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Mass Effect Dev: 92% of Players Chose Paragon
- Thread starter Darkstorne
- Start date
Choosing random Renegade options was sometimes so out of character that it was comedic and hard to accept it as canon. You almost had to do straight renegade or straight paragon.
"I'm going to play evil character on my second playthrough"
*proceed to pick good options again.
*proceed to pick good options again.
Renegade was legitimately evil 99% of the time, and imo, defeats the entire purpose of it.
Renegade was meant to be direct/ruthless, but not evil. Or at least that's how they sold it initially.
And on top of that, going Renegade basically just meant being a human supremacist, and that's garbage.
Renegade was meant to be direct/ruthless, but not evil. Or at least that's how they sold it initially.
And on top of that, going Renegade basically just meant being a human supremacist, and that's garbage.
I kind of want to go back and just alternate between paragon and renegade choices the entire way through.
I mean the problem is having the choices be a binary "Good vs Bad" instead of making them about competing interests where neither is a purely good or bad choice, where picking the seemingly good one could potentially cause problems down the road and vice versa. I mean in real life you can't really devolve most issues into a simple black and white choice, especially when talking about things like conflict negotiation which is what a lot of these dialogue choices in RPGs ultimately boil down to.
Paragon is pretty much always the successful choice, there's basically never a time when trying to negotiate with terrorists or going soft on someone ends up blowing up in your face. Honestly if 90%+ people are picking a single choice then there's a serious issue with the other choices that make them unacceptable for players, since there shouldn't really be a "right" answer in the first place - if players like to play nice then the game should probably try to challenge their decisions and turn into a proper moral debate where players have to juggle competing interests, or if not, then just do what games like Kentucky Route Zero did and make the dialogue less about moral choices and decision making and more about just setting the tone of the conversation.
I always thought The Walking Dead manages that a bit better, but even in that game it's obvious that there were some choices players would never compromise on which the game maybe could have challenged a bit further to make things interesting.
Paragon is pretty much always the successful choice, there's basically never a time when trying to negotiate with terrorists or going soft on someone ends up blowing up in your face. Honestly if 90%+ people are picking a single choice then there's a serious issue with the other choices that make them unacceptable for players, since there shouldn't really be a "right" answer in the first place - if players like to play nice then the game should probably try to challenge their decisions and turn into a proper moral debate where players have to juggle competing interests, or if not, then just do what games like Kentucky Route Zero did and make the dialogue less about moral choices and decision making and more about just setting the tone of the conversation.
I always thought The Walking Dead manages that a bit better, but even in that game it's obvious that there were some choices players would never compromise on which the game maybe could have challenged a bit further to make things interesting.
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92 percent of players are nerds.
No but seriously not being an asshole but still taking the badass renegade options is the best way.
No but seriously not being an asshole but still taking the badass renegade options is the best way.
OP
OP
Yes, 100% me =P
I've even installed mods for Fallout 4 specifically to make evil playthroughs more engaging and enjoyable, so I can manage a Raider gang and conquer the Commonwealth right from the start of the game. I still end up building settlements to protect everyone =/
"My character will have a turning point moment" I tell myself. "She'll return to these beautiful settlements with a raider gang to conquer them!" It never happens...
Don't lock rewards behind pure Paragon or Renegade behavior if you want players to try both.
In my "canonical" playthrough of the series, I started out Renegade. ME2 made Renegade Shep feel cool. ME3 made Renegade Shep feel like a genocidal maniac, and I had to start picking Paragon options.
With games like this I always say I'm gonna do a second playthrough where I choose 'bad guy' options, but I never actually get deep into it. It just doesn't feel right, it's like pulling my own teeth.
that said, the femshep renegade is worth it just for the Jennifer Hale readings. I could listen to Hale be a sarcastic asshole all day
that said, the femshep renegade is worth it just for the Jennifer Hale readings. I could listen to Hale be a sarcastic asshole all day
I mostly play the good options, but sometimes the more sensible actions gives you renegade points. For instance, at the climax of Mass Effect 1, who in their right mind would divert Alliance firepower to save the Citadel council when the fate of the galaxy is at stake?
As much as people complain that there aren't consequences for playing the games 100% paragon, let's be real, there was never any real consequences for going total renegade either. There was a fine line between being pragmatic and just being an asshole making borderline homicidal decisions biggest it's quicker, and more times than not the renegade option was the latter.
I am usually turned off the quote "evil" options simply because they make the character either an extreme asshole or ridiculously evil. I play how I would act in those situations, which is good.
OP
OP
Didn't the games have a bar indicating how paragon or renegade you were overall? It's been so long since I played them I can't remember if that was just Mass 1. Presumably they mean 92% of players were mostly Paragon.
i always do a paragon/good run through on first take. I always want to play the game like how i would be in real life......not a complete asshole. But some of the renegade options got legit insane, no way was a renegade shep every saving existence.
I'd love to RP a total jerk, but the renegade options in ME1 seemed over the top and ridiculous at the time which sent me down a Paragon path that I stuck with the entire series.
NPC: Shepard! This orphanage is full of genetically engineered superbiotic children. In the right hands, they'll grow up to be functioning members of society... or terrible weapons.
MASS EFFECT 1
┌ We'll give them to social workers.
·)
└ The Alliance military can train them.
MASS EFFECT 2
┌ I'll work to bring them back to their extended families.
·)
└ Cerberus can experiment on these brats so we can develop more biotics to stop the Reapers.
MASS EFFECT 3
┌ (Personally carry them home on your back through a Reaper attack)
·)
└ These freaks are a threat. (Gun them down and eat a live puppy)
MASS EFFECT 1
┌ We'll give them to social workers.
·)
└ The Alliance military can train them.
MASS EFFECT 2
┌ I'll work to bring them back to their extended families.
·)
└ Cerberus can experiment on these brats so we can develop more biotics to stop the Reapers.
MASS EFFECT 3
┌ (Personally carry them home on your back through a Reaper attack)
·)
└ These freaks are a threat. (Gun them down and eat a live puppy)
I feel like Bioware hit the better balance with Dragon Age 2 & Inquisition, where they ditched the morality bar and went with personality responses So people could roleplay their snarky-asshole without actually being a moral monster.
To be fair the binary setup doesn't work when you have the exact same end goal regardless. 'Renegade' is supposed to be pragmatic, but when facing down the death of the galaxy as a senior commander in charge of the most advanced counter-attack force available, 'pragmatic' sounds far more sensible than 'always be the best friend of whoever you are talking to right now'. Instead, we get paragon choices that conveniently are just as pragmatic in more subtle ways in the long run due to not pissing everyone off, and renegade choices that are 'like paragon, but be a total wanker about it'.
Renegade Shep has no problem working with a racial supremacist group and extrajudicially killing people outside of combat scenarios. If anyone is a fucking cop...
Interesting. I can confirm I went for Paragon for the whole trilogy. The Renegade options made me feel bad. They're fun to try on a second playthrough, but no way would I let Wrex die for real, or act like a jerk to my other crewmates.
I cared about those characters, and I thought it was fitting to play Shepard as a hero.
I cared about those characters, and I thought it was fitting to play Shepard as a hero.
I haven't played ME3 yet, but i felt KOTOR's Dark Side choices were reaaaally fucked up comparing it with the two first Mass Effect games.
The Renegade option in Mass Effect could mean anything from:
- Being sacastic
- Refusing a request
- Demanding money to complete the request
- Shooting the requester in the head because they dared to speak to you
Yeah if they didn't make it so binary and also clearly labeled I bet there would be more variety.
lame I had like 4 different characters 2 of which were full renegade . Renegade femshep is my favorite
That's possible, but that doesn't mean the player didn't pick a lot of renegade choices. That's why I wonder how useful this data is.