Notice how I almost never post in the original PS sections?
“Who is your favorite PS character?”
“Who did you miss most, Nei or Alys?”
“Which game has the best characters?”
“Which character’s story is the most credible?”
And so on, and on, and on. So many questions, so little interest. After a long amount of pondering, I find I have only one real answer to all of these questions.
Let’s face facts. PS I and PS II’s characters are hardly more than moving sprites enhanced with a character picture each and 1-2 lines of dialogue on average for the whole game. Some of PS III’s characters have a LITTLE more substance as they take those 1-2 lines of dialogue to a whooping 3-4. PS IV’s characters enjoy more artwork and have been more developed, and by developed I mean, force-feeding us clichés down our collective throat.
Sure, I “like” Gwyn Landen, even though she only says four words in the entire game. I like her because to me she is by far the most visually attractive character in all the four PS games. That's it. Kinda lame, when you think about it. Try that approach with someone. “You’re pretty, that’s your only quality. Wanna date?”
The only reason we, the PS community like the PS characters so much is because we made them come alive by our own collective means through fan stories and fan games. Take that away and you will find that all the questions asked above become very hard to answer. Like it or not, our influence removed, PS characters remains a bunch of stats tacked to a portrait.
To hear me say so almost makes me look like someone who doesn't like PS yet, it remains my favorite RPG universe ever. Why, then?
The characters don’t matter. They are silent vessels in which we, the semi-active spectator become part of Algo.
Algo. THAT is what it’s all about.
I have often spent hours dreaming what it would be like to be an adventurer on the Alisa III, discovering ancient mechanical dungeons, travelling alongside a wandering princess with her laser bow, all dressed in barbarian armor. We would be fighting rogue machines and savage beasts in the wilds of a medieval/sci-fi hybrid setting that would put to shame most novels I read in my teenage years.
I have spent many daydreaming hours trying to picture myself leaving work in the early evening in Paseo, be teleported home and enjoy the breathtaking view of my loft’s balcony on the 235th floor of one of its huge towers as the megalopolis below my eyes comes alive for the night. I’m a computer engineer working on a secret artificial intelligence project. To the outside world, I’m working to enhance the latest generation of automated workers but in reality, I work with the resistance in a counter-weapon to disable Motherbrain.
I never cared about PS’s characters because they gave me nothing to care about. When Nei died, I didn't react. When Alys died, I didn't care. When Lyle died, I was mildly moved because the guy actually had half a personality. (Admit it, you guys never ask about Lyle. It’s always all about the two chicks. Poor Lyle. *cough*)
The PS universe is an open book; you just need to turn the pages. PS I is the starting sci-fi utopia. PS II is the dark, gritty Blade-Runner sequel. PS III is the cyber-fantasy world that was very popular in the 80’s culture and PS IV is the post-apocalypse world for those who are into that.
This is what turns me on. Though I have a soft spot for the improbable PS III universe, I always fantasized on PS II’s Algo. Dramatic, dark, modern and deadly. This is why I used that very base to create my own RP universe which does not depend on PS’s characters, not even on its own native characters.
The storyteller changes, it can be told in many ways. The point of view shifts; it can be seen through the eyes of all sorts of heroes or villains alike. The important is the universe in which it happens. This always remains the same. This is what turns me on.
Discuss.
Edit: I just realized; I know there are mini games for every PS II's characters to help develop their story but before someone brought them to the discussion, I just want to make sure it's understood that the focus of my post is on Algo, not the characters.