What? I wanna be a girl

[babydol]

Sorry if this has already been discussed here, but I'm new to this thread. I saw the stuff on xbox live and I'm sad to see that although we'll be able to fiddle with stats and class at character creation, you're basically 1 set dude. I'm disappointed, really. RPGs are funner for me (and more immersive) if I can be female. It affects lots of stuff, appearence (abviously) but also romance and stuff later in the game.

[Morgoth]

It would be even more immersive (!) if I could play a GoGo Yubari Undercover princess.

 

That would seriously rock!

[babydol]

:/ Wow. Thanks for making fun of me. Glad to see nothing's changed around here.

[Pidesco]

This is just one game. I'm guessing Obsidian felt a male character would work better, considering the setting and plot.

 

 

You can always wait for Aliens which will doubtlessly feature prominent main female characters.

 

 

 

And don't mind Morgoth. I'm sure he meant no harm.

[babydol]

Oh, I know, I totally can't wait to play Aliens. This is just... different than the other Obsidian RPGs I've played. Not much customization, it seems.

[SteveThaiBinh]

Customisation is a good thing, and I wish there were an option to play a female character. However, if Obsidian are going to remove that option, fine, they'll just have to make up for it in other areas - like story and characterisation of NPCs, for example.

[fastpunk]

Oh, I know, I totally can't wait to play Aliens. This is just... different than the other Obsidian RPGs I've played. Not much customization, it seems.

 

Hopefully, what it lacks in customization (although 10 skills and an array of visual 'upgrades' that also benefit gameplay isn't bad) it will make up in play styles: going about missions in different ways, taking different stances during dialogs that actually lead to different outcomes etc. In the end, this might be worth more than any initial customization options.

[Slowtrain]

To be fair though, one couldn't play NOLF as a guy.

 

Although I personally think allowing a player character to be of either sex is a pretty good thing to do, simply because it allows gamers to feel more attached to said character, if a developer has a strong sense of who they want the main character to be (as in NOLF), then I think it's OK to remove some of the player options for customizing a character.

 

edit: As an example in the other direction, I don't think allowing Alex Denton to be either male or female in Invisible War added anything whatsoever to that game, so in that case I would say why bother. Of course, I woudl also wonder why anybody bothered makign INvisible War in the first place, so perhaps the question is moot. :/

Edited January 6, 2009 by CrashGirl

[H]

You could always roleplay Sweet Polly Oliver, a brave young girl who disguised herself as a man to become a part of a male-dominated black ops agency. You can find some inspiration

.

 

EDIT: Broken link.

Edited January 7, 2009 by H

[Diogo Ribeiro]

I'm sure that in his line of duty, the lead character will need to perform dangerous missions which include cross-dressing.

 

To save a female agent from a destitute pimp king.

 

Who can't tell a woman from a ladyboy.

 

A ladyboy who goes out on a date with jailbait.

 

Or something along those lines.

 

I'm sure there's something in there for everyone.

[Humodour]

I, too, wanna be a girl.

[blankers]

I don't want to be a girl but not being able to customize my character even a little bit is pretty annoying. I'll get over it though, didn't stop me from enjoying The Witcher. Maybe for the sequels we'll get to make our own agents/witchers. Fingers crossed.

[Moatilliatta]

To be fair though, one couldn't play NOLF as a guy.

NOLF was an action game though and the point wasn't to be able to roleplay the character.

 

Choosing the appearance of the PC doesn't add anything either but is generally accepted as almost mandatory in the western RPG tradition.

[Pidesco]

To be fair though, one couldn't play NOLF as a guy.

NOLF was an action game though and the point wasn't to be able to roleplay the character.

 

Choosing the appearance of the PC doesn't add anything either but is generally accepted as almost mandatory in the western RPG tradition.

 

There was some minor roleplaying in NOLF, in the Deus Ex sense, where some missions had more than one way to be completed.

[Humodour]

Choosing the appearance of the PC doesn't add anything either but is generally accepted as almost mandatory in the western RPG tradition.

 

As somebody said earlier, it actually does - it helps you immerse yourself in the character (and thus play the role more comfortably and realistically, at least for me).

 

But that's with choice in mind. As in "more choice means more roles available to the player to follow" but sometimes devs don't want choice, they want to enforce a certain role or roles (e.g. Planescape: Torment, or Deus Ex). In this sense, FPS games are still roleplaying games, they just lack the ability for you to dictate the role you play. I would say that generally disqualifies them as RPGs though - that term basically necessitates some level of choice in the role you play, which Torment and Deus Ex still offered.

[Moatilliatta]

I'm actually not even sure where I was going with that line.

 

@Piddy

Wasn't that more in the vein of choice rather than actual roleplaying? The reasons why Deus Ex should be billed as a RPG goes deeper than mere choice in the execution of missions.

[Pidesco]

Well, yes. That's why I said minor.

[Moatilliatta]

Minor roleplaying? Isn't that a bit like minorly riding a bike?

 

Will I only get minorly banned if I only spam in a minor way?.. Yeah, I'll stop now.

[Humodour]

Minor roleplaying? Isn't that a bit like minorly riding a bike?

 

Will I only get minorly banned if I only spam in a minor way?.. Yeah, I'll stop now.

 

He was talking about NOLF, not Deus Ex, but I minorly agree.

 

I personally consider NOLF enough RPG to classify as an RPG-FPS hybrid. On the other end of the scale is System Shock 2, which I also classify as an FPS-RPG hybrid, but for different reasons (more stat and combat choice than role-playing choice).

 

You can definitely say that Deus Ex is more of an RPG in both senses, though - combat/stat choice AND role-playing choice, and thus relative to Deus Ex, NOLF's role-playing was more minor.

 

But then, take the Diablos. By the above logic, they are no more RPGs than System Shock 2 was. I personally think that makes a lot of sense, and I'd classify them both as RPGs, but others will disagree.

[Morgoth]

System Shock 2 was a FPS with many stats.

Deus Ex was a FPS with decent stats.

NOLF 2 was a FPS with minor stats.

 

There was no Roleplaying, in none of the three.

[Humodour]

System Shock 2 was a FPS with many stats.

Deus Ex was a FPS with decent stats.

NOLF 2 was a FPS with minor stats.

 

There was no Roleplaying, in none of the three.

 

Nah, that's an excessively simplistic view of things.

Edited January 9, 2009 by Krezack

[Morgoth]

Neither of these games had multiple choice conversations with skill checks. Deus Ex did have some MC options, but that was all about buying ammo, darts or pepper spray.

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Chess in an RPG because I can act like a queen and end the game in multiple ways.

[Morgoth]

Halo is an RPG because I can assume the role as the Master Chief!

[Humodour]

Neither of these games had multiple choice conversations with skill checks.

 

You honestly think skill checks in conversation is what constitutes an RPG?