Taking a look at the main character in my favorite BioWare game, Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 2, we find that she (yes, Shepard was a woman, and you can't tell me otherwise) is the best at what she does and is pretty close to flawless. Wouldn't you agree? She wins every battle, and the galaxy (as noted in the Mass Effect 3 trailer) is counting on her to save it from destruction.
In literary terms, we call this a Mary Sue. It is a situation in which the author exemplifies himself in the main character of the story. These stories tend to be boring or ridiculous because the main character can do no wrong no matter how preposterous or illogical his decisions may be. If you read comic books, Wolverine (in my opinion) is a prime example of this. What happens if we take this concept and put it in a setting where there are thousands of people playing the same game or even competing in some cases? You get a bunch of gods competing for the same throne in a no-win situation. BioWare has said that our character in Star Wars: The Old Republic is not going to be just any Bounty Hunter (or Smuggler or Trooper) but the best Bounty Hunter. How is that going to impact the story and our interactions with other players from an in-character perspective? For a game that is "putting the RP back in the MMORPG," this is dangerous ground.
know there are some gamers who pay no attention to story, and it's all about having the stats for their gear. I think that's great(swg credits); I know some really wonderful players who do just that. They are fun to game with, and surprisingly, they are some of the most helpful players in an MMO. However, there is a good chunk of people who like to involve themselves in the story. Even if they don't consider themselves roleplayers, that is exactly what they are doing: roleplaying. There is also a large section of gamers who do consider themselves roleplayers, who hold the story and character development higher than any other part of the game. It is these last two groups that I would like to focus on today.
