[ SECRET POST #2946 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2946 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 038 secrets from Secret Submission Post #421.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

06. http://oi62.tinypic.com/34o8rvc.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

I guess I sort of role play it - or rather, I do feel really integrated into it, but I have to be good, everyone has to like me, and I have to make the morally best decisions. Luckily, in Dragon Age that's usually associated with the best rewards anyway. And the rewards ARE important to me. I like to get as many unique items and rewards as possible, or achievements, etc. But those are usually with the "perfect" decisions where you go out of your way to be nice and awesome and helpful, so no sweat.

Which makes games that actually do have very morally grey decisions (to be fair, Inquisition has had some tougher choices), or greater rewards for picking a "bad" choice, pretty distressing! I remember playing Skyrim, and to get all the daedric artifacts (iirc) there was one quest where you basically had to stab someone in the back and murder them, there's no other way to get it. I really wanted the achievement for all artifacts but I just cannot play a murdering, evil asshole. I really can't. Just the reason why I couldn't join the assassin's guild to get the cool demon horse....

[bigpaw]

I'm totally the same way! I always play the most diplomatic, good-hearted nerds. And then even on repeat playthroughs where I think I might try to be a lil more evil or morally grey, I just...can't do it. I don't wanna be mean :(

[kamino_neko]

and to get all the daedric artifacts (iirc) there was one quest where you basically had to stab someone in the back and murder them

There's multiple like that...

Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, Namira, Boethia, Mephala, Hircine, Vaermina, arguably Hermeus Mora and Malacath...

I was pissed that I didn't get the achievement due to a bug after the pretzels I tied my morality into justifying most of those.... ('Oh, I'll get a human from Windhelm for Boethia's quest...chances are he did something to deserve it.' 'Oh, I'm able to lure you by appealing to your greed, huh...well, I guess that means I don't need to feel guilty.' 'Eh, he'd probably consider being murdered on behalf of his god an honour...')

Edit - oh, but on the flip side, for Clavicus Vile, to get the item that actually counts toward the achievement, you need to NOT be an evil prick, which was a nice change.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, you're still missing out on content, just a different content. Goodness knows you can play how you like, but no need to be smug about how you're playing the best most efficient way.

[herpymcderp]

It's a lot easier to try to roleplay a character in games where minmaxing isn't required to get a "good" ending or a particular outcome. Mass Effect was particularly bad for this.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, Dragon Age Origins, there was really was no strategically justifiable reason NOT to recruit everyone, and get them to 100% friendship. Even the ones you don't use are put in your B team at your final battle, and the characters being recruited/alive brings import content into the sequels.

Dragon Age 2 tried to fix this, by making friendship/rivalry. Actually, I thought that system was so awesome, especially since you could still rival and romance someone.

Dragon Age Inquisition dropping the rivalry system was so disappointing. I think they did try to encourage you to roleplay more by not letting you see the friendship meter, but at this point I just find that frustrating, and I'm terrified about making my companions angry.

[kallanda_lee]

Actually, the thing I have is I usually have trouble making decisions I wouldn't be morally okay with in real life. So sadly;, I think I just play myself. I still have fun, though.

[ariakas]

Hahah I'm exactly the opposite. Games are my chance to let loose and do things I would never do in real life. I'm one of those horrible people who hates that you can't kill kids in the Fallout games.

[lb_lee]

This is pretty much why Sneak can't play RPGs. Zie is made entirely of rainbows and sparkles, and the idea of killing an Always Chaotic Evil race causes zer great upset.

Which is why zie likes horror games, which mostly involve fleeing and flailing in terror. Zer ethics are totally okay about hiding in a closet and begging for mercy!

--Rogan

[fishnchips]

Haha, oh God yes. I often start a game going "This time, I'm gonna play the most evil characters to ever grace this lousy in-game-world muahaha" and then I make the first few evil decisions, shit happens and I go "OH GOD I'M SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME I'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN!".

I have no problem playing a character who is on the chaotic neutral and kind of morally dark grey side of things, but outright evil? No way, too much of a nice person at heart X'D

[chrys]

Play however you like, OP.

I got over my initial 'have to recruit and please everyone' instance pretty quickly, but a lot of people like playing like you do as well.

[ariakas]

It's for this reason that I really appreciate games that give you pros and cons with each answer (not making each decision ultimately not matter, that just makes me stop giving a shit - as is, alas, slowing starting to be the case with the most recent Telltale games). If you piss someone off, someone else who didn't like them either should be more loyal in return, or your party is more cohesive because there's less tension now, etc. Something. Games where there really is an objectively "correct" answer in terms of game mechanics - the one which will provide maximum benefit over all others - means that roleplaying is pointless as it only hurts your progress. In those games the only "roleplaying" you're doing is pretending to be a sociopath, maximizing personal gain at all times.

Teal deer, I agree with you completely. I thought Mass Effect was decent at giving you both Paragon and Renegade benefits, but there are definitely some places where there is an objectively "better" answer, which is super cheese.

[feotakahari]

Don't forget the "Star Wars" approach: you always benefit more from being evil, but the game will never force you not to be good. It really ties into my challenge gamer streak. (See also: Overlord, which ties it into the theme by giving you bennies for reenacting the same sins that corrupted the antagonists.)

[(Anonymous)]

I'm puzzled by your comment about fanfic. Fanfic does involve roleplay in the sense of figuring out what a character would do, but... I don't know, I'm just being picky about word choice.

[(Anonymous)]

I started out with that mindset, but somehow by the end of Origins I felt like my Warden had developed a particular 'personality' that was affecting my choices. For example, near the beginning of the game I made the deal with Connor's demon to get blood magic, because otherwise I'd miss out on a full set of mage specialisations - but later on, I wouldn't deal with other demons because 'my Warden should know better than to trust those assholes'. It made the story more immersive, at least!

[lb_lee]

Aw, I have the problem where I want ALL the options ALL THE TIME, and I know I can't have them! T_T So I just stall out mentally and can't decide what to do or who to take with me.

And the games are like, 60 hours now! That's a lot of game to play and keep track of!

--Sneak

[(Anonymous)]

I do both! My first playthrough is the MinMax playthrough. I complete all the quests, carefully balance my approval levels and decisions, basically go for a 100% run.

Then, for my second playthrough I figure out an interesting character and RP that.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Looking at Elenaria (my Warden), I think I did a weird mix of both roleplaying and going for the best results. Elenaria started out an expy for an already existing RP character who would naturally fit my mode of playing - I am one of those people who can't really play an evil character. I also went through the wiki, read how to get through quests and found out what the best results would be and played that out, researched how to harden Alistair specifically because I wanted to get him to accept having a mistress (Elenaria was an elven mage - not a marriagable prospect).

Thing is, almost all the "ultimately better" options fit into my idea of who Elenaria is. The only one I still quibble on is siding with Belhen in Orzammar, as I suspect she, as an outsider not understanding the caste system when she first arrived, would like Harrowmont better to start with. I can fudge that - maybe I'll play it out some time, siding with Harrowmont until the last moment and then crowning Belhen instead - I can even work that out in headcanon.

[cbrachyrhynchos]

I have problems roleplaying with good/evil systems for a different reason. After the preachy rail-roading badness of DA2 and ME3, I decided to give Old Republic a spin. So I'm playing one of my first characters, and get to an ugly half-baked metaphor for extra-judicial rendition and torture for the greater good. So I found myself picking the Sith flavor, because if you're going to confront me with a complex socio-political conundrum delivered in cartoon form and reduced to a three-choice dialogue wheel, I'm going to pick Marvin the Martian.

And shortly after that, I realize I'm putting more hours into the work of a game studio that has lost my respect and I have better things on my hard drive.

Transcript

[(Anonymous)]

Image: art from Dragon Age Origins

Text: I can never “roleplay” in these games (Mass Effect, too). I only ever do what nets me the greatest gameplay advantage/shows me the most content and nets me the most approval from my allies. (If one ally approves and another disapproves, I’ll balance my decisions to even out in the long run.)

I would never make a decision that makes a playable character leave my party, for example. You’d be losing out on game content, and you can always see the “Fuck you I’m leaving” scene on YouTube later, anyway.

If I wanted to roleplay, I’d be writing fanfiction.

[darkmanifest]

For me, that's what multiple playthroughs are for. I have so much fun roleplaying morally dubious characters who alienate and kill of companions like it's going out of style, but the first playthrough is about exploring content. Only once I know what's available can I enjoy rejecting it.

[anarchicq]

I'm less emotionally invested in DA, but with Mass Effect I generally try to do the right thing or "Welp, Garrus thinks it's a good idea..."

[(Anonymous)]

I sort of roleplay it, but if I'm being completely honest my headcanon Warden (the one I have played most often) is basically a self-insert when it comes to decision-making.

[(Anonymous)]

I do that for the first playthrough and then pick a character (someone from a different canon I like) to roleplay as. I enjoy agonising over what choices the character would make (it really makes you question how well you truly understand a favourite character), and sometimes decisions that I'm sure would cost me dearly end up being unexpectedly good!

I can't write fanfic 'cause I suck at writing fiction.:P