NaturalEnclave
Member
- Nov 24, 2020
- 111
- 361
Just to make it clear - everything you said is 100% correct and not something I disagree with. My main point is mostly that using OCs and focusing on their development wouldn't be a massive problem IF the game's writing was good. And, naturally, good writing DOES involve a decent amount of player agency and not making almost every single character as perfect as possible, otherwise you end up with a shitshow where MC is just a random nobody who is tagging along with Mary Sues.Snip
The only difference between "a character" and "an original character" is an implied connotation of weird obsession the creator has towards their character. This obsession, sometimes, is actually a good thing, because it allows the writer/designer to really go unhinged and passionate when making anything. I.e - any artist who has a specific OC they draw amazing porn with because they like their character that much. Theoretically, this amount of love and passion for one's character (in videogame writing) would result in very hot sex scenes that really sell the character to the player... as long as the writer realizes how to do it. Sadly, it's not the case for CoC2.
Just to make sure we aren't arguing over a misunderstood term, what I refer to as "character focus" are games where the player character serves primarily as a vehicle for the player to observe and interact with the world around them. A few pages ago, I compared CoC2 to a gacha game - both are designed around the player interacting with cool and interesting characters and, due to the self-insert nature of the protagonist, put way more focus on those characters because that's the main way to have engaging narrative with character arcs and progression. That's what I refer to as character focus.That is a hot take.
Since we're not specifically talking about CoC2. Most games, even ones where you're not the chosen one/hero or even succeed in your quest, still revolve around the player and their actions. Even if they're completely overshadowed narratively the game still centers around their experience and actions. As without that, they've got no business being the person the story revolves around without pretty good ability on the writers part.
There are many many games where the story is literally happening off screen or has already happened where your actions still matter to your particular story.
Without going too off topic, I have played... a considerable amount of RPGs. I can list the ones where the story doesn't revolve around the player even when they have a larger side character focus on one hand.
You can absolutely break the mold. But you better be pretty flippin' good at your craft. There's a reason why most games don't even attempt to lean in that direction.
Now, gacha games aren't RPGs (by classic definition) and it's hard to pretend like this way of writing works for everything. Even in those - while characters are the ones who are shining the most, player is still rather important to the plot and, the ones I've played, make it absolutely clear why they are the protagonist. I assume this is why CoC2 fails. Your souls is special, but this isn't a power-fantasy. The game is filled with powerful, god-like characters who aren't doing anything for you or the main threat. Companions take away most of the screen time, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but sadly this comes at the cost of player having practically no agency (sometimes there isn't even an illusion of choice).
I don't think the games have to revolve around the player's choices or actions, per say, rather, they have to revolve around the player's experience or journey. Some stories require a specific mindset to really get into and the enjoyment of the story often depends on how well the writing allows you to slip into that mindset. If a game lets me indulge in every detail about my character and offers me a lot of choice - it's easy to slip in. If the game establishes me as a specific individual with a specific role - I am more than able to accept, for example, not being the center of attention and not the only one who drives the story forward. CoC2 seems like like... create your own character and then have little ways of shaping who they are and watch how other characters deal with their problems that really didn't require you to be there in the first place.