The writing in this game is average

[Brotherman Bill]

After having finished Act I and having given the matter some though, I want to share more impression on the game's writing. I shall mention two examples specifically. In both cases, my main issue with the way they've been written is that they are fairly "uninvolved", or that they don't make the PC feel "involved" enough. They seem random "episodes" inserted into the game, and other than their size, they barely feel like they have any actual relevance to the main story. This, the main story, by the end of Act I still doesn't seem to be going in any direction: there is a serious lack of dropping "hints", or "hooks", to entangle the player's interest, or the PC's for that matter, for what the hell is going on.


The writing isn't bad per se, but it definitively is worse than the sum of its parts. It's like a hotpot of different writing styles and stories, and they feel like they've been thrown in at random, without skimming and without much simmering so that everything would blend well. I finished Act I and it came as a surprise. What I, the PC, did in game, didn't feel really risolutive, nor important, and least of all it felt like leading to some kind of plot-related turning point (which is what should determine when an act ends and the next one begins). I hope the writing, and the game consequently, will pick up a bit with Act 2.

You nail it pretty well here, no need to add anything. As for the stuff in the spoiler

Spoiler

I have blood legacy written down as a low point in the game. That massive tl;dr dungeon full of uninteresting enemies, for a sidequest? I don't mind a quest branching out to become something more, but it didn't branch out to anything, just a massive dungeon to slaughter. The way of introducing Skaen was pretty cool, but everything else around it was meh. Enemies attacking at sight without explanation is another weird thing about it. Oh, and as far as I understood the quest, the girl was his niece, but on the wifes side... So all that happened was an older man fucked an unrelated-by-blood younger girl, that's not so evil is it... It's hinted she was raped but we don't know that. And then when you free her, you tell the girl that she should just get on the road to get running, as if a young pregnant girl raised by nobles can survive that way. I told her to get to the temple, which was the only remotely sane option you had, but even there, I don't think the world of PoE has social services. It's just this general level of thoughtlessness about that quest and much of the writing in general.

The big problem of this game, which I'm surprised to see practically no one has mentioned, is pacing. Both story and quest design suffers from bad pacing. Mb I'll make another topic about it as soon as I'm actually finished. Which will have to be after the patch as two of my chars are bugged :<

 

[Jools]

Spoiler

I told her to get to the temple, which was the only remotely sane option you had,

I did the same choice, and even checked the temple afterwards, to see if they had taken her in or something (I was hoping for some more follow-up dialogue or at least to see her NPC relocated to the temple). Nothing. Disappointment ensued.

 

[Irenaeus]

The big problem of this game, which I'm surprised to see practically no one has mentioned, is pacing. Both story and quest design suffers from bad pacing. Mb I'll make another topic about it as soon as I'm actually finished. Which will have to be after the patch as two of my chars are bugged :<

I'll be there at the topic you create to disagree on you on pacing. ta-ta

 

[Kel]

Which are Sawyer written companions specifically?

only Pallegina

As for OP's comment, I think he's partially right.

Eric overextended and tried just too hard with the narrative to be an homage as well as original that he turned player objectivity into a mess.

When you force memories and dialogue on a character from their past lives, you really begin screwing up.

 

[Hegel]

I guess the blandest. I say the paladin, without even checking. The inuit chick is a turd as well.

 

[Infinitron]

When you force memories and dialogue on a character from their past lives, you really begin screwing up.

Oh wait, joindate

 

[Perkel]

Which are Sawyer written companions specifically?

Pellagina i think. I was a bit surprised that she actually is fun.

Though Grieving Mother is probably best companion currently. Whole take on cipher, her story, language and finally interactions with various NPCs.
She feels like Malkavian from Bloodlines. She often hints you true nature of some NPC and sometimes she helps you with NPC by own accord.

I guess the blandest. I say the paladin, without even checking. The inuit chick is a turd as well.

Disagree strongly. Though her motivations for joining PC seems weird. Though i did not fallow her story as of yet.

 

[Kel]

When you force memories and dialogue on a character from their past lives, you really begin screwing up.

Oh wait, joindate

Buddy, you were in diapers when I was rooting for Ravel vs. TO

Torment didn't force arbitrary dialogue, only made allusions to the past existences which had no impact on the storyline or the results you could achieve. Pillars on the other hand constrains both your options of meandering dialogue to a single delta of consequence as well as force you to behave a certain way.

For instance, you have zero options of joining or supporting Thaos, you HAVE to antagonize him. That is a corner Fenstermaxjchckekrker forced himself into.

 

[Ninjerk]

When you force memories and dialogue on a character from their past lives, you really begin screwing up.

Oh wait, joindate

Buddy, you were in diapers when I was rooting for Ravel vs. TO

 

[Jools]

Fenstermaxjchckekrker

Sooo, "maker" is the hard-to-type bit of the surname, that you needed to make fun of...

P.S.

Welcome to the codex, newfag (yeah yeah, I was in diapers when you discovered fire and invented the wheel, bla bla bla: you're still the newfag here, sorry). :D

 

[Kel]

Don't blame me, your holier-than-thou staff drew first blood.

I quite like the game though. Great world design, I love the combat as well. But aside from a couple of instances, the narrative is forced. The main character is indeed special but neither the pacing nor the plot is as special as him. NPCs are good and varied yes but are ruined by peripheral polishing that made the zerth, Minsc and the Baatezu from ID special. Voice acting is mediocre at best, and NPCs rarely affect the way the plot moves forward, they never truly conflict with one another. They should have not gone the safe route regarding these things.

Still its an excellent game, but nobody compare Defiance Bay to Athkatla please.

 

[Ninjerk]

Jaesun, you know what time it is.

 

[Athelas]

I like how MCA was barely involved with this game, had his work cut down to 1/4 its original size and his companions still ended up standing head and shoulders above the rest of the cast.

 

[Grimwulf]

I've just met Raedric, so I can't really judge the writing. Still at early game. But I regretted multiple times already that I took a Death Godlike. The game was obviously meant to play something more human-ish.

Ok, so this is yer average Death Godlike:

Spoiler

- (the very first quest in the game)"You look sick. Go gather berries!" (FUCKING HELL, I'm a Death Godlike - how do you even)
- (after waking up from nightmares) "Charname, did you sleep at all this night? You've got black circles under your eyes." (you don't fucking say)
- (from Durance)"Yes, I cought the same pox as you. Not all of us get lucky enough to have water nearby when the illness comes" (oh, so you think YOU look ugly? okaaaay)

It's just not immersive enough. I don't feel like I'm playing the most distrusted race in the game, not mentioning the most distrusted class (cipher). Nobody gives a shit, and talk to me like they see hundreds Death Godlikes every day. How come I never saw a single one?

In Dragonfall, Arcanum, Baldurs Gate, NWN, etc. - I felt the difference of playing different races and classes. Every second NPC was spitting on the ground and hissing something like "fucking dirty dwarf" or other bullshit.

But here? I've got dark circles under my eyes.

 

[DeepOcean]

I like how MCA was barely involved with this game, had his work cut down to 1/4 its original size and his companions still ended up standing head and shoulders above the rest of the cast.

The good side of this is that if he isn't working so much on PoE, where is he placing all his energies? MCA kickstarter? Torment?

 

[Athelas]

Nobody gives a shit, and talk to me like there see hundreds Death Godlikes every day.

They do see hundreds of them every day - thanks to all those backers NPC's.

 

[Grimwulf]

Nobody gives a shit, and talk to me like there see hundreds Death Godlikes every day.

They do see hundreds of them every day - thanks to all those backers NPC's.

I do my best to pretend they are not there at all.

 

[Ninjerk]

I've just met Raedric, so I can't really judge the writing. Still at early game. But I regretted multiple times already that I took a Death Godlike. The game was obviously meant to play something more human-ish.

Ok, so this is yer average Death Godlike:

Spoiler

- (the very first quest in the game)"You look sick. Go gather berries!" (FUCKING HELL, I'm a Death Godlike - how do you even)
- (after waking up from nightmares) "Charname, did you sleep at all this night? You've got black circles under your eyes." (you don't fucking say)
- (from Durance)"Yes, I cought the same pox as you. Not all of us get lucky enough to have water nearby when the illness comes" (oh, so you think YOU look ugly? okaaaay)

It's just not immersive enough. I don't feel like I'm playing the most distrusted race in the game, not mentioning the most distrusted class (cipher). Nobody gives a shit, and talk to me like they see hundreds Death Godlikes every day. How come I never saw a single one?

In Dragonfall, Arcanum, Baldurs Gate, NWN, etc. - I felt the difference of playing different races and classes. Every second NPC was spitting on the ground and hissing something like "fucking dirty dwarf" or other bullshit.

But here? I've got dark circles under my eyes.

Maybe he's making light of your general facial skin tone. Fucking shitlord.

 

[Irenaeus]

Mods will fix it.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

Eric overextended and tried just too hard with the narrative to be an homage as well as original

The writing is as far from original as you can get.

If I see another *roll eyes* I will fucking kill the NPC.

 

[Irenaeus]

 

[Kel]

Eric overextended and tried just too hard with the narrative to be an homage as well as original

The writing is as far from original as you can get.

If I see another *roll eyes* I will fucking kill the NPC.

He's just not a very good writer compared to McComb or Avellone, but he's not that bad.

It's just that the narrative and stuff that happens have some creepy forced vibe to them. Eder and Aloth waking the PC up weirdly and ambigiously hitting on/worrying about them made me facepalm every single time. Aloth was like some abominable Dakkon and Anakin Skywalker hybrid, grim and whiny at the same time. Every interesting memory you have being spoonfed via a soul whoosh sound effect turned me off to the whole Watcher thing almost immediately.

I WANT to read text yes, but not of every little detail dictated to my imagination. Fenstermaker's narrative decisions border on ironically making it a more linear game. Each time I see Sagani or some female NPC biting her lip or smirking at me I thought about all the bad /emotes in 90s MUSHes.

I enjoyed the game very much, but narrative decisions prevented me from being emotionally invested in it.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

 

[Broseph]

Eder and Aloth waking the PC up weirdly and ambigiously hitting on/worrying about them made me facepalm every single time.

I agree, it should have been very unambiguous.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

He's just not a very good writer compared to McComb or Avellone, but he's not that bad.

Ziets is the most original of the bunch. And he hates writing dialogues and probably will never get to lead.

Fertnstamekrs or whatever his name is a dull, unimaginative idiot. Seeing that he got his rep from the south park RPG is fitting.

A perfect match for Sawyer. The one idiot who makes a dull Vallian companion when Vallians are supposed to hate dullness.