CRPGs and Storytelling

I would have had another post up earlier but, well... Fallout 4.

Everyone's been talking about it this past week, and I've heard mixed responses to the game's shift to a voiced protagonist and relative dumbing down of the dialogue from previous incarnations in the series.

A little background first: I wouldn't call myself a Fallout purist. I'd always heard about the game, but hadn't ever played the originals. It was only when Fallout 3 was coming to the modern world that I had my first foray into the universe, and I'm sure I'm a heretic for this. It had a very different sort of bend than the Baldur's Gate in post-apocalyptia I'd been expecting, but it scratched that RPG itch really, really well.

And so does Fallout 4. But it's not really the same game. Just like Fallout 3 wasn't its predecessors,the newest entry into the series is not 3 or New Vegas. It's something that took the lessons of its ancestors and built upon them. For the better, I think.

The first thing that really stood out to me is the level of immersion. There's a better graphical fidelity to the vision of the radiation-blasted wasteland, from the houses to the highways, to the cars and even the countless corpses. There's thousands of tiny little details and spots lovingly crafted and inserted in without a single NPC to explain them, a note to detail it, or a map marker to guide you like a laser to its secrets. Fallout 3 had these, too, and my brief experiences with the original seemed to show similar secrets... but something about these feels really well done.

The NPCs, too. But it has to be noted that the dialogue has been gutted. Every dialogue menu has a maximum of 4 responses... possibly a hint of consolitis, but more likely a consequence of the cost of voicing every response from the protagonist twice. The result is a conversation that feels more organic and immersive. No longer are you delivering twelve pizzas to some random NPC who immediately forgets who you are, but actually affecting a difference in the wasteland. People remember you; hell, they come up to you to start conversations sometimes.

That being said, though, it's not entirely seamless. Since conversation options are limited, you do hit a point where you run out of things to say to someone. Talking to them simply results in: "Hey." "Oh, hey X, thanks so much for helping us with that Y and Z problem!" Okay, well, that's losing a little immersion. I'd like to know details and things! But voices cost money. Likewise, the minor NPCs that populate a number of settlements across the wasteland have a whole lot of nothing for dialogue. Every attempt to talk to them results in "Let's trade things!" like the protag is so excited to be dumping his extremely heavy garbage onto these people.

Yes, it would be too much to ask for to have little stories for everyone and everything. That won't stop me from asking.

Yet the biggest complaint I've heard among my friends is the removal of complete freedom. (Read: the asshole playthrough where you ruin everything and everyone because eviiiiil.) Maybe it's because I'm a huge tabletop RPG nerd, or maybe it's just because I finished and loved Life is Strange. Whatever it is, I'm entirely okay with sharing my agency as a player with the voice of the player character. The resulting character is someone who is not 100% your own self-created insert into the world of Fallout, but rather someone that the storytellers already decided should be there. Someone who has a life and objectives and a literal voice of their own, exerting some of their will to drive the story.

The man is thrown into the Wasteland ill-prepared on a quest that he hasn't a clue where to begin. He's not an evil fellow. I don't think he'd ever be evil. Growing cold and heartless and ruthless as the wasteland forces him to adapt, sure. But coming out of the gate, looking at the first NPC he meets, saying 'give me your things or die'? That isn't the character we're playing, and I'm okay with that.

Instead of shoehorning in some awful 'lol evil' option for every dialogue, you have a much more believable character in a much more believable world. If the price to pay for this level of immersion is a few dialogue options, then it's a price I'm willing to pay. Does that mean it's no longer a true CRPG? I don't know. But I think it's a fair evolution of that genre, taking it someplace different with a few tweaks and changes and new things. And, for the most part, I think they work pretty well. People shouldn't be so quick to hate on the differences. (Asking the internet not to hate something! Hah!)

Granted, I've only put like 20(?) hours into the game so far... and to catch up to New Vegas or Skyrim, it's got a long way to go. New Vegas turned out to be a surprisingly fun romp despite its early-game railroad. Skyrim was a great adventure across the world's most beautiful puddle. Here's hoping that Fallout 4 can live up to the legacy of the series for days to come.

Sailing Into Unknown Waters Once More

I am certainly no stranger to travel. I spent two years surviving on kimchi and cardboard pizza in Korea, have the soul of a pirate, and would sell at least two and a half limbs to live the Margaritaville lifestyle on a beautiful island somewhere.

But I never really expected to end up in Texas.

In wanderlust and the never-ending search for free rent, I've somehow ended up crashing in Texas. The fact that it is much warmer than New Jersey and Jersey's winter is supposed to be awful this year (isn't it always?) may or may not have been a factor in this decision. Snow once a year, maybe? Sign me up!

Granted, it's a little further from the ocean than I'd prefer. And it's not exactly an island by any stretch of the imagination. And there's no Gimbap Land. (Gimbap Land is the shit.) But I am on the side of Dallas that has a nice lake. I'm pretty sure I saw a sailboat out there. That counts for something, probably.

The real kicker is that people here are nice. I know it's a southern thing, but Texas seems to turn that shit up to 11. If the internet has taught me anything, it's that Texas does things big... and big niceness is a thing too?

I mean, okay. I'm used to Jersey, where everyone hates everyone all the time for no particular reason. You can never really be sure who wants to rob you or stab you or just thinks you're looking at them funny and actually why don't you just screw off and mind your own business before we start something here? (This is, of course, followed by a number of injury claims, a whole series of lawsuits, and a really bad TV show that makes us all look even worse than we are.)

Here, the fast food people bring you your food at your table and then give you extra food because the one bit was sort of overcooked by a smidgen and actually... care, I guess. I haven't really been into Dallas proper yet, since I'm crashing in the suburbs.

I sincerely hope those people are as miserable as we are in Jersey. Not because I actually want anyone to be miserable (that's kind of rude, even by Jersey standards) but because I'll never survive in a world of niceness. I can't even imagine a gaming group where everyone is nice. Who the hell is going to flip the table?!


(On an unrelated note, RPGSS Season 9 has concluded. Congrats to Nick Wasko, this year's victor! My commentary forthcoming, late, as always.)