r/gaming • u/Asianboiforwhitedad • 10h ago

Kingdom Come Deliverance studio co-founder says a lot of RPGs are 'still games for teenagers,' and that he's 'tired of all the RPGs where you are this chosen one'

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-deliverance-studio-co-founder-says-a-lot-of-rpgs-are-still-games-for-teenagers-and-that-hes-tired-of-all-the-rpgs-where-you-are-this-chosen-one/
8.7k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

283

u/pdpi 10h ago

This was something I quite liked about Oblivion, where Martin is the actual "chosen one", and you're just kind of there for the ride.

95

u/Lemonpierogi 9h ago

The Prisoner (so a protagonist of most TES games) is ALSO the chosen one. They're the being chosen to affect important events. Ans they're the only one to be able to affect their destiny

28

u/nhalliday 8h ago

To my knowledge it's left somewhat up to interpretation whether or not you're important in Oblivion. Like you could've been placed by the divines in that prison, just popped into existence, and that's why the guards didn't know you were there. Or it could've really been a mixup with the watch - which is apparently "usual".

The Emperor saw your face in a vision, but did he see you because you are important or because you were the first domino in helping someone else achieve their destiny?

34

u/phoenixflare599 7h ago

Yeah literally one of the conversation lines is "what happens to me now?" And the emperor is like

"How the fuck would I know? I'm about to die"

11

u/fake_user_34 6h ago

Thing is, the player character is ALWAYS important in elder scrolls games. But not be the main chosen one but they are a chosen one. The Prisoner is an actual phenomenon in the elder scrolls lore that gets very meta. And I do mean meta in a Captial M sort of way.

The Prisoner is a person who can see beyond the bars of the prison, the prison being the game. The prisoner is the game character and we are the ones looking in from outside, us the player, we can see behind the bars.

Yes, Elder Scrolls gets stupid meta like that when it comes to the lore that, us in real life, are part of the lore. We take control of the prisoner and change things that the game, the prison, never expects.

2

u/meowtiger 2h ago

Yes, Elder Scrolls gets stupid meta like that when it comes to the lore that, us in real life, are part of the lore.

the elder scrolls also has the in-lore concept of CHIM, which could be described as a character in the game glimpsing the fourth wall

3

u/verumvia 7h ago edited 6h ago

TES storybuilding follows a general pattern when establishing people and things of divine connection, and the player character is always a part of this pattern: Lore:Walking Ways - UESP Wiki, the second walking way of The Endeavor. There's a key part of it called mantling where power is garnered and then taken either willingly or unwillingly; more often the latter occurs, but in TES IV the former does while the hero is the catalyzing force.

1

u/Giovannis_Pikachu 6h ago

Unless you explicitly avoid the main plot you are literally The Hero of Kvatch at the very least and if you do the best quest, the arena? BY AZURA BY AZURA BY AZURA. ITS THE GRAND CHAMPION!!!

•

u/rieldealIV 6m ago

That's just you earning a title through your actions though. There was a Grand Champion before you and there'll be a different Grand Champion after you.

Hero of Kvatch is a bit more of a unique title but the funny thing is it's not really that impressive of a feat by the end of the story. It involved closing a single oblivion gate (while potentially assisted by an guard from Kvatch) and then helping the remainder of the guard clear out the city. Later on you teach Captin Burd how to close gates, and then he and the Bruma guard are stated to be closing gates as they pop up around Bruma up until the Battle for Bruma where they stop doing it so the great gate can be opened so you can get the great sigil stone.

1

u/cbftw 4h ago

I mean, no matter what, you're the Hero of Kvatch. You're important in some fashion

1

u/ThrowawayPersonAMA 44m ago

To my knowledge it's left somewhat up to interpretation whether or not you're important in Oblivion.

The player's character is literally Sheogorath. They're a god. It's not up for interpretation.

•

u/nhalliday 8m ago

No, you become important. That doesn't mean you start as important. A chosen one is a person who was selected by some higher power or destiny or whatever to become great because of that selection, people who go out and earn their power are not "chosen ones".