Avowed - Player Choice

[HiddenX]

Player Choice is the key - says Carrie Patel at an interview with Gamesradar:

Avowed's commitment to ubiquitous player choice could make it 2024's standout RPG: "At Obsidian, it's your world, your way, right?"

Interview | In combat, in questing, and in everything between, Avowed puts you at the heart of everything it does

Avowed could change the face of the RPG genre. That's not to heap undue pressure on Obsidian Entertainment, the studio now lining up its latest venture under the Xbox Games Studios umbrella following 2018's high-profile acquisition. But if recent history has taught us anything in this space, it's that role-playing games can, and often do, make a splash when mixing the right ingredients.

2023 alone delivered some of the most unforgettable, genre-defining experiences we've seen in some time, with games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Sea of Stars helping to push the boundaries of what RPGs can, could, and maybe even should be moving forward. Player choice, in combat and narrative terms, was a driving force in last year's biggest success stories - and so with a studio so well-versed on both fronts at the helm of Avowed, the fantasy-with-firearms role-player already has a lot going for it. From Fallout: New Vegas to South Park: The Stick of Truth, The Outer Worlds, and the Pillars of Eternity series, after all, Obsidian is no stranger to leaving its mark on a tried and tested formula.

"Player choice is really key to all of our games at Obsidian," says Avowed game director Carrie Patel. "And for us, that is really about letting the player build and express their character. It's about who they want to be in the fantastical worlds we build, and the dilemmas and challenges we put in front of the player. I personally find that to be really effective in games where you have some sort of starting premise that prompts roleplay and gives you something to make difficult choices around."

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Thanks Couchpotato!

More information.

 

[JFarrell71]

Pure marketing speak. Patel is a talented writer, based on her work on Outer Worlds, but she's just doing PR here.

 

[soola]

Yeah about the only new thing I got from this article (part 1 apparently) is that some characters from PoE I/II will be in the game.

 

[JDR13]

Avowed could change the face of the RPG genre.

 

[JFarrell71]

They gotta try, I guess. It is pretty laughable, though.

 

[Farflame]

Pure marketing speak.

And very bad, I would say.

It looks like they have nothing really substantial to base their PR on.
And its funny they talk so much about choice but in fact you can freely respec your character and switch any weapon or style anytime. It doesnt seem like a choice system where you would allow player to play and deal with concequences.
It seems like RPG candyland where you can try anything anywhere you want. So there will be some choices but it wouldnt really lead to significant consequences. Illusion of choice is more likely.

Like "choice is all" approach leads to almost "no real choice".

 

[henriquejr]

"Player Choice is the key as long as the player doesn't try to do a pacifist, non-violent run"

 

[soola]

The Avowed marketing—the more I see of it—doesn’t appear to be targeted at me but more at people that don’t play RPGs.

I’d argue it’s pretty much a given that any RPG fan would expect what Obsidian is talking about in a game rpg fans want.

I hate to compare to Baldur’s Gate 3 but Larian presented the same thing without outright saying it. Larian’s marketing was strongly tied to story (bear sex notwithstanding) not metagaming.

 

[Morrandir]

It seems like RPG candyland where you can try anything anywhere you want. So there will be some choices but it wouldnt really lead to significant consequences. Illusion of choice is more likely.

Like "choice is all" approach leads to almost "no real choice".

Isn't that rather the illusion of consequences?

 

[Farflame]

Isn't that rather the illusion of consequences?

If there is some content that is blocked from you based on your choice then definitely not.

 

[JDR13]

The only good thing I've heard about Avowed lately.

Obsidian’s Avowed Won't Have Romance Options, Sorry

Obsidian says Avowed won't have romanceable NPCs because a) it just isn't that kind of RPG and b) they don't wanna (which is fair).

www.kotaku.com.au

 

[henriquejr]

The only good thing I've heard about Avowed lately.

Obsidian’s Avowed Won't Have Romance Options, Sorry

Obsidian says Avowed won't have romanceable NPCs because a) it just isn't that kind of RPG and b) they don't wanna (which is fair).

www.kotaku.com.au

Agreed! Romance is overused nowadays, I don't even care about it!

 

[txa1265]

Agreed! Romance is overused nowadays, I don't even care about it!

I like romance when it is well done - I liked it in CP2077 and also BG3 ... but agree it is too often poorly done or very cosmetic. I actually liked in Outer Worlds where you got to HELP with a romance but not engage in one.

 

[booboo]

I don't mind it being a side element of an RPG - so something that is not core to the RPG experience - In a game like CP2077, which I would say tries to mirror a more plausible/realistic future, it feels more relatable and believable. I also felt genuinely pulled in by the flawed and very human characters in CP2077. Way too many other RPGs seem to make it literally about pushing up your 'approval' with some characters to get into their pants. A dialog optimization game which they encourage you to consciously pursue - like chasing a dopamine hit. I find that too blatant and 'gamey'. I'm much happier with a non-romamatic evolving frienship with an NPC that you see eye to eye with, idealogically etc - better still if you are pushed to make really difficult choices to retain that, so there are real consequences to letting them down.

 

[JFarrell71]

I like romance when it is well done - I liked it in CP2077 and also BG3 ... but agree it is too often poorly done or very cosmetic. I actually liked in Outer Worlds where you got to HELP with a romance but not engage in one.

It helped that I really liked that character.

Love and sex and relationships existing in the world is a good thing, and quests involving those things in some way is a good thing, but personally I dislike almost all player romance plotlines (I agree that CDPR is dev who does them in a worthwhile way). So I won't miss their absence in Avowed at all.

 

[JFarrell71]

Way too many other RPGs seem to make it literally about pushing up your 'approval' with some characters to get into their pants. A dialog optimization game which they encourage you to consciously pursue - like chasing a dopamine hit. I find that too blatant and 'gamey'.

Well put, and 100% agree.

 

[txa1265]

A dialog optimization game which they encourage you to consciously pursue - like chasing a dopamine hit

This immediately makes me think of Fallout 4 ... or Skyrim ... or Starfield ... hmmm, starting to see commonality ...

 

[JFarrell71]

This immediately makes me think of Fallout 4 ... or Skyrim ... or Starfield ... hmmm, starting to see commonality ...

the Bioware games are the horniest ones. The stuff they want you to say is often maximum cringe.

Skryim has romance? Don't remember any. Companions are barely there as more than pack mules in Skyrim. Sounds like some BGS bias at work.

 

[bkrueger]

If you have enough romance in real life you don't need it in computer games.

 

[Philistine]

If you have enough romance in real life you don't need it in computer games.

True. I don't so I do. Plus, I'm a lover not a fighter by nature. As I said in the other thread, it looks like Avowed does not have ANYTHING to offer but combat, which is very shallow for an RPG.