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.

"A New Beginning" Rant

As promised, here's a bit of a rant about things that bothered me in "A New Beginning."  Don't read on unless you've played it and/or don't mind spoilers and complaining about nitpicky game details.

So the big twist in the game is that Fay and her future time travelers are actually planning to perpetuate the nuclear meltdown that Fay told Bent was the cause of the future's environmental destruction.  That itself is a fine swerve and well enough foreshadowed, but there's some issues in the structure of it all.

Mostly, what does this mean for Fay's character?  We first get to know her through the first couple chapters of the game, which she narrates to Bent.  So how much of that really happened?  (And why did it include so many annoying puzzles?)  If she's trying to play up Bent's technology and downplay nuclear power, why is the time travel transport clearly nuclear-powered in the flashback?  It's clear at the end of the game that Fay disagrees with her fellow time traveler's plan, but when did she change her mind?  Did she always go into this preferring to promote Bent, or was she swayed over the course of the game?  It's frustrating to me not to know, especially when all this learned just at the end of the game.

I'm also a bit disappointed at nuclear power as the "evil" technology.  It's a tiresome cliche.  And I'm a bit baffled by the game being set in the eighties.  I don't have anything against the eighties, but the fact that Bent is working on his technology back then and we don't have it today doesn't exactly bode well.  I'm not sure that was really thought through.

Spoilers Within

All that said, it was still a fun and intriguing game and these are in the end minor quibbles.

My Gaming History

I remember friends with Nintendo and Genesis.  Hanging out after school with Brittney I'd explore the Mushroom Kingdom or fail to shoot that mocking dog in Duck Hunt.  I'd always play Tails to Chris's Sonic.  Even my orthodontist's office had a game of Aladdin to play while I waited.

But at home was the computer, with DOS and Windows 3.1.  This was the game setup of my childhood and so games have always been entwined with computers in my mind.  There was Duke Nukem (sidescrolling, not 3D), Wolfenstein 3D, Pinball...

Then there was the day my father and I went to get a rotisserie chicken at Costco.  I wandered over to look at the games as usual, and the was a compilation of all four (at that time) Quest for Glory games for sixteen dollars.  Somewhat to my surprise, my father agreed to buy it.

Thus I was simultaneously inducted into the worlds of roleplaying and adventure games.  Over the next years I ended up exploring much of the Sierra "quest" oeuvre.  These, and the occasional other adventure game, are my childhood gaming memories.

As for roleplaying games, my next step there came with Bioware and Baldur's Gate, and I haven't left Bioware yet.  Despite the changes over the years, I've yet always found in Bioware games that allow me to play multiple characters and tell their stories to a degree I can't find anywhere else.

My explorations of Baldur's Gate didn't truly expand until college (I think I got stuck at the top of the Iron Throne tower until after high school graduation) but I've loved almost every Bioware game since then (Neverwinter Nights being the sole exception.  I've never played it.)  I've explored Obsidian and the vast landscapes of Bethsaida and enjoyed them, but not to the same level.

Another big impact game came with a spur-of-the-moment purchase on a trip to Target with my friends in college.  I happened to browse the computer games and spot The Longest Journey for ten dollars.  Having read good reviews of it, I decided what the hey.  It's been a long (and still continuing) journey indeed exploring the mysteries of those worlds.

So the adventures and exploration continue.  My preferences keep me from being too swamped, but thankfully I like to replay.  And there are old games yet to discover, and new ones made every day.

"A New Beginning" Review

Publisher:  Daedalic Entertainment

Genre:  Adventure

Summary:  Bent is a burnt-out scientist.  Fay is a time traveler from the future who insists his research could prevent the polluted, hopeless world she comes from.  Together can they figure their way through evil schemes and possible paradoxes to save the world?

Gameplay:  As is admittedly usual for me, I was mostly lost when it came to the puzzles.  Fortunately, there is a uhs-hints.com file, so I could look up solutions as needed.

Mechanically, most interaction is accomplished via left-clicking, with holding the button down bringing up multiple options.  I mention this because several times I would forget and right-click (which opens the inventory.)

Also, this is not a game originally in English (as you might infer from the fact that there is a protagonist named "Bent"), but I still thought the voice acting was good.  There were a couple times the subtitles didn't match (including even a few times they didn't match the actual dialogue balloons during cutscene panels) and some bugged moments when the interaction wheel descriptions popped up in Cyrillic for some reason.

Style:  I absolutely adored the comic book style animation, which includes cutscenes as paneled pages.  The colors are vibrant and the designs stand out.  It really gives the game a memorable look and feel.  Between the animation and the environmental theme, I was fondly reminded of Captain Planet.  It helps that the past portion of the game is set in the eighties', although it took some time before that was clear to me (leaving me very confused at the use of video tapes at certain points.)  

Story:  Overall, I liked the characters and story, especially the time travel and dystopian polluted future bits.  There's a twist near the end, however, that confused me and somewhat weakened the game overall for me.  (I'll discuss it further in a spoiler post.)  Still, it was an interesting journey with memorable moments and characters that was worth taking.

Introduction

Welcome to Electric Adventures, where I talk about computer games a lot.  I'll be making lists, reviewing games, and posting my thoughts about various elements of game design.  My review format is as follows:

Publisher:  Who made this game?

Genre:  By this I mean whether the game type is adventure or strategy or visual novel/first-person shooter mash-up, not whether the game's story involves cyberpunk or Regency romance.

Summary:  Here's where I briefly summarize the game (and you can probably get an idea whether it's cyberpunk or Regency romance.)  No spoilers, unless you consider a general idea of what the game is about a spoiler.

Gameplay:  Here I discuss the "game" part of the game--elements that require some sort of skill.  This might for example be simulated combat, or puzzles, or both.

Style:  This covers graphics, music, lighting, menus:  the game's design and overall look.  Does it all work as part of coherent whole?  Is some part of it really neat and worth discussing?

Story:  So that story summarized above, is it well told?  How is the pacing?  Anything particularly interesting happen?  How are the characters?

The majority of my experience is with adventure and roleplaying games, as I'll detail in an upcoming post about my gaming history.  Therefore most of my reviews and references will be to games of those genres.