Games with 'Origins' stories like DAO's

[Zenoth]

I've been playing a bit of Dragon Age: Origins lately, mostly for the sake of nostalgia. And as I was checking some of the (six total) Origins stories it got me thinking: "Was this stuff ever done again after DAO?".

The 'stuff' being the 'Origins' stories that serve as the game's prologues, depending on which race / class chosen. But they all lead to your character meeting with Duncan. I never took the time to stop and think about other (if any?) games out there that ever had anything identical, or even similar to that. And now that I'm thinking about it (just at a glance in my head, haven't done any Googlin' on it yet) to be honest nothing comes to mind right now. As far as the following Dragon Age games are concerned, it never happened again. Well, technically-speaking there is a (single) prologue / 'Origin' story at the beginning of DA2; but that's just one, there's nothing more beyond the game's single intro for Hawk and his/her family. I wasn't exactly expecting it, but I was somewhat disappointed to realize that DA Inquisition also didn't bother much with that.

Now there's two 'main' subjects at hand. The first is basically why was this essentially never done again? And the second is why would it be done again?

For me, Dragon Age: Origins was (well, it still is) one of the greatest video games of all time. And its Origins stories definitely were a plus. They helped establish / solidify a bond between me and my character by presenting some details in one (albeit short) specific moment of his/her life prior to the actual events of the game starting per se ("starting" when Duncan shows up and makes you understand that you have a role to play in something much bigger and must leave with him). One of the main reasons why DAO had a great impact on me at the time with at least half of the Wardens I created is because their respective Origins stories made me care about my characters.

And, as surprising as it may sound, even though there's only one such story in DA2 I would say that I could 'connect' with my Hawk much better than I could with my Inquisitor simply because DA2 at least took a little bit of time to have a decent enough prologue to establish some character-specific details about the protagonist. About the fact that he/she isn't just a 'drone' without any form of a life prior to the game's events falling on his shoulders. And that absolutely lacked in Inquisition which I've always believed it to be one of the major flaws of the game (I.E. that basically I could never "connect" with my Inquisitor for essentially having presented me no meaningful information about his/her past and therefor unable to determine a personality in the long run during the game as I made dialogue decisions based on specific personality traits).

Anyway, the subject goes beyond the Dragon Age franchise.

I'm really trying to think about at least one single game out there that had something identical to that. Or was it really BioWare and Dragon Age: Origins that 'invented' that story-telling method in video gaming? I mean, it's possible. But I would actually be surprised if it was truly the case. And that's not because I think that BioWare at the time wouldn't have been able to "invent" something like that; but simply because video gaming has been there for so long that it would seem almost impossible to me that some other developer out there never ever done that before even in older games all the way back to 8 or 16 bit gaming.

I'd like to be precise here in what I'm talking about. I'm trying to find if there were other games out there (before or after DAO came out) that provided the player with multiple Origins-styled stories in one game that are based on classes and/or race, that all ultimately lead to the main narrative. I'm not talking about a single Origin story (like DA2's, or even The Witcher 3's intro for example). That's because obviously having at least ONE prologue for your protagonist in video gaming is very common, I know that. I'm specifically referring to the methodology employed by DAO's story-telling of multiple stories based on classes or races. And mind you, not just "stories", but actual gameplay during such prologue stories just like DAO did; even if it was ultimately short or linear.

As I type this nothing comes to mind. I'll check a bit around on Google but gut feeling says that DAO might have indeed been truly unique in that regard, and it might have indeed never have been done again ever since (not even by BioWare themselves). But if you do find one (or more) such game out there that did something like that, please do let me know.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

I can't think of any, but there was an old Nintendo game that this reminds me of, I can't remember the name, but I think it was on SNES. Anyway, you would select one of many characters, and any of the ones you did not select, you could run into later. Each one had different goals but essentially were fighting same story. I want to say it was 7th Saga but I looked it up and it doesn't look familiar. Then again, it was 25 years ago -

 

[Zenoth]

I can't think of any, but there was an old Nintendo game that this reminds me of, I can't remember the name, but I think it was on SNES. Anyway, you would select one of many characters, and any of the ones you did not select, you could run into later. Each one had different goals but essentially were fighting same story. I want to say it was 7th Saga but I looked it up and it doesn't look familiar. Then again, it was 25 years ago -

Thanks for trying to think of such games.

And what you're mentioning about (possibly) 7th Saga makes me remember right now that something similar to what you described actually also does happen in Dragon Age: Origins. That, I believe in most of the Origin stories (if not all, but I'd have to replay them all completely to make sure; it's been years since I actually completed the campaign) you do meet at least one character (other than Duncan) who you end up seeing / encountering again later on during the campaign. I can't recall the name of the character (NPC) in question but I do remember something like that happening in the Dalish Elves Origin story (I.E. you meet a young Elf man, something happens to him; you can't "save" him in time and you end up seeing or meeting him or hearing about him at least, later on in the campaign). And also, this brings me back memories of how something at least similar also happens in the first Mass Effect, where your Shepard meets an NPC, or at least hears the details about an event that is linked directly to the "Profile" you'd have chosen at the beginning while creating Shepard (Example: going with a Colonist Shepard adds a mission to the campaign where you meet a young woman with PTSD-like conditions and behavior).

Additionally, one franchise comes to mind outside of BioWare games where something similar was made, but didn't happen in one game; where instead it "indirectly" happened in separate games. And that franchise is Half-Life. Because, essentially, what are the Origins stories of DAO? They are different perspectives of the same event(s) happening. In DAO, Duncan realizes that a new Blight is happening, and goes on a search for new potential Grey Warden recruits. As he's looking for new recruits, he happens to "pass by" the location where your character's Origin story occurs. Your class / race's respective Origin story ultimately just being one of six different perspective of "current events" of the main narrative. So, essentially, that's what happened with Half-Life: Blue Shift (the 'Resonance Cascade' event but seen and experienced from the perspective of Barney, a security guard at the Black Mesa Research Facility), and Half-Life: Opposing Force (same as Blue Shift, but perspective changes from that guard to a Special Forces / Marine originally sent in to control the situation and later on ordered to kill Freeman just like Marines try to do in the original campaign). Now, it's not identical to DAO's approach, but it's in the same 'veins' so to speak.

For now it's the only thing I can think of. But it's not identical to DAO.

 

[Merad]

Don’t know if it counts for your purposes, but Lord of the Rings Online does something similar to DA:O but more in depth. It launched in 2007 with four different races. Each race has its own unique starting experience. There are four different race specific series of prologue quests before everyone joins together on the game’s main story. Two races get their own starter zones, and the other two share a zone but approach it from opposite sides, so there’s only a bit of quest overlap. IIRC the starter zones would usually take 6-8 hours.

 

[Zenoth]

Don’t know if it counts for your purposes, but Lord of the Rings Online does something similar to DA:O but more in depth. It launched in 2007 with four different races. Each race has its own unique starting experience. There are four different race specific series of prologue quests before everyone joins together on the game’s main story. Two races get their own starter zones, and the other two share a zone but approach it from opposite sides, so there’s only a bit of quest overlap. IIRC the starter zones would usually take 6-8 hours.

Yep! That does count. It's basically DAO's formula. Thanks for reminding me. And now that you mention LotR Online, I'm wondering if other MMORPGs have done something similar; and I'm sure that the answer is yes. In fact, I should check again because I own it (it's not currently installed, however) but didn't Elder Scrolls Online also did something at least similar? I can't recall the details but I think that at least some races or maybe some of the classes start in a different "starting" zone, and eventually all converge to the same 'main' quests later on in the main land. Actually, literally as I'm typing this there's also Guild Wars 2 that comes to mind. I'm almost certain that I started in different zones with specific races, with each of them having their own specific stories for essentially being the "chosen one" of the campaign (which is so common in MMORPGs obviously).

 

[local]

Everquest, 1999. Every race starts in it's own city/zone, some races had multiple choices. Depending on your race you could start on an entirely different continent. Made for a fun journey if you wanted to play a certain race and then try to meet up with your friend on the other side of the planet at a low level.

Pretty sure EQ2 is similar but it is simplified compared to the original.

 

[Zenoth]

Hmmm... well, I see that it's essentially a story-telling methodology that might have originated in MMORPGs then. It's interesting, considering that so far Dragon Age: Origins seems to have been the only single-player game that implemented the method for itself. Well, the "only" one that comes to mind, and the only one so far. I'm still trying to check on this whenever I have some spare time. I'll ask a colleague at work this week (he's pretty much a gamer just like me so he might have something in mind). Ultimately, if it turned out that DAO really is the only single-player game out there with this sort of prologue stories system then I would be surprised, and probably disappointed. Because I honestly think that it was one of the greatest way to build up context and character (figuratively-speaking, for the game as a whole, and literally so for the protagonist) for a (complex) game like that. It was an absolutely genius (yet quite simple enough in concept) method for story telling in my opinion.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Technically Sacred 1 (I think?) and Sacred 2 did this.. but it was really more of a 'tutorial/intro area' than a true storyline, although there was story involved as to why your character awoke/was summoned/murdered your master/whatever, then you'd run around for an hour or two (or longer, if you explored some) before really grinding into the main quest. You could even go to each of the other classes' starting areas and kill stuff, though the NPC layout at minimum was usually different, and of course the other class starting quests weren't available. Was a neat tie-in though.

EQ definitely makes the list, at least to an extent. Each race/class combo had any number of starting areas, and usually some form of class specific quest (to the extent that existed in EQ1... monk was probably the most notable, with the sash/headband quests). EQ2 followed a similar model, and new starting areas opened up as expansions were released.. I think EQ1's stayed static unless that changed in the last decade or so.

WoW has race-based, nothing as specific as race/class though aside from some random class-specific quests that have mostly rotted on the vine nowadays. Guild Wars 2 did that as well.. wouldn't be surprised if a handful of MMOs followed that formula. Did UO/Meridian 59? That would probably be the precursor for the MMO-style at least.

Let's see.. Tales of Maj'Eyal has different starting areas/conditions/quest based on race/class layout (maybe just race?).

Mount and Blade has slightly different starting conditions based on your character creation, though that's closer to like, a strategy game based on a 'parent house' or something.

Skyrim's got a great mod that starts you as a random nobody/somebody in a random part of the world, rather than participating in the tutorial section. While light on the 'origin' side, it gives you a very basic character rundown (you're a mercenary who's done with the life! you're a slave escaping your necromancer captor! you're a dragonslayer who's heard murmurings of new dragons! etc..).

After thumbing through my Steam library, those are the ones that jump out at me. There's likely a few others out there though!

 

[aigomorla]

ME1

Mass Effect 1, which I think is sort of DAO in Space.

 

[Zenoth]

ME1

Mass Effect 1, which I think is sort of DAO in Space.

As much as I adore ME1, I have to say that it definitely doesn't fit the criteria. ME1 does not have Origins stories per se like DAO had. You had Shepard profiles to choose from, brief texts that gave some idea of a potential past you wanted to give to your Shepard during his/her creation, but that's it.

 

[aigomorla]

As much as I adore ME1, I have to say that it definitely doesn't fit the criteria. ME1 does not have Origins stories per se like DAO had. You had Shepard profiles to choose from, brief texts that gave some idea of a potential past you wanted to give to your Shepard during his/her creation, but that's it.

you built relations with the NPC's.
your choices also ultimately effected ME2, which then connected ME3.

Although ME3 was meh, the person you saved in ME1, would come again in ME2, and,

Spoiler

Died would not be in ME2

To be honest, i miss bioware's creativity like that.
The last game i would honestly say they made which was epic is probably bioshock 3.

Oh on that note Bioshock would probably also fit your Origin ideal, if you compare 1 to 3, and 2 to 3.
1 to 2, tied in very confusingly, but they all got nicely wrapped up in 3.

 

[Zenoth]

you built relations with the NPC's.
your choices also ultimately effected ME2, which then connected ME3.

Although ME3 was meh, the person you saved in ME1, would come again in ME2, and,

Spoiler

Died would not be in ME2

To be honest, i miss bioware's creativity like that.
The last game i would honestly say they made which was epic is probably bioshock 3.

Oh on that note Bioshock would probably also fit your Origin ideal, if you compare 1 to 3, and 2 to 3.
1 to 2, tied in very confusingly, but they all got nicely wrapped up in 3.

BioWare did not develop BioShock 3 though, same for 1 and 2. They were made by 2K Boston, 2K Australia, 2K Marin and Irrational Games.

And, about the Mass Effect series with major choices persisting from the first game to the third, indeed I'm aware of that aspect. However, I wasn't talking about that in my original post. The Dragon Age: Origins story telling methodology that I was referring to, specifically, was about the developers (and writers) taking the time to create very specific Prologues ("Origins") for each Classes / Races of the game. This basically excludes the other system, which is to have choices persisting in the same game across the campaign, or throughout the following titles.

So indeed to come back to my previous statement, as much as I loved both ME1 and 2, they just don't fit in the criteria that this thread is about. But, I agree about BioWare's creativity years, they're gone now.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Bioware's SWTOR does it well. Each of the 8 classes (4 Republic, 4 Empire) starts you as a rookie, with a different background for each of the 8. It also has 8 very long class-specific quest chains that continue side-by-side with the 2 shared faction quest chains. They abandoned this for later higher-level content in the F2P era, dropping down to just the 2 faction quests, then to a single mostly faction-neutral story.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines changes the start slightly based on your tribe / race, and there are different paths for Nosferatu and blood mages from the others, but that isn't quite the same.

Pillars of Eternity has you set a biography that includes your origin, but it just changes a bit of flavor text here and there. I'm probably forgetting some other games that did this.

I can't think of any other Western RPGs that did real origins, and I've been playing them since the SSI Gold Box games.

 

[Zenoth]

Bioware's SWTOR does it well. Each of the 8 classes (4 Republic, 4 Empire) starts you as a rookie, with a different background for each of the 8. It also has 8 very long class-specific quest chains that continue side-by-side with the 2 shared faction quest chains. They abandoned this for later higher-level content in the F2P era, dropping down to just the 2 faction quests, then to a single mostly faction-neutral story.

You are so right about that one. How could I possibly forget! I had a blast with the Imperial Agent and Sith Warrior campaigns, very well written. Definitely, The Old Republic's main three Chapters (per classes) fits the formula. But indeed, they stopped doing that with their expansions and streamlined them big time with just one central story (Eternal Throne and beyond) regardless of which class you originally chose (even non-Force users I believe have the exact same campaign, maybe with just slightly modified cut scenes where they don't use the Force... maybe; even that I'm not sure about).

 

[DaveSimmons]

The Sith Inquisitor was also fun. Dialog option: ( Shock him again )

I also enjoyed the two Jedi class stories.

I still need to finish the Trooper class story before uninstalling but playing below level 60 is less fun for me since they nerfed the difficulty down to (click main attack a few times, Elite enemy dies) and got rid of any need to pay attention to gearing.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

Sith warrior was good, I hated Imperial Agent, First half of Consular was boring but got better, Inquisitor seems fun.

 

[zinfamous]

The Sith Inquisitor was also fun. Dialog option: ( Shock him again )

I also enjoyed the two Jedi class stories.

I still need to finish the Trooper class story before uninstalling but playing below level 60 is less fun for me since they nerfed the difficulty down to (click main attack a few times, Elite enemy dies) and got rid of any need to pay attention to gearing.

Sith Inquisitor was the only fun I had doing any kind of MMO story. In fact, it was probably the only story in any MMO that I played without constant skipping of cut scenes just to get back to "MMO GRIND!" It really was great. Jedi warrior (I think I went sentinel? not that that matters) was also good, as long as you go evil. Man...evil jedi was a blast, but the dialogue/cut scenes don't really follow your choices if you are trying to be even more evil than your Inquisitor. It was really annoying, how they want you to be good.

Thing is, I wanted to have a good Jedi, just to get the full experience, but early on in one of those stupid noob quests on noob island, the proper "good" decision is to rat out some young Jedis that were in love and ran away to make out. Jedis can't fall in love and bullshit like that. At that moment, I went full evil Jedi and tried to murder all the masters on that island...but they wouldn't exactly let me

 

[Rebel_L]

While not quite the same as the onus was on you as the player to write your own story, the mmorpg City of Heroes provide a distinct part of you character profile for providing a back story to you character that other players could view when inspecting you

 

[DaveSimmons]

Sith Inquisitor was the only fun I had doing any kind of MMO story. In fact, it was probably the only story in any MMO that I played without constant skipping of cut scenes just to get back to "MMO GRIND!" It really was great. Jedi warrior (I think I went sentinel? not that that matters) was also good, as long as you go evil. Man...evil jedi was a blast, but the dialogue/cut scenes don't really follow your choices if you are trying to be even more evil than your Inquisitor. It was really annoying, how they want you to be good.

Thing is, I wanted to have a good Jedi, just to get the full experience, but early on in one of those stupid noob quests on noob island, the proper "good" decision is to rat out some young Jedis that were in love and ran away to make out. Jedis can't fall in love and bullshit like that. At that moment, I went full evil Jedi and tried to murder all the masters on that island...but they wouldn't exactly let me

If you haven't played KOTOR 1 and 2, you should get them from GoG or Steam. KOTOR 1 has Bioware's mustache-twirling dark side path where you lie to everyone. 2 has Obsidian's more nuanced dark side, an influence system where you turn most of your companions into dark side jedi, and companions who approve of you killing innocents and meatbags.