Ok, this was… Very bad.
Incredibly bad, even.
ArenaNet has fallen in the same trap a lot of MMORPG developers fall into – they are putting the NPCs under the spotlight to the detriment of the player characters. This has always been an issue for ArenaNet – from people complaining that Prince Rurik was stealing the show in GW: Prophecies, then Mhenlo in GW: Factions, Kormir in Nightfall and later Traheanne in GW2. It would have been expected that ArenaNet would know better than to do an entire trailer – and something they’re calling such a big thing like the “launch trailer” – focusing exclusively on showing NPCs being “cool”. The message here is clear – Rytlock will be the next Traheanne, don’t expect your character to be the hero of the story.
It’s also sad to see how ArenaNet has lost one of their most unique aspects, the use of animated concept art for cinematics. The last time we saw this in full force was at the video right after character creation, but since the first time we saw it – the Guild Wars 2 Teaser Video - it was widely praised. I’m not surprised ArenaNet has mostly abandoned this format – one of the main artists responsible for it, Kekai Kotaki, has left the company. But it’s still a big symbol of how much ArenaNet has lost.
Mordemoth’s voice is also very cliché. He sounds like a Protoss – that effect they have added to his voice must be one of the most overused sound effects in games. It shows a huge lack of creativity.
I’m very disappointed in this trailer.
You seem to have forgotten about this.
Along with several other instances in-game over even just the past year. Including this.
Please tell me again how they’ve “strayed from their unique aspects, and stopped using cinematic concept art”…
On topic though. I found the trailer to be wonderful, if brief. I understand it’s going to be the primary advert played on streaming sites and elsewhere, so it has to stay short, but I’m a lore junkie, and pretty things make me smile :P
That being said… Where was Rox?!? Also, if Rytlock is supposed to be helping us search for Destiny’s Edge, where are they? If my snarky buddy Zojja truly goes MIA, I can’t promise that I won’t just torch the jungle while spear-heading a full scale search and rescue mission. You’ve all been warned! (Psst, bring marshmallows)
EDIT: To address your issue with the voice. It’s more than likely a form of layering, utilized as a preset filter. This allows the dev team to spend less time and money to make something that still sounds good. That being said… This type of layering is typically done to provide an audible recognition of sub-audible sound waves that produce vibrations so powerful you can feel them, despite not being able to hear them. Think of that guy driving past at 3 in the morning with subwoofers lining every part of his vehicle but the driver’s seat. Same thing. You can hear the underlying music producing it, but you can also FEEL the vibrations from the sub-audible frequencies being produced. The voice layering is trying to produce the same effect, and is, in fact, more pronounced when you have a surround sound set hooked up to your PC with a good sub. Hope the technical lesson helped you understand why it’s a technique commonly used in any non-live industry reliant on audio-visual acuity and depth; in order to better tell an engaging story and provide a sense of realism for their consumers, who typically use this entertainment medium as an escape from the toil of everyday life.
(edited by Grenthblood.1358)