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Sartoz
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August 2016
sartoz
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.hVm-5wNStlyTEXjhwDoa_wHaEK%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=8f745a5f30b08f8231ddb64664df7375d23cc10878aa50d66fec54e9d570c7e2&ipo=images
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by Sartoz on Aug 19, 2019 12:22:23 GMT
What's more important in a role-playing game? The ability to role-play, or the ability to play yourself? Are they equally important?
Both in my view. However, The latter is more my style. Having a wide array of meaningful and consequential choices give the character, I choose to play, a 3D effect. A heavy MP oriented game removes all possibility of immersion. You get the equivalent of playing with a skipping stone and throwing it in the water to see how far it goes.
I see myself on the outside looking in.
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∯ Alien Wizard
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Sept 14, 2023 6:08:41 GMT
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Ieldra
4,771
August 2016
ieldra
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Andromeda
25190
6519
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Post by Ieldra on Aug 19, 2019 12:37:42 GMT
Just read the article. Its main flaw is that the author assumes her experience and viewpoints are somehow representative and should be given special consideration because of that.
I contest that notion. Take, for instance, this statement: "What made “The Iron Lady” into the cold, calculated defender of the status quo? The horrors and indignities she must have faced in the Ostwick Mage Circle that led her to create her impregnable persona are never even hinted at." The thing is, she doesn't know the slightest bit of what Vivienne's life in the circle was like, because we were never told. She simply assumes that Vivienne's life must've been full of "horrors and indignities" because she's black and we know of circles where life for most was like that. How would such a person explain that Vivienne supports the circle system?
Apart from that, anyone who capitalizes a random physical trait to turn it into an identity is immediately suspicious to me. If I did that, everyone would call me a racist, and for good reason.
The result of all these assumptions is the desire to turn into a problem what I see as a virtue. In the words of the article, "the usual formula of giving players the freedom to choose how they want to act allows for just as much conquest, haughty disinterest in ethical decision making, and even slave profiteering as opportunities to fight those evils."
That is how it should be, most emphatically!!! I don't usually like to play evil characters, but if a game attempted to lock me out of that for no reason intrinsic to the story, but for real-life politics, I would certainly complain. It might be enough to not buy the game. I think I'm reasonably free of maliciousness IRL, but I hate moral condenscension and paternalization with a passion, and if it comes from a side I used to sympathize with all that will do is erode that sympathy. The morality of characters I play is not for real-life political activists to circumscribe. I didn't take it from the religious fundamentalists, and I'm not going to take it from anyone else!
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July 2017
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Post by river82 on Aug 20, 2019 2:42:34 GMT
Just read the article. Its main flaw is that the author assumes her experience and viewpoints are somehow representative and should be given special consideration because of that. The main problem I have with the article is this: "Patrick Weekes, the current lead writer for the Dragon Age series is an immense talent. He wrote my favorite character in the entire franchise, The Iron Bull, and two others in my top 10, Cole and Solas. I have no doubt that he and his team will create an incredible yarn, but if BioWare wants to level up and reclaim their former glory after their last few games have struggled, leaving their brand a bit tarnished, they are going to have to evolve and invest in more diverse, authentic voices."So if Bioware wants to repair its reputation and overcome the mis-steps of the last few games the answer is to be more diverse? Funny, I thought the problem with the last couple of games was a lack of time to push out a polished product, whether that lack of time was because of indecisiveness or the engine whatever. It's like the go to answer for some people is "more diversity" instead of a more organised development schedule. More diversity is good, but more diversity does not solve all of the world's problems.
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midnight tea
Twitter Guru
gateway beverage
Posts: 7,093 Likes: 16,583
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16,583
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August 2016
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Post by midnight tea on Aug 20, 2019 4:21:12 GMT
Lol, imagine being butthurt that a video game wouldn't let you play as a slaver. I will say this for the right-wing crybabies: your ability to spin every single situation to portray yourselves as somehow being victims, even when it has nothing to do with you whatsoever, is truly remarkable. And this fantasy of BioWare as a bastion of 'artistic integrity', besieged on all sides by black ladies and antifa, is some of the most imaginative bedwetting I've ever seen.It's kind of funny especially in light of Gaider's words in interview below, where he's not really hiding that nowadays they can make games more in tune of how they want them to make, instead of before, when general audience's sensibilities were less... permissive.
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Post by colfoley on Aug 20, 2019 4:29:41 GMT
What's more important in a role-playing game? The ability to role-play, or the ability to play yourself? Are they equally important? For me: Role Playing. Trying to do a genuine self insert would be immersion breaking.
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Elvis Has Left The Building
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0
Oct 31, 2020 23:57:02 GMT
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pessimistpanda
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Apr 18, 2017 15:57:34 GMT
April 2017
pessimistpanda
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by pessimistpanda on Aug 20, 2019 8:22:31 GMT
Lol, imagine being butthurt that a video game wouldn't let you play as a slaver. I will say this for the right-wing crybabies: your ability to spin every single situation to portray yourselves as somehow being victims, even when it has nothing to do with you whatsoever, is truly remarkable. And this fantasy of BioWare as a bastion of 'artistic integrity', besieged on all sides by black ladies and antifa, is some of the most imaginative bedwetting I've ever seen.It's kind of funny especially in light of Gaider's words in interview below, where he's not really hiding that nowadays they can make games more in tune of how they want them to make, instead of before, when general audience's sensibilities were less... permissive. Sure, but there's no point mentioning actual reality. "Gamers" clearly come from some sort of parallel timeline.
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Sept 14, 2023 6:08:41 GMT
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Ieldra
4,771
August 2016
ieldra
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Andromeda
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6519
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Post by Ieldra on Aug 20, 2019 13:30:46 GMT
Heh....aren't it people like you who say that oppression isn't defined by the would-be oppressors? But no, here as much as elsewhere I won't grace these petty squabbles with such a heavyweight term.
Having said that, video games and those who play them have been the targets of moral fundamentalists since these games came into being. Peace activists didn't want us to play war-themed games, religious fundamentalists didn't want us to play fantasy games with netherworldly aspects, and now diversity activists don't want us to play games uninfected by real-world diversity concerns. As far as I'm concerned, it's all the same bullshit. Some faction wants all of reality and fiction to give special consideration to their particular sensitivities. I am reminded of the world domination plans so often featured in stories... and of historical iconoclastic movements.
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26,664
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August 2016
gervaise21
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights
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Post by gervaise21 on Aug 20, 2019 18:41:49 GMT
I thought people were trying to have an intelligent debate about the issues. Throwing insults at people so they either react aggressively, thus escalating the issue, or back off because they do not wish to provoke more vitriol, does not make you right. What I and other people have been trying to say, and being wilfully misunderstood, is that whilst it is possible to draw similarities between issues in Thedas and those encountered by minorities in the real world, the fact is they are not the same. There is a history of slavery and oppression against the elves but the events surrounding this are definitely not the same as those for black people in the real world. So if a person is co-opted to write a character who has been affected by slavery and focusses entirely on their experiences in the real world, this is going to seem out of place in Thedas. Whatever indignities Vivienne experienced as a mage in the Ostwick Circle because of the prejudice against mages does not totally match real world prejudices against people of colour or any other racial prejudice for the simple reason that no one in the real world has the ability to throw a fireball or freeze you into a block of ice. The fear of ordinary people that informs their prejudice has a grounding in the power that mages possess and the fact that at one time practically the entire world was under the control of mages. That is totally the opposite to the experience of minorities in the real world where the oppressed have never had that sort of power and people seem to wish to deny them the ability to acquire it. This is why to say someone should be recruited to the writing team solely because they can bring real world issues and experiences to the fore would be a mistake. All good writers draw on real world experiences but when they are writing for a fantasy setting they adjust their perspective accordingly so they remain true to the setting and the story it is trying to tell.
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41,526
DragonKingReborn
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August 2016
dragonkingreborn
http://bsn.boards.net/threads/recent/143
https://i.imgur.com/1myVt9D.jpg
DragonKingReborn
Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
887
590
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Post by DragonKingReborn on Aug 20, 2019 23:54:02 GMT
I thought people were trying to have an intelligent debate about the issues. Throwing insults at people so they either react aggressively, thus escalating the issue, or back off because they do not wish to provoke more vitriol, does not make you right. Quite right - in fact, doing so puts one at risk of moderator sanction. Some posts have been removed and/or edited. Your post may have been edited if it quoted a removed post.
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Innocuous Alaskan
417
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4,799
Trilobite Derby
Drinking rosehip tea, independently.
1,824
August 2016
akhadeed
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Post by Trilobite Derby on Aug 21, 2019 2:05:24 GMT
One problem that emerges for me is that one person's development in an adverse situation (discriminatory or not) may be very different from another's.
Even the experience of marginalization varies from person to person, and attempts to write about it from one perspective may not ring true to other people with the same circumstance, because that's not necessarily how they experienced it. Or what happened to them emotionally or circumstantially.
Even if I was going to try to write a story about something I know very well, from a perspective very like mine, I would still try to seek out other viewpoints on the same topic in case my reaction was unusual and caused it to ring false. Research helps, and so does first-hand knowledge. Nothing will make sure that the reactions feel authentic to everyone, though.
Iunno. Do research, draw from life, talk to people... There's a lot of things that can be done to make a story seem more realistic as relates to perspective. But I'm not entirely convinced that personal experience is the only metric for whether one can write an informed story on a topic. Or a guarantee that it'll ring true.
LET'S TALK ABOUT LIAM AS AN EXAMPLE. I've been a first responder for a good long while now, with a few departments, and interacted with a lot more as the situation demands. Liam's formative experience is Crisis Response, which does seem to be sort of first responder program. To me, he seems like a pretty accurate portrayal of a certain personality that is certainly drawn to the firehouse and police force. He damn believes. He keeps believing because if he stops, he might start to realize all the weight or acknowledge that failure is a possibility. And he can't let himself do that. He destresses with stupid jokes and pop culture because it holds him together. I feel like he's very realistic. Other people... To put it mildly, disagree on that. Some of them are probably even coming at it from similar angles as I am. And they're not wrong. Similar circumstances can still lead to a variance in perspective.
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ღ I am a golem. Obviously.
440
0
24,190
phoray
Dreadnaw Rising
12,573
August 2016
phoray
Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition
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Post by phoray on Aug 21, 2019 2:08:26 GMT
Can you use real examples to support your argument, because one can definitely be gay and black in Dragon Age. I mean, this reads as some argument you're carrying over from an entirely different time/thread that you're still bitter about.
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helios969
N4
Kamisama
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
Origin: helios969
Prime Posts: No Clue
Prime Likes: Who Cares
Posts: 1,853 Likes: 2,478
inherit
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0
Apr 13, 2024 10:39:49 GMT
2,478
helios969
Kamisama
1,853
August 2016
helios969
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
helios969
No Clue
Who Cares
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Post by helios969 on Aug 21, 2019 9:08:43 GMT
What's more important in a role-playing game? The ability to role-play, or the ability to play yourself? Are they equally important? Roleplaying. Never understood people wanting to do the latter...seems like a failure of imagination. I've had a lifetime of "roleplaying" myself...that's the last thing I want to do in a fantasy world.
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Numinex
N1
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
Posts: 21 Likes: 22
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Dec 19, 2022 12:35:27 GMT
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April 2019
numinex
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
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Post by Numinex on Aug 21, 2019 11:16:39 GMT
What's more important in a role-playing game? The ability to role-play, or the ability to play yourself? Are they equally important? I think they're equally important. Sometimes you want to be someone new and different entirely, and sometimes you want to be you in a new and different world. Lends replayability as well.
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Doominike
N2
Vehnan'abelasan
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem
XBL Gamertag: MugiwaraBlair
PSN: MugiwaraBlair
Posts: 214 Likes: 243
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243
Doominike
Vehnan'abelasan
214
April 2017
doominike
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem
MugiwaraBlair
MugiwaraBlair
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Post by Doominike on Aug 21, 2019 11:27:42 GMT
Lol, imagine being butthurt that a video game wouldn't let you play as a slaver. I will say this for the right-wing crybabies: your ability to spin every single situation to portray yourselves as somehow being victims, even when it has nothing to do with you whatsoever, is truly remarkable. And this fantasy of BioWare as a bastion of 'artistic integrity', besieged on all sides by black ladies and antifa, is some of the most imaginative bedwetting I've ever seen. Kinda curious why you're assuming that someone wanting the option for their PC to own slaves in a game set in the capital of the slave trade means they would be butthurt if the game lacks that option, or that they're right-wingers. DA is a roleplaying series, if you're setting a roleplaying game in a place that's a giant hub of slavery, dark magic, demon summoning and ritual sacrifice I'm gonna expect all of those to be roleplaying options, if only for variety. If I can't I'll just be disappointed that I can only be a hero, a hero who makes jokes or a hero who's kind of a dick.
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August 2016
ieldra
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by Ieldra on Aug 21, 2019 13:50:35 GMT
What's more important in a role-playing game? The ability to role-play, or the ability to play yourself? Are they equally important? If a game implements an ability to role-play, to have significant freedom in how you define and express your character, you automatically also have the freedom to play yourself as plausibly projected into the fictional world. So clearly the former is most important.
As a specific application of the principle of freedom, it is, however, important that I can avoid giving my characters certain specific traits because they're too alien to the way I think and feel, and so I'll never be able to play characters who have them and feel authentic about it. The list of those traits is very short - I can think of two - but they make that my characters retain some similarity to myself at least in this, and that, too, I consider important.
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Glorious Star Lord
822
0
Jan 24, 2024 17:47:40 GMT
16,819
KaiserShep
Party like it's 2023!
9,233
August 2016
kaisershep
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by KaiserShep on Aug 21, 2019 14:15:43 GMT
What's more important in a role-playing game? The ability to role-play, or the ability to play yourself? Are they equally important? Roleplaying. Never understood people wanting to do the latter...seems like a failure of imagination. I've had a lifetime of "roleplaying" myself...that's the last thing I want to do in a fantasy world. I wouldn't want to be myself in this fantasy world. The fantasy world is scary. I'd just never leave the hub area just like the real me would.
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helios969
N4
Kamisama
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
Origin: helios969
Prime Posts: No Clue
Prime Likes: Who Cares
Posts: 1,853 Likes: 2,478
inherit
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Kamisama
1,853
August 2016
helios969
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
helios969
No Clue
Who Cares
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Post by helios969 on Aug 21, 2019 14:49:58 GMT
Roleplaying. Never understood people wanting to do the latter...seems like a failure of imagination. I've had a lifetime of "roleplaying" myself...that's the last thing I want to do in a fantasy world. I wouldn't want to be myself in this fantasy world. The fantasy world is scary. I'd just never leave the hub area just like the real me would. I’d earn a ton of gold plying the merchant trade then hire a horde of Ox heads to guard me before setting out.
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∯ Oh Loredy...
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0
26,664
gervaise21
10,783
August 2016
gervaise21
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights
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Post by gervaise21 on Aug 21, 2019 18:13:33 GMT
What's more important in a role-playing game? The ability to role-play, or the ability to play yourself? Are they equally important I feel the ability to role play the character that I have imagined in my mind is more important than being myself, although that character may be an idealised version of myself. The closest I got to playing myself was my first character in DAI who romanced Solas but that backfired on me badly when he walked out on me without an explanation of why, which was much too close to home (art imitating life) and very depressing. So I find it safer not to project myself too much onto the character I am role-playing so I don't take events personally. I generally play genuine heroes, with the odd morally neutral character thrown in for variety but never outright evil. However, I must admit that knowing that it is possible to play such a character actually makes me feel that my choices are that much more commendable, particularly if I do lose out in some way through not choosing the evil path. It makes the temptation real and resisting it a tangible challenge, so in keeping with the setting. For example, I seem to recall that if your mage wanted to learn blood magic in DAO, you could only do so if you sold Connor's soul to the demon in exchange for the knowledge. Consequently, I never had the option of using blood magic even if I didn't agree with the view of the Chantry concerning its use because I would never do that deal with the demon.
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Jan 24, 2024 17:47:40 GMT
16,819
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Party like it's 2023!
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August 2016
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Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by KaiserShep on Aug 21, 2019 20:19:31 GMT
What's more important in a role-playing game? The ability to role-play, or the ability to play yourself? Are they equally important I feel the ability to role play the character that I have imagined in my mind is more important than being myself, although that character may be an idealised version of myself. The closest I got to playing myself was my first character in DAI who romanced Solas but that backfired on me badly when he walked out on me without an explanation of why, which was much too close to home (art imitating life) and very depressing. So I find it safer not to project myself too much onto the character I am role-playing so I don't take events personally. I generally play genuine heroes, with the odd morally neutral character thrown in for variety but never outright evil. However, I must admit that knowing that it is possible to play such a character actually makes me feel that my choices are that much more commendable, particularly if I do lose out in some way through not choosing the evil path. It makes the temptation real and resisting it a tangible challenge, so in keeping with the setting. For example, I seem to recall that if your mage wanted to learn blood magic in DAO, you could only do so if you sold Connor's soul to the demon in exchange for the knowledge. Consequently, I never had the option of using blood magic even if I didn't agree with the view of the Chantry concerning its use because I would never do that deal with the demon. Too bad the final product wasn't really able to give you the full brunt of the consequences to learning the specialization. If I recall, there's a scene that didn't make it into the final game where you basically have to kill everyone at the Circle because they discover you're a blood mage.
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0
1,639
Buckeldemon
Now stealin' more kidz.
1,200
July 2019
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Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by Buckeldemon on Aug 21, 2019 20:30:49 GMT
I feel the ability to role play the character that I have imagined in my mind is more important than being myself, although that character may be an idealised version of myself. The closest I got to playing myself was my first character in DAI who romanced Solas but that backfired on me badly when he walked out on me without an explanation of why, which was much too close to home (art imitating life) and very depressing. So I find it safer not to project myself too much onto the character I am role-playing so I don't take events personally. I generally play genuine heroes, with the odd morally neutral character thrown in for variety but never outright evil. However, I must admit that knowing that it is possible to play such a character actually makes me feel that my choices are that much more commendable, particularly if I do lose out in some way through not choosing the evil path. It makes the temptation real and resisting it a tangible challenge, so in keeping with the setting. For example, I seem to recall that if your mage wanted to learn blood magic in DAO, you could only do so if you sold Connor's soul to the demon in exchange for the knowledge. Consequently, I never had the option of using blood magic even if I didn't agree with the view of the Chantry concerning its use because I would never do that deal with the demon. Too bad the final product wasn't really able to give you the full brunt of the consequences to learning the specialization. If I recall, there's a scene that didn't make it into the final game where you basically have to kill everyone at the Circle because they discover you're a blood mage.
I guess that is because it would be somewhat... dumb going to Kinloch Hold, fighting one's way up to the tower to clean up that mess in one way or the other and then having to kill off the support you just hired. It would perhaps be ok if just Wynne would turn on you (not that she would not have the chance to that before... twice.), but loosing the support of one of four factions as a tradeoff for a single spec choice appears to be too much for me - unless Blood Magic would have been made so über powerful that you could destroy everyone with a simple flick of the wrist. DAO BM is good, but far away from that overpowered.
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8,023
Sifr
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Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Aug 22, 2019 2:08:26 GMT
Kinda curious why you're assuming that someone wanting the option for their PC to own slaves in a game set in the capital of the slave trade means they would be butthurt if the game lacks that option, or that they're right-wingers. DA is a roleplaying series, if you're setting a roleplaying game in a place that's a giant hub of slavery, dark magic, demon summoning and ritual sacrifice I'm gonna expect all of those to be roleplaying options, if only for variety. If I can't I'll just be disappointed that I can only be a hero, a hero who makes jokes or a hero who's kind of a dick. I have to agree, if you're going to make a game set in the slave capital of Thedas, where Blood Magic is openly practiced (behind closed doors), it makes zero sense then not to give players the option to own a slave or use blood magic to create thralls.
You could have a slave given to the player as "a gift" or coming with a house "as part of the furniture". The player would still be a slave owner, but not by choice... but even then, whether or not we free the slave would be left to player discretion. Do you keep them on as a paid servant, or do you keep them a slave as before?
To make the decision less black and white, what if freeing them risked potentially offending the person who gave you the slave/house? What if your relationship with that patron might allow you to do more for slaves long-term or would better allow you to achieve other goals.
Is it better to free a single slave and condemn everyone else... or keep one person enslaved to help liberate others?
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∯ Oh Loredy...
455
0
26,664
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10,783
August 2016
gervaise21
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights
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Post by gervaise21 on Aug 22, 2019 8:35:40 GMT
I have to admit, the scenario you have just described sounds like the sort of challenge you might be presented with next game, particularly the last part about the political ramifications of taking the moral high ground in Tevinter. I would be happy with this because it would be down to you as an individual how you dealt with it and having potential drawbacks to your action if you freed the slave would be true to the setting without it in any way implying that Bioware or the player was endorsing slavery.
I am mindful of the fact that the writers already touched on this with Dorian's reaction to Solas when the latter suggested that if he was truly sorry about the actions of his ancestors towards the elves that he should free slaves of every race in the present. Dorian said, quite honestly, that he doubted this was possible, after which Solas responded: "Then how sorry are you?" At the time, of course, Dorian was an outcast with no political power in his homeland but now he is a Magister, even if he had become convinced the slavery was wrong, would he necessarily do any more than free his own slaves if it might impact on his ability to succeed in other areas of reform?
Dorian was presented as a hero in DAI, yet he defended the institution of slavery in his own country, so it would be odd if Bioware suddenly developed moral scruples about allowing the PC to adopt a similar standpoint now we are headed there.
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midnightwolf
N3
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion
Origin: BlackSassyWolf
XBL Gamertag: BlackSassyWolf
Posts: 947 Likes: 1,231
inherit
2174
0
1,231
midnightwolf
947
November 2016
midnightwolf
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion
BlackSassyWolf
BlackSassyWolf
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Post by midnightwolf on Aug 22, 2019 9:09:37 GMT
Kinda curious why you're assuming that someone wanting the option for their PC to own slaves in a game set in the capital of the slave trade means they would be butthurt if the game lacks that option, or that they're right-wingers. DA is a roleplaying series, if you're setting a roleplaying game in a place that's a giant hub of slavery, dark magic, demon summoning and ritual sacrifice I'm gonna expect all of those to be roleplaying options, if only for variety. If I can't I'll just be disappointed that I can only be a hero, a hero who makes jokes or a hero who's kind of a dick. I have to agree, if you're going to make a game set in the slave capital of Thedas, where Blood Magic is openly practiced (behind closed doors), it makes zero sense then not to give players the option to own a slave or use blood magic to create thralls.
You could have a slave given to the player as "a gift" or coming with a house "as part of the furniture". The player would still be a slave owner, but not by choice... but even then, whether or not we free the slave would be left to player discretion. Do you keep them on as a paid servant, or do you keep them a slave as before?
To make the decision less black and white, what if freeing them risked potentially offending the person who gave you the slave/house? What if your relationship with that patron might allow you to do more for slaves long-term or would better allow you to achieve other goals.
Is it better to free a single slave and condemn everyone else... or keep one person enslaved to help liberate others?
I agree with this. Also, I think some people here are forgetting that owning a Slave was possible in DA2, which was set in a place where Slavery is illegal. It would piss Fenris off Royally, but the option was there. NOT having such an option in Tevinter, would make even less sense in my opinion.
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coldsteelblue
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Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem
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Post by coldsteelblue on Aug 22, 2019 10:17:39 GMT
What's more important in a role-playing game? The ability to role-play, or the ability to play yourself? Are they equally important I feel the ability to role play the character that I have imagined in my mind is more important than being myself, although that character may be an idealised version of myself. The closest I got to playing myself was my first character in DAI who romanced Solas but that backfired on me badly when he walked out on me without an explanation of why, which was much too close to home (art imitating life) and very depressing. So I find it safer not to project myself too much onto the character I am role-playing so I don't take events personally. I generally play genuine heroes, with the odd morally neutral character thrown in for variety but never outright evil. However, I must admit that knowing that it is possible to play such a character actually makes me feel that my choices are that much more commendable, particularly if I do lose out in some way through not choosing the evil path. It makes the temptation real and resisting it a tangible challenge, so in keeping with the setting. For example, I seem to recall that if your mage wanted to learn blood magic in DAO, you could only do so if you sold Connor's soul to the demon in exchange for the knowledge. Consequently, I never had the option of using blood magic even if I didn't agree with the view of the Chantry concerning its use because I would never do that deal with the demon.
Specilizations in DA:O were not character specific, so you could have saved before the demon, unlocked blood magic & loaded up the old save again, I remember unlocking the Bard as a warrior & the Reaver as a rouge, once unlocked by ant character, they were there.
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Post by gervaise21 on Aug 22, 2019 17:04:18 GMT
Specilizations in DA:O were not character specific, so you could have saved before the demon, unlocked blood magic & loaded up the old save again, I remember unlocking the Bard as a warrior & the Reaver as a rouge, once unlocked by ant character, they were there Yes, I know you could cheat, but the fact was that if you played the game as it was intended then you could not have the blood magic spec without doing the deal with the demon. Then when you got to DAA I think you simply had to buy a book to unlock it, which was a bit of a cop out by the writers. DAO had situations where if you adopted the moral high ground, you were denied certain benefits and as I have said before I think that was true to the setting and the temptation that gaining a form of power unavailable to other people presented.
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