Quote Originally Posted by HighlanderClone View Post
I can agree that the story leaves you to fill in the blanks on Zoraal Ja's motivations. Hmm, I definitely see where you're coming from and you've given me food for thought.

I like filling in the pieces myself because it makes me feel engaged with the story. I very, very much dislike the MSQ forcefeeding the explanations a million times because they're too worried that the player doesn't get it.

What would the balance be in this case would be something that I need to think about. I wouldn't want the story to just explain Zoraal Ja's motivations outright but I can also see why a lot of people think his transformation is too bizarre.
There's a lot of ways these themes can be explored. Wuk going to seek counsel from her adoptive father and accidentally overhearing Zoraal arguing with him. Maybe the argument stemming from Zoraal Ja trying to persuade his father to call off the rite since he's his father's only natural born son. Showing a disregard for the diverse cultures in Tural and trying to assert some of his own philosophies before his father scolds him and shoots down his idea. Something that sows the discontent between the characters that can eventually bridge to Zoraal's motivation for murdering his father. And something that clearly but not obviously dictates to the audience what Zoraal Ja's feelings are. That's just one initial scene that would do wonders to add depth to the character.

You can add other instances where the side characters and audience both interact with Zoraal Ja and see him progress towards a path of "might is right, I will bypass the right of succession and just take Tural for myself." You can have him at some point begin acquiring the stones illegitimately. At first with a "crime of opportunity" that then progresses to non-violent but reprehensible means such as coercion or blackmail, but further down the line progressing once again to outright violence like he did at the end before he opened the gate to the golden city. It would flow more naturally too since it was at this point he finally tossed out the idea of obeying the rite and came to the conclusion that killing his father and just taking the throne is the logical solution to achieve his goals.

Also why does he have a kid again? That was just weird and out of nowhere and made no sense. They didn't even try to make sense of that bit, yet it played a critical part in his final transformation into "mr bad man" in the trial.