In response to "You Can't Kill Batman" from The Escapist Forum: Speaking as a writer and game writer the comments are spot on.
When you sit down to write a story, it could be anything -- historical fiction, fantasy, space opera, romance, hard-boiled detective fiction, etc. Even if the genre is fixed, a game engine can still do pretty much anything. The scope and opportunity are enormous, but so is the time it takes in iterations with the design teams to narrow it down to something that everyone can agree on.
When working with established IP it is much simpler. The characters, world, relationships, and often talents/abilities are largely fixed; the job of the writer is more focused. The writer gets to play around with the characters, cause trouble, trip up the good guys, sneak in a reversal or betrayal or two, and generally have fun. They can concentrate on the detail of the motion and rhythm and plot of the story.
From the developer point of view, when working with established IP a few big chunks of the upstream creative work are done -- world bibles and character designs can take a lot of artist and writer time. If the writer comes in where there is really only story / synopsis as a first step, it makes for a more streamlined (if less creatively exciting) project.
- coot
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In response to "Who's in the Driver's Seat?" from The Escapist Forum: The way I see it, players should indeed have free reign over their character's actions and personalities--that is, after all, one of the main reasons why people enjoy playing RPGs, to create a hero that fits their own unique idea of what a hero should be like (or just whatever is most fun for them to play). Where the writer can have freedom to create strong characters of their own is among the NPCs, and as Bioware games like Baldur's Gate have shown, well-crafted NPCs that interact with the PC in interesting ways can be incredibly appealing to players, as they help them craft their own characters in the way they like by bouncing them off the other personalities. I always feel disappointed playing an RPG where I've imagined a great personality for my character, but few opportunities to express that personality through interaction.
- clericsdaughter
