The starting sequence is just a series of questions like that to allow the player to get into the RPG mindset and allow the notion that it's your character and not something I created with a fixed destiny and storyline.
The direct effects (thus far) are minimal, and mainly affect your starting stats and gear, but I've got a couple ideas about some of the questions having effects later on as well in the form of a side-quest or two. We'll see how that all pans out~