The Actual Problem With Dawntrail

[Zaniel]

I dont think even tween me could tolerate the story. Now me as a small child (like 5 or 6) would eat this up and I was really into lions and cats at that time so Wuk Lamat would have been a slam dunk.

With that said even children deserve better writing, and there is a lot of children’s media written better about topics of peace and friendship and etc that don’t treat the kids like they have 1 brain cell.

Most of us were reading the Lord of the Rings when we were 11-12, there's this weird assumption by game designers that young kids are drooling half-wits, 11 year old me would have been insulted by this xpac.

[lolnotacat]

Most of us were reading the Lord of the Rings when we were 11-12, there's this weird assumption by game designers that young kids are drooling half-wits, 11 year old me would have been insulted by this xpac.

Only certain designers and writers. XIV didn't have the infantilization problem in the previous expansions -- except maybe a little in Stormblood. But something was very off with Dawntrail. I wanna say it was all Hiroi's doing, but I don't think that's the case. His previous work in game wasn't stellar, but it was passable. I'm wondering how much the "consultants" which were hired by square meddled with the story and turned it into Final Fantasy 4kids.

[Coratanni]

I remember reading the Hobbit around 9-10 years old. The level of writing in DT was insufferable. I really question the mental capabilities of people who thought this story was 'fine' or good or even great.

[lolnotacat]

I really question the mental capabilities of people who thought this story was 'fine' or good or even great.

Some people are coprophiliacs. There's no accounting for taste (sometimes literally). I will say though, the vast majority of the time when someone says they like the game, they don't say why outside of "iLieKwUk" or "iTsFuN".

[Papayatar]

Most of us were reading the Lord of the Rings when we were 11-12, there's this weird assumption by game designers that young kids are drooling half-wits, 11 year old me would have been insulted by this xpac.

Now I’m kinda curious what the average age for FFXIV players are, cuz I was one of those Harry Potter and Anne Rice novels kids at that age lol

LOTR to tween me was like HW to adult me, long, boring and wordy. Though admittedly the latter half of HW I properly enjoyed.

Only certain designers and writers. XIV didn't have the infantilization problem in the previous expansions -- except maybe a little in Stormblood. But something was very off with Dawntrail. I wanna say it was all Hiroi's doing, but I don't think that's the case. His previous work in game wasn't stellar, but it was passable. I'm wondering how much the "consultants" which were hired by square meddled with the story and turned it into Final Fantasy 4kids.

It’d be nice to see who was in charge of writing which parts. Because the side quests and Arcadion aren’t bogged down by 4kids FFXIV. And a decent amount explore the same themes of the MSQ and treat us like intelligent beings and offer some nuggets of info that slightly helps with some unanswered questions and what have you.

I don’t know about these consultants, I mean I see people on he forums talk about it, but even if they hired a consultant, those who approved the final version are just as much of not at more at fault. Consultants should assist but not change so much you get a worse product. And if the FFXIV let the consultants run roughshod over them or just yes man’d their suggestions then we’ve got a writing and a leadership issue.

[Vhana]

I was sitting there the whole time like "is anyone gonna mention Porxies...? No....? Really????"

Mention access to skills and experience that would show we and our allies are an unknown variable in Sphene’s programming presenting an even .0001% chance that a new plan is possible? No, not enough cutscenes and dialogue to have room for exploring that.

[LuciferMournstar]

I always viewed Wuk Lemat as sort of a Protégé through the whole thing, same thing I feel toward Alisae. I actually enjoyed the first "real fight" she had against Bakool Ja Ja. "Don't worry, the big scary adventurer will sit out." I wanted to see myself calmly walk over to a tree stump, sit down, and just smirk as Wuk Lemat beat the piss outta Bakool Ja Ja. Though in the fight with Sphene, that took that feeling away from me.

I'm all for "student surprasses the master" troupes, however Wuk Lemat busting in outta left fucking field and just... glory hogging, that pissed me off. I did 90% of the work, and she just bust in, does a little bit, then takes center stage like she did it all. Meanwhile I stand in the background like some spectator. It would be different if she actually did most the of the work and I just helped or something, but hell no. They went full "Mary Sue must have center stage!" out of nowhere.

[Shibi]

I wanted to see myself calmly walk over to a tree stump, sit down, and just smirk as Wuk Lemat beat the piss outta Bakool Ja Ja.

I had a photo of that, you do stand there impatiently, at least



Weird, in a way, to see oneself on the sidelines as you play inside poochie.

[Kennar]

I've only skimmed this thread, so apologies if I'm just parroting everyone else.

Dawntrail didn't need to be longer, it needed to use its time more efficiently. There was so much pointless filler dialog, characters restating what we already know, flashbacks to stuff we had only recently seen, cutscenes that lingered like a fart in a car; and don't forget the hours of dead time running to an objective all the way across the map, but having to stop halfway to speak with Wuk Lamat. If I remember correctly, at one point I logged about four hours between duties, with not even a solo duty to break up the monotony. None of this was helped by the fact that EXP gain from the MSQ is so great that I was never locked out of the story, forcing me to take a break and explore the world a little (as with HW and SB). The first act of the story was far too long for what little that happened; while on the other hand the second act was far too short to give any weight to the new revelations and the massive shift in tone.

I would like to know what the scripts are like for the other languages, if they are as bad as the English. I get the feeling that it was written by a committee that didn't have the talent to write such a complex story, nor a head writer with the courage to say "no" to bad ideas.

For the record, my first "grownup" novel was Jurassic Park when I was in sixth grade, and it wasn't too long before I was reading Tom Clancy and Arthur C. Clarke, and anything else I could get my hands on. The writers need to give their audience a little credit and not treat us like kids. Let us figure things out without boring exposition dumps; allow bad things to happen sometimes (dueling with rubber bullets--come on, man); give us some conflict and drama instead of being best friends with everybody all the time; and for the love of Halone, let our characters act when it is appropriate! Evil wins when good people stand aside, and I am so damn tired of my character standing around and letting the bad guy get away.

[Zaniel]

Evil wins when good people stand aside, and I am so damn tired of my character standing around and letting the bad guy get away.

This is so lazy especially when it's easy to disguise. I get that it's awkward that the Warrior of Light can reach out, take Zoraal Ja by the neck and squirt him like a tube of toothpaste, but my god, at least have two dozen heavy robot troopers rush into the room and form a barricade of bodies to let him flee, or even just a damn Dr Evil jetpack or teleport.