Ew Spoiler Content and Trigger warning on Quests

[postingway]

Having a pop up similar to "several cutscenes will now play in a sequence" that instead say "several cutscenes will now play in a sequence and some of them may include triggering imagery" is not that immersion breaking or spoilery, and I think people's mental health is more important than something like spoilers in a video game story.

[Iscah]

Having a pop up similar to "several cutscenes will now play in a sequence" that instead say "several cutscenes will now play in a sequence and some of them may include triggering imagery" is not that immersion breaking or spoilery, and I think people's mental health is more important than something like spoilers in a video game story.

As someone who doesn't need trigger warnings, being told "there will be triggering imagery" would itself set me in a state of unease.

The thing is, from a "good storytelling" perspective, that warning turns everything upside down. Instead of being shocked in the moment, you spend the whole scene anticipating that something worth a trigger warning is going to happen, and then a release of tension that it's over. Instead of being surprised and reeling in the aftermath.

Or if they do the thing where they play three or four different cutscenes one after another, and the triggering thing happens in the third scene, you're unnecessarily worried and distracted throughout the first two scenes by the expectation that something will go bad, when actually it won't and you're not supposed to expect it at all.

And what happens then if they want to show a second triggering thing within the same cutscene? Do they need to give us a count?


Also it is definitely spoilery, non-stop. Get a trigger warning? Something bad's going to happen, even if it seems like a happy scene right now. Things are looking dire? Nah, there wasn't a warning this time, it'll all get resolved without drama. It seems like an inside-out way to experience the entire plot.


If someone is really genuinely traumatised by a specific thing they can't bear to see mentioned or portrayed in a story, it's on them to seek out detailed information about what the story will show – like the PEGI ratings discussed in post #3 – to ensure that they will not come across that personal trigger. The resources are there for you to protect yourself if you need it, without affecting anyone else's game experience.

[LeonKeyh]

Having a pop up similar to "several cutscenes will now play in a sequence" that instead say "several cutscenes will now play in a sequence and some of them may include triggering imagery" is not that immersion breaking or spoilery, and I think people's mental health is more important than something like spoilers in a video game story.

If you believe that mental health is important, you should realize that trigger warnings are not helpful to peoples' mental health. Someone posted an article explaining that earlier in the topic.

You should also realize that there already are warnings, ESRB/PEGI put warnings of these kinds of things in their detailed ratings, as was mentioned before.

Pegi's website:

FINAL FANTASY XIV: Endwalker
Square Enix Ltd Expansion for the role-playing game FINAL FANTASY XIV.
Release Dates & Platforms:

07/12/2021 - PC

Advice for consumers

This game has received a PEGI 16 because it features strong and sustained depictions of violence, as well as prominent use of tobacco. Not suitable for persons under 16 years of age.
Brief outline of the game

Expansion for the role-playing game FINAL FANTASY XIV.
Content specific issues

The majority of the game's violence is mild or moderate, featuring characters taking part in turn-based battles with little injury detail shown. However, cutscenes feature more graphic and realistic violence. The game includes a scene of implied suicide, in which a character is seen holding a loaded gun to their head. The suicide is not shown, although the character's dead body is subsequently shown, with a blood stained wall also visible. The game features scenes in which characters derive a benefit from smoking a pipe.
Other issues

The game also contains use of bad language.