Plot device that most annoys you
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It's a easy way to explain away why your generic RPG protagonist has to start at level 1 with little to no skills and combat abilities to speak of and be put through the tutorial level.Blurbl said:
That being said, it has reached an ungodly level of saturation and it really needs to stop.
One that annoys me that I don't think has been mentioned is when the characters find a item or meet someone that inevitably turns out to be something/someone they will find out they need later on. I don't mind so much if it is well done but when they hang on to whatever it is for no discernible reason when most people would discard it as dead weight it become extremely irritating.
That's a pretty specific complaint to level against an entire genre. What game are you talking about exactly? The only ones I can think of with such a young main character are the Pokemon games and they don't have what you would call a love interest.JaredXE said:
Most RPGs feature characters in the 16-20 range or older. And the games which force love-interests are usually the western-made ones. The Japanese are much more adept at integrating all the plots and characters into the story.
Love at first site, it's done so often just so they can accelerate the story ahead quickly without the 'getting to know you' stage.
I think it might be even more annoying because 9/10 it's more 'wow, that girl is more fit looking then all the other girls - thus she must have an interesting personality and I shall make her mine!'
They use this a lot in really bad American shows, which fascinates me because all of the 'pretty' actresses look the same. Sienna Miller, Keira Knightley, Scarlet Johanson - are all clones of each other. It took me 5 episodes of Gossip Girl to realise there was more than one girl character
I think it might be even more annoying because 9/10 it's more 'wow, that girl is more fit looking then all the other girls - thus she must have an interesting personality and I shall make her mine!'
They use this a lot in really bad American shows, which fascinates me because all of the 'pretty' actresses look the same. Sienna Miller, Keira Knightley, Scarlet Johanson - are all clones of each other. It took me 5 episodes of Gossip Girl to realise there was more than one girl character
I agree with the Deuce ex Machina thing. Doesn't work.Vrex360 said:
Well, I love bad guys who are absolutely inhumanly evil. Or well. Depends. I like bad guys who are purely insane and don't really care about anything and are just doing whatever they do for fun. That would probably mean pure evil to most.
Well, the protagonists dieing kinda like fits zombie movies. You know why? The world is full of them. They will never run out. They will get to you eventually, whatever you do. Zombies aren't just one bad guy. It's billions of them. You will never make it. Also, the ending of the original night of the living dead... Cruel, but it works.
The final survivor gets shot in the face by a bunch of redneck zombie hunters[/spoiler}
On the other hand, if there is only one bad guy, if he is dead, he should be freakin dead.
On the other hand, if there is only one bad guy, if he is dead, he should be freakin dead.
Aliens. Hate em Hate em Hate em. They ruined Indiana Jones 4 and they ruined Knowing. The just ruin stuff
Memento!Blurbl said:
That was a twisty difficult film, but used the whole amnesia thing really well.
I never understood that with Cloud in FF7, he's part of the Elite military of Shinja or whatever but is only as capable in a fight as a girl that sells flowers and lives in a broken church.MoganFreeman said:
edit: i've played it and I know of the oh so shocking plot twist, gasp, he's not really but he is but he isn't and he hasn't really but he has done it but he didn't really. Oh fuck you overcomplicated plot twist for the sake of adding an extra 20 minutes to the game.
Either that obvious stupid thing the character does that makes you scream at the tv "NO YOU FOOL! NO NO NO!" or when a character comes in at the wrong part of a conversation and totally misinterprets the situation, causing many bads to happen that take the rest of the thing to resolve.
So I essentially hate dramatic irony.
Although occasionally a character being falsely accused can work. Occasionally.
So I essentially hate dramatic irony.
Although occasionally a character being falsely accused can work. Occasionally.
Hmmm this one mainly applies to films only, and i suppose it's not a plot device so much. But i hate it when they make a "shocking revelation" they have hinted to subtly (or not so subtly) throughout the film, and are then "kind" enough to flash-back to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. Just in case you were too stupid notice them yourself and/or be bothered to watch the film again.
As for ACTUAL plot devices... again not so much on the plot device front but i do dislike it when a writer is afraid to actually let any of their characters die. By which i mean like a MAIN character, not someone we've known for 10 pages and were never going to see again anyway.
Another heavily overused couple of plot lines are the "zomg you pissed me off/hurt my friend/insert trigger emotion X here, i will suddenly pull immense amounts of power out of my ass allowing me to defeat someone vastly more skilled, powerful etc. than me.
By the same token, i also dislike it when the only reason the main character is still alive is down to pure chance. A bad guy slipping here, timely rescue there isn't a problem, but when you can't help but feel your main character(s) should have died half a book ago it's kinda lame. This does however exclude "calculated risk taking" working out favourably though.
As for ACTUAL plot devices... again not so much on the plot device front but i do dislike it when a writer is afraid to actually let any of their characters die. By which i mean like a MAIN character, not someone we've known for 10 pages and were never going to see again anyway.
Another heavily overused couple of plot lines are the "zomg you pissed me off/hurt my friend/insert trigger emotion X here, i will suddenly pull immense amounts of power out of my ass allowing me to defeat someone vastly more skilled, powerful etc. than me.
By the same token, i also dislike it when the only reason the main character is still alive is down to pure chance. A bad guy slipping here, timely rescue there isn't a problem, but when you can't help but feel your main character(s) should have died half a book ago it's kinda lame. This does however exclude "calculated risk taking" working out favourably though.
Yeah i agree, what really annoyed me about the last transformers film wasElivercury said:
optimus dying and then being brought back to life
-Someone being resurrected.
-Amnesia
-Deuce Ex Machina.
-It was a dream!
-Oh but then the villian comes back and everyone dies!
-Unrealistic endings:
-Dragging stuff out for the sake of it. Stephen King is one of the worst offenders I've ever read when it comes to this:
"OKAY! Now we're at the valley of the dead! It only took 700 pages!"
"But I have to take a dump!"
"But the only bathroom is 500 pages of walking to the east and 300 pages of back stories no one gives a crap about to the south! Oh well, let's get going!"
GRRR!!!
-Amnesia
-Deuce Ex Machina.
-It was a dream!
-Oh but then the villian comes back and everyone dies!
-Unrealistic endings:
The book I am Legend is so great in the fact that Robert is an everyman and NEVER FINDS THE CURE!
"OKAY! Now we're at the valley of the dead! It only took 700 pages!"
"But I have to take a dump!"
"But the only bathroom is 500 pages of walking to the east and 300 pages of back stories no one gives a crap about to the south! Oh well, let's get going!"
GRRR!!!
This is why the Wire is so critically acclaimed. Every 'bad guy' has some sort of redeeming factor. in fact, there aren't really any bad guys as it is just portaying real-life people living in their surroundings. perhaps the best thing on tv since... erm.. it beganVrex360 said:
Agreed. Also the ones who fuck up saving the world because they stopped to save one person. Idiots.KarumaK said:
Oh, you gonna love A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Let us just say it is one of the most realistic fantasy series I have read. I can write out a spoiler or two if you want, but I'd rather not.Elivercury said: