Rampant Games - 7 Things That Really Annoy Me #2

Dhruin

Dhruin

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This is a follow up to the post other day, with the Rampant Coyote now discussing modern RPGs. A snip from Seven Things That Annoy Me About Modern RPGs...Sometimes:
3. The Magical Mind-Controlling Monologue: Getting Suckered Into Boss Fights
Okay, I know I'm walking into a big boss fight. I used stealth to peek through the door, dang it. So I prepare my party. I buff up. I position my party carefully in formation. And then... I get a big ol' cut scene that I can't skip through fast enough, and by the time it's done my buffs have almost worn off. Oh, and to top it off, my entire party has now walked into the CENTER of the big bad boss's lair, allowing themselves to be flanked and surrounded. Apparently the villain's monologue had mind-controlling powers that made my whole party turn stupid.

Solutions / Exceptions: Okay, high drama and storytelling aren't well-served when the protagonists do the SMART thing and nuke the villain's lair from orbit (it's the only way to be sure...). But games should try to avoid nullifying all of the player's preparations for the sake of drama. Or at the very least, provide a rational explanation for why the player character allowed herself to be pulled from an excellent sniper position to the center of the evil overlord's throne room, surrounded by guards.
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More information.
 
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I completely agree - absolutely infuriating. Personally I'm in favour of the planetary strike option ;-) It's amazing that this is so pervasive in RPG's today…all it requires is

1) a cut-scene that has them monologue *without showing the party* e.g. Blah blah…But wait, there are intruders! Kill them all my lovelies, hahahah!!!! *ta da daaaaaaa* <switch back to normal party view>
2) save all player state data: keep position, stop all effects timers etc
3) restart normal party cam and let the mayhem, begin

How hard can it be? So, it seems it;s been done deliberately ;-)
 
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Great fun these articles thanks, Rampant Coyote. :)

I never play consoles, so I can't really comment on them, except how they have been much of the problem for poor designs that end up on PCs.

Cameras and view are little bit bigger issue for me, it's how I see the whole game, if done well (no matter the level of detail) much of what draws me into the world and keeps me there. To me the solution is extremely easy and I don't think to technically complex. The two main issues are the view, allow the mouse wheel to go from first person to top down (with at least 5 in between positions), secondly have all textures (except NPCs I guess) go transparent in between the camera and the gamer.

I agree with all your other points also like moving your stealth/hidden characters out of hidden/positions for some dialog, strait into a fight you just prepared for, duh.

.
 
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I should note that some otherwise *EXCELLENT* indie games have failed at #3, as well - including Knights of the Chalice. So it's not exclusive to big AAA games.
 
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I hate being plopped into the middle of a boss fight when I can be so careful in other areas. Icewind Dale 2 was terrible with this and ultimately I didn't enjoy the game due to this, I would inch forward to most fights and manage the positioning of my party but there were many fights in which the game would stop and all of my characters would walk up to the enemy and then I would gain control as the fight started. That's just not my cup of tea.
 
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It's only an annoyance if you're playing a tank, but if, like me, you only play squishy mages, being front and center for a boss battle is a MAJOR issue. I'm often dead before my first spell fires, especially when the cut scene wipes all my buffs!! Grrrrrrrrr NWN 2, GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!
 
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Oh yeah the Cutscene BS. Now I remember another reason I'm only half way through Dragon Age with no intention of finishing it.
 
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Yeah, the worst was the Broodmother fight. Sent out a scout to check things out and oh dear, here comes a cut scene of everyone walking into the room to stand right in front of her/it. As if!!!!! Devs, if you're reading this thread, STOP doing this to us!!!!!!!!
 
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