9 réponses à ce sujet

[A.Kazama]

Okay so every now and then I walked into a thread regarding PC back stories and whats so good about them, so I thought I'd make one specific to the topic...

(Sorry if there's already been a thread like this, but I'm gonna start this one anyway)

 

In regards to the special snowflake syndrome that appears in many games. 

 

e.g. Tidus = Not Being Real

Revan = Super powerful darklord

Marth = Wields a sword restricted to his Bloodline

AND in the case we are soon to have (From what I've recently gathered)

Inquisitor = Ability to seal and open Veil Tears... 
(I'm sure there are many more examples but those were from the top of my head)

 

Now. I've never had anything against special snowflake syndrome, in fact, I've found it to make the story more engaging and interesting as a whole, and the fact that my MC is at the epicenter of a great story while having the power over most things (in this case: Veil Tears) to be pretty darn cool.

 

Of course this is my opinion and your more than welcome to disagree with an opinion of your own, but my question is this...
 

Do any of you have anything against Special Snowflakes? If so why? But if you do like them what makes them engaging to you? 

[Allan Schumacher]

I don't have anything against special snowflakes. It's just so mainstream. I really loved that random-mercenary-who-just-happens-to-have-skill-galore-vibe I got from Hawke. It was refreshing not being the only lass able to stop the great vile evil to save the world and all.

 

This is similar to myself as well.

 

I liked the idea we had with Hawke, in that he was much less of a "Chosen One" type.  Even if the execution was lacking for a lot of people.  On some level the PC is likely ALWAYS a special snowflake (by virtue of accomplishing things in the plot that others don't for reasons), I tend to prefer protagonists that stand out less from the crowd.

 

Hardly a deal breaker, however.

[Allan Schumacher]

You mean, like Hawke?

 

See how well-received DA2 is as a result. BioWare is not falling for that again.

 

Incidentally Hawke is my favorite BioWare protagonist. It's just not everyone else's.

 

I don't think it's fair to ascribe any of DA2's shortcoming on any singular event.  There are things that may very well been better received had they existed within DAO, and I think it's simplistic to simply look at a feature that existed in DA2 and conclude "DA2 wasn't as well received.  Therefore this feature is a bad idea."

[Allan Schumacher]

Yeah.  I still think Hawke falls under the special snowflake deal in being a character who's always considered to be a better combatant than everyone else in the game like he's some kind of terminator.  Of course, I grew up on a JRPG background where the protagonist was generally treated as about equal to the companions, and you had other people in the world higher level that could wipe the floor with you at the beginning of the game.

 

On some level there's story/gameplay segregation, but it's a fair point.  Though level progressions and whatnot begin to complicate things, as in a JRPG (or any game without a type of level scaling), you get bizarre and artificial progression of characters where someone like Cloud is a professional soldier, but by the end he's a billion times more powerful than he was as a... genetically engineered super soldier....

[Allan Schumacher]

I think a nominally normal guy doing the stuff it seems like the Inquisitor is doing would be more of a special snowflake than someone who was doing it because they had some sort of special ability or status.  It gives a reason for why the PC is taking the lead that doesn't rely on them just being more awesome than everyone else

 

I think there's some conflation with the ideas of things like a "Chosen One" and so forth.

 

When I use the term "Special Little Snowflake" to respond to the PC and the party members, it's that they're able to do things and survive things that they really shouldn't be able to do simply because the gameplay and narrative deem it possible.  Moreso the narrative.  It's kind of an example of story/gameplay segregation.

[Allan Schumacher]

Thus the PC not getting infected with the taint isn't them being a special snowflake, because that's something which is expected within the law.  But Sten or Leliana not getting infected is, because they have no such in-universe protection.

 

Yep.  We'd have to have made different design decisions if the threat of being tainted by blood was a genuine risk to the party members.

[Allan Schumacher]

But since he can't affect anything meaningful in the game world

 

Doesn't Hawke stopping the Qunari uprising, reestablishing his family's position in Kirkwall, and so forth count as accomplishing something meaningful?  Or is it more that you're referring to there's no real divergence to these events?

[Allan Schumacher]

I would disagree.  I see no value in belief at all.

 

There is knowledge, and there is uncertainty.  There is no need for anything in between.

 

Why do you spend your time on this forum, as opposed to others?  I was always under the impression that you held a belief that a BioWare game had a greater probability of giving you something that you want.

[Allan Schumacher]

Well, the first it seems like Meredith would have had it covered.  The second seems kind of meaningless when the family is all disappeared, dead, a warden, a templar or Gamlen

 

While I suppose, yes, if Hawke hadn't reestablished the family presence in Kirkwall, then it's possible that the other bad stuff didn't happen.  But that comes across a bit like suggesting that the Habsburgs didn't really accomplish anything of significance because ultimately their house died out.

[Allan Schumacher]

Technically this is "plot armor".  Special Snowflake syndrome refers to characters having WILDLY unusual or even unique traits.  Sten could be a bit of a Special Snowflake because even with his backstory the justification for a lone Qunari to be way the heck out in the middle of Fereldan was pretty weak.  Shale was 100% special snowflake but that was also kind of the *point* with her.  Wynne was a bit of a special snowflake due to her unique possession.  Fenris was a special snowflake.  Anders would have been except Wynne beat him to the punch with the possessed bit.

 

It's mostly semantics at this point.

 

When I'm referring to "special snowflakes" you know what I mean though.  I'm likely not going to change my usage because it's how I've been applying the term in my time on the forum, particularly because the player character (and their party) are able to accomplish stuff simply by virtue of being the player character, while no one else is able to accomplish sometimes even the most menial of tasks.