eltucu Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 So I'm wondering: First is anyone else having the same problem? Does anyone else find the world and the characters in it sort of shallow, or hollow? Yes, i do. I dont think that it could get better with mods though. "Writing Overhaul Mod" is kida a stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackCompany Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 So I'm wondering: First is anyone else having the same problem? Does anyone else find the world and the characters in it sort of shallow, or hollow? Yes, i do. I dont think that it could get better with mods though. "Writing Overhaul Mod" is kida a stretch. More and more I am seeing this same sentiment. I fail to understand many of the decisions Bethesda makes in terms of writing. Inane NPC comments. Assanine NPC attitudes. Annoying, player-skill-based snide remarks. Out and out insults directed at the player. Why? Why, game after game, do they continue to design these intolerable NPC's? There is no good, justifiable reason for this. The only reason I can come up with is the "Jar Jar Binks Clause." This clause dictates that, by intentionally giving fans something to annoy them, they will direct their ire at this and fail to notice all the other annoyances you mistakenly include in your product. Bethesda probably figures we will be so occupied with their annoying NPC's that we fail to notice their repetitive combat, terrible magic, horrendous leveling system, wooden dialogue, lack of options, overly plentiful loot and complete lack of either immersion or challenge. Sadly, I can honestly say this is my last Bethesda-developed game. Its been a hard lesson painfully learned. I have enjoyed my time with these games, don't get me wrong. The sheer scope and freedom are appreciated. But Bethesda is designing console games now, for console gamers - overly simplistic loot fests with no decisions or consequences. I don't when or if anyone will come along and fill the PC-gaming void with a real RPG. I hope someone does, and soon. CDProjekt could likely do it, if they take a step back from consoles themselves, rid themselves of the premade Witcher character and the heavily scripted, god-of-war boss fights. I hope someone fills that void. I hope someone gives us back choices and consequences. I hope someone does this in a world a little less cartoonish than Amalur offered. I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthFiscus Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I think i got the point of you. I would get bored soon if i just played this game like it is apperently played by a great part of it's gamers.Skyrim doesn't tell its stories very well and there is low variety in the quests, not much immersion and a biiig loot aspect in the game. But you don't have to play this game like the developers intended you to play it. You don't have to make these rush like fights with mod-pumped dragons with some god like equipment, enchanted and smithed to the top, taking every quest and fullfilling three of them on the way to the next dungeon to loot, harvesting every body and plant on this trip.Instead you can tell your own story, your own quests - and let the characters do some dialogue to fit into it. This requires a bit of imagination, but who prevents you from doing so? Skyrim is a singleplayer game. You don't have to compete with others to have fun. You don't have to wear good equipment and you don't have to fight effective. Immerse YOURSELF with your own restrictions to bind you in your way to play. This doesn't have to force you do serious roleplay with drinking, sleeping and all this crap. But running away from a fight you could easily win, leaving a corpse or chest full of gems, paying realistic amounts of gold for various items so that u don't have 200000 coins in your pockets at all times and slowing down a bit can work wonderful. Your mage meets a weak group of bandits? Why don't make an epic run because you couldn't concentrate to get some sort of combat spell ready.Or try to lead your party to the dragon corpse you killed two days ago to skin it and remove the scales, because you weren't able to break through it's shell on your own. Can be fun if you can't find the spot of the battle cuz your compass was disturbed magically by an evil mage who wanted the dragon heart for his own research to grow his skeleton soldiers. It's your own choice to think about stories like that which can compensate the crappy pattern of the game and let you enjoy it over and over again.I think the most important thing when playing this game is to play it not too much and to stop playing it when you realize that you are on the "arcade trip" again. I couldn't last >50 hours with this game as it is made originally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natelovesyou Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Here comes the fun part. Warning: What I am about to write - about skyrim the game, not the community - may be viewed as sacrilege/blasphemy on this site. You were warned: Pavy: I am willing to bet - real money, mind you and I live in America, where it ain't so easy to come by as once it was - I am willing to bet you will like Amalur better. It ain't pretty; but you won't notice. Amalur's cartoon asthetic could leave you pining away for Skyrim's craggy mountains and amazing vistas, if you notice their absence. But you won't. The writing in Amalur is worlds better than Skyrim. You make decisions. Real, someone-lives-and-someone dies decisions. You can anger factions, get people killed. Be a benevolent savior on some quests or a complete asshat. And people care about your decisions. You get the feeling those decisions matter to someone. They have...gasp...consequences. Now like it or love it, Skyrim lacks consequences. Please don't argue here; we all know it. I was lead to believe Skyrim was the adult's action RPG, with a gritty, bloody world full of tough decisions and tougher circumstances. I was lead to believe Amalur was the childish RPG with cartoon graphics and a hunky dory, all-is-well-in-candy-land plot line. The opposite is closer to the truth. The story and atmosphere of Amalur make Skyrim look like - and more importantly feel like - a child's game. Amalur won't overwhelm you with decisions Witcher style, but they are there. And they do matter. They change the plot/story. Amalur has a lot to like. And that is before you get to the combat system. Which is, simply put, light years better than Skyrim. For starts, Amalur's combat is fun out of the box. One tic mark up on Skyrim already. Its varied. Another tic mark. Your "class" (aka destiny, which you can respec any time) has a DRAMATIC affect on moves, weapons, spells/abilities available, etc. It also affects whether you stay at range, lay traps and sneak or barge into combat yelling about freedom with a sword bigger than your...well, its big. Its cartoonish, and that takes away from a mature plot line full of mystery and death. Amalur would be darker with a heavier, realistic art style. Wish it had one. But I love it, and after playing it find returning to Skyrim difficult. I suspect that lies at the heart of my post here, in fact. Skyrim is more pleasing to the eye, but it feels...hollow, and the mechanics are simply ancient and not at all fun.I played only 15 minutes of the beginning gameplay of Kingdoms of Amalur and wasn't feeling it. After reading what you've written, however, I'm sold... I'm going to give it another swing. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesapien Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I played only 15 minutes of the beginning gameplay of Kingdoms of Amalur and wasn't feeling it. After reading what you've written, however, I'm sold... I'm going to give it another swing. :) The demo bugged out on me. All I got was sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesapien Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I think i got the point of you. I would get bored soon if i just played this game like it is apperently played by a great part of it's gamers.Skyrim doesn't tell its stories very well and there is low variety in the quests, not much immersion and a biiig loot aspect in the game. But you don't have to play this game like the developers intended you to play it. You don't have to make these rush like fights with mod-pumped dragons with some god like equipment, enchanted and smithed to the top, taking every quest and fullfilling three of them on the way to the next dungeon to loot, harvesting every body and plant on this trip.Instead you can tell your own story, your own quests - and let the characters do some dialogue to fit into it. This requires a bit of imagination, but who prevents you from doing so? Skyrim is a singleplayer game. You don't have to compete with others to have fun. You don't have to wear good equipment and you don't have to fight effective. Immerse YOURSELF with your own restrictions to bind you in your way to play. This doesn't have to force you do serious roleplay with drinking, sleeping and all this crap. But running away from a fight you could easily win, leaving a corpse or chest full of gems, paying realistic amounts of gold for various items so that u don't have 200000 coins in your pockets at all times and slowing down a bit can work wonderful. Your mage meets a weak group of bandits? Why don't make an epic run because you couldn't concentrate to get some sort of combat spell ready.Or try to lead your party to the dragon corpse you killed two days ago to skin it and remove the scales, because you weren't able to break through it's shell on your own. Can be fun if you can't find the spot of the battle cuz your compass was disturbed magically by an evil mage who wanted the dragon heart for his own research to grow his skeleton soldiers. It's your own choice to think about stories like that which can compensate the crappy pattern of the game and let you enjoy it over and over again.I think the most important thing when playing this game is to play it not too much and to stop playing it when you realize that you are on the "arcade trip" again. I couldn't last >50 hours with this game as it is made originally. I think there are quite a few of us who agree and play that way. I've only completed the main story with Alduin once with my first character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elleonblanco Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) At risk of getting flamed. I have close to 100 hours into Amalur. I have just started running the main quest line. The faction quests are well written and overall I find the game to be much more immersive than Skyrim. I haven't played Skyrim more than 20 minutes since around Christmas. That was when I had discovered all the map locations and couldn't find any more quests to perform. Hopefully in a few weeks some immersive quest mods will come out and I will have reason to get back to Skyrim. One total draw back to Amalur is no possibility of modding as there is no CK available. The developer has hinted that possibly in the future they will release one. The OP has stated the same thing that I am sure many of us have felt for some time. Frankly Beth needs to do some SERIOUS introspective soul seeking and finally update to at least the standards of more modern games. I am waiting to see what they do with Fallout in the near future as they also need to pump it up a bit too. So if you haven't played Amalur give it a shot. I bet that you will find it is rather enjoyable. Maybe someone here with more knowledge than I possess will figure out how to make some mods for it to solve the few areas it is lacking in. It's not a perfect world but entertainment is what you make of it. By the way I don't feel that either game has too much replay value. Once you know the quest lines it is like watching reruns. Edited February 25, 2012 by elleonblanco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferodaktyl Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Well, i gave Amalur a shot. Played to lvl 15 or something. With tons of breaks. This being a subjective point of view, but besides combat, it has nothing to keep me interested any longer. On the other hand, i started playing Skyrim around X-mas, and i played only Skyrim for a month and a half ( this being 1 and 1/2 play-throughs), after which i got my fill of it. Besides comparing Skyrim to Amalur, i get the feeling that there's something missing from most modern RPGs. Can't pinpoint what exactly, but sometimes i think STALKER is more RPG than... idk, whatever passes as RPG nowadays. And it's not about graphics, bugs, hellish controls or sheer scope of the fantasy world created in the games. Not even the story. Just the impression that there should be something more. I miss the old timers like MM6, Gothic 1 and 2, Fallout, BG and so on. Enough ranting and nostalgia. What if it's not the games who are at fault, but myself? LE: I'd rather play Alien Shooter than Amalur :tongue: Edited February 25, 2012 by Ferodaktyl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sader325 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) So I'm wondering: First is anyone else having the same problem? Does anyone else find the world and the characters in it sort of shallow, or hollow? Yes, i do. I dont think that it could get better with mods though. "Writing Overhaul Mod" is kida a stretch. More and more I am seeing this same sentiment. I fail to understand many of the decisions Bethesda makes in terms of writing. Inane NPC comments. Assanine NPC attitudes. Annoying, player-skill-based snide remarks. Out and out insults directed at the player. Why? Why, game after game, do they continue to design these intolerable NPC's? There is no good, justifiable reason for this. The only reason I can come up with is the "Jar Jar Binks Clause." This clause dictates that, by intentionally giving fans something to annoy them, they will direct their ire at this and fail to notice all the other annoyances you mistakenly include in your product. Bethesda probably figures we will be so occupied with their annoying NPC's that we fail to notice their repetitive combat, terrible magic, horrendous leveling system, wooden dialogue, lack of options, overly plentiful loot and complete lack of either immersion or challenge. Sadly, I can honestly say this is my last Bethesda-developed game. Its been a hard lesson painfully learned. I have enjoyed my time with these games, don't get me wrong. The sheer scope and freedom are appreciated. But Bethesda is designing console games now, for console gamers - overly simplistic loot fests with no decisions or consequences. I don't when or if anyone will come along and fill the PC-gaming void with a real RPG. I hope someone does, and soon. CDProjekt could likely do it, if they take a step back from consoles themselves, rid themselves of the premade Witcher character and the heavily scripted, god-of-war boss fights. I hope someone fills that void. I hope someone gives us back choices and consequences. I hope someone does this in a world a little less cartoonish than Amalur offered. I hope. I call so much bulls*** on that statement. Yea when TES 6 comes out you're not gonna get it? HORSESHIT SIR. LARGE SHOVELS OF SMELLY HORSESHIT. That being said: I could not get into Oblivion I liked Fallout 3 I could not get into New Vegas I have LOVED Skyrim, putting nearly 300+ hours into it and weeks making mods. But now I'm bored of it too, but that's NOT THE GAMES FAULT. I mean CHRIST i put nearly 300 hours into it! That's way more then any game I've ever bought that DIDN'T have multiplayer. I'm only bored because there's NOTHING LEFT TO DO! Let me put it this way... If someone walked up to me and said "Hey I can wipe your mind so you'll forget everything you learned while playing Elder Scrolls V, would you like me to do it?". I would say f*** YES just so I could play it AGAIN. *EDIT* Correction, I just checked steam. Apparently I'm at 324 hours of Elder Scrolls. Edited February 25, 2012 by Sader325 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntsman2310 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Skyrim tends to be better in small bursts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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