6 réponses à ce sujet

[Lethys1]

I don't think that killing companions or important characters in the game is a required part of a narrative in order to make it good, though I think it adds some layers to a game that focuses on danger and combat.  That being said, if the writers do choose to kill off important characters, I hope that they do so in ways that are better than the last game, DA2.

DA2 thrusts you into a world with the death of your sibling, who you never know.  I never really cared about this person, nor did I have a moment with him/her prior to his or her death to set a tone.  In RockPaperShotgun's review of DA2, they pointed to this death as diminshing the value of all subsquent deaths right from the start, a viewpoint I absolutely agree with.  It has an emotional numbing effect, because it's the first emphasized death and yet I felt complete apathy towards it.  It removed immersion, which is an effect that can be examined more in depth in another post.

The death of the remaining sibling was, as much as I hate to say, not that impactful.  Not even in the slightest.  Not just because of the first sibling's death, but also because the siblings never really have any really memorable moments.  They don't have any bond that solidifies their importance as siblings.  I had felt withdrawn from Hawke alerady from the time jumps, and the siblings then felt even less connected.  I felt far more affinity for Varric than either sibling simply due to him being a far more powerful influence on the story.  Finally, the death of the mother, finishing off the murder of your entire family, feels cheap.  Such an unnecessary death in the larger narrative really made it seem like your whole family was put in place specifically for them to die, as opposed to them having an actual part of the story.

The best way to handle character deaths was displayed in Mass Effect 1 and 2.  We already experience an entire narrative with a character prior to their death.  In one scenario, we simply need someone to sacrifice themselves for the greater good (bomb sacrifice in ME1).  I despised Ashley as a character and still felt legitimately upset by leaving her to die. In Mass Effect 2, the death of any crew member had particular weight both because you had a narrative with them and because your choices were what decided who lived and who died.

[Allan Schumacher]

I often see people use the word "immersion." I'm no longer even really sure what it means.

I know people run into the issue of "why should I care about this person" but I guess my perspective is "how could you not feel some sort of empathy?"

Maybe I'm a poor judge for such things, because I actually have lost a sibling. Seeing the whole interaction just seemed so utter believable and appropriate for how the scene played out that I really liked it.

I don't have to have needed to meet any one of you. If any random person posted on this board that they just lost their brother, I guarantee you I'd feel some empathy towards that person, even if I know nothing about them.

[Allan Schumacher]

Which is perhaps one reason why Wesley's death works better - he's supposed to be a just met stranger, so the players feelings are more in sync with what Hawke's should be.

It's an interesting point, and I do agree Wesley's situation is more powerful. Probably compounded by the fact that he's still alive and effectively need to be mercy killed.

[Allan Schumacher]

While of course I could empathize with Hawke as a human being, I wasn't supposed to feel empathy for Hawke, I was supposed to be Hawke, to feel Hawke's pain as my own. It's an RPG. I am the PC. I want to feel whatever the PC is feeling. That was completely impossible with the sibling's death in DA2, because we'd only just met them. So Bethany's (in my case) death served to create a sense of disconnection with Hawke, we weren't on the same page emotionally.

This probably comes down to differences for how we approached DA2 then. I still considered myself to be Hawke, so the loss of a family member was still something I could roleplay.

But then, I seem to have little problem doing this in a large chunk of my games (RPG or otherwise).

If a player hadn't yet (or was just never able to) make that association I can see how it'd be an issue (though I already concede that the scene was obviously not as effective for others as it was for me. The topic has come up a fair bit and those that don't care for it have been well reasoned in their arguments as to why).

[Allan Schumacher]

EDIT: Nevermind

Modifié par Allan Schumacher, 30 septembre 2012 - 09:03 .

[Allan Schumacher]

It's mostly that I realized I misread a post and drew incorrect conclusions from it

[Allan Schumacher]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

If a character is well written, his deats will always have impact, even if it occurs as a part of normal gameplay.

Dupre!