160 réponses à ce sujet

[Danjaru]

Carver as worst character?

People really do hate characters that don't like them... Carver was one of the most awesome characters, seeing him with Stroud as a Grey Warden in Act 2 and then later in Nathaniels quest as the lone surviving Warden was awesome. Honestly I'd rate him at top 3 characters in the game, nice to have that brother rivalry and not the whole "Command me beloved brother" thing Bethany goes about.

Sebastian and Cloud Strife, I mean Fenris were worse.

[XX55XX]

Danjaru wrote...

Carver as worst character?

People really do hate characters that don't like them... Carver was one of the most awesome characters, seeing him with Stroud as a Grey Warden in Act 2 and then later in Nathaniels quest as the lone surviving Warden was awesome. Honestly I'd rate him at top 3 characters in the game, nice to have that brother rivalry and not the whole "Command me beloved brother" thing Bethany goes about.

Sebastian and Cloud Strife, I mean Fenris were worse.

Carver may be well-written, but just because he's well-written, doesn't necessarily connote that he is well-liked.

[Hrodric]

David Gaider wrote...

Interesting. We have our own telemetry to see how often people use characters and so forth, but very little to gauge response (even informally). Thanks for the effort.

Interesting indeed!

However, using spyware, trojan horse, snooping-device, invasion-of-privacy gadget "telemetry" results to surmise likability of characters is flawed.

Given the present constrained choices in abilities for the companions, the limitations affected the creation of suitable substitutes for:
(a) traditional tanking (sword/shield)
( any healer (this one is a sore spot, actually; Anders was a chore to have around)
© "can-opener"/"trap-monkey" {getting high cunning (40) early in the game (end of Act I; early Act II) is very difficult for anyone not named Varric}

Granted, the survey presented here is biased because it relies on the user to self-report. But, it is a strong step in the right direction.

[noxsachi]

Can't say I'm surprised by how low Carver is, and deservedly, I mean I felt sorry for the guy but damn did he make it hard to like him at the same time. I will say that I am both surprised at the Sebastian hate and the Merrill fandom though.

While I can't say I liked Sebastian over say Wynne who was a very similar character, he was more average, the main annoyance I had with him being his constant changing of position on whether he wants to rule Starkhaven or not. And yeah to be fair Varric is a way cooler party member than Seb, but I don't quite see the hate.

Merrill annoys me though with her willful stupidity. Of all the DA characters I just really don't like her. While I hate Anders I can sorta see his position and why he does what he does. Merrill is just like herp-derp Imma trust a demon when there are clearly other ways to learn about the Eluvian. I mean wasn't that elf you found in Witch Hunt from Marithari's clan?

And Yeah Hrodric is right in that the new class/weapon system really restricts who you take along with you. In Origins if you didn't like Alistair you could spec Sten or Oghren to tank. (although who likes Oghren aside from the devs? >.>) But sadly Aveline is by far and away the best tank, even better than a Hawke tank, and Fenris as awesome as he is can't take a beating like she can.

[KealaFerret]

Hrodric wrote...
However, using spyware, trojan horse, snooping-device, invasion-of-privacy gadget "telemetry" results to surmise likability of characters is flawed.

I wouldn't put it that way, personally. Telemetry is used a lot more broadly than many realize. It may not give likeability specifically, but if something keeps coming up over and over, it can indicate a trend. It can be a very powerful tool: it can be used to create test cases, redesign a feature, decide if a feature was even worth having, perf, ect. When implimented well, it's pretty amazing stuff. Granted, I'm speaking from my own experience and implimentation of it, not specific to this, but yeah.
Man I'm sorry I missed this survey. I coulda put another vote in for Anders love.

[Addai]

XX55XX wrote...
73% male, 27% female.

I was guessing that, looking at the most popular numbers.

I liked Carver, but I find that I do tend to prefer the "difficult" characters (hello Sten and Morrigan).

[_- Songlian -]

I've linked this somewhere else and mentioned it there as well, but this was really interesting to read. Thanks to XX55XX for taking the trouble.

[Swordfishtrombone]

Maria Caliban wrote...

Swordfishtrombone wrote...

But then IN the fade, if you DON'T agree to trade in Feynriel for some reward with the Sloth demon, you get +5 rivalry with Merrill.

I never got these rivalry points. I think they happen because you don't listen to the demon, not because you reject its offer.

I listened to the demon right up to the point where I was supposed to pick what reward I wanted in exchange. Rejected it at the last possible moment - and got the rivalry points even when Merril commented that accepting the deal might not be the wisest move.

[Inzhuna]

I thought Hawke/Carver dynamic was awesome. Oh poor Carver, no one likes him.

[XX55XX]

Minor, if unrelated, update.

The Ultimate BioWare Character Survey is up. There is a link to it in my signature.

[Paeyne]

As an experiment, in one of my games I did everything in my power to raise Carver's friendship. I managed to get him to high friendship (although not maxed) before he got removed. He is actually far less annoying when he isn't constantly bickering with you.

[Saibh]

Wasn't this survey conducted a month or so before the game was released?

[Riknas]

Lithuasil wrote...

Agreed. Carver was way ahead on my hate meter, but when I read Sebastian is the only one who has a problem with Hawke taking the DuPois shortcut to save his/her mother? Wow. Even Anders and Fenris understand the urgency of the situation and don't blame you for taking the blood magic teleport to save your mother from a serial killer. But Sebastian thinks you should wander the streets just hoping to come along some clue (obviously you do, but realistically it's extremely unlikely to happen) instead of taking a shortcut that some priestess told him was immoral. I lack the proper words to express my utter disgust at Sebastian.

I actually quite liked Carver - I wanted to slap him a few times, sure, but I can totally understand why someone in his position would be the way he is.

I feel the same way, I couldn't help but feel bad for my little brother, it felt like he was just trying to have a differing opinion to be his own person. Always did the best I could to make him feel like his big brother did love him.

Modifié par Riknas, 01 avril 2011 - 04:50 .

[mesmerizedish]

Saibh wrote...

Wasn't this survey conducted a month or so before the game was released?

Voting didnt close until a day or so ago.

[Saibh]

ishmaeltheforsaken wrote...

Saibh wrote...

Wasn't this survey conducted a month or so before the game was released?

Voting didnt close until a day or so ago.

But wasn't it begun before release? I mean, I remember voting in a similar survey before release. 

[Ieldra]

The results are predictable. First place to the one with the funniest lines and no edges nor any perceptible negative traits, who is also no romance option thus garnering no jealousy-by-proxy. Low ratings for the one created to be not so easily liked and for the overly pious one. Higher averages for the female LIs than for the male LIs because most players are male.

Only Bethany was hard to predict.

[Alex Kershaw]

I'm wondering why Varric is so popular when there is hardly any time to talk with him...

[XX55XX]

Ieldra2 wrote...

The results are predictable. First place to the one with the funniest lines and no edges nor any perceptible negative traits, who is also no romance option thus garnering no jealousy-by-proxy. Low ratings for the one created to be not so easily liked and for the overly pious one. Higher averages for the female LIs than for the male LIs because most players are male.

Only Bethany was hard to predict.

I've stratified the data. Yes, the data does follow the pattern you describe, as did my Mass Effect 2 surveys did.

[XX55XX]

Stratified data (divided along male/female lines) is now up.

[Oneiropolos]

Perhaps for your next survey, you could ask how many people have played the game through more than once as well. I know when I took the survey, I think I had only played it once. My perspective on some characters changed playing through a second time. Not USUALLY To the negative (though for Anders, I think I slanted more downwards at listening to him when I knew what he'd do later), but I came to appreciate Fenris even more. His comments throughout the game about how mages would always find a way to justify blood magic if they felt desperate enough...totally hit the nail on the head of what we saw at the end. So that might have irritated a pro-mage player the first time through and the second time through they might have gone "Yep, you're right" in their heads. I'm not surprised Fenris's position takes a definite shift when it comes to male/females.

As for me, I've done four playthroughs and I STILL can't stand Merrill. I love her voice actress, I think she has amusing banter, but she's such a naive fool for me. I've considered doing a romance playthrough with Isabela (I'm a straight female, but it's roleplaying, who cares?) but I can't even fathom doing one with Merrill. I still totally want to take Sebastian on the rivalry path so he promises me a prince instead of tries to get me through a chaste marriage too. I think perspectives definitely change when you experience the characters more than once and get a chance to switch them around in your party and try something new. Example: In DA:O I hated Morrigan. Honestly, hated her my first playthrough. My second, I talked with her more, tried to include her more, and she ended up becoming like a sister to that Warden.

[AndreaDraco]

XX55XX wrote...

Stratified data (divided along male/female lines) is now up.

Thanks!

It was an interesting read!

[Teddie Sage]

I like doing this kind of survey so feel free to do more in a near future. ^^

[Kilshrek]

So, everyone likes Varric and Merrill, and the girls like the broody elf more than the guys? Varric called it, soon we shall have wimmens naming their broody babies Fenris.

edit : Just a thought, how many people voted Sebastian as a bad character just because he was part of the SE DLC, and how many who voted did not in fact have Sebastian in their game but just voted him worst out of spite? Those numbers on him seem harsh, and not because he was a Maker botherer of a person.

Modifié par Kilshrek, 02 avril 2011 - 03:04 .

[NedPepper]

Danjaru wrote...

Carver as worst character?

People really do hate characters that don't like them... Carver was one of the most awesome characters, seeing him with Stroud as a Grey Warden in Act 2 and then later in Nathaniels quest as the lone surviving Warden was awesome. Honestly I'd rate him at top 3 characters in the game, nice to have that brother rivalry and not the whole "Command me beloved brother" thing Bethany goes about.

Sebastian and Cloud Strife, I mean Fenris were worse.

Here's the thing with Carver.  I took this survey, but I had only played the game once...with Bethany.  So I only knew Carver from the beginning, which is why I rated him so low.

After playing as a mage, my opinion of Carver has gone up.  There's a character there.  I like the fact that he's kind of a ****** with huge jealousy issues.  I'd rate him over Bethany now that I've played with him.  And I like the rivalry.

So, that may be something else to look at when viewing the results.  How many people rated Carver/Bethany low because they only saw them die at the beginning? 

Sebastian isn't a bad character, either.  He's just the weakest of the bunch.  And it's him or Varric....it's hard not to go with Varric.

[Volaren]

I'm not sure if anyone asked this already. But I think that there needs to be a splitting of results if Bioware releases their results. Because the characters you LIKE aren't necessarily the ones you USE. Eg, Fenric gave me the sh!ts but because he was a useful fighter I used him a lot.