#actively emote

I’ve played a lot of games. I do mean a lot. Like, could probably fill a good sized space of land. I also read rather a large number of books. Love to read. Now that that’s out of the way, here’s where I’m going with this.

I love Sci-Fi, and Fantasy settings. Years back, when I was a wee lad, I was introduced to Knights of the Old Republic. Loved it! Star wars was huge for me, but more than that, the fact I got to play a character was massive! That was me in that game!  It was the first time I’d experience that, and it was so big for me. It pushed me forwards, into writing stories, into playing pen and paper games, and all sorts of text based roleplaying on the internet...

And ever since I’ve searched for that little spark again, that bioware had once provided me with. I felt a hint of it again, when my buddy showed me Mass Effect. Dragon Age: Origins sparked it again, better than with Shepard, as I was more me, less this pre-defined being.

Oblivion brought it back, again, and Skyrim sparked it further. Fallout 4 danced that little spark before me again, though like all these games I mention it was missing one little thing...

Social interactions that felt REAL. Don’t get me wrong, the predefined options are good. The interactions are emotional, sometimes heart-wrenching, but because of all these games animations it just... Cracks a little. It’s stiff, either in delivery or in how the characters move.

And that bothers me now, as I can make a character dance with words, deftly diving beneath a blow, flinging fire from outstretched fingertips... People weep, or jump for joy, or smirk, a lone eyebrow raising... Words beat games for me there, but it hurts cause I miss that from games...

I finally found one game, that in it’s little social interactions, is coming close. It’s not perfect, but... Well, the Witcher 3 is doing a really goddamn good job of this. The way Geralt’s face and body moves is so fluid, so... Real. It feels like I’m actually watching him react, and most other characters I’ve interacted with feel the same... It’s both wonderful and disheartening.

Wonderful, because here is what I’m looking for! A game where the character smirks, and it’s just part of his movement. Where he speaks sarcastically, and you can see it in his eyes, even though the other character misses it.

Disheartening, because several other games, which are heralded as good for those things, have let me down. Dragon Age: Inquisition was a complete failure in portraying what you were thinking or saying with any emotion, at least to me. Fallout, and the entire Bethesda line is full of characters who seem to be unable to emote. Mass Effect: Andromeda is fun, and witty, but the characters hardly seem to display their emotions.