Tell me about your character... in any other MMO.

[Tiresias]

And by "your character" I don't mean how YOU acted, I mean how your CHARACTER interacted with the world and its inhabitants.

 

I can't tell you much of anything at all about my World of Warcraft character. No voice, no personality, no choice.

 

I can tell you that my Champions Online character had a nice hideout with flying books and fancy statues. He had guests over from time to time, so this choice was somewhat relevant.

 

I can tell you that my FFXI character enjoyed growing plants. I guess that's not really interacting with the world since nobody could visit my house.

 

I can't tell you a darn thing about my EVE Online character since he was nothing but a picture for the entirety of my year in that game.

 

I can tell you that my SWTOR Consular is contemplative and peaceful. He abhors violence and always seeks a peaceful solution to conflict. He believes nobody is beyond redemption, even the most fallen of his foes. He refuses to allow other to suffer, either through action or inaction. He is calm and rational even when the situation is falling apart around him. He has a weakness for pretty women, a flaw that has gotten him into trouble a few times.

 

I didn't have to make any of that up. All that has been brought forth through my choices in the game world throughout the course of my adventures. It also makes my Consular a decidedly different character from my Knight, who is very quick to action and does not believe in letting dangerous enemies who have wrecked havoc and injustice live. This dissimilarity have led to quite a different play experience, especially in Flashpoints and group quests.

 

People on this forum often ask "What new innovation has SWTOR introduced?" The answer is thus: personal investment in your character. The chance to do more than just build a paper doll in purple-named clothing, but to craft a personality and play an active part in a story.

 

For some people this isn't important. Many of these same people also profess to "spacebar" through cutscenes. I would argue that SWTOR is perhaps not the ideal game for them. But for those of us who care about such things and enjoy getting personally invested in their characters we find the development system in SWTOR to be long overdue.

[WonderLlama-Con]

All my characters are generally fat, short, and like to get as inebriated as possible.

 

My Jedi Knight is no exception. The only difference between him in this game, and his many incarnations in other games, is that this time I could make his skin Green.

 

(And by inebriated, I don't necessarily mean alcohol.)

Edited January 6, 2012 by WonderLlama-Con

[Skizzik]

He was full of power! He was full of pride! He was a badas' Motha' who didn't take no crap from nobody!

[elenas]

I guess those who do not enjoy this gamestyle will move away from the game and those who do will gravitate towards it. If there are enough who enjoy this game subscribe, it will be a success. We dont all need to be playing the same type of game in the same way as we dont all enjoy watching the same films, following the same sports, and listening to the same music.

 

I agree with the OP, and so far I like the game so I will be staying. When I no longer enjoy playing it, I will leave. Simple.

Edited January 6, 2012 by elenas

[VicSkimmr]

he/she was a generic hero helping peons with their day to day chores. occasionally he would find a dungeon to go kill things in.

[rylixav]

I know plenty of roleplayers who can tell you all about their character in WoW, Rift, Everquest, <insert fantasy MMO here>. They have been able to "craft a personality and play an active part in a story" since long before TOR. Yes TOR is voice acted, but people who really care about their characters' stories can have similar experiences in lots of MMOs. Edited January 6, 2012 by rylixav

[elvinu]

for this you have rp servers.

 

for me personally i dont give a dime. just press space bar (here) or level a toon to do as much pvp/arena as i can (in others).

 

if you ask me what is sith assassin all bout i have no clue.

[Meldwyn]

Mine has done/does menial tasks for lackies of the Republic/Alliance/generic group and other NPC's who happen to need me to take something to someone that is just a few feet away from them. Occasionally I will group with other "heroes" and we will kill things that have a nasty tendency to come back (respawn) after a short amount of time...

[Slightlycampana]

When I first started playing MMOs I couldn't help imagining what my characters were like. Although I didn't roleplay, I did have some idea of their personalities and backgrounds.

 

As I graduated away from theme-parks to sandbox-style MMOs my characters became me. The friendships, enemies, rivalries and adventures were mostly player-driven and player-created, not provided by the devs.

 

I enjoyed reading your OP, though, because I think that's what Bioware set out to deliver. In many other theme-park MMOs you have to roleplay over the top of the actual game, whereas in SWTOR you are roleplaying purely by following your character questline.

 

I always think a game that causes you to roleplay simply by engaging with the game mechanics is better than one where you have to create roleplay for yourself in spite of the game, rather than because of it.