(Portrait taken from Kateri’s Commander Shepard – mine looks about the same)

So I wrote a column last week about Mass Effect 2, and about how well they handled one character in particular – Commander Shepard, the half-blank-slate protagonist:

Here’s what I like best about Shepard: her morals. Because really, she doesn’t have any. And this marks a major step forward for role-playing games writ large.

And the week before I ran a piece on another role-playing-type game, the tiny and awesome Choice of the Dragon.

The game isn’t hard to finish, and you can see most of the variations in under an hour. But I was surprised how attached I grew to my big old text-only lizard – I was wrapped up in every cunning plan, every grave wound, and yes, by the chance to land a mate and enjoy some cold-blooded lizard love. And the text that carries the entire story is witty and concise, drawing us in with obsequious praise and cold damage reports, praising our decisions but forcing us to suffer the consequences.

And so hey, what am I writing about this week? I wish I knew …

UPDATE: My interview with BioWare’s co-founder Greg Zeschuk is also up. It’s a little high-level, but he has some great stuff to say about interactive storytelling.

UPDATE 2: I had a longer intro to this post. I cut it. I may be turning it into a column, where I’ll expound on the same points at greater length. This is how the sausage is made, kids.