Filling that blank character sheet with a vision of the person I wanted to live was my favorite step when I played. D&DGURPs, Traveler, Shadowrunand other tabletop RPGs when I was younger.
To me, the main point of a role-playing game is to define your role and live in it. It creates my alter ego to meet a certain fantasy and where living it takes me.
Witcher 3 puts you in the shoes of Geralt of Rivia, the decades-old subject of numerous games, books and a TV show. Geralt is as well defined as they come, and while you can make some choices for him, they still represent the core of who the person is.
It’s really impressive Witcher 3‘s writers managed to give the player meaningful choices in this context. Each branching dialogue choice touches on different aspects and conflicts of Geralt’s personality and values. Witcher 3 very high, I’ll give it that. But in the end, it’s just Geralt through different lenses, not a player-formed personality.
Geralt is definitely a friend. He just isn’t my rad my friend.
Credit: CD Projekt Red
Geralt is definitely a friend. He just isn’t my rad my friend.
Credit: CD Projekt Red
Even Cyberpunk 2077a game developed by Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red that I do love offers a sort of middle ground between these approaches. Yes, there is a named protagonist, and yes, there are some hints of a predetermined identity in much of their dialogue. However, the player can customize their appearance and set their backgrounds, which give the player many different dialog options. The main choices in the game reflect fundamentally different values, not just conflicts within a person with a coherent worldview.
The same goes for Mass Effect 3the main character is Commander Shepard. You decide what they look like, choose their background, and customize your dialogue options, playstyle, and more. through which you have a very meaningful impact on their identity.
