Quote:
Originally Posted by RL Clown
We are going to have to agree to disagree... Game writing requires talent and discipline. Today we have some of the best video games ever. Well, I'm talking about the RPG games department. First person shooters have gone downhill. But RPG games are amazing... I'm talking about great storylines and beautiful architectural designs. Let me tell you something... The physics engine is also fantastic! If game writing was trash, all video-game selling stores would have been out of business since 2010. Technology has improved and so has game writing.
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It may be better than in 1995 and many people might like it, but that doesn't change my personal opinion that, compared to storytelling and writing quality in other artforms (theater, film, books, comics), games writing has absolutely abysmal standards. Not a single game I have been told has good writing ever impressed me much. Even the best pales in comparision to middling examples in those other artforms. Plus games writing (especially in RPG's) has a weird tendency to dive heavily into exposition - which is just a really awful thing to do and which would be frowned upon heavily in any other medium of storytelling.
At the risk of being a really arrogant a-hole, I'll have to say that I'd wager most gamers don't exactly read many proper books or watch proper movies of the type made for grown ups (so to speak). Super hero and fantasy movies don't count. Writing in games could easily look a lot better if you don't have much of a frame of reference. I might be wrong, but It's beyond me how one could see games as having great writing, while at the same time having seen the best of other artforms. The math on that just doesn't check out in my mind. As alway, I might be wrong.
/snobby old guy ramble