On that note (my post above), that's why you all should leave comments! If you think TSW had great cutscenes, you're obviously welcome to comment. Heck, I want to go back and give the game another chance now just to see for myself again @_@ lol

For some reason I couldn't edit my post... :\

Originally posted by Pokket

Originally posted by Yakamomoto
Question: Why do you write an article about story, cutscenes and questing and NOT write about Secret World??  Because it wins in every category by a long shot? Sorry but this article is incomplete

Because I am not going to write about a game I wasn't interested in and didn't play. I got to experience some of the game in beta, but it just didn't get me hooked to the game and, ultimately, I didn't want to spend money on it when I had other games I wanted to buy (I'm poor :s). I'm not saying the game was bad. I'm just saying it wasn't my cup of tea. And I don't really agree with doing a report that analyzes games and you include games you have very little experience with ^.^

On that note, that's why you all should leave comments! If you think TSW had great cutscenes, you're obviously welcome to comment. Heck, I want to go back and give the game another chance now just to see for myself again @_@ lol

Well at your position you are a kind of opinion leader, being into journalism and MMO reports.

 I find it a little disappointing for journalists to state an opinion on a game in beta (damn, it was so much better on release than in beta!), also writíng an article which is supposed to wrap up the current state of MMO storytelling, questing and cutscenes and not do research on TSW, the most innovative MMO in all three areas, seems incomplete. 

In fact, these three points are (imho) groundbreaking und unparalleled in TSW. Therefore.. quite disappointed to read about the usual fetch kill quests of other MMOs, not menitoning investigation missions, stealth missions, missions that require crafting in TSW etc. also the Twin Peaks type storytelling/cutscenes.. never seen anything better in an MMO. Perhaps you like to look up some investigation missions on Youtube so you know what is possible today, besides fetch/kill 10 rats quests. Check some walkthroughs and videos from the Egypt story missions "Black Sun Red Sand"and "The big terrible picture" and you will see what I mean by innovation :) 

I agree about SWTOR on one hand.  They didn't need to give every NPC and their dog and their dog's puppies a cutscene.  I disagree that they did it to prolong leveling, because doing that would be like saying "I don't feel like repairing my engine.  I'll just spend the money on really nice tires, so then I won't be able to."  No, the devs truly thought that giving everybody and everything a cutscene was making it a better game. 

Where they right on that?  I'd say partly yes and partly no.  When the cutscenes were good, they were extremely amazing.  When they were bad, they were extremely annoying.  It reminds me of some authors in literature, like George RR Martin for example.  He writes some awesome stories, but some of the stuff just needs to be edited and cut and left on the floor.  I dare say that some of his Game of Thrones books should be cut by 60% or more.

All of that said, I say that a cutscene only serves to amplify the quality of the story, kind of like your speakers themselves.  The cutscene doesn't change the storyline.  It only amplifies it, for good or ill.

Originally posted by Yakamomoto

Originally posted by Pokket

Originally posted by Yakamomoto
Question: Why do you write an article about story, cutscenes and questing and NOT write about Secret World??  Because it wins in every category by a long shot? Sorry but this article is incomplete

Because I am not going to write about a game I wasn't interested in and didn't play. I got to experience some of the game in beta, but it just didn't get me hooked to the game and, ultimately, I didn't want to spend money on it when I had other games I wanted to buy (I'm poor :s). I'm not saying the game was bad. I'm just saying it wasn't my cup of tea. And I don't really agree with doing a report that analyzes games and you include games you have very little experience with ^.^

On that note, that's why you all should leave comments! If you think TSW had great cutscenes, you're obviously welcome to comment. Heck, I want to go back and give the game another chance now just to see for myself again @_@ lol

Well at your position you are a kind of opinion leader, being into journalism and MMO reports.

 I find it a little disappointing for journalists to state an opinion on a game in beta (damn, it was so much better on release than in beta!), also writíng an article which is supposed to wrap up the current state of MMO storytelling, questing and cutscenes and not do research on TSW, the most innovative MMO in all three areas, seems incomplete. 

In fact, these three points are (imho) groundbreaking und unparalleled in TSW. Therefore.. quite disappointed to read about the usual fetch kill quests of other MMOs, not menitoning investigation missions, stealth missions, missions that require crafting in TSW etc. also the Twin Peaks type storytelling/cutscenes.. never seen anything better in an MMO. Perhaps you like to look up some investigation missions on Youtube so you know what is possible today, besides fetch/kill 10 rats quests. Check some walkthroughs and videos from the Egypt story missions "Black Sun Red Sand"and "The big terrible picture" and you will see what I mean by innovation :) 

minor spoiler: a Caeser cypher decoder might come in handy :D

 

 

1.  You cannot cover or play every game that comes out!  Expecting someone to do that obviously does not say much for your thought process.

2.  I did play TSW.  Not a too bad a game, but not a great game.  I did not feel they did anything that outstanding in story, cutscenes or questing.  Perhaps they will improve it, although with their reduced staff  the chances of that are not great.  For me it was a typical Funcom game and the theme is not something that is going to attract a lot of players.  There was no magic for me.  You seem to like it,  everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think the numbers playing the game speaks for itself when it comes to what most people thought about the game.

Originally posted by Yakamomoto

Well at your position you are a kind of opinion leader, being into journalism and MMO reports.

 I find it a little disappointing for journalists to state an opinion on a game in beta (damn, it was so much better on release than in beta!), also writíng an article which is supposed to wrap up the current state of MMO storytelling, questing and cutscenes and not do research on TSW, the most innovative MMO in all three areas, seems incomplete. 

In fact, these three points are (imho) groundbreaking und unparalleled in TSW. Therefore.. quite disappointed to read about the usual fetch kill quests of other MMOs, not menitoning investigation missions, stealth missions, missions that require crafting in TSW etc. also the Twin Peaks type storytelling/cutscenes.. never seen anything better in an MMO. Perhaps you like to look up some investigation missions on Youtube so you know what is possible today, besides fetch/kill 10 rats quests. Check some walkthroughs and videos from the Egypt story missions "Black Sun Red Sand"and "The big terrible picture" and you will see what I mean by innovation :) 

minor spoiler: a Caeser cypher decoder might come in handy :D

 

 

Let me point out a quote from my column above:

"I guess the more obvious advancements to this were Aion, then SW:TOR, and even Guild Wars 2. I'm going to name these because I remember them well and played all three."

End of story. I am a journalist, yes. But I simply cannot play every single MMO, let alone every online game, that is released simply because I want to talk about an aspect of gaming that affects MANY games beyond that one game I decided not to buy.

Also, as you can see in my article, I didn't cover every area of questing, I mainly just covered wall-of-text questing and cutscenes (since we've seen a lot of those). If I wanted to cover every type of questing in one sit-down discussion... well, I'd be writing a book, not a column lol Perhaps I will one day though.

When a journalist or writer sites examples in their article, they don't site every example known to man, they only site a few that are relevant. Would have been helpful to use TSW? Perhaps, but the other three sited were just as useful in proving or disproving the point I was trying to make. If you got the idea, then the column was a success, regardless of there being a game that has decent cut scenes and questing.

Although, I still think the DK starting area in WoW is the best questing and story integration I've experienced thus far.

I haven't played a lot of WoW recently, but I do remember the fun I had with my DK. The story was fun as it unfolded throughout the  zones in the DK starting area. I do remember the only other place in WoW I enjoyed like that was also the Worgen starting area. The story unfolded in a nice way there. At times it even seemed like the towns had some life (maybe not as much as the DK area).

Since then I have only had one other MMO make me feel all warm and gitty inside like a little boy at Christmas day and that game is GW2. At times I even stopped killing things to hang out in the towns and cities to listen the the random VOICE ACTED npc chit-chat. Each and every zone felt alive. The npcs even changed their chit-chat in certain places based on your current status in your personal story or events finished in that zone. Every area lets you know of the devastation and challange based on the events going on. I don't need to find a (!) because even npcs will come find me and voice act a cry for help.  The story telling unfolds everywhere and sometimes randomly as you ADVENTURE (I know some forget what that word means) in the world around you.

For this gamer the story is important, BUT even more so it is greatly important how that story is told and relayed to me as I progress in the world.

Great post Pokket!

i hate cut scenes ,VA , I dont care for story in an mmorpg

MMORPG should to be about players interactions, as was in old good mmo's

The Secret World's cutscenes are not part of the action, but storytell to a greater degree than any other MMO I have played over many years.

For those that are willing to actually take the time to read and view in their games, I highly recommend it.

Those that wish to "rush to the purples" and then wait to be fed new instances should probably avoid it.

Originally posted by Fortenbas
I enjoyed the cutscenes in TSW the most of any game so far.

       The cutscenes were gamebreakers for me in TSW...Your character just sits there like he's stupid and can't say a word...How is that good?....IT adds nothing to the game and nothing to my immersion....CUtscenes are fine if your character makes decisions based on what is said (like in Dragon Age), but these cutscenes in MMOs where you do absolutely nothing is a waste of time......They actually ruin my immersion as I feel like Im watching a bad movie instead of interacting and playing a game.

Originally posted by Pokket

On that note (my post above), that's why you all should leave comments!

Ok, here's one: I'm the exact opposite on this matter :)

I usually read all the quest texts (and then follow its hints and suggestions, not the minimap), and I didn't spacebar'd SW:ToR convos - not even with the second alt.

It's nice to see, a lot of comments mentioned TSW, but I'm a bit surprised that nobody said AoC so far... Funcom made maybe the best npc's convo method there - or at least for me.

It was a recurring line back in the day, when we arrived a settlement or a camp, and my buddies gave in the quests quickly: "Ok, let's take 15, have a bio and a smoke while P does his precious conversations with all the npc's here" :D

(my first time against Atzel with my shammy, I bumped into an npc in the fortress and stopped for a quick chat... the yelling and cursing in voice was epic :) ok, I admit, maybe that was unprofessional move)

Originally posted by Theocritus

Originally posted by Fortenbas
I enjoyed the cutscenes in TSW the most of any game so far.

       The cutscenes were gamebreakers for me in TSW...Your character just sits there like he's stupid and can't say a word...How is that good?....IT adds nothing to the game and nothing to my immersion....CUtscenes are fine if your character makes decisions based on what is said (like in Dragon Age), but these cutscenes in MMOs where you do absolutely nothing is a waste of time......They actually ruin my immersion as I feel like Im watching a bad movie instead of interacting and playing a game.

I am TSW fan boy,impressed with game,

True funcom make great work with cut scenes but as I am told many times  in past;VA,cutt scennes ,are waste of time & resources for an mmo.MMO need more social contents not personal solo stuff.

I am happy with skipp option.