Immersion

[Zojha]

Then there're things like the DRK storyline up to 50 that show you that no, we're not really ok with all of this, so that leaves plausible deniability about how honest our characters are on other times.

And that same quest is also one of the prime candidates to point to when claiming that there actually is no room for self-interpretation.

They not only force very certain feelings on your character, they also enforce how our character copes with them. What if your character WAS in fact okay with all the things happening in the MSQ? He can't be, because DRK quest. There is no way to just give in either, even when you are alone with yourself. I know the EN script is excessively vague, but if you look at the JP script, it's very explicit that you are, in fact, doing this not for bloodshed, but to protect the weak, because you desire to fight specifically for others, not because you just like fighting. In the german one, similarly, it's explicit you are doing it because you simply 'want' to suffer for others and that's precisely why you excel at being a Dark Knight. I haven't done the SB quests yet, so I can't judge those, but so far, no, there is no room to interpret yourself in a way that supports Zenos view. The guy was just projecting.

Personally, I wager the main reason we don't have a voice is simply the work it would require. Everyone would want to have the voice they picked at character creation, rather than a generic one, and that would be way too much work. Self-interpretation IMO is no argument at all - The puppet strings go all the way into our heart, into our deepest, darkest feelings. It's all tightly controlled.

[BillyKaplan]

Self-interpretation IMO is no argument at all

And again, I say, if you want that level of Self-interpretation, go play a table-top game. There're limitations to how much freedom they can give you when ultimately you're playing a story someone else wrote. And ultimately, you get to decide what's canon for your own character. Within my chara's story, the DRK story didn't follow the canon questline up to 50, his complex wasn't about being the WoL and his fight with his inner darkness was at Providence Point by Hauchy's memorial with that playing a part. Didn't stop me from enjoying the canon version.. I know we're talking about Immersion but for me that sort of thing is a non-issue. I enjoy the game as presented before me and see how it ties in with itself; at the same time I decide how things happen for my character.

That said, if your character really was ok with everything that was happening in Ul'dah, I worry for them because that event at the end of ARR was the definition of trauma and certain amounts of ptsd are to be expected and I adore the DRK questline for going there. If your character is such a character that wouldn't care about those things, that wouldn't be fazed by them, maybe it's time to examine why you picked such a character in the first place for the role of the Warrior of Light, and remember the basic things the game expects out of your character - care; heroism; humanity and humility, to name a few examples. If your character doesn't fit these criteria I don't think you should expect in the first place for the game to cater to you. I realize this seemingly contradicts what I said earlier about the game prioritizing roleplay, but this is still a story based game someone else wrote and guides us through. We don't have such levels of freedom and imo it's wrong to expect them.