One thing necessary for a good story, and perhaps even more so a story where you play the protagonist, is characterisation and character development of the protagonist. I think the writing in bg3 is severely lacking in that respect. Although it is clear what the protagonist looks like, it remains unclear what makes her tick, and how she develops as a result of circumstances and choices made. It feels like I am playing a mannequin instead of a real person. It makes the center of the story empty, and it really hampers opportunities for immersion through empathy.
I broadly agree, but think BG3 has a different challenge than even many other RPGs given how much freedom it is trying to give us to create custom characters. Unlike in many other games, I wouldn’t quite say I want the game to “make clear” what makes my character tick or how she develops, as I want to be able to determine that with as much freedom as possible. In a way, I suppose I
do want an empty mannequin who can be animated by my imagination. But what I need from the game is the ability to bring that character to life by letting me enact my vision for who the character is, how they would act and why, and how they would change in light of what happens to them in the course of the plot. And I want to feel that the world and NPCs are responding to that, too. The game still needs to show characterisation and development, of course, but these need to be extremely flexible and driven by the player to an extent that I don’t think I’ve seen done better in any other game (recommendations gratefully received on that front!).
I think a good example is the way the protagonist is cast in the role of leader. What has she done to deserve that? Why isn't she constantly challenged? What difficult choices does she have to make to retain her position? Why does she even want to be leader?
I agree these are important questions, and I really want to see them play out over the course of the game. One of the things I liked about BG3 from the start was that, even in single player, we are gathering an adventuring party of people with a common problem but no inbuilt hierarchy. I’ll be disappointed if BG3 just sidesteps the issue of how our PC becomes the leader (if indeed they do) by means of some external plot device rather than giving us the opportunity to roleplay evolving party dynamics. Of course, doing that satisfactorily will require strengthening companion writing as well as that for our protagonist.
