From the moment you survive The Joining, you have started a slow death of sorts. You may find moments of happiness along the way, steal them when you can get them, but in many ways the clock is ticking for you. My real-me says awww and at times wants there to be at least a happy and easier option but because it is *not* easy to have one in RL -- escapism wants me to have something tied up with a bow, and pretty. But, for the most part, I don't look to games to fill gaping holes in my real life lol Sometimes, a happy ending is nice though, if only for a moments dream.
Some of my characters start relationships in the game for love, and some for a fun diversion with people they truly *like* even though love may not have one iota to do with it. But many, despite actions with some feeling have resigned themself to a life of satisfaction rather than one of Happiness (happy endings). She steals moments of happiness and pleasure here and there, but knows as a Grey Warden, her life has essential been chosen for her. She is bound and married to her duty, and has forsaken herself anything else (maybe to save her own heart) and when she does fall in love, its an accident as she knows there will be many a tear on all accounts, but decides it is worth it for the time.
This is probably why in some respects those characters feel as they do for the others: She likes Zevran because he makes her smile, and he finds moments of happiness where he can also. Alistair for being her at her most naive and innocent in some aspects...still green i suppose. Loghain even, for turning his back in his needs, for duty - as this is what her life now demands to a great extent that she do as well... ( pre-game era that one mind you.)
In this game, there is no typical happy ending for some, depending on what you think happy endings are. A female elf will never marry her love and become queen. Without dark magic, you or your companion (at minimum ) will die. At best, you will die long before you have grandchildren, IF you can manage to have a child at all....if you manage to SURVIVE at all...
But maybe your idea of happy is destroying the dark threat of the Blight. Maybe happiness is being ABLE to put your love, needs and dreams aside and doing something for humanity, even though this holds your death. Maybe happiness is paving the way for a future for humanity... so it isn't for me in a utopian world but this isn't that utopia.
This is drama. It places me in an epic adventure where I may not get the happily - ever - afters but i DO get a tale worthy of re-telling, a game worthy of replaying and yes, many an angry rant at my monitor. It also has given me many moments of pause, where I sit later, somewhat solemnly, hand over my mouth deep in thought, far from the game but close to some idea it brought to me.
I read the books and more than once I stopped reading because I just had to... WAIT. There are moments of beauty and reverence that can be found in things that hold a lot of pain, discomfort or sorrow. I can't say this game made me happy, but I can say that it made me FEEL like I was a part of that world for a time. It made me laugh out loud, WANT to either kill or save people, like or hate them, regardless for happy or sad, it made me care about the outcome.
For a short period of time, i existed elsewhere within a world refreshingly more difficult than my own
And that made me happy.
(Plus i looked super cute when I did it. WIN! )
Modifié par shantisands, 01 février 2010 - 11:50 .
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who think that would do the game a disservice.
