Editorial The Gift of Torment

[Sceptic]

Oh Volly you so crazy!

Admit it, it's part of the Pretty Princess's charm

 

[Kz3r0]

It took years for anyone to improve on Torment's basic idea of letting you determine your character's intent and not just the content of his speech, but the Mass Effect games finally took this a step further

SLAUGHTER THEM ALL

 

[I.C. Wiener]

what the fuck does streamlined even mean? is it less pointless sidequests, less spikes on ships, or less brickblock graphics?

Made more user friendly with all the same functionality. Simplified in a way that isn't dumbing down. Of course a lot of developers get these two confused.

 

[denizsi]

 

[hoochimama]

I'm not sure shorthand dialog choices were a big + for anyone aside from those who skip dialog to get to the action.

I use subtitles and skip to the next line while the VO is still midsentence.

What AP is trying to do by reducing the "information dispenser" effect in conversations sounds like a much better attempt to take a step forward in terms of dialog in games than streamlining them with shorthand responses in order to please a wider audience ever was.

 

[Grunker]

This reminds of when Yahtzee did that review in which he commented on a game by gurgling aggressively from the back of his throat.

I think the "PS:T - evolution - Mass Effect" statement deserves a smiliar answer.

 

[Cassidy]

Once upon a time streamlining was almost exclusively an euphemism for firing a lot of people. It is a buzzword for cutting costs on general, nothing less, nothing more. Dumbed down games are faster and easier to develop too, and require less talent to not end released on Thursday or rushed. Less talent equates lower wages, and thus you get the idea.

If making a shit that sells as good as a properly produced game ensure reduced costs and faster development time(disconsidering "journalist" bribes and hype costs), they'll keep doing it. Of course, people must be missing the hype costs when making graphs or something.

 

[Malachi]

I always understood "streamlined" to be a euphemism for "overly-simplified game mechanics," usually overdone so as not to provide anything too challenging for a retarded 8 year old.

Best example of "streamlining" in recent memory: Bioware realizing that they completely fucked up the inventory system in Mass Effect, responds by completely eliminating the inventory mechanic in Mass Effect 2. There you go: streamlined.

 

[relootz]

It took years for anyone to improve on Torment's basic idea of letting you determine your character's intent and not just the content of his speech, but the Mass Effect games finally took this a step further

I stopped reading there.

You are joking right? That's irony hes using? Right? Right?




You can't be fucking serious, did some of these people become senile, ME isnt even an RPG, its a fucking third person shooter. How could it improve on RPG elements instead of completely removing them at all.

And how would you dare to say your RPG improves on PS:T (expect the combat that is)

 

[Serious_Business]

Shaking with rage are we.

Except that Torment is an adventure game, not a RPG

 

[Clockwork Knight]

^It's a jrpg, dammit.

Which is also why ME didnt improve on PST. Both still have strong traces of jrpg, but PST does it more hardcore (characters can only use one kind of weapon, for example)

 

[Azrael the cat]

You fail your saving throw vs genre-debate. You are mesmerised by competing definitions of an rpg for 5 turns and must make another saving throw or permanently lose 2 wisdom. You can avoid both effects by using a meme or successfully closing your web browser.

 

[juggernaut]

but how can I close my browser when someone is WRONG on the internet?!