Things I'd like to sign up for:
> Long Live the Queen
> Papers, Please
> La-mulana (unless there are spiders. Web-spiders. Please take me off or disregard this one if there are spiders thank you.)
> *looks at Sina Mora*
...Ok not that. >_<
I'd love to see a female protagonist that plays the protagonist role straight--as in, nothing that deviates for any darn reason. Ideas come to mind like the main character in Portal more than others (...I can't remember many others :S). As in, games which treat gender as gender, and nothing more [I can defend this by stating that the differences mostly lie in anatomy/physiology, all else are on intangible beliefs and how we see each other]. To not hold characters by how the generality sees them, but for who they are as people (even non-human//anthropomorphic characters for that reason). Like, as opposed to our world history, make a setting wherein none of this stuff happened and equality in that sort, reigns truly.
Passing idea anyway: What I'd also like to see more are characters who have choices--who know their choices, and are preferably not forced towards a destined choice or a linear action (ie 'Just because there's a totally evil dude attacking the whole everything means the ending goes as a confrontation between you and him...'). Meaning: Directness and indirectness. While things like those could happen--I'd like the notion of time and action to be intertwined (like, what you did before has a significant effect on others actions as they do the same to yours). Bleh, probably being vague here. I could restate this idea if it is too vague.
...And if I could add another idea, the concept of the silent character (ie You are the character) with everything flowing with you is a classic idea to follow, though, with free will and following the ideas that our world revolves in (like morals and ethics coming into play given that there are mostly barriers between the player and the world to immerse in). Or diplomacy as a character concept. Or a character which can actually call out the player if wrongs are done not by 'I STRIKE YOU DOWN' but by words and such--preferably..someone the protagonist knows? That's a rare thing to see as a game mechanic. I haven't seen many of those in recent times.
Oh, also sincerity. I just love sincere characters and understanding how they tick (yeah, defense mechanisms and all--fully fleshed out characters are nice to see.)
On all the above--full character customization if we're going on free-world play. If its a predestined character, then aim for the silent-type and let the game, not so much revolve around, but flow around him/her--not saying that 'if I do x, then character y will react like x', but...to add in the 'human' characteristic to how all characters are defined in and around the player.
...Oh great I just wall O' texted again. >_<