This is ultimately the main downside the the way Anet delivers us the story. They gave too much importance to the PC by making us the commander of the Pact and making us a central figure in the story of both Destiny’s Edge and the new guild.
Now we can’t really make our OWN story. We are a very specific character in the world, and because of that we are limited in what sort of roles our character can experience in the world. We can’t even make impactful choices that change the direction of our story.
It would have been better if the PC were just a mercenary/adventuring hero that aligned with the Pact. That way our character wouldn’t have obligations and could work with multiple groups and organizations and experience a wider variety of stories.
It would also make the development of lore outside the game MUCH easier. If they tried to put out a novel or comic series about GW2 as it is now they’d have to tip-toe around the most important figure in the world, never mentioning it by name, gender, or even race. It’s just awkward.
I actually agree with a lot in that post. I know there’s preferences on all things, but I actually wished my character stayed as a mercenary/adventurer. I roleplay, and I actually prefer to make characters like that. However, as for good storytelling, I don’t think it is required if they do a good job at telling our character’s story.
It’s like Mass Effect really, the Witcher, or Elder Scrolls games. The only difference is that the choices in those games make noticeable impact around you. Guild Wars 2 does the same, although HoT’s choices felt far more linear when it came to what happens.
Honestly, out of the three mentioned games, the Elder Scrolls game basically gives the best “adventurer” character. They’re given no name and does whatever he/she feels like because there’s basically no story behind them to determine their personality except they were trying to cross the border into Skyrim. You had to make history for yourself (or not care and just play the game).
However, for any game, it’s very important for our character to be a central figurehead for things because he -is- the protagonist. In fact, kind of in contrast of what the quote mentioned, one of the reasons why some people disliked the story in Gw2 is because your character received surprisingly little attention. Sure, if you -were- just another adventurer like in Elder Scroll Games, people can forget you easily, especially if there’s a bigger issue going on in the land or their own personal problems.
But then comes the situation where you defeated Zhaitan and you are officially Trahearne’s best ally and second in command of the Pact, and then you’re introduced to the Lion’s Arch Council with your new friends. You stand there as each one of them introduce themselves and wait for your turn to speak, and then Captain Elle speaks, and then you realize moments later that no one mentioned you, not even your new friends. In fact, they literally (and I’m using the word right) talk to each other as if you weren’t there.
Games that give your character a background can work very well. In fact, they gave your character a lot of backgrounds from the beginning to choose from in my opinion that determines how your character is like (although they will never be ME3 Renegade Shephard in Gw2). But if the story makes it where even people in your -personal- story don’t regard you, that’s pretty bad. Fortunately, it was shortly after that where they gave our character far more attention from everyone, even outside of personal instances.
While I do like stories with characters being adventurers, I actually like the story our characters in Guild Wars 2 gets. The only problem I see is that HoT’s story telling felt too linear with the results from your choices. Whether your character is aggressive and decides to take on the Modrem who are preparing to attack, or you decide to stay defensive and bunker up against them, it ended up the same anyways with little to no difference. Not very decision that your character makes has to have consequences, but you would expect NPC’s to react differently to your choices, even if it’s something as minor as them saying your idea was better, or it could have gone south, etc. Minor things like that can do a lot for the story-telling experience.
However, I do disagree with the last paragraph in the quote. I feel as if most of the game’s story -should- be shown in the game. I don’t think it would be awkward making a novel or character while never regarding the name of the protagonist, as they are already widely known with a moniker such as Dragonborn, the Gray Warden, or the Pact Commander. However, even I prefer not too many novel or comics unless they’re stories based on someone completely different and far off from our character. If I want to see the story about my character in a game, I want to play through it. Anyone else can work if they aren’t too closely personal with the protagonist.
WoW has done the same, and it’s ironic how their books and comics work despite some of the characters -literally- being close friends with the protagonist, or at least have had a lot of interaction with them. However, a lot of their other story-telling elements got worse. No matter how bad Scarlet is to everyone, including me, she can never compare to what Blizzard did with WoD Grom.
My point is that this can work, but as with anything else, the execution phase is hard. For an MMORPG, the execution is different from other story-telling formats. There is room for improvement from Anet, but I don’t think they’re doing that bad. Granted, after seeing what Blizzard did to Grom and the Orcs in Draenor, it made seeing the positive things and in other stories, and enjoying them, a lot easier for me.
