April 2, 2016 3:52 PM EDT
Discussion time! pffffffft. What to write about today? I dunno I didn't really have a topic in mind but I felt like writing and I have run dry of ideas for stories to write (I do enjoy writing quite a bit). I'm rambling now. Focus Callum; back on topic. ROLEPLAYING! We all enjoy roleplaying, don't we? I hope so.
So, my main gripe with Fallout 4 other than it NOT 'just working' was that it was a lot of shooting and not a lot of roleplaying for being a roleplaying game. I mean sure you could make your own character and decide what they done but there felt like a lack of choice.
"But Callum, you can choose what faction you want to work for and even spy on some factions for the others!" No! Stop. That was an illusion of choice as you probably know if you have played through the game at least twice, which I'm sure you all have, all the endings were the exact same except for one. But I'm talking about Fallout now, back to Elder Scrolls. So even in Skyrim which wasn't quite as 'dumbed down' (god I hate that phrase) as fallout was, there wasn't very much choice. Sure there was more than in Fallout but that's because it is much easier to make a character who feels unique to play in a setting with magic, swords and bows and all that good stuff but after a few characters, it was all the same. You would kill the dragons, join one or two guilds and either help or destroy the dark brotherhood with no option to have quest lines completely change. Oh let's not forget whether you joined the rebels or the uniform, organised military outfit both of which played the exact same. So to sum up this paragraph: don't be Fallout 4.
So hopefully this paragraph will be more on topic and less rambly. ES6 needs choice, the type of choice that defines characters and play-throughs, the kind that encourages you to play through the game multiple times to experience all it has to offer. The type of choice that makes you feel as if you shaped the world and the type of choice that allows for good, evil and morally grey characters.
Choice isn't the only part of roleplay we need, we need better dialogue that can cover a wide variety of choices and while we're on the topic of dialogue. NO VOICED PROTAGONISTS! As much as I think Brian Delaney and Courtenay Taylor did a great job, it doesn't suit. Especially if you're trying to play a character with a, well less straight moral compass when the actors provided quite happy responses. And there aren't even many dialogue options that make it easy to be rude/evil/whatever. A voiced protagonist isn't even viable in and game with so many races anyway.
If any of you are at all involved in the modding of Skyrim, you likely know what Frostfall and RNaD are. We need something like that added in by default, like in New Vegas or the New Survival mode in Fo4. Make me need to spend down time in towns, talking to NPC's, buying and selling, crafting and getting a feel for the world. Those were my favourite parts of Skyrim: the down time where you got to take a break from killing dragons and got to know the people of the world you were saving with their slightly racist ways and all.
In summary, I don't want a fantasy action game that wears the mask of an RPG but rather a game that makes me feel immersed in the world and gives me choice of how my character would deal with a situation and consequences to go along with those choices. A world that reacts to my actions and adapts accordingly and allows for different outcomes depending on what I do.