Designing Unique Characters in a Science Fiction Universe (part 4)

If you're having trouble deciding on how to make your character interesting and unique, there are options in our “Character Creation” chapter that might stimulate some ideas. Physiques and Personalities are traits you can choose for your character, and both of these have small, in-game bonuses and consequences. For instance, if you choose the “Good-Looking” physique, you'll have a bonus for persuasion attempts, but a penalty for stealth attempts to blend into a crowd (because you stand out so much!) This alone could spawn ideas for an interesting character—maybe your female Reln is so attractive that she draws attention wherever she goes, but she actually has low self-esteem, is an introvert, and doesn't like being noticed. Of course, the personality traits that are presented in the rules also can provide an excellent springboard for designing a fun character. For instance, your character could be a prankster, have a phobia, or be totally clumsy. How this plays out in the game could be very defining for your character. Maybe as a prankster, you've gone too far and made some enemies that are looking for revenge? Or perhaps your phobia has prevented you from living a normal life? What if your clumsiness has people avoiding you because you seem to have “bad luck?” Any number of creative designs can emerge for your character, and the physiques and personality traits in the game rules are a great starting point.

Designing Unique Characters in a Science Fiction Universe (part 3)

Cultural viewpoints in Solar Echoes from the various alien races are not necessarily there to serve as a template for a character, but they may serve as a starting point. For example, in the Krissethi culture, life is a competition and status is the measure of how you are progressing through the ranks of that competition. This is not to say that characters of each race must fall into a stereotype for that race, but it is to show what the majority of people in that culture grow up around. Does your Krissethi character swear off materialism and self-aggrandizement? Instead of following the status-quo, has this Krissethi decided to lend a helping hand whenever possible, donating all personal wealth to a good cause? If so, then you'll know what he or she grew up around, which gives you an opportunity to detail what motivated your character to go against the grain and how others around him responded to this behavior. Challenging established themes often makes characters very intriguing and multi-layered, but it is important to first understand where they are coming from and what the cultural norms are for that race.

Designing Unique Characters in a Science Fiction Universe (part 2)

In many RPG's, it is easy for the players' characters (the heroes of the game) to have a tendency toward single-minded, flat personalities. Characters quickly fall into a pattern of sharing all information together and generally agreeing on everything. To avoid this in Solar Echoes, it is important to understand how each of the races view the universe differently. For example, the plant-like Erwani are extremely patient and are always playing the “long game,” willing to sacrifice and suffer losses if their ultimate goals will be met in the end (and for this reason, many who fail to discern that foresight simply conclude that the Erwani are just “lucky” when things somehow always seem to work out for them.)

Designing Unique Characters in a Science Fiction Universe (part 1)

The difference between role-playing games and just about any other game out there is the chance to develop a character and act out his or her personality. Creating an interesting character in a science fiction universe is an exciting opportunity, especially considering that there is a wider range of options than in most other scenarios. Characters can be shaped not only by the society they grew up in or the racial make-up of their surroundings, but also by their home planet, its sun, and how far it might be from other civilized worlds. Consider the Reln, for instance—they grew up on a planet resonance-locked with its sun, forcing them to endure harsh weather and dangerous levels of radiation. Not only has this environment shaped their physiology, but the Reln are not exactly outdoors-types as a result. Their level of education rivals all of the other races and they are extremely well-spoken, in addition to being one of the most technologically advanced races in the Union. The variety of alien races in Solar Echoes alone provides a unique starting point for designing an interesting character, but that is just the beginning...

Impressions of Destiny (part 5)

There are a few aspects of Destiny, however, that I wasn't fond of, though they're not deal-breakers in my opinion. One is problem (it seems intentional, but perhaps it is something Bungie intends to change) is the situation that occurs with weapon-switching. You have a primary, secondary, and even a heavy weapon that you can switch between at the press of a button, but the problem is when you want to use weapons you're carrying other than those three hot-keyed guns. If you go into your character screen and switch up what you have hot-keyed, the ammo disappears for that weapon, even if it was fully loaded before. This can be annoying for some play-styles. Another thing I wasn't fond of was that I could not join a team of players because I don't have “Playstation Plus,” a membership with a $50 annual fee that allows discounts on games and the ability to play multiplayer. My concern is that I might miss some aspects of Destiny's story, because in the beta, there is already one scenario I can't access. Something else I noticed was that when I was in an area where a team was playing, the Fallen that spawned for them seemed oblivious to me—I could shoot them and run around them, but it was like they didn't see me at all. Finally, the tasks that I gathered in the open-world environment started to get really repetitive: “Kill more Fallen because” we need to study their weapons, we need to study their armor, we need to study their genetics, etc. There sure seemed to be a lot of quests that were just trying to get me to kill more Fallen, when honestly, that's all you do in the game anyway. Hopefully, the story and missions will be more interesting in the full game, and consider that I've only experienced 4 or 5 main story quests in the beta. I'm not really on the fence anymore—the game is fun—I just hope that the beta is a limited snapshot of the scope of the game, rather than a warning of future repetition and drudgery like so many other MMORPG's out there. I'm hoping this one isn't all about the grind!

Impressions of Destiny (part 4)

What about the gameplay itself? I can easily draw comparisons to other games, such as Borderlands, where you are always looking for a better gun and equipment. There are always lots of Fallen and drones to shoot at, so if you enjoy FPS's even a little, there is plenty to do in Destiny. Fallen respawn in areas that have been cleared, so it appears that it is possible to just camp out and “farm,” slowly raising your experience points to level up. But honestly, I was much more interested in exploring that incredibly detailed and realistic world. It's beautiful, and so far, I haven't noticed any recycled areas. Everything looks like it was designed individually rather than cut and pasted, and exploring can be its own reward for a while. One nice feature early in the game is, after you complete one of the first few tasks, you can summon a hover-bike speeder and zip around the area more quickly. It is vast, and I like that, unlike other MMORPG's, you're given a means of fast overland travel really early in the game. The combat is very fluid, and the AI of the Fallen is decent—they take cover if you are aiming, they try to flank you (sometimes), and they react to your positioning well (if you're camped out in an area they can't get to without taking weapon fire, they'll toss a grenade over to you.)

Impressions of Destiny (part 3)

After I finished designing my character, a narrative began explaining the story of the game. The opening was definitely intriguing. Most of the earth is now unsafe, with one last city watched over by a giant, hovering globe known as “The Traveler.” After the opening, the story shifted to a barren area filled with the frames of rusted cars while a floating, mechanical eye-ball device scanned each one meticulously. In the distance, strange armored humanoids with several eyes and odd helmets seemed to take notice of the floating device, and gave a battle cry as they grabbed their weapons to pursue it. At that moment, the story shifts to your perspective and your character wakes up, discovered by the eye which informs you that you've been dead for a long time and says most of what you see won't make sense to you. He then urges you to hurry, because “this is Fallen territory,” and you begin to run to an indoor area where you grab your first weapon, a rifle.

At that point, the game begins in earnest and you must get through the building to find a starship so you can fly to the city. All you have to do is survive the Fallen that hunt you long enough to reach the old starship. I could detail the story further, but suffice it to say that as far as openings go, I felt it was a solid start to a strong setting. As I played through the game, there were missions where I'd have to go back out into “Old Russia,” to find things that would advance the game further (a warp drive for my starship so I could eventually go to other planets, for instance.) On the way, I'd discover interesting bits of information that unveiled more about the history of earth and what happened. Though the story didn't get too far past the first 3 or 4 missions, it definitely has me interested and hoping that this MMORPG, unlike many of the others I've attempted, will have a story that keeps me playing and coming back for more.