97
We can't keep making videogame stories for players who aren't paying attention to them (www.pcgamer.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/gaming@beehaw.org
52 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I've noticed a trend—particularly in some recent RPGs—of, well, let's call it 'Netflixiness'.

Dialogue designed to leave absolutely nothing to interpretation, to exposit information in the most direct way possible, devoid of any real character or context. There's an assumption that any moment the audience spends confused, curious, or out-of-the-loop is a narrative disaster.

I hate to keep knocking Dragon Age: The Veilguard about, especially since I still had a decent time with it all told, but the thing that made me break off from it after 60 hours really was its story. It's a tale that does get (slightly) better, but it gave me a terrible first impression I never quite shook.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 3 points 1 year ago

This is not a good argument for unnecessary exposition though, this is just an argument for shorter, bite-sized narratives, or even what some games already do (like The Witcher 3) where they recap where you are in the loading screen. If anything, unnecessary exposition just wastes what little time you have to play, or forces you to skip the dialogue entirely.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent