Victor Vran Says Goodbye To Early Access, Hello To Being Awesome

Can u create your character in this game, and is gender amongst the options?

No, you are Victor Vran. The game is about him.

And that's the only thing that keeps me from buying this game. It looks great otherwise. :S

Might be a bold statement, but I'm 90% sure you'll forget the lack of character creation and gender option if you just give it a chance. It's too good to miss out.

True. One would think you'd miss out on a ton of great games if you absolutely refuse to play anything with a male main character. Just seems a bit weird to skip games based on the sex of the protagonist alone. Not that it's any of my business what you play and what you don't play, I guess. :)

I bought it on Early Access :D , and, indeed, it is totally awesome . It's about time that a Diablo-type game was available for Linux without cartoony graphics (looking at you, Torchlight :><: ).

Not that Torchlight isn't a gas to play, but still...


Last edited by oldrocker99 on 27 Jul 2015 at 2:16 am UTC

Can u create your character in this game, and is gender amongst the options?

No, you are Victor Vran. The game is about him.

And that's the only thing that keeps me from buying this game. It looks great otherwise. :S

If you're talking about playing a different class, you do have quite a number of customization options through equipment.
If you're talking about gender, I suspect that voicing a female character (and all lines that contain the name or pronoun) would have simply been too expensive.
I don't think every game must have the option to choose your gender, sometimes the writers want to tell a specific story. The problem is not any one single game, it's the general under-representation of female protagonists. Luckily, there are more and more games out there with a female lead, so things are getting better. I recently played Dex, which doesn't have character options, you play as Dex, who's female, it's her story. And I'd find it ...off-putting... if a guy told me he won't play that game because he won't play as a woman. Of course, that's not quite the same, since there are so many more games with male protagonists than female, so I can understand your stance to some extent. But I'm not going to completely dismiss a game just because I can't play as someone of my own gender, just like I wouldn't dismiss a game because the main character has a different skin colour. Given a choice, I usually choose to play as female at least during my first playthrough, but if the devs have an interesting story to tell about a guy, I don't mind that either. I'm probably more likely to buy a game with a female lead when I'm otherwise on the fence, but male lead isn't a deal breaker.
But if a game with a male protagonist just doesn't appeal to you at all, fair enough.

I don't think every game must have the option to choose your gender, sometimes the writers want to tell a specific story. The problem is not any one single game, it's the general under-representation of female protagonists. Luckily, there are more and more games out there with a female lead, so things are getting better.

I guess in the end that might be the core of the issue for me. I will always, as in always, prefer being able to roll a character of my own choosing instead of a premade one, and I like to believe there is almost never a compelling reason to go with a premade one at all. I think that a good writer can always adapt a given story to a custom character and make it fit regardless of whether the player picks a white guy or a black female.
What is so off-putting to me is that when devs decide to go with a premade character, 99% of the time it will be a male one. Because apparently even in 2015, women gamers do not exist. At least not in the heads of the devs and publishers, who in this time and age are still reluctant to publish a game featuring a female lead at all. I think I would mind premade characters considerably less if at least the third of them would be females, which would represent our share of the gamer customer base. We're a far cry off that.

I think that a good writer can always adapt a given story to a custom character and make it fit regardless of whether the player picks a white guy or a black female.

A tall order, and often an expensive one. Any story-heavy game (the kind I prefer) would need a lot more work. Picking the lead is the prerogative of the author, I'd say, even if they do have a bias. The industry probably still has a rather small percentage of female writers and developers. Not much of an excuse, though.

What is so off-putting to me is that when devs decide to go with a premade character, 99% of the time it will be a male one. Because apparently even in 2015, women gamers do not exist. At least not in the heads of the devs and publishers, who in this time and age are still reluctant to publish a game featuring a female lead at all.

Sad but true. Personally I fully support game character gender equality, even if I don't share your opinion on the importance of character customization.

First I hoped that this game would be a very nice addition and one of the first action-roleplaying-games on Linux. A purchase on GOG was really near. But now I'd like to point out that this game is not DRM-free as GOG mentions: For multiplaying there is a client-server-principle and nothing about normal peer-to-peer LAN-mode. Also the so-called treasure-hunting is matter of discussion because the account is also needed for activating the keycodes in the singleplayer. So far the discussion within GOG-forums. Have I missed something? Or perhabs somebody could refute me, please? For me the game also said "GOODBYE", if these mechanics stay there is no purchase. Won't buy DRM-software that way!

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/release_victor_vran_92633/page1


Last edited by throgh on 27 Jul 2015 at 10:37 am UTC

I will always, as in always, prefer being able to roll a character of my own choosing instead of a premade one, and I like to believe there is almost never a compelling reason to go with a premade one at all. I think that a good writer can always adapt a given story to a custom character and make it fit regardless of whether the player picks a white guy or a black female.

I disagree. This only works for stories where the main character is essentially a blank slate and the story is about the world and the people around them. Strong compelling stories often rely on a compelling main character, and you completely miss out on those. If every game had custom characters it would also be impossible to ever tell a story about sexism or racism, or to toy with people's expectations and stereotypes. I don't think Telltale's Walking Dead would have been the same playing as a white girl as playing as a black man. And how would you handle relationships? Should the game allow you to choose the main character's sexuality as well? In that case, you'd either have to have several relationship options, or make the partner also a blank slate, so we now have either a relatively meaningless relationship (hello, Bioware) or two blank slate characters (making it also kind of meaningless). I think one of the strengths of an interactive medium is that it can make you see the world through the eyes of someone different from you. By always letting you play as essentially you, you completely lose this possibility. Of course, in Victor Vran it may have been possible (I haven't finished the game, I only got a bit of his backstory), but I won't blame an individual game (Victor Vran) for a general problem (too few games about women (not to mention people of colour) in total).
I haven't played the multiplayer, but from what I've read they should add a character creator for that. If I understand correctly, everyone plays as Victor Vran, and that seems a bit ridiculous. I was actually considering picking up Rust, because that game generates a character for you based on your steam name or some such. Seems like a neat idea, making people play as a random gender and skin colour.

First I hoped that this game would be a very nice addition and one of the first action-roleplaying-games on Linux. A purchase on GOG was really near. But now I'd like to point out that this game is not DRM-free as GOG mentions: For multiplaying there is a client-server-principle and nothing about normal peer-to-peer LAN-mode. Also the so-called treasure-hunting is matter of discussion because the account is also needed for activating the keycodes in the singleplayer. So far the discussion within GOG-forums. Have I missed something? Or perhabs somebody could refute me, please? For me the game also said "GOODBYE", if these mechanics stay there is no purchase. Won't buy DRM-software that way!

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/release_victor_vran_92633/page1

None of the "online" features are required to play the game.

I will always, as in always, prefer being able to roll a character of my own choosing instead of a premade one, and I like to believe there is almost never a compelling reason to go with a premade one at all. I think that a good writer can always adapt a given story to a custom character and make it fit regardless of whether the player picks a white guy or a black female.

I disagree. This only works for stories where the main character is essentially a blank slate and the story is about the world and the people around them. Strong compelling stories often rely on a compelling main character, and you completely miss out on those.

A little thought experiment: Get your copy of Lord of the Rings, search for "Frodo" and replace with "Frida". Change all gender pronouns accordingly. Then tell me what impact that change had on the story.

You're right: None.

And we are talking about one of the most compelling stories ever written, not about a computer game where the main focus isn't telling a story but bashing monsters with a big hammer.

I concede that -some- stories need a fixed character. For instance I complete understand that the Witcher has to be a fixed character because he is an established figure in Polish mythology. But 99% work the exact same way with a protagonist of the opposite gender. Or with a different skin colour. What's often needed for a protagonist to work in a story is setting his or her personality traits and abilities (e.g. Victor Vran needs to be a skilled fighter). Other than a few exceptions such as the ones you listed in your post, gender or skin colour almost never matters.

First I hoped that this game would be a very nice addition and one of the first action-roleplaying-games on Linux. A purchase on GOG was really near. But now I'd like to point out that this game is not DRM-free as GOG mentions: For multiplaying there is a client-server-principle and nothing about normal peer-to-peer LAN-mode. Also the so-called treasure-hunting is matter of discussion because the account is also needed for activating the keycodes in the singleplayer. So far the discussion within GOG-forums. Have I missed something? Or perhabs somebody could refute me, please? For me the game also said "GOODBYE", if these mechanics stay there is no purchase. Won't buy DRM-software that way!

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/release_victor_vran_92633/page1

As default it is correct, but just to play the does not mean you have access to all features of the game all the time. And there is a third party account needed for accessing some features, which is a big problem for GOG in my point view.

Other than a few exceptions such as the ones you listed in your post, gender or skin colour almost never matters.

I still think the author should be allowed to choose. In the real world details such as gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age, social status, upbringing and pretty much everything else do influence the way people interact with their peers. You simply must keep them in mind if you're going for a believable character living in a world even slightly resembling our own. You give Tolkien's Frodo as an example, and indeed he's a good one: Hard to find a character that is easier to replace. He is pretty much a blank slate living in an intentionally unrealistic fantasy world. Not bashing the story though, even if it's not one of my favourites.

Now I'm not saying you couldn't replace a significant chunk of all game protagonists as well, but giving the choice to the player would in most cases require at least additional art assets, code and writing. You can't deny that. In any case, let's hope your message reaches the developers and we'll see a bigger percentage of games feature female leads in the future. Wouldn't change my gaming habits, seeing as pretty much half of the games I've bought in the last couple of years already seem to feature heroines instead of heroes.

EDIT: Some inane drivel replaced with other drivel.


Last edited by tuubi on 27 Jul 2015 at 6:51 pm UTC

Seems like the game isn't coming to GOG.com for Linux any time soon.

"To quote our CTO – “The Steam Linux build relies heavily on the Steam runtime to smooth over differences between different Linux distros.”

We are looking into the compatibility problem but we currently have no timeline for it since we are focused on the post-release updates and free DLCs."

Source: https://www.gog.com/forum/general/victor_vran_developer_qa_b9a24/post15

Well, might as well pick the game up later on sales then, if and when the game has become available on GOG.com, completely with all kind of DLCs and what not by then.

A little thought experiment: Get your copy of Lord of the Rings, search for "Frodo" and replace with "Frida". Change all gender pronouns accordingly. Then tell me what impact that change had on the story.

You're right: None.

It would certainly add a significant wrinkle to the Frodo and Sam dynamic and color our perception of their relationship, so saying that the impact would be none is not entirely accurate.

Now imagine if Eowyn's gender was changed to male. That would have a huge impact on that particular subplot.


Last edited by Mountain Man on 28 Jul 2015 at 11:32 am UTC

For those that do not follow TotalBiscuit (and are more interested about the game rather than SJW-nonsense) he did a pretty good first impressions video about Victor Vran, which pretty much covers everything you might want to know before purchasing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KlZkAZILZc

A little thought experiment: Get your copy of Lord of the Rings, search for "Frodo" and replace with "Frida". Change all gender pronouns accordingly. Then tell me what impact that change had on the story.

You're right: None.

It would certainly add a significant wrinkle to the Frodo and Sam dynamic and color our perception of their relationship, so saying that the impact would be none is not entirely accurate.

Now imagine if Eowyn's gender was changed to male. That would have a huge impact on that particular subplot.

This whole discussion is moot anyway since the writing in VV is not great and the story/characters quite bland. Instead, I suspect the single protagonist thing is entirely related to budget. I'm sure if enough people ask, they might be persuaded to make it possible to play the maps/challenges as Irene, for example. Maybe even with some new outfits and demon powers.

For those that do not follow TotalBiscuit (and are more interested about the game rather than SJW-nonsense) he did a pretty good first impressions video about Victor Vran, which pretty much covers everything you might want to know before purchasing it

What you refer to as "SJW-nonsense" is actually a worthwhile discussion to have and you'd have to completely lack empathy to not see that.

For those that do not follow TotalBiscuit (and are more interested about the game rather than SJW-nonsense) he did a pretty good first impressions video about Victor Vran, which pretty much covers everything you might want to know before purchasing it

What you refer to as "SJW-nonsense" is actually a worthwhile discussion to have and you'd have to completely lack empathy to not see that.

Whether I'm capable of empathy or not has nothing to do with this. Every writer regardless of his/her skills has the (artistic) right to decide his/her characters gender or if it can be chosen by player or not. Depending of the story and overall atmosphere, depth, those decisions can matter greatly.

When it comes to females in games, come on.. Some of the biggest franchises in industry have female protagonists, most games nowadays have the option to play as a female and there are games where you can't choose to be a male character. It's not a new thing either, remember Ms. Pacman? Metroid? Tomb Raider? Most fighting games? It's a long list really..

So, discussion which is based on an issue which in reality does not even exist, is in my book nonsense. I understand (no, I really don't sorry) that someone might be offended that he/she cannot play every game in existence as a black transgender cripple (hint: Skyrim is probably your best bet) or whatever. What I don't get is, why should everything be so overly PC with the expense of artistic vision and freedom.

EDIT: playable Irene as a DLC is an awesome idea!


Last edited by skry on 30 Jul 2015 at 11:39 am UTC

My only problem (still only 15-20 minutes into gameplay) is that I have ti start at the beginning, even after passing two checkpoints :><: .

It is still one awesome game .

My only problem (still only 15-20 minutes into gameplay) is that I have ti start at the beginning, even after passing two checkpoints :><: .

Oh, didn't see that. Perhaps because I didn't actually manage to die once in the couple of hours I've played. :P

It is still one awesome game .

It sure is a blast. I know I've only scratched the surface but thus far I find it much more enjoyable than Torchlight. A big plus for good gamepad support.

@Oldrocker99: Oh, I think I finally got what you meant by having to start at the beginning. Monsters and stuff get reset when you quit the game or leave an area/level, but you keep the loot and experience you've collected. The levels aren't that long and this way you can return as many times as you want for the challenges, extra loot or whatever. You can access all the locations you've found from the castle map, so pretty much the only downside is that you have to play through the levels in one sitting. Anyway, this is clearly by design.