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Decline Sword Coast Legends - RIP n-Space!

Theldaran

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
1,772
I thought that the rating scale only allowed 8/10 and up. Impressive.

Well depends on how much is smeared. :lol:

Occasionally the reviewers find a game so thoroughly bad that the only way is to give it a shit note.

There's also those broken games that have game-breaking bugs and still get 7's and the like, but that's mostly Sony(TM) realm.
 

Spectacle

Arcane
Patron
Joined
May 25, 2006
Messages
8,363
I'd like to say that "hits all the same beats" is a horrible millennial term we should all hate on from now on, but it's actually kind of an old industry term. Maybe it shouldn't have leaked out into the review world, but it is seeing increasingly common use.

Now for the boring part - definitions. A 'beat' is a subdivision of a scene, and a scene is a subdivision of an act. A beat is thus a specific few moments within a scene that are visibly separate from the other beats. Each beat will have its own intent, and these beats, when strung together well, keep the viewer interested in the scene as it progresses. If you extend this definition into metaphor a bit, then any one beat will have a certain look and feel, all designed to evoke a certain result in the viewer. Thus, a reboot that is using all of the same elements and maybe even also the same pacing as the original piece is 'hitting all the same beats'. As in, Star Wars: the Force Awakens hit all the same beats as A New Hope.

In this SCL case above, though, the reviewer is implying that "SCL will never hit all of the same wonderful beats as Baldur's Gate, but there's still a good time to be had with it". -If I can be so bold as to put words into someone's mouth after only reading a snippet.
Very good post, really snaps and crunches!

but that literally makes no sense in terms of a video game unless it's movie game shit like the new tomb raiders or uncharted games. fuck
The inability to understand metaphors is a common symptom of autism.
 

DosBuster

Arcane
Patron
The Real Fanboy
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
1,861
Location
God's Dumpster
Codex USB, 2014
I'd like to say that "hits all the same beats" is a horrible millennial term we should all hate on from now on, but it's actually kind of an old industry term. Maybe it shouldn't have leaked out into the review world, but it is seeing increasingly common use.

Now for the boring part - definitions. A 'beat' is a subdivision of a scene, and a scene is a subdivision of an act. A beat is thus a specific few moments within a scene that are visibly separate from the other beats. Each beat will have its own intent, and these beats, when strung together well, keep the viewer interested in the scene as it progresses. If you extend this definition into metaphor a bit, then any one beat will have a certain look and feel, all designed to evoke a certain result in the viewer. Thus, a reboot that is using all of the same elements and maybe even also the same pacing as the original piece is 'hitting all the same beats'. As in, Star Wars: the Force Awakens hit all the same beats as A New Hope.

In this SCL case above, though, the reviewer is implying that "SCL will never hit all of the same wonderful beats as Baldur's Gate, but there's still a good time to be had with it". -If I can be so bold as to put words into someone's mouth after only reading a snippet.

but that literally makes no sense in terms of a video game unless it's movie game shit like the new tomb raiders or uncharted games. fuck

Most games have a story, and no one's come up with a better structure.
 

Coma White

Educated
Joined
Jul 9, 2016
Messages
375
Location
Malachor Depths
I've actually worked in story development, and the term "beat" is often used interchangeably in a professional setting. It's not gospel or anything.
 

Coma White

Educated
Joined
Jul 9, 2016
Messages
375
Location
Malachor Depths
Superflous and shittily written recruitable NPCs no one wanted or needed.

Just looked it up -- they're EE characters I guess. Which would explain why I don't remember them.

For a moment I thought he meant KEL-dorn.

latest


If only.
 

Telengard

Arcane
Joined
Nov 27, 2011
Messages
1,621
Location
The end of every place
but
when you are playing a game, unless it's a railroad like Uncharted, there are no story beats.

First playthrough of Baldur's Gate. Start -> Friendly Arm Inn -> Nashkel -> Bandit Camp etc
Second: Friendly arm - > do Minsc's quest -> do other quests -> meet up with Dorn and Neera -> find the wizard that sells magici n the middle of the map -> eventually stumble to nashkel mines with everyone at level 4 and a few +1 swords, murderfuck mulahey without trying

The story has the same general structure, but the way I went around it ruins the concept of a beat. Because video games are not linear stories, well, at least not RPGs. When you say SCL doesn't hit the same story beats of Baldur's Gate it makes no sense because the "beats" are entirely dependent on player interaction after Gorion dies. Different playthroughs have different beats. A wizard soloing BG1 is not a fighter who assembles his friends etc
Mang, you're being way too literal. Stop thinking in terms of rigid classical music, and start thinking like jazz. Things move. Between one telling and the next, the details and the order of the beats changes, but the essence of what the beat is remains the same.

For instance, the Batman origin story has been told 18 different ways from Sunday (not to mention in any number of different art forms, from comics to video games to cartoon series). The details of Batman's origin are never precisely the same from one telling to the next, but there are certain key highlights that do remain the same - the highlights that make up the Batman origin. Such as - Bruce Wayne's parents are killed while he is a kid, and Bruce is sad. When that key beat is placed with the other key beats of Batman and spun into a tale, a certain riff will result. Sure, the tale teller can play on that riff in different ways, take the riff in different directions, but the core essence remains the same.

Because if it didn't remain the same, it wouldn't be the tale of Batman.
 

Theldaran

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
1,772
First playthrough of Baldur's Gate. Start -> Friendly Arm Inn -> Nashkel -> Bandit Camp etc
Second: Friendly arm - > do Minsc's quest -> do other quests -> meet up with Dorn and Neera -> find the wizard that sells magici n the middle of the map -> eventually stumble to nashkel mines with everyone at level 4 and a few +1 swords, murderfuck mulahey without trying

Man, mentioning bi-Dorn and stupid Neera nearly ruined your point.
 

Theldaran

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
1,772
That Neera leads you into an ambush the very first time you meet her is yet another reason to love her.
 
Self-Ejected

Bubbles

I'm forever blowing
Joined
Aug 7, 2013
Messages
7,817
The CEO of N-Space was Dan O'Leary:

13736.png


Tudge was just the project lead. And he's obviously a perfect fit for Bethesda. Bonus points if he's on New Vegas 2, as I predict.
 

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
The CEO of N-Space was Dan O'Leary:

13736.png


Tudge was just the project lead. And he's obviously a perfect fit for Bethesda. Bonus points if he's on New Vegas 2, as I predict.

I feel sorry for that poor bastard, Tudge sold him right down river chasin a non existant audience, an blokes pays wi his firm.
 
Self-Ejected

Bubbles

I'm forever blowing
Joined
Aug 7, 2013
Messages
7,817
His linkedin profile still lists his current occupation as "CEO of n-Space", even though the company was dissolved in March :(
 

Mustawd

Guest
His linkedin profile still lists his current position as "CEO of n-Space", even through the company was dissolved in March :(

It's bad form to update your linkedin right away. Makes you look desperate and like you are bragging.
 

pippin

Guest
It's as if Gaider had any T left on him.
 

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