Its what Bioware does best. Your companions, your villains, other NPCs. To me its the most important and memorable thing about playing a BioWare game. I think the writing teams for Mass Effect realized this when going from ME1 to ME2. The companion characters were much more lively, creative, and unique. I really loved all the characters in DA:O, Morrigan was cold but only because she had been raised to be, she was almost innocent in that sense. Sten was a murderer but he accepts that its part of who he is.
I could go on, However I felt that the characters in DA2 took a step back. Most male companions were whiny sad whiners who whined - for instance. The shining light was the Arishok - a sympathetic yet very dangerous villain that was written wonderfully and who was not used nearly as well as he should have been.
Characters are the most important thing to any story, like any good film. BioWare has created many memorable and well written characters and its fantastic when those personalities interact with each other (something I felt was sorrowfully missing from Mass Effect 1 and 2).
Really, it doesn't matter what the main plot is to me as long as I have interesting, well written characters to get to know and interact with.
I'm interested in what others take on this is? What BioWare game did you think have the best collection of companion characters?
Its the characters, dammit!
Débuté par
dversion
, oct. 28 2012 02:29
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#2
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 02:31
Emzamination
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Knights of the old republic and jade empire, Damn it.
#3
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 02:39
Scott Sion
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Emzamination wrote...
Knights of the old republic and jade empire, Damn it.
I always hear Shep call Kaidan, "Carth" in my head.
#4
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 02:43
Emzamination
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plnero wrote...
Emzamination wrote...
Knights of the old republic and jade empire, Damn it.
I always hear Shep call Kaidan, "Carth" in my head.
You too? I can't listen to kaidan without thinking of carth.
#5
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 03:17
BouncyFrag
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Which then reminds me of this in reference to one of my earliest memories of dialog in a video game:Emzamination wrote...
plnero wrote...
Emzamination wrote...
Knights of the old republic and jade empire, Damn it.
I always hear Shep call Kaidan, "Carth" in my head.
You too? I can't listen to kaidan without thinking of carth.
#6
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 03:24
Meltemph
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DA2 probably had the best character(Varric), but all together, I would have to say KotOR. While your story is only as good as your characters, your characters are limited by the quality of the story(or at least how the story was told). To me, KotOR had the best fleshed out story of them all, that fit near perfectly together.
#7
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 03:31
Foolsfolly
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Origins, KOTOR, and ME2 had the best characters in my opinion. That doesn't mean I didn't like their other games. In fact there hasn't been a BioWare game with bad or uninteresting companions.
#8
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 03:41
Sainthood85
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Valygar, Minsc, Yoshimo, Jan Jansen were some of my favorite characters.
#9
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 04:02
Scott Sion
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BouncyFrag wrote...
Which then reminds me of this in reference to one of my earliest memories of dialog in a video game:Emzamination wrote...
plnero wrote...
Emzamination wrote...
Knights of the old republic and jade empire, Damn it.
I always hear Shep call Kaidan, "Carth" in my head.
You too? I can't listen to kaidan without thinking of carth.
I loved how it did that.
I only find a hand full of characters in Elder Scrolls games that I really like. I play Elder Scrolls games more the exploration and story not for the characters. Overall I'd have to say most of my favorite video games characters have come from Bioware games, they always seem to put their all into creating their characters.
#10
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 04:35
TsaiMeLemoni
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This is true. The characters in the Bioware games are just top notch, and one of the many reasons I keep coming back to their games.
#11
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 04:35
ledod
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Very true! Plot is merely the context, which characters interact. If one writes a compelling character, the storyline instantly becomes more interesting.
#12
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 05:02
dversion
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I liked Varric quite a bit. He was lively, interesting, and humorous, how come Hawke couldn't date him? However I didn't really care for the rest of the cast of sorry sod males especially Sebastian who I feel is a virtual character who stole 7 bucks from me.
#13
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 05:03
ledod
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dversion wrote...
I liked Varric quite a bit. He was lively, interesting, and humorous, how come Hawke couldn't date him? However I didn't really care for the rest of the cast of sorry sod males especially Sebastian who I feel is a virtual character who stole 7 bucks from me.
Isabella was super fun
#14
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 05:10
retic
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Agreed. One of bw's strengths is in the way they write their characters. One of the reasons why I believe emo/kiddy protagonists from jrpgs (maybe except cloud...advent children changed my views on him) will ****** in their pants when they go toe to toe with characters like shepard (a Paragon Shepard). Dont get me started with characters like Sarevok and Urdnot Wrex. 
#15
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 05:15
dversion
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ledod wrote...
dversion wrote...
I liked Varric quite a bit. He was lively, interesting, and humorous, how come Hawke couldn't date him? However I didn't really care for the rest of the cast of sorry sod males especially Sebastian who I feel is a virtual character who stole 7 bucks from me.
Isabella was super fun
Yeah, she was alright. A bit too "I like sex and I'm sexy sex sex sex." for me but she was a well developed character.
#16
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 05:20
ledod
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dversion wrote...
ledod wrote...
dversion wrote...
I liked Varric quite a bit. He was lively, interesting, and humorous, how come Hawke couldn't date him? However I didn't really care for the rest of the cast of sorry sod males especially Sebastian who I feel is a virtual character who stole 7 bucks from me.
Isabella was super fun
Yeah, she was alright. A bit too "I like sex and I'm sexy sex sex sex." for me but she was a well developed character.
Haha, I like her for that very reason! (Fair enough, nevertheless
)
#17
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 05:28
Will8585
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Baldurs Gate Shadows of Amn had some great characters in Minsc and Viconia...Varric, Merrill and Isabela were also great from DA 2.
#18
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 05:53
AppealToReason
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I actually found I probably liked DA2's companion cast a bit more than DAO's. Merrill, Sebastian, and the siblings were some of my favourites. In DAO I only really liked Oghren, dog and Lelianna.
DA2's peripheral characters weren't quite as good as Origins though. Meredith, Orsino, Bartrand, the Viscount, etc. didn't come close to Eamon, Aeducan, Teagan, werewolvy nature lady, etc.
DA2's peripheral characters weren't quite as good as Origins though. Meredith, Orsino, Bartrand, the Viscount, etc. didn't come close to Eamon, Aeducan, Teagan, werewolvy nature lady, etc.
#19
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 06:49
dversion
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Really? wow, we're opposite. I really didn't care for Oghren and Lelianna and I found Sebastian to be 100% awful.AppealToReason wrote...
I actually found I probably liked DA2's companion cast a bit more than DAO's. Merrill, Sebastian, and the siblings were some of my favourites. In DAO I only really liked Oghren, dog and Lelianna.
DA2's peripheral characters weren't quite as good as Origins though. Meredith, Orsino, Bartrand, the Viscount, etc. didn't come close to Eamon, Aeducan, Teagan, werewolvy nature lady, etc.
#20
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 07:46
Terrorize69
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One of the top reasons I love BW games, some of the best written characters in gaming history, IMO of course .
Regarding ME and DA, think I preferred DAs cast over ME nearly ever time, although there were a couple of Chars I adored in ME *looks at avatar*
But with DA, loved Merrill, Sister Petrice, Morrigan, Alistair, Leilana, Hawke, Beth, Meredith, Varric, Flemeth... too many to list lol
Don't think I know of one char who I thought was badly written, sure there was some I hated... Emile... but thats good.. I guess... Emile... why couldn't I kill him...
.Regarding ME and DA, think I preferred DAs cast over ME nearly ever time, although there were a couple of Chars I adored in ME *looks at avatar*
But with DA, loved Merrill, Sister Petrice, Morrigan, Alistair, Leilana, Hawke, Beth, Meredith, Varric, Flemeth... too many to list lol
Don't think I know of one char who I thought was badly written, sure there was some I hated... Emile... but thats good.. I guess... Emile... why couldn't I kill him...
#21
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 08:10
BrookerT
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Dragon Age 2's Cast of Characters is the greatest cast of Characters in a video game ever. EVER. I would even argue in otherforums of media as well
#22
Guest_Calob_*
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 09:00
Guest_Calob_*
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I agree, characters need to be unique, strong and exciting.
#23
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 10:23
Blackrising
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I loved the KotOR companions, as well as those in Origins. Jade Empire was a fun game, but apart from Silk Fox I wasn't particularly attached to any of them. Oh, and ME 2. I loved pretty much every companion.
Actually, when I think about it, I'm pretty sure I loved the companions in every Bioware game.
Actually, when I think about it, I'm pretty sure I loved the companions in every Bioware game.
#24
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 10:45
Archyyy
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Loved Morrigan and Sten in origins. Some of the best characters bioware has ever written. Romanced Morrigan with every single serious playthrough I had. Sten and her had philosophy and thought which is always good.
In DA2 the only memorable character was the Arishok. Also one of the best characters bioware has ever written. But thats about it regarding characters in DA2. I cant really think having any emotions regarding other character in DA2 except for the Arishok. Even varric was boring to me. Snarky merchant dwarf with no other characteristics but charm and the occasional wit. Wish I couldve allied with the arishok at the end of chapter 2 but bioware insisted on railroading me to side with Kirkwall. I much more agreed with the qunari despite a few serious disagreements than I did with kirkwall, the chantry and the templars.
In DA2 the only memorable character was the Arishok. Also one of the best characters bioware has ever written. But thats about it regarding characters in DA2. I cant really think having any emotions regarding other character in DA2 except for the Arishok. Even varric was boring to me. Snarky merchant dwarf with no other characteristics but charm and the occasional wit. Wish I couldve allied with the arishok at the end of chapter 2 but bioware insisted on railroading me to side with Kirkwall. I much more agreed with the qunari despite a few serious disagreements than I did with kirkwall, the chantry and the templars.
#25
Posté 28 octobre 2012 - 10:58
Rixatrix
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This pretty much nails why I play BioWare games and replay them so often. I think of the characters, and I want to be back around them, in their world. Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect 2, and KotOR did it best for me.
I hope DA3 has just as amazing characters and doesn't instead try to downplay them or decrease interaction. If anything, I want more interaction with characters than ever before: more dialogue choices (vs. auto-dialogue), more actions (like Paragon/Renegade interrupts in conversations), more character content, more tailored dialogue (depending on whether you reply to them kindly or rudely, are in a relationship or not, etc.), more outings (the ones in ME3 on the Citadel were pretty fun), etc. Building this into a story enriches the experience so much. When we remember things, after all, who was with you can be as important as what happened. This is what makes games memorable for me, as well.
I hope DA3 has just as amazing characters and doesn't instead try to downplay them or decrease interaction. If anything, I want more interaction with characters than ever before: more dialogue choices (vs. auto-dialogue), more actions (like Paragon/Renegade interrupts in conversations), more character content, more tailored dialogue (depending on whether you reply to them kindly or rudely, are in a relationship or not, etc.), more outings (the ones in ME3 on the Citadel were pretty fun), etc. Building this into a story enriches the experience so much. When we remember things, after all, who was with you can be as important as what happened. This is what makes games memorable for me, as well.
Modifié par BlueMoonSeraphim, 28 octobre 2012 - 11:04 .
