Yeah we're definitely on the same page there I think, with pretty much everything hehe.
Lae'zel also won me over with that first jump down!
I was going to ramble a bit more about the flying meat, like how it should totally miss and zoom right past us if playing a Halfling, or get caught in our beard if we're a playing a Dwarf. Perhaps a hawk swoops into frame and catches the meat in it's talons "baccccawww!" then lands on our shoulder, so we know we're really a Ranger lol. But I think I made the general point already.
I'd love to see a more emotive performance, with a full theatrical repertoire for the PC, but since there's really nothing of that sort going on yet, it's hard to visualize what sort of PC inputs they might make use of? I think its also a bit problematic that the user can't really create their own Origin character. Or a character on par with what the Origins represent in terms of characterization.
Like sure you can make a pasty Elf rogue, but not an Astarion with all the foppish flamboyant gestures and whatnot. You could make an aggro female Gith Warrior, but not a complete performance like we see from Lae'zel. I don't just mean the locked models/voices/animations, although those are definitely locked too, unless you're trying to unpack stuff in mods. We just don't have access to the same kinds of character tools that the devs do. They're in the directors chair with the casting call sheet and the big bag of tricks. What's left for us is sort of the b reel material that wasn't quite good enough to make a unique feeling Origin companion, and feels like it was just ditched into the "Custom" trash heap.
Here's another quick example of a missed opportunity, just while I'm thinking of the Lae'zel jump down. So she says "Abomination this is your end!" to everyone, and then gives everyone the same exact same spiel afterwards about the coming combat with the imps. She doesn't take one look at my squishy Halfling Rogue like "Vlaakith! why have you forsaken me!!!" then instructs us to stay out of sight and strike once the battle is joined. You know, like a Halfling Rogue should probably operate. I mean since this is a tutorial right? She just does the same old thing for everyone. Performed the same way, cause it's all about her, and not really about the PC which is the main problem. Though I can see what you're saying. Iterated out to the Nth degree the Origin companions could probably do that something compelling, along the lines of "it wasn't me who stole the cookie the cookie jar, that was me being Montaron!" like in the meta POV. If they made a full on Origin for Misnc, where I'm in his headspace would that intrigue me? I suppose, but probably not enough to carry the game.
It's funny though, ever since the idea was floated (more as a dig) to play BG2 "but as Viconia" that idea has now implanted itself in my head lol. I keep picturing how that might look hehe. I mean cause I care about the character a little more. I guess technically they could still have Viconia as an Origin. I mean Minc needs his witch right? and Drow are pretty long lived. I could see the player controls Viconia as an origin character, and then through that vehicle they are clued into some stuff about Drow culture. Whatever that's meant to be now in the 5E new conception of Drow. Or the Religion of Shar. And like when you play as Viconia, Shar actually talks to you and shit like that. So it becomes like an instructional tool for the game universe that teaches the player about things they might not otherwise know lore-wise. This makes the game more like a passive tv or movie watching experience a bit more than I think of with a D&D crpg, but I suppose I can picture it as a means to a casual hook.
I honestly don't know what to make of the whole full performance VO MC Origin, because its just speculative going off what was there in DOS2 I suppose. They might have been able to skirt that association, but then they kinda promo'd it pretty heavy up front hehe. Maybe they do something rather different with it though, based on the feedback. One could hope
