleplay the main character as is or you can play it differently and if the voices don't match, you'll mentally ignore it or voice it yourself.
Atleast in my humble experience, but as I am allways for the most choice to most people. It would be nice if the voice main characters, were an option... Like... subtitles.
And actually you can walk out of the conversation and look around in FPS as he stated. "Is not a mode that you are locked into" as he said.
My point is that how YOU do RP to a video game and how someone that is a "dedicated" LARPer does RP with a video game is likely not anywhere near the same experience. I in no way implied you (or they) are doing it "wrong", just that you are wrong to assume the way YOU do it is the only way it can be done.
If what you are doing is entirely different from what a LARPer does, then you probably aren't role-playing. Much of what a role-player does is not confined to his appendages.
I never said that my way is the only way to RP, in fact I didn't state that any way was my way or the right way to RP. What I said was that it's not hard to role-play with a voiced PC because, you know, imagination.
Really? So what you're saying is that I need to wear a homemade Vault suit or a Mad Max costume in order to role-play while playing Fallout?
Also, what the hell does Live Action Role Playing have to do with Video Game Role Playing? Because there's a clear distinction between the two. One you act out in costume and with props, usually with other people. The other you act out in both your head and the game world. Seriously, why the hell did you two bring it up at all?
Edit: Sorry for being snippish, just got off work (third shift) so I'm tired as hell.
The problem is that you can't actually read what your character is saying, because the dialogue options are paraphrased. Combine this with the voiced protagonist and instead of "I choose to say this" you get "Why don't you talk about this theme". It makes the character someone you give suggestions to rather than someone you act as. This puts another layer between you and the character, breaking immersion.
As someone said earlier, there's a difference between "roleplaying" and "playing a role". With this change, FO4 is approaching "playing a role".
There's something of a poetic irony about fans reminiscing over "the old Fallout games".Seems indignation is cyclical...
The mere fact that he/she is voiced doesn't bother me; its the logistical result of a voiced character that might. That result being less dialogue options and less funny, outlandish, and entertaining things to say. The game is sacrificing player role playing freedom and even a bit of character and charm for storytelling.
Personally, if the story is good enough, I'll be much more okay with it.
This.
I RPed in Red Dead Redemption (single player) a lot. And John Marston had a good voice actor behind him, and the dialogue was really nice too (and the story was incredible).
It was even easier to RP as his son, Jack.
SW:ToR had "limited" dialogue options, but RPing was still fun and easy in the story arcs. Looking at how they approach selecting the dialogue options here looks all too similar.. Sure you don't see the full fledged dialogue option, but a very abbreviated selection and then you're presented the dialogue behind it. It's really no different.
Again, my point is that if someone DOES think they need a vault suit on to RP the game, they are not wrong to do so (I won't comment on that aspect) just as you are not wrong for NOT wearing it.
Back to my original point, I don't think you have ever considered the extent to which someone that is a fanatical LARPer will go to when RP something. Whether or not you or I think what they want to engage in while doing so is insanely overboard or silly is NOT relevant to them being unhappy with the proposed changes. For the record, I fully agree with what you are saying, but I can also see where someone that approaches the RP with a bit more zealousness might find issue with potentially not being able to approach the RPing in the same manner as before (whether that is true or not). For example, If they are normally voice act every line of text in a conversation, I can see where voiced actors would upset that process.
Well put. I don't see how anyone can argue in favor of not being able to know what your character is going to say before you say it.
You're exactly right. I'll probably buy it in the bargain bin, definitely after the geck comes out.
Im just honestly surprised how many people thank Bethesda HAS to make perfectly blank characters that you can imagine into oblivion. Bethesda can do what ever it wants with the game. If they wanna make a FPS they can. If they wanna make a game with a GOOD story then they should regardless of how much it sacrifices the precious D&D lvl of RP that people are so freakin obsessed over.
Nobody wrote guideline for what they HAD to do as a company with any of their games.
You'd be surprised around here! *Looks at Adoring Fan*
Most likely what I'll be doing, but it really depends on how much trolling is going on after it comes out between the OMG it's fantastic crowd and the haters.
I don't want to be a blank slate.
I want something to ground me within the story world - make my character centered in events around him. In Fallout 1, I was a Vault Dweller...a sheltered existence, likely not prepared for the harsh Wasteland...or I could have been an experienced member of security who, while having no "real world" experience, knew which way to point the gun.
In Fallout 2, I was the Chosen One. Again, sheltered existence, but the Temple of Trials meant you were generally prepared for life in the wastes and being a Tribal meant you knew the dangers thereof. Plenty of wiggle room to define who your character was in regards to the village dynamic (You could have been the prototypical warrior...or a village tinkerer, who liked to see if he could get pre-war tech running again).
Fallout 3, I was the Lone Wanderer. Sheltered existence, but Dad did get me that BB Gun for my eighth birthday that I practiced with to the point of obsession, meaning my better-then-average shooting skill made sense. Beyond that? Depends on what my general duties within the Vault were.
Fallout New Vegas, I was Courier Six. No sense of present or past. Empty, like the Mojave Wasteland.
Fallout 4, I'm going to be the Sole Survivor. Seems to be a Veteran, possibly of Anchorage? But the Military is a big, expansive field (Even bigger since the war with China over Alaska). Maybe he was a frontline grunt. Maybe some behind the lines MP keeping the Canadians in line - or the Mexicans. Regardless, it helps explain his versatility with firearms, and no matter what branch of the military you belong to, you learn to improvise with what you have on hand.
See the odd one out there? To me, with some sort of establishing backstory, I can spin out many tales.
New Vegas' blank slate just leaves me apathetic to everything around me. What do I care about this place, these people? They are nothing to me. I have no vested interest in anything...except for the main quest which insists I follow The Road. Do not deviate from The Road.
Fallout 1 - I have to save my Vault! *Later* I have to save the Wasteland!
Fallout 2 - I have to save my Village! *Later* I have to save my heritage!
Fallout 3 - I have to find my dad! *Later* I have to save my dad's legacy!
New Vegas - I have a job to do.
...Blank Slates svck.