Question of the Day, July 30, 2010
- Thread starter The Escapist Staff
- Start date
Confusing Instructions, all of the other options don't even matter if you don't know what the fuck you're supposed to do.
I hate poor writing most when it leaves my motivation/actions askew, as seen in any and all MMOs. "I need ingredients (like vital organs that may or may not exist) that can only be obtained by murdering wildlife, and yes it does take 20 hearts to make an 8 ounce potion." Maybe that can be forgiven for an MMO, not particularly story-based to begin with.
Then there's the shit that just doesn't add up, like needing a key in order to open a flimsy, wooden door as opposed to breaking it down. In Oblivion, nevermind that some locks magically can't be picked, I'm to believe that my 100 strength in addition to enchantments are not sufficient to destroy a shabby door of rotting planks? Bollucks, I say! I can take the toughest of daedra with my bare hands, even a real door shouldn't be able to withold me. On the topic of locks...
My main gripe is when I'm given a silly explanation for something with a straight face, they might as well say "something's wrong with this picture, you justify it."
EDIT: just remembered; Galen Marek (starkiller) can pull down a star destroyer because "you're a jedi, size means nothing to you." Ok. Those infuriaiting black droids? Grip has no effect whatsoever. Fuck you, game.
Then there's the shit that just doesn't add up, like needing a key in order to open a flimsy, wooden door as opposed to breaking it down. In Oblivion, nevermind that some locks magically can't be picked, I'm to believe that my 100 strength in addition to enchantments are not sufficient to destroy a shabby door of rotting planks? Bollucks, I say! I can take the toughest of daedra with my bare hands, even a real door shouldn't be able to withold me. On the topic of locks...
It's rather annoying that most RPGs take place in worlds where the residents practically lock and trap their own toilets to make the rogue look less useless. Traps might be fair enough, but as any warrior should be able to tell you, a hammer is just a heavy set of lockpicks, so why the fuck can't I break things open? I'll accept a broken item penalty, but telling me my character lacks the imagination to swing a weapon at something that doesn't bleed is a bit insulting.
Furthermore, do crowbars (or their equivilants) not exist? In olde-tyme games, I can accept that no one has thought of leverage as a means of unlocking in spite of all the other fucking uses for it, (like triggers for elaborate machinery somehow built into caves) but in something like fallout 3, (don't know about the first 2) set quite some time after the idea of the crowbar had come into use, what's stopping you? Did the magic radiation cancel a part of physics or something?
The answer always seems to be "it'd be too easy if you could do that," disregarding all the other things that make the game easier. I can't apply simple force on an object, yet I can launch a tiny nuke at my foes? That's a pretty fucking unchallenging means of resolution to combat, where were the magic lock people when that was put together? What about sniping the enemy from half a mile away, a team of raiders dead before they know what caused their point man's head to explode?
Furthermore, do crowbars (or their equivilants) not exist? In olde-tyme games, I can accept that no one has thought of leverage as a means of unlocking in spite of all the other fucking uses for it, (like triggers for elaborate machinery somehow built into caves) but in something like fallout 3, (don't know about the first 2) set quite some time after the idea of the crowbar had come into use, what's stopping you? Did the magic radiation cancel a part of physics or something?
The answer always seems to be "it'd be too easy if you could do that," disregarding all the other things that make the game easier. I can't apply simple force on an object, yet I can launch a tiny nuke at my foes? That's a pretty fucking unchallenging means of resolution to combat, where were the magic lock people when that was put together? What about sniping the enemy from half a mile away, a team of raiders dead before they know what caused their point man's head to explode?
My main gripe is when I'm given a silly explanation for something with a straight face, they might as well say "something's wrong with this picture, you justify it."
EDIT: just remembered; Galen Marek (starkiller) can pull down a star destroyer because "you're a jedi, size means nothing to you." Ok. Those infuriaiting black droids? Grip has no effect whatsoever. Fuck you, game.
All of the above, really, although of the selection plot holes are easy to forgive for me because I automatically fill them in in my mind unless they make ABSOLUTELY no sense. I have a very high suspension of disbelief I suppose
Maybe I'm just remembering it wrong, but I thought you had to get the first word of every paragraph of the stories or something like that to find the location that you're supposed to go. Admittedly, Oblivion was a bad example, as the reading wasn't needed for the most part, but it did give you a better understanding of the world, sort of like Mass Effect.Hexador said:
This was going to be my answer. It's usually up to the characters to carry the story in exposition-heavy games, so when they can't, the story becomes inconsequential, and my motivation to complete the game is effectively nullified.Aylaine said:
Lately they?ve just been getting really pretentious. Trying to make us care about these characters then killing them off when we still don?t really care. I think they sometimes forget who and what they?re writing for. They?re writing games for gamers. Most of the time we just need an excuse to run around causing havoc. It doesn?t need to be complicated or emotional. I?d rather it just make sense.
Like in San Andreas. Why don?t we play as Catlina? Everyone I know who?s played that game, ran around that world like the vicious and psychotic Catlina not the confused and well meaning yet foolish CJ.
Like in San Andreas. Why don?t we play as Catlina? Everyone I know who?s played that game, ran around that world like the vicious and psychotic Catlina not the confused and well meaning yet foolish CJ.
Plotholes for me,not like when someone dies in a cutscene when you can revive people all day long with items or otherwise but when you have a couple dozens types of attacks to use the enemy has a a near prefect defense but is weak to it's own attack when you have a similar weapon if not stronger.
Becuase reminding us why Bruce Wayne dresses up as a bat on a nightly basis every once in a while is a crime too,It's his motivation for doing it and a reminder whenever he fills he should quit or is on the verge of death/massive blood loss. If the games were made closer together I could see your point but one of the reasons he's there doing the stuff he's doing is because he killed them not because he stole a cow from a farm.Celtic_Kerr said:
While maybe not the worst, but definitely the most obvious (and often groan-inducing) cue for shoddy writing is definitely the dialogue. Personally, I'm not too bothered by plotholes, I just go with the flow. Heavy Rain had more holes than Swiss cheese but was still an awesome story. Whether or not poor characterization is a bad thing usually depends on the type of game and as I like to figure things out myself bad instructions don't bother me much either.
All the factors can play a role in making a story awful, but bad dialogue is the only one that always ticks me off.
All the factors can play a role in making a story awful, but bad dialogue is the only one that always ticks me off.
I think poor characters are usually my biggest gripe. I can live with plot holes or with crappy dialogue, but if the characters seem more like cardboard cutouts rather than flesh and blood beings (or chitin and slime in some extra terrestrial cases) i just feel cheated on the idea. Im usually more interested in how the plot affects character than the plot itself.
It is safe to say 'all of the above'. I hate a game that is corrupted by such horrible writing in all catagories, bad dialogue, plotholes that do nothing but confuse the hells out of you, and horrible characters *Example is FF13*. those are the major ones, hence is why i strive to write a book that will actually be good, and not contain any of the above.
I picked 'other', because the thing I hate most is unoriginal ideas. One man army space soldiers have been done to death, add something interesting to make me buy your product instead of all of the same ideas with a new name and new gravel-laden voice
That?s exactly my point. They?re trying to write likeable characters for games that don?t need/want them. Who wants to play a likeable character in GTA? Generally when I play (and this applies to everyone I know who plays GTA) I am playing as a full blown psycho who kills everyone he meets. Someone a lot like Catlina. If there?s too much traffic, I?ll drive through the people on the sidewalk. If there?s an enemy in the distance I?ll shoot him and anyone who gets in the way. If the car I want to blow up is stuck in between other cars, I?ll just throw a few grenades at all of them.Lucane said:
That?s why I think Catlina would?ve made more sense as the protagonist: I always see the game being played as someone like that.
Awful dialogue. My most recent example would be Star Ocean. Its a fun game, but the dialogue is just ridiculously bad.
