I have a confession to make. I have a problem with games, specifically with western style RPG's. I restart them.
Constantly.
Constantly.
On the surface, this doesn't seem to be a big deal. It feels like I'm just maximizing my investment. But in reality, I'm shooting myself in the foot every time I do this. I've finished Fallout 3 exactly once. I've never finished New Vegas. I've finished Oblivion exactly once. Same with Skyrim.
Lesser known titles, like Divinity, Arcania, and Risen might never get completed.
I've finished each game in the Mass Effect series once. I've got seven active Mass Effect saves right now. I've never finished Dragon Age 2. Dragon Age Origins I've beaten twice, despite having played through every origin story (within a month of getting the game no less).
I've got an established pattern is what I'm saying here. I've always been more interested in the creation process than the actual game itself. I have no idea why this is, but I think I can narrow it down.
When I was in 7th grade, I started playing D&D. Playing may be too strong of a word here actually. I tagged along in my older brothers campaign once or twice and obsessively read every single splat book I could get my hands for AD&D 2nd Edition. I'd sit around in English class and dream up characters, I'd fiddle with attribute scores in Math class, and I'd dream up weapon and armor combinations in Science class. This dovetailed nicely into my new found hobby of JRPG's, which allowed me to tinker and play around with different load outs and stat combinations within the limits set by the game designers.
When I discovered Eye of the Beholder I was in heaven. I spent whole days just building characters, trying to get the perfect stats (four fighters with 18/00 strength is my unicorn) and generally just playing the first five levels of the dungeon over and over again. I've never been past the first Dwarf encounter in that game. Not once in 2 decades.
I've simply always had this need to tinker with builds. Trying to optimize to fit certain strategies, discovering which combination of skills and feats best suited the character. Dreaming up new spins on old archtypes. I've just about created every character you can for most games, and played only two or three of them to completion.
I dunno if I'll ever finish some games, or if I'll ever get over the idea of needing to design a character to fit a narrative that exists only in my mind. But, to be honest, I don't know if I want to get over that idea either.
See ya next time.
Lesser known titles, like Divinity, Arcania, and Risen might never get completed.
I've finished each game in the Mass Effect series once. I've got seven active Mass Effect saves right now. I've never finished Dragon Age 2. Dragon Age Origins I've beaten twice, despite having played through every origin story (within a month of getting the game no less).
I've got an established pattern is what I'm saying here. I've always been more interested in the creation process than the actual game itself. I have no idea why this is, but I think I can narrow it down.
When I was in 7th grade, I started playing D&D. Playing may be too strong of a word here actually. I tagged along in my older brothers campaign once or twice and obsessively read every single splat book I could get my hands for AD&D 2nd Edition. I'd sit around in English class and dream up characters, I'd fiddle with attribute scores in Math class, and I'd dream up weapon and armor combinations in Science class. This dovetailed nicely into my new found hobby of JRPG's, which allowed me to tinker and play around with different load outs and stat combinations within the limits set by the game designers.
When I discovered Eye of the Beholder I was in heaven. I spent whole days just building characters, trying to get the perfect stats (four fighters with 18/00 strength is my unicorn) and generally just playing the first five levels of the dungeon over and over again. I've never been past the first Dwarf encounter in that game. Not once in 2 decades.
I've simply always had this need to tinker with builds. Trying to optimize to fit certain strategies, discovering which combination of skills and feats best suited the character. Dreaming up new spins on old archtypes. I've just about created every character you can for most games, and played only two or three of them to completion.
I dunno if I'll ever finish some games, or if I'll ever get over the idea of needing to design a character to fit a narrative that exists only in my mind. But, to be honest, I don't know if I want to get over that idea either.
See ya next time.