Wed Aug 31, 2016 12:23 am
As someone who isn't a hard-core roleplayer, I perhaps don't have the same views on the subject as many people here.
Personally, I like the backstory given in the Fallout games. It gives me something to build my character off of, which I enjoy. Yes, I agree that it can be restrictive in some aspects, but I don't think that it takes away too much of the roleplay potential. In some ways, it makes it more interesting. If I decide to do things that don't fit with the character's backstory, I've got to think of why they're doing it, what pushed them to make that change in personality. Again, I'm no determined roleplayer, so this is certainly not true for everyone. It probably is really hard to roleplay certain types of stories.
But when it comes to TES, I do like the blank-slate approach. Maybe it's just because it's what I'm used to, but I don't think that I'd like backstory in future TES games. With the wide variety of races/skill types available, it would be hard to do, anyway (an Altmer mage would have a very different backstory than an Khajiit thief, for example, and that's without any sort of roleplay).
That's my thoughts, anyway. Is it weird that I like backstory in Fallout but not TES?