Character Backstory

In roleplaying games, I get to create my character, but of course some things about that character's background are going to be decided for me.  I might decide to play an elf, but that elf is going to be from Treetown, because that's where all the elves are from.  But did my character love or hate Treetown?  What did they do there?  Why did they leave?  That might (or might not) still be up to me.

As someone who likes to create lots of different characters for lots of different playthroughs, I've found there's an interesting middle ground to this.  Too specific a background is hobbling, but too vague and I have an equally difficult time coming up with a character.

For example, In Dragon Age II the player character always comes from the same place with the same family.  They might be a warrior or mage and might react entirely differently to things due to entirely different opinions, but I always have a hard time imagining lots of possibilities with such a singular background.  It's great that the game offers your character plenty of choices, but without the excuse of varied backstories, I've had a hard time coming up with many different characters to explore them all.

On the other end of the spectrum is Fallout:  New Vegas.  The player character is a courier and no further background is given (until expanded content, anyway, and not much then, as far as I understand.)  This leaves a ton of options for character backstories, as there are plenty of reasons for someone to become a courier.  However, I've found that I miss at least a little more background.  Without something more to go on it's difficult for me not to fall into the same old character ruts.

A good middle ground for me is something like Mass Effect.  Mass Effect offers two selections from three background events (so six total variations) for your character.  Yet these events are vague enough I could come up with hundreds of characters.  If my character grew up in the slums of Earth, are they a hardcore alien-hating gangster, or just curious about exploring the far regions of space?  Up to me, but at least I know where my character came from.

This is, of course, just my preference.  Perhaps you find the more details the merrier when it comes to your character's background, or maybe you hate the idea of anything else being imposed.  Or maybe you don't give a rip.  What do you think?

"Resonance" Review

Publisher:  xii games/Wadjet Eye Games

Genre:  Adventure

Summary:  A mysterious new technology, Resonance, appears to have caused death and destruction at a research lab and brings together a mathematician, doctor, cop, and reporter as they investigate.

Gameplay:  Puzzles of every sort abound in this game, some of which are pretty fun, but most are more mechanical than I prefer.  Additionally, some items end up in characters' long term memory and can be used in discussion and puzzles, and anything can be added to short-term memory for the same purpose.  Usually this meant I had to go back to someplace because I'd forgotten to add something to short-term memory.  This is a neat concept, but it didn't really feel like it lived up to its potential for unique problems or conversations.

There were also several puzzles involving getting the correct characters in the correct places to perform the correct actions.  There is also some variability in that multiple characters can perform multiple tasks, but this is another element that felt somewhat under-utilized.

Style:  The graphics didn't really stand out to me, though there were some nice moody moments via lighting and music.

Story:  I got this game expecting mysterious science hijinks.  New particle physics could be an excuse for time travel or alternate universes or superpowers.  Here it...causes explosions.  The plot is a fine technothriller, but it's not what I was hoping for.

As is not uncommon when there are several characters and story threads, I was more interested in one than the others.  Alas, this story wrapped up rather unsatisfactorily about two-thirds through the game in a twist I mostly saw coming.  So that was a bit of a downer as well.

The twist itself is rather good, however, and the main characters of the game were likable and well-written.  The villains, however, barely make an impression.  There are several choices at the end leading to different endings, which is a nice opportunity to in essence give player input on events (plus add a bit more replay ability.)

Conclusion:  Resonance is an interesting case where I largely disliked the game not because of poor quality but just personal preference.  There are a few plot elements I think could have been handled better, but it was mostly the endless mechanical puzzles and the duller than expected technothriller theme that dragged the game down for me.  Others might well enjoy the game more for these.