this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2023
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It's gonna be shit, isn't it? We've gone from vampire sandbox to Fallout 4, but with worse dialogue (hexbear.net)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by Egon@hexbear.net to c/games@hexbear.net
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And I was getting so hopeful after Mitsoda got canned and the game got pushed back indefinetely. Auteur theory is a fuck, Mitsoda has basic gen-x'er humor and I'm glad he's gone. Why the fuck did they decide to pivot into this Fallout 4 type dreg though? The main character is going to have an established backstory and everything.

Why make an RPG if you don't want players to role play?

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[–] KobaCumTribute@hexbear.net 30 points 2 years ago

The big problem with a fully voiced protagonist in an RPG is that it can nearly double the amount of conversational voice acting you need to record and it's this big thing that logistically locks in everything around it. It's a huge expenditure of resources for very little benefit that incentivizes simplifying dialogue and quest design to accommodate it.

It's not necessarily bad in and of itself, like looking back at Mass Effect people generally remember Jennifer Hale's performance as fem!Shep more fondly than, well, almost anything else in the series' writing apart from Mordin Solace's story and singing, but it's a worrying use of resources for an already struggling project.

[–] JohnBrownNote@hexbear.net 20 points 2 years ago

like fuck it does. silent protags are way more immersive because the voice in my head sounds like me and can have 11 slightly different ways to say "fuck off" instead of being limited to yes, yes, sarcastic yes, and no, but maybe later.

[–] Maaj@hexbear.net 16 points 2 years ago

Every time some news comes out about this game I get less and less excited. I've already removed it from my steam wishlist. I'll wait until the game is heavily discounted.

[–] Azarova@hexbear.net 13 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I gave up on bloodlines 2 a while ago, but every time I see news like this come out it still makes me sad. At least some of the VNs they've put out have been fun, but it feels like the Bloodlines series is cursed.

[–] Egon@hexbear.net 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I gave up, then I got interested when Paradox started releasing some news. It sounded like they were making something good with it, then I started getting disappointed agin.

[–] Magician@hexbear.net 9 points 2 years ago

What watching a game development is like these days coaster

[–] FourteenEyes@hexbear.net 12 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm confused as to why you're happy that the guy who is the only reason the game was being made at all got fired with zero explanation

[–] Egon@hexbear.net 7 points 2 years ago

Fair confusion, I think it might be due to a difference of perception. As far as I'm aware Mitsoda wasn't the only reason the game was being made - He got hired on to develop it after the decision to make a new game had been made. He got fired due to constant delays, changes in scope and narrative, and (as far as I can glean) due to being a shitty boss. It's a lot of accusations hidden behind NDAs and the like though, so there's no real way to know one way or another.
In general I am just very sceptic of any "auteur" when it comes to games. Especially when said lead has a track record of making bloated and never-ending projects.

[–] TheHolyChecksum 11 points 2 years ago

Could you post the article link instead of a screenshot next time? Also, yes, it's going to be ruined by execs who have never played a game since they're adults and think they understand the market.

[–] Egon@hexbear.net 9 points 2 years ago

I unironically take game delays as a positive, better delayed than broken on release. Though often the delay is due to the "auteur" director constantly changing his mind (and it's always a he). When I read the director got kicked and the game was delayed I saw it as a real good thing - They were going to take their time or whatever.

So why the fuck did they decide to do this shit?

[–] zifnab25@hexbear.net 8 points 2 years ago (2 children)

BG3 has voice acting and it's easily on par with V:tM Bloodlines.

Idk if that's going to save this too-edgy-by-half remix of 90s-era punk horror. But it's not the kiss of death you guys are making it out to be.

[–] Orannis62@hexbear.net 11 points 2 years ago

Yeah like the other person said, the comparison with Fallout 4 is being made for a reason. The point is a voiced protagonist, not voice acting as a whole

[–] Egon@hexbear.net 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Voice acting is great! Though I'm sure there's some oldhead out there that thinks vidya gaems went to shit when the first NPC started speaking, and I'd love to meet that guy.
My issue is with implementing voice-acting on the player character in an RPG. It's hard to pull off, it immediately limits possibilities and interpretation of the character and it often leads to a sub-par dialogue system in my experience. It can be done, ME had some good moments, but it's much harder, and ME had a premise that allowed for locking in the interpretation of the character beforehand (Shepard was going to be some rugged militarist no matter what due to the backstory). They might pull it off with VTMB2 too, I just really doubt it, and I'm going to hate being locked into the authors interpretation of the character.

[–] zifnab25@hexbear.net 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I guess. At some point, I'm just looking for a good story with a nice polished veneer.

More annoyed that, in the year of our Lord 2023, its this fucking hard to reskin ME/Fallout 3 as Gothic Horror and get it out the door.

[–] Egon@hexbear.net 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I'm just looking for a good story with a nice polished veneer.

Yeah, me too. Disco Elysium is a fantastic game, and it is (in a lot of ways) very rigid about the character you're playing. It's just fantastically written and beautiful to experience, and that's the best I can hope for.
Not all games can deliver that though, and I'll gladly take a mid story with lots of possibility for roleplay/exploration different approaches and the like. I just have a hard time enjoying a middling story that is also rigid in its presentation of its character, especially when that story is presented thru an RPG.

More annoyed that, in the year of our Lord 2023, its this fucking hard to reskin ME/Fallout 3 as Gothic Horror and get it out the door.

:yea: I really just wanted some cool locations, some fun powers and some neat side-quests. It seems like every group that's been involved thinks it has to make some Epic Saga or some shit. Just give me some Prototype but with more RPG elements.

[–] zifnab25@hexbear.net 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Honestly, the more I think about it... Can the folks that did Pathologic 2 put together a V:tM game? Because I feel like they're both on the same frequency.

[–] Egon@hexbear.net 4 points 2 years ago

That would rule

[–] Deadend@hexbear.net 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Stop caring so much about games that aren’t out.

[–] Egon@hexbear.net 18 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

bugs-no

It's a piece of fiction I'm excited about, and I find this news interesting. If you don't then you don't have to interact with the post.