Do you make choices as yourself or your character?
Hey guys,
Question about how you play TWD and choice-based video games in general. Do you make decisions based on how you imagine the characters would make them, or do you put yourself in their shoes?
Personally, I used to always try to act like me in video games, but I'd always just end up doing the good thing in every game (because I don't want to be mean) and it started to get really boring. But in Telltale's Game of Thrones, I started to make decisions I knew were hotheaded or stupid because I was assuming the role of a character and I thought it'd be more entertaining to see that.
I'm continuing this in TWD; I already have a pretty definite character for my Clementine, but with Javier it's fun trying different stuff and seeing how I want him to act.
So I'm wondering how you all play TWD specifically, but feel free to elaborate with other choice-based games. If you make your own versions of characters, I'd like to hear how they act and how you interpret them. I'm all caught up with TWD so let it rip with spoilers.
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I tried to get into character during Season 2, baby. Which meant I was playing Season1!Clementine+WhatshelearnedfromLee+AlittleofmeinLee.
In S1, S2, and S3, I made the choices as myself, with a small amount of roleplay going into some specific choices. For example, when pressed about his past, I always chose the apologetic options as Lee. Or choosing to tell the Stranger about his wife, because that one just made sense for the way I interpreted Lee's character.
In the Michonne miniseries, it was basically the exact opposite-- I tried to make the choices as Michonne herself as I know/understand her from the comic series, with a small amount of my personal feelings influencing other minor choices. For example, I had Michonne pull the trigger because that felt in-character for her to do, and helps strengthen the relationship between Pete and Michonne to some degree (given that he directly saves her life if you pull the trigger). On the other hand, I generally chose the nicer/warmer dialogue options, despite the fact that Michonne is generally pretty cold and detached towards the people around her.
Roleplay. I even roleplay characters I create.
For example, me as a player thinks that Kenny did what he had to in the meat locker, but I played Lee as a very "always do the right thing" kind of character. Though unfortunately in season 1 Lee went off a lot on his own and acted completely different from how I was trying to play him.
If it's an RPG I role play the character I am or made. In a telltale game it's typically my own decisions.
I try to make the choices as the character, but some of the main characters are such blank slates (especially on the first few episodes) that it leaves it kinda open to interpretation what would be the most in-character decision. I can think of Mira in the first couple of chapters in GoT, because at first I had a little trouble deciding what was part of her personality and what was a result of her trying to please Margaery. And, of course, that is also Javier's situation. I'm hoping that, like Mira, Javier's personality will become more well-defined as the chapters go by.
In the Michonne mini-series, I often went with the "stay silent" option because Michonne herself does that a lot in the source material, and in many situations it seemed like what she would do (especially when being interrogated). I was happy that it didn't get me killed most of the time, so it was indeed a valid option that fit the character.
I try to make choices as how the character would make them.
As myself
During walking dead season 1 I tried playing as Lee and it happened pretty naturally. But in the rest of the games I've been mostly playing as myself. I think I just liked Lee as a character so much that I couldn't help but role-play him :P I also played through Tales from the Borderlands once as a jerk. That was fun
painful..but fun.
It very much comes down to how much I feel I have a grasp of the character, but of course, its always partly affected by myself, since I usually pick the good options, unless it feels very wrong to do so.
In TWD season 1, I felt it was a bit too easy to just pick all the good options, since you did not want to scar Clem, and you were an adult, so any problems could usually be solved with your fists.
However, in Season 2, I got very immersed in Clems character, I felt like I had a very good idea of how she would react, due to having watched her for all of season 1, and knowing what she has been through. So Season 2 became mostly me roleplaying as Clem, since I was so immersed in the character and story, and Clem turned out to still be a very nice and caring person, but she could be cold and calculating when she needed to be, because it was simply needed to survive, but when situation allowed , she would be nice and help people out, but when it came to things like helping Sarah with work in Howes, she didnt do that, simply because she could not afford to be hindered by being in a bad light with Carver, and Sarah was a pretty hopeless case, even after I saved her in the trailer.
Tales from the Borderlands was very interesting to me, since I got very into the characters, Fiona especially, and I would be switching between thought processes when switching character, so when playing as Rhys, he was a coward and a fool, except when dealing with handsome Jack, he refused to have anything to do with handsome Jack, since Fiona and Sasha were the first people to ever really be his friends since Vaughn. Fiona on the other hand, was a cheeky hat-loving con artist, I didnt mind lying as her, I would occassionally tell people to shut up if they were annoying, and generally weave every word so it would benefit me in the best way possible, and it was very fun, especially during the sequence in the end, where you are essentially talking to yourself, switching between both characters in such a short timespan was fun
So I usually play as the character, with a little bit of me spliced in there, except if I get really into the game, and feel I have a good grasp of the character, I will make my choices based solely around the character. Or when I dont feel anything towards the main character as is the case with A New Frontier, I will make choices based on my own interests, which involves supporting Clem alot
I make choices that have most dramatic impact. After all I'm watching a story, and I want this story to be most satisfying, that's why sometime I pick bad choices, which I would never pick in real life, just to make the story more dramatic.
As myself. One time I tried to play as the character (I think it was at TWD S1), but well, my stubbornness won and I ended up as playing how I would act.
I try to stay in-character and do what I think the particular character would do. Regardless of what I would prefer.
Depends on how much I understand the actions of the character that I dont control. Lee for example made very few bad decisions (at least as long as I was watching him), so I understood the way he was acting and was able to play as him. Clementine on the other hand made it hard to actually roleplay, not only because she's a girl about 15 years younger than me, but also because of her very reactive and naive actions that make her stumble in bad situations.
But mostly, I try to act like the character would.
That's interesting! I couldn't imagine playing like that, I feel like it'd be too painful hahaha
That's how I was. It was weird, I was making choices as Clem, who learned lessons from Lee, who was also me... Still it felt like I had a pretty clear idea of the choices she'd make, which was complicated.
So would you say Season 1's story prevented your Lee from acting the way you wanted? Like he acted contradictory to your intentions based on how the plot evolved?
What's the fundamental difference you see in an RPG's story versus a Telltale game? Is it that in an RPG it's usually a character completely made by you or do you feel this way even in RPGs where the protagonist is already made up for you?
I can imagine that was cringey at times haha. Would you say even though you were making a playthrough that wasn't authentically your decisions, you still felt somewhat invested in what was going on?
Yeah, pretty much. Which makes choices like chopping Sarita or killing Kenny and Jane so intense in context.
Good question, I think it's mostly the time limit so I don't really have time to think what my character would do. Although I will say The Michonne game is the only Telltale game where "..." felt like the correct choice most of the time.
I always saw Chopping Sarita as the logical choice for Clem, after what happened to Lee, she wouldnt take any chances with a bitten person, and we learned at Howes that Lee was just too late at amputating his arm, since a person there had survived a bite
Pretty much. There was also the fact that, at the time, I was at least trying to operate under the mindset that Carver was supposed to be a serious Shadow Archetype for her and show that she was willing to do what it takes to save everyone--be the stronger man. Of course, common sense kinda failed to kick in at the time and realize that Sarita skeetin all over the place and screaming her head off in the middle of a herd was a bad thing.
In certain situations yes. Like Lee would just threaten Ben out of the blue without me wanting to.
Both, I think. After playing so many TTG games, I've become one with the character I'm playing as.
oh yeah definitely
For example in Tales I felt so bad for being a jerk to everyone haha. And well with TWD season 1 it's easy to get invested no matter what. There are many decisions that are hard to make even when I'm playing as myself so having a different respective didn't make the experience any less impactful.
Me, generally. I really can't get myself involved enough to become someone else, when I'm faced with a question or a choice it almost always comes down to what would I do.
I always played how my conscience dictated. Therefore my Lee was basically ethical, and looked out for number 2.
Well, I dont think Common sense would have changed things terribly much, the only thing that could have saved Sarita was if she had kept her cool after Clem chopped off her arm, since she would have most likely been a goner anyways, if we had been unable to treat her until we reached the ruins
I actually do neither. I base my decision on what I WANT to do but I know I couldn't in real life. For example, asking Alvin for his help after you got bitten by Sam or staying to fight with Clementine. I know it's a game so Javi and Clem both have that plot armour on but there's no such thing irl so I wouldn't dare to take on a whole army with just 1 partner.
the only thing that could have saved Sarita was if she had kept her cool after Clem chopped off her arm
Yeeeah, that wasn't gonna happen.
Part of me wonders why they didn't do that anyway.
I dont know, I have never seen what happens if you dont chop off the arm, since I only played the games for the first time this december, so I havent had the time for replaying it yet, since I wanna wait a while for it to be a bit fresh again.
I assume they take her to the ruins and then what?
She's grey in the process of turning in Kenny's lap. He tranquilly lays into Clementine with Sarita occasionally gagging in an attempt to speak up for her.
Once she returns from the trailer park, she finds Kenny in the tent having put Sarita down at the last second, hence why the camera focuses on a random blood stain when they leave.
The only 2 characters i roleplayed more than Chose for myself were Asher and Rhys.
Probably a bit of both. Most of the time I think it's as myself, but I definitely did play a bit more cold in the Michonne series and TWAU. I never had Bigby say thank you, once! xD
That depends.
Depends how immersed I get with the characters.
Game of Thrones was long enough to adequately develop the characters, so by episode 6 I truly felt like i was making choices based on what my Asher and Gared and Mira would do. Same in TWD s2, I really felt connected with Clementine's plight and as a result it felt like a very natural and satisfying story.
In the titles where I dont feel too connected to the characters (like Batman) or I dont know much about the lore (Minecraft), I usually just default to what I actually would say and do.
In twd I make the choices as myself becuase...well...clementine but any other telltale game I played it was as the charecter most of the times
I would make the choices based off what I think is best, no role playing. My preference in choice games is to be good to every character unless I'm dealing with evil characters (yknow the ones I'm talking about) and try keep my peeps alive for as long as possible no matter how annoying or foolish they are. So far I'm pretty happy playing throught like that, even if game devs try and convince me to play otherwise....that is until I played ANF and dealt with poorly made characters.
Pretty much what playing Clementine was like, though I did make attempts to be civil with the more dickish and unsavory types.
Honestly, I don't make choices based off of the character I'm playing as but it is not intentional. Mainly, I do not have the heart to make bad choices...ever. I'll try but then I feel bad and load it back. I can't name a time where I should've made a bad choice in a TTG but for example in Dishonored when I was playing as Daud, I did not kill anyone even though I know Daud wouldn't have cared and would have slashed through every person that got in his way.