my real problem with lore is:
- it's a catch-all that can be used to mean anything from a character's backstory (another word i hate) to an anecdote from a character in the game world to the history behind a country, town, faction, continent, weapon, armor, item; and dozens of other things that are all individual their meaning within the context of the game's systems, mechanics, narrative, plot, characters, writing, characterizations, story-telling, itemization, area and dungeon design and many other important moving parts become
denigrated when swept under the all-encompassing umbrella of "lore".
- it removes depth from any RPG discussion because it hampers successful deconstruction of all of the many, many elements which must conflate, influence, relate, and work in concert for an RPG template to become more than the sum of its parts.
Very common type of comment that arises when, (incoming specific example), someone dares to criticize the LARPing that players enjoy when they talk about the Lore Books (TM) that make Bethesda game such moving cinematic ludonarrative IMAX real-3D experiences:
"So, yeah, i'm not enjoying Oblivion whatsoever, it is fucking atrocious"
"But dude you gotta find all the Lore Books (TM)!!!!! They really flesh out the history of the game and give everything so much life and depth!"
"No, son, you're mistaken. A game should always attempt to present an interactive experience and finding a Lore Book (TM) inside someone's house and then crediting the (always badly written) book with elevating the game's story, or narrative or writing in any way whatsoever is a complete falsehood and to top it off it's just bad game design!"
"No, fuck you aweigh, it is gameplay because you find them in the game and some are hidden!!!"
"Sorry, but you are a dumpster baby come to life and I must disagree. Walking around in an RPG and finding something like those Lore Books (TM) does not constitute RPG gameplay. If it was tied to a quest and if finding said books carried some sort of consequence or presented some interactive conflict one could participate in some way; if for example one could use what is in those books to educate an NPC in the game then it can be argued that the books are part of the RPG gameplay, or even more simple; if they were valuable loot or gave some type of game-ified progression then it could be argued they are part of the itemization design"
"ARGH fuck you I hate turn-based blobbers I hate wizardry those games are old OMG LOL fuck you aweigh I fucking hate you so much and your inability to recognize non-Turn-Based games as legitimate RPGs! You are such a narrow minded retard fuck I fucking hate you go jack off to Wizardry 7 again you cuck"
"You child-like brain tumor, I think Wizardry 7 is not a real Wizardry title and while it is a fantastic RPG in its own right I have discussed many times before that western Wizardry irrevocably changed when D.W. Bradley took over because he eliminated the dungeon crawling and all of the gameplay-driven choice and consequence that makes up the Wizardry 1-5 blueprint"
*expletives*
*expletives*
*someone Acknowledges This User's Agenda*
*500 people rated your post as shit*
If it's just a book laying there with a ton of badly written "lore" that has zero consequence on the gameplay then it is something called an "Easter Egg"; akin to when a movie studio makes a fake website containing "lore" about the movie that has no relevance on the actual movie such as the fake website of chronicling the Blair Witch Project's axe-murderer mythos. Arguably interesting to read but it has no bearing on the merits of the movie. It is something "extra" that is there for the enjoyment of the people who find them and if/when they take the place of
proper writing in the game, i.e. actual game design, then we have a huge problem.
