Things that made "companions" great!

[overlordrauz]

It wasn't the blindly follow you around like games such as dragon age 2 or any jrpg.

 

1. A good party member had depth he wasn't just with you. They had motives of their own be that they were using you the whole time or simply needed your help.

 

2. If they disagreed with something you did they ether left your party or there was repercussions from you doing that.

Ex. (spoilers).

- You slept with the drow chick well romancing aerie in Baldurs gate 2. Well guess what shes no longer a romancing option.

- In dragon age 1 if you had a certain character in your party and defile the ashes they leave your party forever and attack you making you have to kill them.

- Having a evil party member and doing good deeds and vice versa.

3. Having your companions and your self actually be who they are ie they are mortals not gods that can live forever. I am talking about dnd rules on baldurs gate. Where a well placed crit will kill your party member forever.

4. Lively banter between companions.

 

Also if your going to have romancable party member's don't just throw them in. If you want to put in homosexual and lesbian romances don't make it that a female could romance a gay guy and vice versa. It made no sense in dragon age 2.

 

No one wants companions that have down syndrome cant think for them selves and blindly follow you around they just feel like kids/pets following you around with no point of even existing.

 

Also I would love to see weapons based off of old weapons from bg2 and iwd 2 such as the talking sword or the 2 hander of beserking.

Now that I got that out of the way what are my fellow gamers looking forward to in Project Eternity?

[Starwars]

I mostly want companions to be strong and well-defined personalities. As you say, if you do something that is completely against their code of ethics, there should be consequences for that, to the point where they will leave or attempt to kill you. Don't make them drones for the player, make them have their own agendas.

 

All in all I trust Obsidian to write good characters. I don't care for romance though and banter is something that I could go either way on, don't care too much about it.

[HangedMan]

Companions that offer practical skills beyond combat abilities. Mind you, I don't want something like in New Vegas where you have veronica and Ed-e as portable crafting stations. More like... well, if one of your companions is a street thug, he should be able to pitch in and make your Intimidation better.

 

Something like "(While cracking knuckles) When the boss is angry, I'm angry. And you won't like what the both of us can do when we're right angry, savvy, boyo?" Which, you know, is actually a horrible idea on its own, but at least it gives some idea of what I'm talking about.

[Solivagant]

Companions that offer practical skills beyond combat abilities. Mind you, I don't want something like in New Vegas where you have veronica and Ed-e as portable crafting stations. More like... well, if one of your companions is a street thug, he should be able to pitch in and make your Intimidation better.

 

Something like "(While cracking knuckles) When the boss is angry, I'm angry. And you won't like what the both of us can do when we're right angry, savvy, boyo?" Which, you know, is actually a horrible idea on its own, but at least it gives some idea of what I'm talking about.

 

Storm over Zehir had something like that didn't it? I loved the use of everyone's skills. It was a lovely game.

[Chaz]

Voice Acting, I guess.

 

Characters like Kreia, Ammon Jerro, Boone or Veronica would not have been the same if they weren't voiced.

[hideo kuze]

IMO what makes them great is a well defined personality that reflects throughout the game, in the small things (like a funny joke or taunt every now and then), and the big things (which cause situations of conflict and you have to decide and then deal with the repercussions).

 

This makes the whole adventure more fun, instead of simply exploring the world with a bunch of body bags that never say or react to anything.

 

It is also interesting for them to have their own story and agenda which can open new content in the game.

[hideo kuze]

Voice Acting, I guess.

 

Characters like Kreia, Ammon Jerro, Boone or Veronica would not have been the same if they weren't voiced.

 

Full voice acting kills what RPGs are all about. It forces streamlining (removing possibilities of interaction) and gets expensive as hell, especially in a game with lots of text.

 

However I'm all up for voice characterization (introductory lines, a few tidbits here and there, and critical moments that require dramatization).

I believe that to be important when trying to depict a character.

[dknight99]

Well I think one of the most well known companion has to be Minsc and Boo, it could have been stupid but Misnc was just so endearing. His banter was hiliarious but he's not stupid. When facing a dragon and being underlevel he knew to tell us that we may need bigger swords!

[Oerwinde]

Minscs line about not stowing thrones in grass houses wouldn't have been nearly as funny without a voice reference.

[Chaz]

Voice Acting, I guess.

 

Characters like Kreia, Ammon Jerro, Boone or Veronica would not have been the same if they weren't voiced.

 

Full voice acting kills what RPGs are all about.

 

lolwut? Voiceover have been part of video games ince the 90s before it became a multi billion dollar company

[Yst]

Companions who are thoughtfully critical are a glorious addition to any game narrative, particularly given how rare they are. Obsidian, Black Isle and Troika created some great examples, mind you. Kreia was a really fantastic example.

 

Nothing pleases me more than an unstraightforward and unheroic character who compels me to say "hmm, maybe she has a point" and causes me to evaluate my position in light of her contrasting input.

 

One is far less likely to do this with conventional character types, whom one knows will simply assume a good, evil, chaotic, lawful, etc., position. Mind you, when a character whom we at first evaluate as "evil" or otherwise unheroic challenges us to identify with them, that as well can be very interesting. So this is not to say that everything need be shades of grey. Only that we are more likely to take emotions lent of what seems to be human insight more seriously than the typecast emotions of a standard alignment.

[Oerwinde]

The IE games did voice acting right. Enough to add drama and character without taking away from what was doable.

[Eiphel]

I felt like one strength of Dragon Age was the way it created inter-party dynamics. No objective morality, but each character had their own individual ethics. Sometimes they'd all agree, sometimes they'd be in sharp conflict. You could never please everyone all of the time, and occaisionally an unexpected reaction would shed light on some minor unique facet of a character. On top of that there were a bunch of randomly occuring dialogues in which members of your party would talk amongst themselves. I believe these existed for every companion pairing. Overhearing these offered new insights in a way that wasn't focussed entirely on interaction with the player for once, and helped demonstrate where each character's philosophy married up or differed.

[NateOwns]

I want well thought out quests for each companion. Quests that will fully flesh out the back story of each companion, improve them in some way, and add a good amount of extra play time.

[HangedMan]

Storm over Zehir had something like that didn't it? I loved the use of everyone's skills. It was a lovely game.

Precisely! This is exactly what I was thinking of.

[GhostofAnakin]

I want well thought out quests for each companion. Quests that will fully flesh out the back story of each companion, improve them in some way, and add a good amount of extra play time.

 

Agreed. It gives the player a deeper understanding of that companion, shedding light on their background and motivations and, if done right, can be the perfect hook for why that companion is following the PC -- or why the PC would want that specific companion following him/her.

[overlordrauz]

Thank you all for posting on my topic.

 

I personally think they should do the baldur's gate 2 route. Which is voice acting at major moments where voice adds to the story and makes you love the characters even more.

 

biggest thing I want them to do is make compelling romances like baldurs gate 2.

[Longknife]

I liked that Boone bitched at me with a tone that said "I'm restraining myself from kicking your ass" when you took his beret. Or that Veronica squealed like a little girl if I put a dress in her inventory.

 

Little things like that give companions personality and the interactivity of the world helps immersion.

[HangedMan]

Thank you all for posting on my topic.

 

I personally think they should do the baldur's gate 2 route. Which is voice acting at major moments where voice adds to the story and makes you love the characters even more.

 

biggest thing I want them to do is make compelling romances like baldurs gate 2.

 

I think some voice acting for combat, and at key points in the story, as you mentioned, would be the best course.

 

I think a fully voice-over'd game would actually be pretty boring. Not to mention, it'd get to be pretty expensive (or you'd see a lot of conversations cut short).

[overlordrauz]

Thank you all for posting on my topic.

 

I personally think they should do the baldur's gate 2 route. Which is voice acting at major moments where voice adds to the story and makes you love the characters even more.

 

biggest thing I want them to do is make compelling romances like baldurs gate 2.

 

I think some voice acting for combat, and at key points in the story, as you mentioned, would be the best course.

 

I think a fully voice-over'd game would actually be pretty boring. Not to mention, it'd get to be pretty expensive (or you'd see a lot of conversations cut short).

 

Yes making it fully voiced would just cut the content as a whole give us key moments that are voiced.

[Bos_hybrid]

Too me the most memorable characters are the strong ones, the ones that know who they are, and aren't bent to the PC will. And if I have to wear a Dr Phil hat to interact with a character, I'm leaving them behind, or killing them if possible.

 

Voice Acting, I guess.

 

Characters like Kreia, Ammon Jerro, Boone or Veronica would not have been the same if they weren't voiced.

 

Full voice acting kills what RPGs are all about.

 

lolwut? Voiceover have been part of video games ince the 90s before it became a multi billion dollar company

 

Full voice over is a major drain on resources, and quite frankly unnecessary.

 

However I'm all up for voice characterization (introductory lines, a few tidbits here and there, and critical moments that require dramatization).

 

That is more than enough.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Bos_hybrid

[DYWYPI]

I think a fully voice-over'd game would actually be pretty boring. Not to mention, it'd get to be pretty expensive (or you'd see a lot of conversations cut short).

 

They definitely are, simply because not all dialogue is worthy of a voice-over. Every barkeep who gets interrogated doesn't need his infodump fully-voiced and five times slower to listen to than to read. A simple "My inn's as clean as an elven arse!" when I initiate conversation is all that he needs. Far from being merely unnecessary, it actually detracts from my interest in the conversation.

 

Just look at tabletop games. Sometimes the DM will put on an accent, drag out props, put on some music, the full works. Sometimes he'll just say "The barkeep tells you that goblins have been sighted on the northern edges of town".

 

And of course, that's not even considering other factors, like cost and the effect it has on the developer's ability to be flexible.

[Thraxen]

I want to see characters interact with each other during important events. Taking an example from DA2 *spoilers*: When Anders blows up the Chantry and all the party members pretty much stand around and voice their feelings on the matter one at a time. Pretty much listing off if/why they'll be coming with you or not. They hardly ever talk to each other or discuss between themselves about it, because apparently your character is the centre of the entire universe and only your opinion matters. This all happens right in front of the still burning Chantry too. I'm not even sure if they checked for survivors.

 

Basically, I'd like to see companions be able to influence each other, as well as be influenced by the PC. It'd certainly make them seem a lot more real.

[Rink]

Voice-over in important/emotional situations of main story is enough for me as well.

 

I also like to see Companions discuss with each other and the main char with important events or events that are important to them because of their character/race/past.

But I also like them talking to each other and me while just walking, showing their character and sharing their past, showing interest in each other or picking a fight (like in bg2- it was a lot of fun how in the middle of a random quest the Companions started to talk to each other and we had just a minor possibility to influence the conversation - the companions had their own head and agenda). Same for romances, it was fun to wait for the next step in a romance and not knowing exactly when this step will come because it didn't only depend on main story.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Rink

[metiman]

I can't believe anyone can actually play through DA:O, let alone DA2. It's about as much fun as watching paint dry. You guys must get really bored. Also, giving examples from those games as if you expected the rest of us to have played them is silly. If we liked games like that we wouldn't be here. Also minsc and boo were great characters...if you are like 5 years old. Nearly all the writing in BG2 and every other Bioware game ever made is/was laughably bad. Much of it seemed like it was written by and for preteens. I've played a lot of cRPGs over the years, and I haven't found many with worse dialogue or so called voice acting. BG2 is one of my favorite cRPGs of all time mostly because of the combat dynamics. Not because of the wriiting. If only Avellone had visited Canada more often to set them straight, but I guess he was pretty busy at the time writing his own masterpieces. If you want to talk about good companions you're pretty much stuck talking about PS:T or some other game where the writing was done by Avellone and other members of Team Torment. That's what I thought this thread was going to be about. This game is going to be modeled after IE games and mostly ones from Black Isle. Why not just accept that it's not going to be Dragon Age 3. Your already getting that. Maybe they'll even throw in an 'awesome' button if you're lucky. It sounds like you guys could use one of those.