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What if your character had a will of it's own?
Inzra
Member Posts: 679
In most games the avatar/character is just a mindless robot following the instructions from the player, - the devs trying to make the player and the character act as one.
But what if you character started out with a will of his/her own, resisting your commands to the point of refusal or doing the opposite?
You'd have to gain control of your character by increasing the characters willpower, determination, mental abilities or whatever would improve the "connection" between player-character. Or from the characters p.o.v. "self-God"/"self-mind" or something like that.
We could see some really funny gameplay from newbs in a game like that 
, and also make it a bit of a journey of progressing, the same as increasing level/abilities/proffesion skills we already have in most games.
Comments
Sounds like the kind of thing that could be fun and interesting once. it would also have the potential to be extremely annoying and delay me from actually playing whatever game it was. If the lore was such that it supported the mechanics then it might be manageable but otherwise, if my character had a will of it's own, it wouldn't really be my character.
-mklinic
"Do something right, no one remembers.
Do something wrong, no one forgets"
-from No One Remembers by In Strict Confidence
I wouldn't find it much of a game if I couldn't control my character. I would most likely get frustrated and exit.
We'd have a lot of female characters filing sexual harassment claims based on the way their male "masters" stare at their arse for 8 hours a day and keep making them dress up in skimpy armour.
Interesting concept though; kinda like MMO meets Nintendogs.
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift
Kinda reminds me of when I played real time strategy games like Warcraft or Empire, I would have all my armies set and in a row, and some troop would run off and get themselves killed because they agroed some wandering enemy
..man I hated that
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
I loled
It wouldn't last the entire game though, you'd improve it like you'd improve levels/skills/gear/whatever. So at endgame you'd be in charge for sure, it would just be like a progression thing.
What about just simple things like "I need to eat. Just letting you know, player."
"Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up." - Robert DeNiro
Funny you mention this. In the game of Wow there is a quest you do in Dragonblight and it has to deal with an hourglass. The first time you do the quest you see happen you see your character from the future. It is funny. When I did the quest my future character said to my character, "I can't believe I actually wore that." or something to that nature. LMAO. Later you see your past self and the character now see's the you(past you) your future charater was talking to...frikking awesome. LOL!
Anyway...yes...I think this would be fun. Especially if your toon cops an attitude and say, "No I do not think so." , and does something different then you had chosen for it to do." LOL! Make PvP combat more interesting that is for sure.
Sounds more like a collage sociology project or at most an iPhone app, then a game people would pay for. But why stop there why not have a car that resists your commands. The object of the game won't be to come in first, it will just be to finish!
Presentation for new MMORPG economics concept http://www.slideshare.net/talin/mmo-economics-concept-v-10
i think an inturesting way to aproach this would be a game where somewere in the story it involved your character actualy being some sort of parasite that needs host to survive but like at the beginning your realy weak and you havent established proper controll over your host
although given how anoying it would be to impliment that kind of a feature i would have it so that it still had implications come end game like maybe your host still had a shred of will or if you went to go get a soda your host would continue the fight for you for a certain amount of time (again just ideas and not very well refined i can see how the last would seem like botting)
overall a very inturesting idea
Sounds like a Peter Molyneux game that I would get of TPB.org and play for a few hours.
But an MMORPG, is that, an RPG. You play a role with your avatar being just a representation of you in the game world. Like a miniature in a pen and paper game. Giving it 'life' or a 'mind' so to speak, changes that. It is no longer an MMORPG, but more of a MMO-god-game, like "Black and White".
It'd just be frustrating to me, I don't want to tell my character to walk forward just to be told "No, I don't want to. Give me phat lootz!". I like it the way it is, with the avatar being a representation of the player and his actions, with the player still making the decisions.
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Telthalion Rohircil - Guardian - Elemandir - Lord of The Rings Online
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== RIP == Torey - Commando - Orion - Tabula Rasa == RIP ==
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Jordaniel Torey - Navy Megathron, Active Armor Tank - Tranquility - EVE Online
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Torey Scott - Rifleman - Fallen Earth
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"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but I know World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein
Awesome...I'd love this.
No, no .. this is a genius idea.
For example; you could have a stacking debuff that was applied every few hours that you leave your character without food, to simulate malnutrition. You could also incorporate other real-world needs/effects into the game mechanics.
As an example, it should be mandatory for every raid instance to have adequate toilet facilities to accommodate rampaging parties of incontinent players. Newbie towns like Goldshire should all have a family planning and/or VD clinc.
Any players under level 21 who attempt to purchase alcohol should be hauled away by the guards and suffer the indignities of being incarcerated in a 6 by 4 cell alongside a big black tauren called Bubba.
There should also be a 0.0001% every second that your character will randomly die of an undiagnosed medical condition. This would be especially funny during raiding situations.
Some other ideas would be to give female characters a damage buff for 3 days a month, while male characters would get increased avoidance during this same timeframe.
Realism is paramount!
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift
One example I came to think of was if you as the player wanted to explore an area or go somewhere specific, but then up ahead you see monsters -
now for you as a player sitting comfy in your chair they mean no threat, but your character realize that he/she might DIE!!!
And so your character will refuse, an perhaps even run in opposite direction in fear, hiding behind a rock/tree, for a few minutes till you (the mind/ God/ higher self/ whatever) can calm the poor avatar down.
So you as a player will have to work on convincing the character why this is a good idea.
Or that actually opens for the possibility of the player being evil, tricking the avatar to do something which is not a good idea
Endless possibilities
If it's a well-designed part of the game it could work.
If it's simply randomized "I won't do what you want", that's horrible. Most games struggle to provide fun/interesting decisions without taking control away from the player.
So just slapping "your character randomly won't obey the controls" onto a typical WOW-like MMO? Terrible, terrible idea.
But having a game where it's a game to control your character? That could work. The Sims sold pretty well, after all.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
I think you are onto something Inzra. Sounds like you could make a rather unique game with this.
I'd iike to see a game where we can create characters by giving them personality traits, alignments, etc, and to some degree they'd be AI controlled. They could have personality traits like bravery/cowardice, kindness/greed, etc. Like maybe alts, or henchmen that help out my main, or even our main characters staying in the gameworld doing thier own thing while we're offline. Not progressing, but just acting as NPCs playing out whatever role we choose for them.
I don't know if I'd really want to get into a game of trying to fight with my own characters to do what I want though.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Is this a roleplaying thing? Since i'm sometimes myself when i'm playing, my character would get the drugs native in the particular game world, get high, then look for some female elf to cuddle with. Alternatively a male orc.
Give it a demonic twist and change it from the traditional "I have a character that I play" approach to a more varied "I have a character(s) that I can posess and influence into doing things that I want them to do." .. and you could gain XP based on how out of character those things could be.
"You have successfully influenced Nelson Mandela to go on an absinthe fueled AK47 rampage through an orphanage with his 21 year old emo gay lover toyboy. You gain a level!"
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift
It is an idea with potential, something that i haven't seen or heard of before, and i like it. Having to form a bond of trust with the character could be interesting indeed. I wouldn't want the character outright refusing anything for any long length of time, but maybe having to convince them to trust you through some sort of dialog. As the character learns to trust you more, you are open to more of the characters abilities, kinda like leveling up, but in a much more unique matter. Now if you could find someone to put this idea into action...
You all need to have a coffee and wake up guys this is SIMS online!
Press Release for “Will of it’s Own”:
Yes you too can spend hours guiding your avatar to the toilet, and in our version force him to water plants, even when he does not like plants!
This is the mind numbingly boring game is what you would end up with. Want to do a quest or meet up with some mates for PvP? Not today, as your avatar wants to go and cut trees which is his favourite hobby. Well at least you got some resources.
Not quite. We are talking about playing as a character and at times the character will decide to do something different. You are talking about watching your character doing everything but can give some commands. An interactive game, not a simulation.
If your character has independent will then you are not playing the game, you are just watching it. You might as well pay me your subscription fees and watch over my shoulder as I play as it is the same thing and you don't have to wait years to see this game mechanic realized. You can do it right now.
That might work for something like NPC companions, but I don't see that to be very pleasant if it is the character you control.
i mean, if the genre is something like pokemon or some sort of raising a child / beast / monster I can see this idea work just fine, but in mmorpg it might be a bit hard to swallow for most.
This idea reminds me of that monster rancher game.
...That game pissed me off