Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to TMP! We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Click the link below to register and remember to bookmark us too.

Join our community!

If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
How anyone plays JRPGs for stories is BEYOND me...; sidebar thoughts
Topic Started: Dec 5 2010, 02:16 PM (76 Views)
TSL
Member Avatar
No daylight, I'm too weak to face it!
Inspired by SO4, but not exclusive to it. How in the world do you story hounds play these games mostly for story. So many of these games use the exact same formula. Same cliched - and horrible - dialog, same overblown character archetypes, same main character in love with the main female but can never show it....

Exceptions to the rule? Sure. But good god... I still contend that many writers associated with Japanese games either don't have any originality or the language doesn't translate well into English.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
DarkCloudLives

TSL
Dec 5 2010, 02:16 PM
I still contend there aren't any writers associated with any games, movies, conspiracy theories that have any originality.
Fixed.

I think it is how it is told rather than what is being told. Sure you have amnesia boy A who will eventually save the world/planet/galaxy/universe/small urban church, but how he gets from point A to point Z is where it is at.

I will contend that not always do they do it correctly or well. Star Ocean 3 is an example of that.

Wild Arms 4 is an example of doing it correctly with the cliches. Poor Raquel.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
nate
Member Avatar

It's not about originality. It's about character, dialogue and the journey.

In different terms: I read like 5-10 comics a week. The good guy is going to win. He's going to beat whatever he's up against that arc. The interesting thing is how he does it, who he does it with, how he lives his life, how he interacts with the other characters. That's what makes it interesting.

Another example: Try reading the back cover of most pre-20th century classic novels. See how riveting and interesting it sounds. You see the same archetypes, the same basic plots (that're frequently paper thin), but it's not about that. It's about the who, the why, the how, not the what.

Edit: Let me head off something I know is coming: You think the characters are lame because you can't relate to anything beyond yourself in idealized game, movie, book form. The rest of us don't suffer from that.
Edited by nate, Dec 5 2010, 02:51 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
TSL
Member Avatar
No daylight, I'm too weak to face it!
I really have given you a bad impression of myself thru my past rants. Wow dude. Your last line is harsh.... And not really true.

However, I don't necessarily blame you for thinking it. Many of my rants would lead one to believe such.

In the case of Star Ocean 4 - what lead to this post - I don't mind the characters or predictable story so much. That's a given with any story. Which is why I made the initial comment about a person going into an RPG solely for the story. I could never understand why if they do.

Your first line is what I look for in a presentation as well. The only reason Star Ocean and alotta other RPGs fail for me is directly related that first line. The dialog in the cutscenes is horribly written. It kills a lot of the what could be good about the characters and the journey. If this game was all text, I think it would be better. Most of the text cutscenes are actually aight.

Now, the truth in your last statement lies not in overall character development nor in my ability or inability to see myself in the cast. It centered around the main character for the game. I hate whiners. So if a main character comes off whiney (Squall and Cloud were the two that spawned all those rants), it IS hard for me to "roleplay" because I'm annoyed by his/her personality. They don't have to be exactly like me for me to dive in... There's just certain personality traits that bother me... And if a main character embodies those traits, it's hard for me to connect in some ways.

An example would be the fact that I didn't hate Rikku as much as many folks did. She's very different from me, but I wasn't bothered by her pizazz. Yuri is another example. You've criticized me in the past for how much I dug his character... I saw small traces of myself in him, but we are definitely very different in how we deal with people.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
TSL
Member Avatar
No daylight, I'm too weak to face it!
DarkCloudLives
Dec 5 2010, 02:24 PM
TSL
Dec 5 2010, 02:16 PM
I still contend there aren't any writers associated with any games, movies, conspiracy theories that have any originality.
Fixed.

I think it is how it is told rather than what is being told.
Then my statement doesn't really apply to you. Or to Nate for that matter...

In the case of SO4, the "how" is fumbling really bad because of poorly written dialog for cutscenes. It's hard to listen to at times.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ragnarok
Member Avatar
Everything, everything, EVERYTHING!
Shadow Hearts. That is all. :D
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
kknd
Member Avatar

Ragnarok
Dec 6 2010, 08:04 PM
Shadow Hearts. That is all. :D
MASSIVE DAMAGE!!! :yay:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Create a free forum in seconds.
« Previous Topic · Video Games · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Free SubDomain Names
Skinned by Shav of the Invisionfree Skin Zone