Do You Ever Get Into Your Role Playing?

[Vivvav]

Dragon Age: Origins is one of the few RPGs where I was able to suspend disbelief and get fully into the game, making it one of the best games I've ever played. I'm currently in my third playthrough, and the multiple choices you can make in the game make me feel like each character I make has their own distinct personality. I'd like to give an example of one moment in the game that I've done differently each time: The Brecillian Forest.
1st Playthrough: I am dwarven warrior, and former nobility. I must choose between helping the elves and the werewolves. The elves are weak forest people, constantly traveling, using magic and bows from afar, very loose. They are the anti-dwarf. The werewolves, however, are strong and savage. They use their own claws and teeth in battle and are confined to one area. In addition, they have been wronged by the elves. I have been wronged by my brother, and know what it's like. I sided with the werewolves and slayed the elves.
2nd Playthrough: I am an elven mage, raised in the circle all my life. I have been shielded from the world and taught with a very limited viewpoint, and tend to follow orders given to me. In addition, these elves are the same race as me. They are my brethren. These werewolves are savage creatures, brought about by dark magics, and must be destroyed.
3rd Playthrough: I am a human rogue, and former noble. I do not know much of elves or werewolves, having lived a sheltered life. I have seen both good and bad in the world through watching politics, and know things are not always as they seem. I also know the importance of delegation and just how much peace is preferable to war. After hearing both sides of the story, I do not commit a genocide on either end, but resolve the matter peacefully.
tl;dr: Has anybody ever really gotten into a character they played?

 

[Udain]

The only characters I've ever really got into are my tabletop characters as it's much more interesting that way.

As for games, I reckon KOTOR was probably the best i ever did on immersing myself in the character and their reactions to the story.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Dragon Age is the best for this because the conversation options aren't always good neutral or evil

 

[the_joker1112]

Dragon age is a good one, other then that, its DND every sunday.*3.5 of corse* (and as a writer and DM, i ALLWAYS put way to much charicter development into a person)

 

[MikailCaboose]

Well, if you consider a random mercenary/adventurer who just does what most benefits him, including getting a reward from poor sap and then promptly turning him in and gaining that reward too, then sure.

 

[Moonpig123]

This is one of those things I usually try and act 'cool' about... but OK, fine, yes I do.

There is actually great pleasure to me in fleshing out my characters and getting their motivations down. On Oblivion I ended up making four characters, each with their own varied origins and backstories. I even decided why each of them were in prison at the beginning.

One was a flawed Nord hero with a tragic past but a pure heart; one a heartless Dunmer assassin, his cold sociopathic behaviour the product of years of personal anguish; one a naive Brenmer mage and academic looking for adventure; one an Argonian thief and a gambler with a skooma problem. It just gave the game more longevity and made my actions feel more 'weighty', like I was genuinely playing as someone with a realistically complex personality and set of morals.

I also played some KOTOR at a friend's a few years ago and spent ages crafting a character that, in my head, had a very fleshed out backstory which swayed how I played the game. Every choice just felt more 'real'.

Hell, I even have detailed backstories in my head for characters like Isaac Clarke from Dead Space, and a few characters from Red Dead Redemption (John Marston, Dutch, Irish, Nigel West Dickens, Ross, Nastas). I'm an immersion addict, what can I say.

 

[Continuity]

The only characters I've ever really got into are my tabletop characters as it's much more interesting that way.

As for games, I reckon KOTOR was probably the best i ever did on immersing myself in the character and their reactions to the story.

Couldn't agree more. The other big one for me was baldurs gate, and exile 3 for that matter but not so many people have heard of that one. On the whole though I don't really "role-play" in the traditional sense except with some rare exceptions, a recent example is silent hunter 3, Ive been playing that on maximum reality settings and, in my mind at least, tried to live the experience of a Uboat commander. I've given each of my crew personalities and have a running narrative in my head.

 

[Jing2487]

Ive never really gotten into table top games, but with RPG video games I always try to get into the character. And even in some shooters (Like Bioshock 2) I get into the character I am playing. Cause thats what developers hope we do. I knew a guy who wrote an article about how he didnt care about the NPC's in the world because they were nothing but electronic AI's. I tried to explain to him about the suspension of disbelief in film and video games but he was to much of an anaylist to just forget that it was a game and have fun.

 

[SeriousSquirrel]

I tend to flesh out backstories for every character I play as, or add my own backstory to a game (in partuclar if the games' story is lacking). Used to play a few tabletop games, and creating the stories behind those conflicts was awsome.

Hell, I even made a backstory for Mario Kart Double Dash.