I want to thank everyone for the thoughtful answers.
I agree with every single point you have made (and the information from further down the road was invaluable, thank you Rain for taking the time to type it down).
After a bit of further meditation, I am adding my own humble take on the subject.
Just my 0.02 gil, of course.
I agree with every single point you have made (and the information from further down the road was invaluable, thank you Rain for taking the time to type it down).
After a bit of further meditation, I am adding my own humble take on the subject.
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SpoilerFor better or worse, like it or not, the Echo is as canon as chocobos. It simply exists in the setting, it is a major driving force, and it involves a large group of people, most of them adventurers like my character. He is bound to encounter the phenomenon in a way or another; at the very least he will learn about its existence, as it seems to be a very poorly kept secret.
I think the main storyline is pretty sweet, and it's one vision after another. And they even give you a custom NPC just to make sure you follow the dotted line of the Path of the Twelve. If I had any doubts left, the entire FFXIV *trailer* is structured like an Echo's daydream sequence. Ok... Ok! I can take a hint, Square Enix. You want our characters to fit in there niche, and I do not particularly mind the effort.
Now, the Echo in itself, I don't like it much. I have a preference for unremarkable characters with no special abilities whatsoever. But being left out of the loop is no fun either. If there's a secret society of evil stamp collectors somewhere, I want in, just because it's a secret society!
So I'm thinking my character will have a very weak Echo, which will activate on its own, once or twice a year, giving uncalled for and irrelevant information, and of course my character will swoon at the most inopportune times and be a bother to everyone. And my poor path companion will complain incessantly and ask for a different partner but no, sorry, it's the will of the gods, you're stuck with the loser.
I'm confident I can follow my own little tale off the side of the main storyline, and find a personal reason for being given the power, and wrap it all with a nice colorful bow, and then move on.
Now, as for using the Echo in RP.
Using it on someone else's character without permission is downright mean, of course. It's not much better than /emoting "kills you dead, dead, dead." Besides, it would not mean anything if nobody is answering. There must be interaction. There is no RP if it's just me talking to myself.
How about using it in a scene? Just like in the main storyline, you learn stuff from the past because thanks to the Echo you were actually there when it happened? It sounds cool on paper, but it's a nightmare. Imagine entering a crowded room, and then you have to /tell everyone: "Hello, I'm not actually here, I'm a projection from my future self, who is looking into the past, which is your present. Please don't mind me and continue your conversation."
Not happening... Not unless they give us a "Echo mode: ON" icon to display over our character. (and that should come well after the 'Roleplaying mode: ON' icon... But that's a different issue)
I actually like this last option:
Whoever has the Echo, could walk to their target, so to speak, and ask them: "Hi, I'm using the Echo on you. Does it work? If it does, what do I see?"
Now, I'm not going to do anything like that with my character... That's just not how we work here at Gio Central. But I would welcome it, with open arms, if someone else's character did that to me.
It's not rude, I have the option to decline, and I keep control of my character's past actions. And it gives me more room for RP!
It allows me to disclose facts about my character that would not normally come up in conversation; what I do when I'm alone, or what happened to me yesterday at the market, and the last three words my mother said to me.
Even better: it allows me to disclose facts about my character, that my character wants to keep secret! That's pretty neat. I get to describe my grand schemes, my shameful actions, my deep regrets, my vulnerabilities, the combination of my safe. And you're at fault for spying on me, you monster you. And now that you know, what do you do? Good stuff.
I think the main storyline is pretty sweet, and it's one vision after another. And they even give you a custom NPC just to make sure you follow the dotted line of the Path of the Twelve. If I had any doubts left, the entire FFXIV *trailer* is structured like an Echo's daydream sequence. Ok... Ok! I can take a hint, Square Enix. You want our characters to fit in there niche, and I do not particularly mind the effort.
Now, the Echo in itself, I don't like it much. I have a preference for unremarkable characters with no special abilities whatsoever. But being left out of the loop is no fun either. If there's a secret society of evil stamp collectors somewhere, I want in, just because it's a secret society!
So I'm thinking my character will have a very weak Echo, which will activate on its own, once or twice a year, giving uncalled for and irrelevant information, and of course my character will swoon at the most inopportune times and be a bother to everyone. And my poor path companion will complain incessantly and ask for a different partner but no, sorry, it's the will of the gods, you're stuck with the loser.
I'm confident I can follow my own little tale off the side of the main storyline, and find a personal reason for being given the power, and wrap it all with a nice colorful bow, and then move on.
Now, as for using the Echo in RP.
Using it on someone else's character without permission is downright mean, of course. It's not much better than /emoting "kills you dead, dead, dead." Besides, it would not mean anything if nobody is answering. There must be interaction. There is no RP if it's just me talking to myself.
How about using it in a scene? Just like in the main storyline, you learn stuff from the past because thanks to the Echo you were actually there when it happened? It sounds cool on paper, but it's a nightmare. Imagine entering a crowded room, and then you have to /tell everyone: "Hello, I'm not actually here, I'm a projection from my future self, who is looking into the past, which is your present. Please don't mind me and continue your conversation."
Not happening... Not unless they give us a "Echo mode: ON" icon to display over our character. (and that should come well after the 'Roleplaying mode: ON' icon... But that's a different issue)
I actually like this last option:
Whoever has the Echo, could walk to their target, so to speak, and ask them: "Hi, I'm using the Echo on you. Does it work? If it does, what do I see?"
Now, I'm not going to do anything like that with my character... That's just not how we work here at Gio Central. But I would welcome it, with open arms, if someone else's character did that to me.
It's not rude, I have the option to decline, and I keep control of my character's past actions. And it gives me more room for RP!
It allows me to disclose facts about my character that would not normally come up in conversation; what I do when I'm alone, or what happened to me yesterday at the market, and the last three words my mother said to me.
Even better: it allows me to disclose facts about my character, that my character wants to keep secret! That's pretty neat. I get to describe my grand schemes, my shameful actions, my deep regrets, my vulnerabilities, the combination of my safe. And you're at fault for spying on me, you monster you. And now that you know, what do you do? Good stuff.
Just my 0.02 gil, of course.
