RPG stories: Do you want to be the "chosen one" and save the world?

[ZedClampet]

I've seen more and more people critical of the chosen one saving the world stories, but I have to admit that I don't think I can get tired of them. I like being the chosen one. I like saving the world. I can enjoy being medium okra with medium okra problems (someone on another board thought "mediocre" was "medium okra"), but I do love the chosen one stories.

What's your take?

Shout out to @mainer our resident RPG expert.

 

[Frindis]

To be honest, I'm a little tired of the "You are the ONLY one who can save us" story. I'm more for just being a normal guy (like Freeman from Half-Life) who just have to do the best he can. Something like Disco Elysium is particularly Interesting because you can really go in any direction you want. I don't really want to be special from the get-go, I want that to be earned. Maybe the most perfect example of this is from my time in Dying Light. You really start out as a scrub (even if you are an agent of some sort) and have to slowly raise your skill level, getting perks and feeling more badass as you go on. It feels more real, without having insane grinds as you'll have in games like Runescape and the such before you feel like you are badass.

 

[ZedClampet]

Something like Disco Elysium is particularly Interesting

I'm that one person who couldn't get into Disco Elysium. Due to real life experiences, I abhor alcoholics, and the main character was just beyond disgusting to me. There was just no way I was going to role play as that guy.

 

[Frindis]

@ZedClampet Definitely understandable, he is a hard pill to swallow at times even without having similar experiences. It is quite similar to Planescape: Torment in that fashion. While both have obviously a lot of text you have to read, both also have a protagonist who has really hit rock bottom, with The Nameless One protagonist in Torment not really showing the bad side from the get-go, but oooooh boy does that unveil as you go on.

 

[Colif]

its a bit much in wow where everyone is playing that story line...

heroes journey.

not all of us want to be the hero all the time. Most games are power fantasies so not being more powerful at end is rare. People expect to fight the big baddie at the end and I find it monotonous.

 

[mainer]

I've seen more and more people critical of the chosen one saving the world stories, but I have to admit that I don't think I can get tired of them. I like being the chosen one. I like saving the world.

Love the post @ZedClampet ! Rising from obscurity to save the world as I build my character never, ever, gets old for me. Whether it's becoming the Nerevarine in Morrowind, the Dragonborn in Skyrim, the Warden rising through the ranks in Dragon Age Origins to defeat the Arch Demon, Commander Shepard defeating the Reapers, or the Avatar in the Ultima games, I love them all, and I love that type of game scenario and story.

My feelings on this relate back to another recent post I made about professional game reviews, that so many reviews within the last few years disrespect a game using "the same old formulas" of gameplay. Many of us still like that. I want to rise to power and save the world (whatever world that happens to be). It doesn't get old, I do, but my hero doesn't.

Shout out to @mainer our resident RPG expert.

I don't consider myself to be an expert on anything, although I have a lot of experience playing RPGs since the early 1980s, as they're primarily what I play. Thanks anyway.

I'm that one person who couldn't get into Disco Elysium. Due to real life experiences, I abhor alcoholics, and the main character was just beyond disgusting to me. There was just no way I was going to role play as that guy.

You are not alone, we're at least a part of two now. I had no interest in that game, even though it got rave reviews in the media, a lot of which related to just being "different". It's also difficult for me to relate to my character being an alcoholic, as I've also had some ugly situations in my past with friends or relatives that were basically destroyed by alcohol or drugs.

 

[Zloth]

I roll my eyes at it, but I don't really mind all that much.

On the plus side, an outright plague of amnesia amongst chosen ones seems to have abated to manageable levels.

 

[SleepingDog]

Yes I would like to be the chosen one - well not in real life but in a computer game that's ok. Having said that I would play a "broken" hero but an evil one is a no-no. I blame the Western films I watched as a kid.

On a side issue I have a copy of Disco E, played it and left the force - I don't think I was brutal (emotionally) enough to be a cop. A very short game.

However playing Alpha Centauri is one game where I take decisions that would have people comparing me to Putin. I will happily declare war to stop infringement of territory or pre-emptive strikes against aggressive factions or finance the enemy of a potential rival. All for the greater good.

For me computer games, like most TV/ films, are an escape from the mundanity of every day life. Sometimes to experience safely a little horror, terror and danger. Also it can be about doing the right thing (good opinion of yourself) even if you are not sure whether you would do that in real life.

 

[Pifanjr]

I don't mind either way, as long as the story is well-written and the gameplay is fun. It kinda sucks when a game makes a big deal out of the player character being the chosen one, then sends you to bring cookies to the sick grandma in the forest. And it also sucks when the game makes a big deal out of the player character not being the chosen one, but then sends you to battle the big bad all by yourself anyway. If I, as a nobody, can work my way up to be powerful enough to fight the big bad, then there should be some other people in this world of comparative strength who would like the world to not be destroyed as well.

 

[Ryzengang]

Similar to @Pifanjr, I'm fine either way. "Chosen one" stories can certainly be fairly silly, but at the end of the day if it's a fantasy game then it doesn't really bother me. Plus, I do think it can be done well if it isn't too over-the-top and in your face about it.

 

[ZedClampet]

an outright plague of amnesia amongst chosen ones seems to have abated to manageable levels.

It's such a cheap way to start a story. After the Amnesia: Dark Descent horror game, tons of horror games started with "You wake up in a house with no memories."

Back when Steam Greenlight was a thing, someone posted a game with that premise. Other than that, it looked decent. I commented something along the lines of, "Please don't do that. Do anything else. Make him a pizza delivery man who doesn't get an answer at the door, but the door is open, so he walks in. The door closes and locks behind him. Do anything. Just don't do the amnesia schtick."

Sure enough, the game launched on Steam about a year later about a pizza delivery guy who walks through an open door and gets trapped in a haunted house. Maybe I should have put more thought into my suggestion.

It was called, "Emily Wants to Play."

then there should be some other people in this world of comparative strength who would like the world to not be destroyed as well.

I can't think of any specific examples off the top of my head, but I've often thought, "Where is everybody else?" They're all just hanging out back at the tavern hoping that Random Dude is going to defeat the world-devouring demon.

its a bit much in wow where everyone is playing that story line...

Ha, I've thought about that in MMORPG's before. I just pretend everyone else is a useless NPC.

 

[Colif]

It's such a cheap way to start a story. After the Amnesia: Dark Descent horror game, tons of horror games started with "You wake up in a house with no memories."

There are not a lot of choices. Could start out you know everything about everything but the knowledge of everything makes your head explode and the bloody remains of your spinal cord has to adventure out into the world and learn it all again. If you suggest it on steam it might be a game by next year? it already sounds interesting... use earthwormjim type graphics... side scroller?

People don't want data dumps at start, so we have this as an excuse for the first section of the world has to act like a tutorial for you. Or the game has to be so generic that people can guess controls based on other games.

 

[ZedClampet]

If you suggest it on steam it might be a game by next year?

That Emily Wants to Play I was talking about was a super simple game. You just got chased around a house while looking for things, and the house wasn't that big. I think it was almost done, just with a different beginning, by the time he submitted it to Greenlight and I made my suggestion. If I could use store assets, I could probably make it in a month, even less if I used Horror Engine, which has AI pathing and everything baked into it. I've played bigger games from game jams.

 

[ZedClampet]

Rising from obscurity to save the world as I build my character never, ever, gets old for me.

It's all a matter of your perspective. For instance, I found a great, live concert video of AC/DC. They were in a massive stadium that was absolutely full, stands and field both. And the crowd. Wow. They were going nuts. The whole stadium was jumping up and down like pistons in a rock and roll engine. It was amazing.

I showed my wife the video, and she said, "Wow. Wouldn't you like to be there?"

And I said, "Wouldn't you like to be on stage playing guitar?"

Two different perspectives.