This thread reminds me of something I have not thought about in a while. One thing I appreciated about early console RPGs such as the NES Dragon Warrior titles is specifically the lack of personality. Of the characters, that is, and not of the games themselves.
I played through Dragon Warrior 3 more than once. Each time, I would delete the default characters with given names and replace them with my own so that they would be total blank slates. Even if I chose the same classes as the defaults. I sometimes made up simple stories in my mind to go along with the characters as I played.
Dragon Warrior 4 had characters with slightly more developed backgrounds, but their personalities were still expressed vaguely and I was fine with them.
The first time I played Final Fantasy 7, I couldnāt stand it. I was impressed by the music and some of the art, but I didnāt like the way the characters had distinct personalities and talked a lot. (I also did not like early polygon graphics at the time, though I now see that sort of thing as charming.) I think I started that game three times over several years, leaving Midgar and finishing the game only on the third attempt. Eventually, the game totally won me over.
Although Iām more accustomed to video game characters having pre-packaged personalities now (and I guess I never had a problem with it when the writing was decent, as in something like Torment), I think I still generally prefer it when they are presented as only basic outlines and donāt talk much.
when Lego sets started introducing flavored heads I would give them to my brother in exchange for more generic smiley heads; I didnāt want other personality intruding on my space transit system
Oh, I refused to use those Lego heads as well. And before that, it bothered me when they started introducing pieces that seemed a little too specialized and themed. I saw that as lazy design and something that would discourage creativity.
Yeah, that blankness in older games is part of the appeal of older games to me. Lack of characteristic, both in terms of writing and visual, makes a sort of ānegative spaceā I think? And as a kid you can fill that space with a lot, even subconsciously. Old RPGs with visually minimalist combat sequences are easy pickings for a kidās imagination.
Supposedly this is the perspective of the Lego Movie. More specifically that explicitly themed sets are counter-intuitive to the spirit of Lego. I havenāt yet watched it myself, but I was reminded of it and also can never stop talking!
Proteus is my favorite game to fall asleep to. A full-surrounding world (3D matters here) but seen through abstract eyes stimulates connections to worlds half-pictured in dreams, memories, and books.