[BLOG] Quest Log: Characterization and Customization

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Shaderrow
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[BLOG] Quest Log: Characterization and Customization

Postby Shaderrow » Fri Jan 17, 2014 5:12 pm

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At the beginning of every year I have this list of games that I missed last year and sorely need to get round to playing. The most prominent game to me on the 2013 list is undoubtedly Saints Row 4, the final installment in a series I've grown rather fond of in the past few years.

One of the most interesting things about the Saints Row series to me is just how along for the ride I was for it's entire duration. The character I created in Saints Row (generally known as The Boss) is a complete lunatic to be sure, but I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't grown fond of the mad bastard. And really the main reason I'm anxious to get around to Saints Row 4 is to see his character arch finally come to a close.

He is the shining example of why I like the series, Saints Row is a near perfect middleground between having a customisable character and still managing to have one with meaningful characterization. Saints Row just  doesn't care about your ethnicity, weight, sexuality or gender, it is just hellbent on making sure your enjoying yourself for the duration of it's story.

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On the flip-side of this lies Dragon Age, a game that is near and dear to me, but I one where I really have a hard time caring about the character I'm controlling. The thing that harms Dragon Age's portrayal of it's protagonist is the fact that it relies to much on your input to characterize the character. Every choice, every action, every line of dialog is yours to choose and results in your character having no personality at all.

Characters we control like this have the big drawback of being completely unable to surprise us. Commander Shepard also represents a great middle ground, as you have a lot of input on his/her appearance and characteristics, but when s/he takes his/her own initiative without player input, it gives a lot of depth to the character. Like the moment you give him/her the instruction to wave of a reporter, and s/he ends up smacking the journalist in the face.

To bring it back to Saints Row, The Boss always finds ways to surprise me throughout the series. Once I'd chosen his style and voice, he was completely let loose from my control and left to his own devices. But because I, the player had a large role in creating this maniac, there is a real sense of investment present, a greater sense of ownership over the character and his actions.

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This series, which started out as a heavily GTA influenced title found it's identity with The Boss in the second game. Anyone who has seen Saints Row 2 to completion will know just how much of a morally reprehensible maniac The Boss became near the end of that game. The Boss is the everyman's hero, he/she is a faceless void that players are free to fill with any appearance and voice they wish. And if you're not happy with the end result a new character is as far away as the nearest plastic surgeon.

Saints Row understands what it means to be inclusive. The fantasy and wish fulfillment it offers has zero barrier to entry and accommodates whoever you are or wish you were. It's a series that really does highlight how noninclusive other series can be. Assassin's Creed in particular is a series that I find to be very guilty of this. While I really do like Edward and Ezio (we don't talk about Conner around here) , there is little reason in this series's mythology as to why we can't choose something as simple as our character's gender. It comes to me as a surprise that the option isn't there as the story/concept of Assassin's Creed supports it really well. The same applies to a lot of other series, most notably (to me at least) inFamous and Grand Theft Auto.

So yea, seeing how The Boss's story will end is something I'm looking forward to. That is something I've never been able to say about a character I've had so much influence over. The Boss has a character outside of me, yet I can't see him in anyone else's game. He/She is a character of a thousand faces, yet instantly recognizable as the star of Saints Row. If your someone who's interested in writing games, look at Saints Row, look at how it juggles, customization and exclusivity with ease and still manages to have a character that is it's own and would fit nowhere else but Steelport.

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