Console RPGs and Projection
Oct. 20th, 2005 01:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forsythSo I've been playing FF7 a bit. And I haven't bothered to rename the characters when they show up, even though they give me the option. There's not really much point. Naming the character something different doesn't change what happens, their personality, or their interactions. That's all pre-scripted. I might as well just leave their names alone too, that way I know which character everybody is talking about when they talk about stuff. If I name Cloud "Smith", he's still spiky-haired, has an impossibly huge sword, and does exactly the same things. There's very little room for identification with the characters, as a consequence of the more developed plot.
As opposed to FF1, where the characters had... well, no development. And their names were 4 characters long. But because of that, their name was much more important. My most common party member names were Rune, Xana (White Mage), Lore (Black Mage), Myst (also Black Mage), and... I forget. I could go boot up the cartridge to check my last save. But since the characters had no pre-scripted development, they were pretty much blank slates for you to project onto. Their names and your actions and imagination told you who they were, not cutscenes. Which gives the freedom to produce things like 8-Bit Theater. Something like that would NEVER work with FF7 characters.
Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses. But the experience in something like FF7 is much more movie-like because there's fewer options. With more options and customization, the game becomes much more personal.
And I am WAY overthinking this when it's 1am and I haven't finished my homework or studied for my quiz for Arabic tomorrow.
As opposed to FF1, where the characters had... well, no development. And their names were 4 characters long. But because of that, their name was much more important. My most common party member names were Rune, Xana (White Mage), Lore (Black Mage), Myst (also Black Mage), and... I forget. I could go boot up the cartridge to check my last save. But since the characters had no pre-scripted development, they were pretty much blank slates for you to project onto. Their names and your actions and imagination told you who they were, not cutscenes. Which gives the freedom to produce things like 8-Bit Theater. Something like that would NEVER work with FF7 characters.
Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses. But the experience in something like FF7 is much more movie-like because there's fewer options. With more options and customization, the game becomes much more personal.
And I am WAY overthinking this when it's 1am and I haven't finished my homework or studied for my quiz for Arabic tomorrow.
