Avowedis the first of many major releases to look forward to in a year filled with upcoming blockbuster titles. The fantasy RPG from genre veteran Obsidian Entertainment is set to whisk players away to the world of Eora, a name familiar to fans ofthePillars of Eternityseriesset in the same universe. As with many of Obsidian’s other titles, players will be free to approachAvowedhowever they wish, creating all sorts of weird and wonderful characters to start their adventure.
Game Rant recently caught up with Obsidian Entertainment to discuss the depths ofAvowed’s customization options. Game Director Carrie Patel, QA engineer Lindsay Pimintel, and QA analyst Claire Nentarz each shared their experiences with creating their own characters and playing the game in their desired ways. The different journeys they shared go some way to highlighting the plethora of different ways in which players will be able to tackle the game’s challenges.
Obsidian Team Shares Some of Their Favorite Custom-Avowed Characters
Pimintel on Their Avowed Character
‘‘For my first full playtest, my envoy was a cranky old scholar named Petunia who couldn’t care less about companionship. Every interaction she had was a means to an end in her pursuit of arcane power. This was a strategic choice – I wanted to be a total jerk to everyone I met, since most players tend to lean towards neutral or nice.’’
Nentarz on Their Avowed Character
‘‘My most recent playthrough was with a character I spent way too much time in the character creator perfecting. She was stunning, and I named her “melon.” Other runner-up names were “Toyotathon” and “xbox360,” because I can’t take anything seriously. I don’t know if anyone’s familiar with the resurgence of bizarre wizard memes, but that was 100% her character. Faced with a problem? Fireball. An NPC questioning a series of events? Confuse the hell out of them with mystic ramblings. Ponder that orb.’’
Patel on Their Avowed Character
‘‘Because it’s so common to play the good guy (whether you really want to or not), I love it when a game lets me play a bit of a villain. I played one of my first characters as a taciturn Aedyran loyalist. I was pleased by how consistently the game let me follow this characterization and by how much opportunity I had to define what these choices actually meant to my character.’’
Overall, it seemsAvowedis set to let players play any way they choose. Whether that’s as a good guy, a bad guy, a loyalist, or something in-between,Avowed’s protagonist is clearly a great way to get into the mindset of aLiving Lands"vacationer."
