Imagining my own background, rpg-like, is nice and well, but the problem is simply that it lacks interaction with the game world.
Sure, it will determine my decisions and therefore affect the world, but only after I start playing.
The way it is, the courier might just as well have fallen out of the sky right before taking the job that leads to his unfortunate meeting with a bullet in his head.

So, a Mass Effect like option to choose between a couple of backstories (give me 2-3 categories, 3-4 options each) could give decent variety.
Plus, you can implement some form of connection in the Mojave Wasteland. Like your junky-ex-girl/boyfriend being in trouble again.
Or a small hut you may own somewhere. Old friends or enemies. Or whatever.
Just some hint that the character has been around before.

Of course it may be possible that the courier only recently arrived in the Mojave. There are some hints during dialogue with NPCs that he has been to some other towns before.

I bet alot of these questions will be answered in a DLC.

And for some certain people in this thread, I'd just like to mention that Planescape: Torment is regarded by some to be one of the best computer RPG ever made, and that game certainly had an explained past and railroaded storyline.

It really is a matter of personal preferance. In a perfect world with a limitless budget we could have a multitude of options to explore and dialogue trees to work through; even voice acting and flawless face animation.....but we don't. Instead we have to compromise absolute player freedom for a tightly structured story and character development, or vice-versa. I wouldn't mind having several background options to choose from instead of none if this then gives the player, as the main character, deeper ties to the story. It's not enough for me to simply imagine everything that is related to my character---not counting quest options---because my character then becomes a vehicle to perform all these great deeds, but not an actual person in the game. You obviously feel otherwise because that is simply what works for you.

It's really too bad that you're arguing against the "blank slate/purist roleplayer" viewpoint, because you have so many great creative ideas.

There's no way any game can accommodate all the creative stuff a player might come up with like this. Yet this is exactly the way I approach play in F:NV: I make a character like your ex-Fiend and try to approach every conflict from his point of view. His story will be totally unique, and while there's no reward on the screen, the satisfaction of making such an awesome character and faithfully creating a crazy story just about him is very gratifying for someone who takes pride in good RP.

Try it! Make your ex-Fiend. When you get a set of dialogue options and you automatically reach for the one that will complete the quest and give you xp, say to yourself, "No, my ex-Fiend is crazy and wouldn't say that." Pick the closest thing to what he would really say and see what happens. Don't take the path of least resistance. Go against the grain of the game when it's appropriate for your character to do so. Fail quests. Wear suboptimal gear. Kill critical NPCs. Stick to your script, not the game's. It's really fun! When you play like this you're really giving yourself an opportunity to see the whole game, from all sides (assuming you play through more than once of course).


Yep, and the critical part is "some of us". Some of us want to be told a great story, and some of us want to make a great story of our own. It's become clear that you can't really have it both ways. Obsidian made their choice with F:NV. Maybe the next game will be different. (Personally, I hope it isn't )

To some extend you could. Give the option "choose no special background trait".
Problem solved.

Hmm, I don't think I mentioned this earlier but to sum up what I feel: Most of us are capable of creating stories for our character. Some of us feel that no matter how detailed our self-made stories are, if there is nothing in the game to acknowledge it or my character as a person---and not simply a tool to be used in completing quests, then it feels less significant(not non-existent)as a result.

This has to be the silliest argument I've seen on these forums so far. No, I don't find books and movies with a back-story to be a problem. Movies and books with a back-story are great, because it helps develop and introduce you to the characters. You're completely missing the point, this is comparing apples to oranges. The characters in a book or a movie aren't mine, and they aren't meant for role playing. I have no say in what the characters do, think, or feel. Movies and books aren't interactive, they are mediums for an author to tell the audience a story with characters and a setting of his/her own. Fan fiction isn't role playing, either. It's an author taking the characters crafted by another author and telling a non-canonical story with them. When the author 'role plays' with the characters and has them do things the character wouldn't do (Darth Vader marrying an Ewok princes), then it's just poorly done fan fiction.

Video games are interactive, and may or may not have set characters. In the case of role playing games, allowing the player freedom to craft a character and history isn't 'laziness', as you have repeatedly asserted. It's a design choice the developers made, presumably because they thought their audience would be intelligent and creative enough to come up with a character and history that would be consistent with the start of the game and the continuous game narrative they weave.



It's your character, why are you asking us? It could be any of those reasons.




Same as above, it's up to you.



This isn't a book. Again, if you want an epic backstory all you have to do is create one. Obsidian gave you a lot of freedom to do so.



Come up with a better one, then. You said you're a writer, it isn't as though it's difficult to come up with a story in a world as rich as the Fallout setting.

I hope that the upcoming DLC reveals that Courier 6 is actually Revan. That would shut everyone up. :ahhh:

After reading through the arguments for both sides of this debate, I have one little question. Several people have posted examples of other RPGs that allow the player to pick from different character models to satisfy a back story need, so why are so many begrudging a blank slate character for those who prefer that? I’m sure another RPG will be released filled with back story options to satisfy those who need it, but how about letting the others have their fun too.

Perhaps because it's not actually a blank slate at all, and to be one a lot has to be ignored. Or perhaps because both people could be relatively satisfied without too much trouble. Or because Daddy didn't love us. Trivializing people's opinions and preferences isn't going to convince anyone, and thinking that people who don't like something to not voice their opinion is just a bit silly. Especially on the internet, where I'm a 7'2 Body Building MMA world champion and renowned hacker millionaire that will track you down and make you say uncle if you think you're badder than me.

honestly, i am pretty sure the courier's past is going to be at least partially hinted at as the main feature of an upcoming DLC. NO CHARACTER like the courier has -ever- remained "unwritten" so long as the company can continue to make money off it.

if there is money to be made in creating and selling the courier's story, there will be one. if not... then i hope you enjoy painting.

I’m sorry your daddy didn’t love you, but at least you had one. I called it a blank slate because that was how it was termed in earlier post. Trivializing someone’s opinion, I would never do that. I believe both sides have valid points. I was just asking a question. Does every RPG have to have a back story? I know a lot of players like that and that’s fine, but others don’t. I think that’s been made very clear in the earlier post.

By the way I’m a 5’ 5” and sickly who hasn’t had the use of his legs in 10 years, but if it will help with your self image you can come over and intimidate me. :hugs:

While I'm inclined to agree that the past of the Courier will be explained in a DLC, due to the mystery they've already tried to place around it, Bethesda's free roam games usually leave the character background alone. F3 was the only one to have any kind of a past in recent history (as my memory serves at least.)

That.
I'm perfectly fine with my own personal backstory, but I would just like to see at least some small representation of it in the gameworld.

Just a side note. Wanted to share that I've kind of gone past my saturation point for NV for the year, and this thread reminded me how great Dragon Age was, so I'm going back and playing that again

Don't worry, New Vegas! I'll be back to visit you again after I buy some new game next year, get sick of it, and then remember how good NV is!

I don't understand the need to have a character's backstory and personality handed to you. Has no one here played Oblivion? Your backstory was "Born on a certain day to uncertain parents, then thrown in jail for an unknown reason). There ya go, have fun in Tamriel.

Well if you read the thread you might understand better. 8) However, in Oblivion, once you exited the sewers, there wasn't a big sign blocking your way into the city, with painted mudcrab graffiti saying "Go this way to the Weynon Priory Prisoner #2." People also didn't make comments about how some guy recognized your name and set you up to be in prison that day. It also doesn't say that you were a blacksmith or errand boy before being locked up. The TES series give you much more of a blank slate. That said, I would still like some sort of backstory options available for my TES toons as I've outlined previously in this thread.

Speaking of Oblivion, I could imagine up a character better, because the CoC had little to no background, aside from being a prisoner. The Courier, on the other hand, has too much background for me, even though it only consists of knowing the job description and what you are delivering.

Maybe it is just the setting (fantasy versus science fiction).

Thanks K888, I got a good laugh out of this. :lmao:
I also pictured the mudcrab standing next to the sign and pointing insistently towards the Priory. And angrily tugging on your sleeve with his little claw if you tried to go the wrong way.

100 % agree. How annoying was it to beg Three Dawg for info about the father? "Please, please tell me where he is, I miss him so much" Bah. I wish I could say F.uck That! and shoot him in the face.

Anyway, the question remains about the person who turned down the job after seeing Courier 6 on the list. That really puzzles me.