Kibokin

Companions are so important for a memorable RPG, but IMO many games in the past concentrated too much on creating detailed followers, making the companions and their stories more important than the PC and his story. Giving companions a complex personality, long backround story, lots of text to speak, and their own quest: all this can be in vain, if there is no bond between the PC and the companion. IMO Neverwinter Nights is an example of how this can go wrong, where the companions had excessive, well written backround storys, and they were eager to explain their past to the PC. But this is all that happened in the dialogues, they told you their story, and you just listened and clicked on continue... there was very few interaction, and the companions had no interest whatsoever in the PC and his story. But interaction in dialoge, mutal interest, is the key to create a bond between the companion and the PC. If you meet a guy, and all he ever does is talk about himself, would you like this person? Would you want to have him around? I believe that if you want the player to really care for a follower, you'll need to make the follower care about the PC first. Let the follower be interested in the PC and his story, make him ask questions like: why are you doing all this; do you like cake... Questions of personal nature can give the player the impression that the follower is curious about the PC, and appreciates his opinions and views. This is how an initial, basic relationship can be established, which can grow into more. Once this happened, the player will probably love to listen to the followers backround story, and help him out in a personal quest. Anyway i think PE is on a good way with the companions. Sorry for my poor English, i hope the text makes sense.