Costin_Razvan wrote...
Because they are not characters, they are avatars.
So what you are basically saying is you despise yourself?
Or in the case of role-playing a character removed from yourself, your own ideas?
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I think whether or not a blank slate protagonist succeeds has more to do with their connection to the world than whether or not they are predefined. I have never been too fond of Elder Scrolls protagonists due to those worlds feeling so static, and by extension, devoid of life. Whereas my characters in say,
Arcanum, felt very much alive because the world acknowledged their existences in the subtlest and greatest ways throughout the game.
I do not actually consider characters such as the Warden blank slates at all despite some minor customization options. The way I see it there are two extremes. On one end we have a character such as Geralt. On the other is your usual Elder Scrolls protagonist. Closer to the middle are characters like the Nameless One, who are a bit more flexible in how they can be directed than a Geralt; but still leaning in that direction. Leaning slightly in the other direction towards an Elder Scrolls protagonist is a protagonist like the Warden.
To me what defines a character as predefined or blank slate is a combination of factors.
The majority of RPG characters fall somewhere in the middle. No matter how fluid or rigid creation and gameplay options are, a protagonist's role in a story is typically static save for a few brief divergences on miscellaneous quest branches. The only time I find real value in a predefined character is when it is truly their story such as was the case in
Planescape: Torment. In a game like
Alpha Protocol, I never had the feeling no one else could fill Michael Thorton's shoes at any point. Defined as that character was, he still came off as being a cipher for the player. I never thought he was his own person.
Given how few predefined characters I see used to their fullest in the manner of J.C. Denton or the Nameless One, I have even less reason to favor them. If anything, I see predefined characters handled better in games like
Max Payne or
Uncharted than I do RPGs. Because then the predefined character's strengths are fully taken advantage of instead of diluted to cater to player whim.
That being the case (in addition to what I wrote earlier), I don't see their appeal in an RPG any more than you guys see the appeal of a blank slate. I do see their potential. Although that is rarely satisfactorily utilized in my opinion.
Modifié par Seagloom, 30 mai 2012 - 11:40 .
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- Sapkowski and Witcher being one of them (with Lem being most known outside our borders methinks). So dont be so narrow in your definitions, you may be surprised. 
