SE: Please tone it down a hair

[OJtheLIONKing]

I'm of two minds regarding this. On the one hand, I see a clear effort to evoke the excellent localizations of Vagrant Story, FFXII and the remake of Final Fantasy Tactics. Those games really benefited from the kind of intentionally archaic English (it's technically modern English, but let's call it 18th-19th century imperial british style). However, those games were also fairly concise. I am the last person to talk about conciseness, since my forum posts tend to resemble term papers more than an internet reply, but it really is the mark of a good writer.

Basically, if they kept the style of the writing but cut down the bucketloads of exposition and monologues i think the flow of the game would be better for it.Especially with how party focused this game has become, you often have to rush through the dialogue without having a chance to really digest it, and that's never a good sign. I understand the exposition is part of the lore building, but it's distractingly unrealistic. Personally, I'd rather have some kind of ingame codex ala FFXII or Mass Effect that went into the background of things, preferably written in an in universe style, that you can read at your own leisure. Then the dialogue could be focused on being more concise, realistic, and most importantly readable.

I can clearly see the effort and love the dialog and localization folks go through to write these blurbs, but I think their considerable talents can best be redirected in a way that doesn't overwhelm the average player while keeping the kind of "Ivalice-y" feel to the writing.

[bobbygunz]

But it's not, that's the thing. There's not a "thee" to be seen. But here's the problem. Let's take Nael's lieetl speach here. Referring to Dalamud:

Such a wondrous radiance...both magnificent and terrible. Truly, the soul can harbor no doubt that this is the light of creation! Even you must recognize that.

Then referring to what I just did:

Garlemald owes you a great debt, adventurer. Wholly without our prompting, you have now felled the primals of both fire and wind. Such ability and devotion commands even mine own respect.

Then after laughing for no reason.

You would do well to see reality for what it truly is─cold, cruel, unforgiving. No words could do justice to the great deeds that I have done, nor the countless hardships I have endured in their doing.

Uh huh...

Corpses litter the fields and choke the streets, and still your gods remain silent─utterly indifferent. Such gods are not fit for worship. As they gaze impassively upon our corpses, so let us gaze upon theirs. The gods are dead to us─we have no need of them.

I don't care about that. Get to the point.

So please, by all means, persist. Struggle to your heart's content. Struggle however you see fit. Struggle long. Struggle oft. And when at last you tire of struggling...summon up your courage and struggle some more!

/doze

For with every act of defiance, another drop of Eorzea's lifeblood shall be given over to the red moon. The crystals, the land, the primals─the power of all shall burn bright and shine down upon this realm a glorious purifying light!

There's the point! There it is! Yaaay!

And yet.... there are two more paragraphs left to read

SE is trying to shove hours of game-time's worth of lore into a single speech.

After killing Garuda, do you care about Darnus's views on religion? Do I really need to read the word "struggle" 6 times in a single sentence? What does his tales of derring-do have to do with anything?

Obviously it makes no sense for Darnus to be there, however, surely you recognise that he says "struggle" six times for effect, right? I mean, it's obviously for emphasis. Just as you had his speech drawn out to emphasize how long it was, so too did he repeat the words struggle six times. The irony is you're guilty of doing the exact same thing he does. And for the same reasons too.

And although you may not need to know his religious leanings... you do know that his philosophical views are important because he's trying to put the motive of the Garlean forces into perspective, right? So we know why they do stuff instead of "just because".

Sorry, but I think it's funny to read these so called attempts at literary criticisms, and then to observe how the more stupid they are, the more likes they receive.

[HiirNoivl]

You know what I find wrong?

I find it wrong that you guys think I have a problem with HOW they speak. I don't.

I repeat. There's nothing wrong with how they speak.

The problem is that the paragraphs are not related, they shove dialogue in for lore that's out of context, making the the speech disjointed and hard to read. It's bad storytelling plain and simple. It reads like one person was in charge of every paragraph and never consulted with each other.

There is nothing wrong with how they speak. There's everything wrong with how it's being written.

I'm far more interested in hearing why Nael is present at every primal summoning. Seems to me like he's behind the primal fights and not the beastmen.

Why don't we chat about that, eh, Legatus?

And although you may not need to know his religious leanings... you do know that his philosophical views are important because he's trying to put the motive of the Garlean forces into perspective, right? So we know why they do instead of "just because".

Yeah there's a time and a place for that. But when we're talking about Primals and Dalamud and Garleans and "struggle" x6... you don't think that's a little much?

Too much exposition is just as bad as too little. You overwhelm the audience and lose it.

[Rau]

You know what I find wrong?

I find it wrong that you guys think I have a problem with HOW they speak. I don't.

I repeat. There's nothing wrong with how they speak.

The problem is that the paragraphs are not related, they shove dialogue in for lore that's out of context, making the the speech disjointed and hard to read. It's bad storytelling plain and simple. It reads like one person was in charge of every paragraph and never consulted with each other.

There is nothing wrong with how they speak. There's everything wrong with how it's being written.

I'm far more interested in hearing why Nael is present at every primal summoning. Seems to me like he's behind the primal fights and not the beastmen.

Why don't we chat about that, eh, Legatus?



Yeah there's a time and a place for that. But when we're talking about Primals and Dalamud and Garleans and "struggle" x6... you don't think that's a little much?

Too much exposition is just as bad as too little. You overwhelm the audience and lose it.

Ironic how you're saying the people who want to keep longer dialogue aren't reading what you're saying.

[HiirNoivl]

I'm glad irony isn't quite lost on you.

Irony is my favorite misused word, btw. Close second is, despite.

[Wincy]

One of my favorite things about this game, which I think sets it apart from all other MMOs, is the storyline. Someone earlier said they actually skip all dialogue...I can't believe that!

Like many others in this thread, I thoroughly enjoy the diction which NPCs use. All this being said, I can also agree that they can be entirely too long-winded on many occassions. Personally, I love the Codex idea...very very much.

[Giit]

...as far as my sig, lol. it's making fun of Skrillex.

I lmfao every time i see that sig!"

[Teakwood]

Yup, I would definitely enjoy an in-game, in-character lore codex. And I think I understand the issues people are having with dialogue flow; I tend not to notice huge walls of dialogue as I read pretty quickly, and I still think the amount of text is being exaggerated somewhat. People are conflating the style in which NPCs speak with the length and flow of dialogue, though, all over the place here, and that's somewhat troubling to me, especially as there's a vast amount of information- about socioeconomic status, about which nation an NPC hails from- encoded into their speech in this game.

[Zaaku]

Every single NPC conversation.

As for the people who have taken this thread as a squatting place to rub their own genitalia in faux-intelligentsia party fun circle, go swivel on it. The writing is a breast of fresh air from the typically 30 BOAR SKINS I HATE BOARS HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT KILLING BOARS TODAY? Yet you can't deny that they are being 300 characters over what could be said in 30 from every piss drunk pirate and talk-shy mumblegabber is just over doing it. There are many people who get the broad strokes even if they never fawned over the mental dribbles of some old English boy hopper for 4 years and called it progress. Doing so 7 times every single cut scene and quest fetch is NOT good writing. It is in fact the mark of an undisciplined mind, while brilliant, needs some roping in.



Tails.

[SwordCoheir]

Future Nael Van Darnus fight.

Nael Van Darnus: I Applaud you getting here, but it's futile in the end... Blah Blah Blah Blah

In my head: Man this guy keeps goin on.. and on...

Nael Van Darnus: The end is Nigh... blah blah blah

*Black Mages starts casting nukes on Nael Van Darnus*

Nael Van Darnus: Prepare yourselv.... OH SHIIIIII...

Black Mages defeats Nael Van Darnus.

Me:...

...

...

WE WIN!