“One other win, however who’s counting?” It’s the stupidest factor an individual might say after a combat. Nobody. Nobody was counting. Together with you, Kai, until you assume “one other” is a numeral. Recognizing a win in no sense implies tallying something. It doesn’t make sense. Cease saying it, man. Simply cease saying it. The truth is, until you’ve bought one thing helpful to say, perhaps don’t say something in any respect?
For so long as I’ve performed what I believe we will sensibly name BioWare-like RPGs, this problem has pushed me to distraction. Companion characters who really feel the necessity to remark on the finish of each battle, however say nothing of curiosity or value, after which say it again and again and over once more. Possibly it couldn’t be a factor?
I love Avowed, I’ve been so lucky to have had code for a few weeks earlier than its launch, however no deadline to complete it by—this has allowed me to actually sink into it, to discover its sprawling Residing Lands at my very own tempo, by no means pressured to achieve a narrative beat. I spent the 25 to 30 hours the sport is meant to final reaching simply its midpoint, and am nonetheless in no hurry. I suppose you can argue that I must be barely extra motivated to hurry up given the size and hazard of the Dreamscourge, however I’m not in a position to stay in denial of its unfold being completely beholden to my advancing the plot. The plague can wait, as a result of I simply noticed what could be a hidden cave entrance and it might find yourself being a complete different dungeon to discover.
The catch is, I’ve survived a lot of battles, large and small, primarily skirmishes with Xaurips or spiders who’re hanging out within the subsequent valley I’m poking my nostril into, defiantly fought completely with my bow and arrow. And each single time, each single considered one of them, considered one of my two companions feels the necessity to touch upon it. However every seems geared up with solely two or three various things to say. So pricey God, I’ve heard all of them so many bloody instances.
“One other wonderful battle!” bellows Kai, my fixed companion (I can no extra depart him in camp than I might when he was in his Garrus incarnation in Mass Impact), following our killing a bunch of halfwits who couldn’t be talked out of attempting to kill us. No, Kai, no it wasn’t. It was ignominious at finest, and extra realistically, pretty grotesque. His cheering in delight after I’ve been compelled to slaughter some dumb-dumbs rebels who wouldn’t take heed to calm motive makes me assume there’s one thing actually very improper with him.
Far worse occurred with one other companion after a major story occasion that I shall not spoil. Let’s put it this manner: every little thing she’s recognized and beloved has simply been destroyed, she’s distraught, and seconds later, on stumbling into a gaggle of sentient toadstools or the like, she’s straight again to fortunately cheering me on and celebrating wins.
Or how about one companion found in a while who, each single time she makes use of her “dispel” capability, says the identical two issues. “What, prefer it’s laborious?” and “Youngster’s play.” Each issues. Each time. And neither of them makes any sense in context.
Avowed deserves so significantly better than this! The sport has implausible writing all through, with a very pretty group of friends to talk to, and banter between all of them in camp is an actual deal with to face nonetheless and take heed to. So why, for the love of all issues why, does every solely have three issues they are saying on the finish of each combat?!
Given the verbose nature of Obsidian and BioWare’s RPGs, and the way the voice actors have to be spending days and days within the recording studio performing their billions of traces, why can’t they every simply have a few dozen completely different post-fight traces to drop? It’d add, what, ten minutes to the recording time? And it’s not precisely a Herculean writing process. Watch, I’ll do some now:
- “Phew, glad we have been in a position to put that lot down so rapidly.”
- “Hey, I believe you clipped my ear with considered one of your pictures that point!”
- “Ha! They actually thought they might beat us, didn’t they?”
- “I advised my mother and father it was value spending a lot time practising with this bow.”
- “Effectively, in the event that they weren’t all lifeless, I believe they’d should admit they have been impressed.”
That was a minute’s work, and no, none of them is especially good, however then neither is any line any companion has ever stated in any recreation in the identical circumstances. They’re actually up there with Marius telling me that he’s pulled his shoulder for the 786th time.
All of them can be deeply annoying the second time they have been spoken, so that you write 20, 30 of them per character, and have them tick off so that they don’t repeat till they’ve all been stated. Performed. Downside solved. I mounted a 30-year-old bane of RPGs, and I don’t even know the best way to use C++.
There’s an excellent simpler resolution. Maintain on tight. Don’t have them say something in any respect! Nothing must be stated! I simply killed seven skeletons that have been stood by that rock, as a result of I wished to go previous that rock. It wasn’t a battle about which operas will probably be written, it was only a little bit of busywork in a online game. It requires no remark. Silence does completely.
Heck, I’ll compromise! I’m that respectable. How about they solely say their foolish traces after a named boss combat? There are many these in Avowed, and so they are likely to really feel like a extra main occasion, even when they’re simply ticking off a bounty. After I’ve gained a type of, I really feel like I’ve at the least achieved one thing, so positive, let Kai declare it an excellent battle. Give him his second.
That is completely not an Avowed problem, however an RPG video games problem. However that doesn’t let it off the hook. Obsidian, if you make the inevitably (and deeply desired) Avowed 2, please, please, might you be the group to cleared the path on altering this? As a result of the selection is doing this, or I’ll someway organize on your mates and households to reply, “Nice work, you actually ate some mouthfuls” each single time you might have a meal for the remainder of your lives.
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