Guild Wars 2

Not sure if this is the right section, apologies in advance if it isn’t.

Sighs I heard Arenanet purposely removed the cut-scene dialogues because it was uninteractive.

It was actually one of the reasons I enjoyed GW2 so much, because it was one of the few MMO’s that gave the player character a true voice. GW2 is actually the only MMORPG I’ve played where I actually pay attention to the storyline and is actually quite immersed in it, and a big part of that were due to the cutscenes.

To me, the cutscenes made it possible for my character to truly interact and converse with the other characters, it feels like he/she is really part of the story, developing real relationships with other characters in the story.

S2 format… In the first few instances I wasn’t even sure if the NPC’s knew me or not, I felt invisible, no longer a part of the story. Just a mindless observer that’s there to make an occasional decision here or there.

I wonder if anyone else shares this feeling ;/ I hope I’m not the only one.

At first I was, then I saw the episode 1 ending cut scene.

I miss the dialogue cut scenes for a very different reason, so dialogue can progress more smoothly. I hate: “Discuss this with Kasmeer”, “Follow up with Braham”, “Scratch Rox behind the ear”, “Acknowledge Taimi so she can call someone stupid”. I don’t like talking with one person specifically clicking 8-15 times to see what they have to say, take 2 steps to the left and repeat. We are all within earshot of each other, just talk kitten!

I’m with you. While I would appreciate a better, more improved cutscene system (since the old one was clunky in some ways), I really never thought that bad about the whole two people talking on a splash screen thing. A bit clunky? Sure. Terrible and needing removal/changing? Nope.

No.

The old style wasn’t BAD, but I like the new style much better. I think the main advantage of the old cutscene style was being able to hear your character talk, something that’s missing in the new style.

I do and I don’t

I do because I enjoyed the way they did the story cut scenes in the Personal Story format and they were nicely done.

I don’t because the “new” cut scenes with using the in-game characters and the text underneath reminds me of how they did the story cut scenes from the original guild wars.

Here’s what I say to Arena Net; Keep both. There is a good time and place for the 1 vs 1’s like when talking to Rylock for example. However when showing an overall over arcing cut scene spanning a larger sense of what’s going on, keep the “new” style and the flashy cut scenes as well.

I know in some ways the “new” style is somewhat easier but I find from an artistic stand point there isn’t anything wrong with the old way of doing it either. It only means more VO for the story character more so than art work.

Overall I would say they need to keep both, and use each accordingly, keeping things fresh throughout the Living Story.

I miss my characters talking, sure, but the old style personal story and dungeon cutscenes were just awkward and uninteresting to look at, in my opinion.

The reason our characters don’t talk in the open world cutscenes (other than with triggers like skills) is a technical problem rather than a budgetary one at the moment, so when they get the tech to allow our characters to talk in these cutscenes, it will be much better.

JayMack.8295:

The reason our characters don’t talk in the open world cutscenes (other than with triggers like skills) is a technical problem rather than a budgetary one at the moment, so when they get the tech to allow our characters to talk in these cutscenes, it will be much better.

How is the problem is technological? How is the technology used to record Taimi, Rox, and Kasmeer’s voice actors not advanced enough to record Nolan North or Jennifer Hale? How is the technology used to record Nolan North and Jennifer Hale for the Personal Story not advanced enough to record them for the Living Story? You’re going to have to explain that one to me, but I’m not seeing it…like, at all.

This is simply a case of quantity over quality. The quantity of the Living Story releases doesn’t allow the developers the time to bring the ten voice actors who voiced our characters in the Personal Story, whereas a single expansion would. I’m sure budgetary concerns play into it as well; the developers aren’t going to want to spend a bunch of money to bring in top-tier VA talent like Hale to voice content that they’re giving away for free.

The chat box click through makes the dialog uninteresting ????
The nice parts are when the characters actually talking.

It’s like watching Lord of the rings without actors talking and you have to click throgh
text boxes…… this is destroying the mood and dedication to the characters

Kurrilino.2706:

The chat box click through makes the dialog uninteresting ????
The nice parts are when the characters actually talking.

It’s like watching Lord of the rings without actors talking and you have to click throgh
text boxes…… this is destroying the mood and dedication to the characters

It’s especially disjointing when two NPCs are talking in voiced dialogue, when the conversation shifts to include you and all of a sudden the character who was just speaking has no voice. This is compounded when that same character then starts speaking in voiced dialogue again.

darkace.8925:

It’s especially disjointing when two NPCs are talking in voiced dialogue, when the conversation shifts to include you and all of a sudden the character who was just speaking has no voice. This is compounded when that same character then starts speaking in voiced dialogue again.

100% agree with this. It feels clunky, and disrupts the flow of the scene at times.

darkace.8925:

JayMack.8295:

The reason our characters don’t talk in the open world cutscenes (other than with triggers like skills) is a technical problem rather than a budgetary one at the moment, so when they get the tech to allow our characters to talk in these cutscenes, it will be much better.

How is the problem is technological? How is the technology used to record Taimi, Rox, and Kasmeer’s voice actors not advanced enough to record Nolan North or Jennifer Hale? How is the technology used to record Nolan North and Jennifer Hale for the Personal Story not advanced enough to record them for the Living Story? You’re going to have to explain that one to me, but I’m not seeing it…like, at all.

This is simply a case of quantity over quality. The quantity of the Living Story releases doesn’t allow the developers the time to bring the ten voice actors who voiced our characters in the Personal Story, whereas a single expansion would. I’m sure budgetary concerns play into it as well; the developers aren’t going to want to spend a bunch of money to bring in top-tier VA talent like Hale to voice content that they’re giving away for free.

There’s also availability. I keep track of Jen Hale at least and she’s been a busy lady. I can’t image that Troy Baker or Stephen Blum are all that easier to get for large chunks of the story, not to mention Felicia Day. I’d like the cutscenes too, but i doubt it’s going to happen unless they do a huge release along the lines of an expansion so they can get the talent for a reasonable period.

zityz.6089:

Here’s what I say to Arena Net; Keep both. There is a good time and place for the 1 vs 1’s like when talking to Rylock for example. However when showing an overall over arcing cut scene spanning a larger sense of what’s going on, keep the “new” style and the flashy cut scenes as well.

I felt they were already moving towards that direction in the later chapters of the main quest. After “Forging the Pact”, there starts to be a good mix of both.

I’ve been wondering if they would start recording lines for several episodes at once. That does require an awful lot of planning in advance, of course.

I have no real issues with the way the story is presented in S2 except what Zaxares pointed out – it’s been a really long time since the PC, well, said anything.

Not a fan, so far. As stated by someone else above, the click-here-there-andtheretoo thing gets old fast, especially when gunning for achievements. And without a Skip option like the Personal Story dialogues have, it’s even more mind-numbing.

darkace.8925:

JayMack.8295:

The reason our characters don’t talk in the open world cutscenes (other than with triggers like skills) is a technical problem rather than a budgetary one at the moment, so when they get the tech to allow our characters to talk in these cutscenes, it will be much better.

How is the problem is technological? How is the technology used to record Taimi, Rox, and Kasmeer’s voice actors not advanced enough to record Nolan North or Jennifer Hale? How is the technology used to record Nolan North and Jennifer Hale for the Personal Story not advanced enough to record them for the Living Story? You’re going to have to explain that one to me, but I’m not seeing it…like, at all.

This is simply a case of quantity over quality. The quantity of the Living Story releases doesn’t allow the developers the time to bring the ten voice actors who voiced our characters in the Personal Story, whereas a single expansion would. I’m sure budgetary concerns play into it as well; the developers aren’t going to want to spend a bunch of money to bring in top-tier VA talent like Hale to voice content that they’re giving away for free.

This isn’t me just making stuff up from thin air, or guessing. I shall provide the source:

BobbyStein.2315:

Tyloric.7520:

If I have one complaint it’s that the PC doesn’t really seem to be involved with the narrative anymore outside of text bubbles, but the game has seen leaps and bounds since launch, and I’m willing to bet the lack of PC acting it due to time constraints (since the PC is technically ten separate characters).

We’re currently exploring ways to make the PC speak again. It’s more of a technical consideration and not really about actor availability or voice budget. We’ll share more on this when we’re ready.

I don’t know what the technical issue is, but if I had to guess, I would think it has something to do with there not currently being a way for the player character to talk in the open world without some form of trigger, i.e. pressing a skill, talking to an NPC, getting a rare. Since they were originally going down the route with the old-school 1-1 PC interactions, I’m guessing they didn’t implement a way from the beginning for the player character to talk without cues.

starlightx.3728:

Sighs I heard Arenanet purposely removed the cut-scene dialogues because it was uninteractive.

It was actually one of the reasons I enjoyed GW2 so much, because it was one of the few MMO’s that gave the player character a true voice. GW2 is actually the only MMORPG I’ve played where I actually pay attention to the storyline and is actually quite immersed in it, and a big part of that were due to the cutscenes.

To me, the cutscenes made it possible for my character to truly interact and converse with the other characters, it feels like he/she is really part of the story, developing real relationships with other characters in the story.
.

Cutscenes cost money. Did you know that the starting wage for computer animators in the Seattle area is $80,000 per year. I know this because I’m a animator myself. Many of the companies in the area hire animators for a short time because of the cost. Animating in Maya is challenging and time consuming. The cost of the animator goes up when the artist gets more experience. I had a teacher at Art Institute of Seattle that charged one local company half a million dollars (at the bare minimum) for making one commercial. That’s because he actually had experience in Hollywood with the big blockbuster films.

I believe that Anet cut out the PCs’ voices due to cost.

Making realistic video games is not cheap. I dare anyone who says otherwise to download a copy of Unity 3d and create a game that has the size and scope of GW2. It’’s a huge task for an individual game developer to take on.

As for the Personal Story cutscenes, those had to be removed. It’s not appropriate for the US market due to how folks in this part of the world communicate. We Americans are dependent on body language and tone of voice to communicate our messages in American English. It’s the reason why we look a person in the face while talking to them. Thanks to the influence of religious groups like the Amish and the Quakers, our language was created with directness, simplicity, and truth in mind. It’s not designed for communicating ideas in a few simple words or characters like Japanese. IMO, the personal story cutscenes were the reason NA players couldn’t understand a complex character like Trahearne. We really needed to see him in the scene talking to our PCs and interacting with the environment.

For me, the current cutscenes communicate the necessary information that I as a player need to know about the storyline. I really like the stuff.

kta.6502:

As for the Personal Story cutscenes, those had to be removed. It’s not appropriate for the US market due to how folks in this part of the world communicate. We Americans are dependent on body language and tone of voice to communicate our messages in American English. It’s the reason why we look a person in the face while talking to them. Thanks to the influence of religious groups like the Amish and the Quakers, our language was created with directness, simplicity, and truth in mind. It’s not designed for communicating ideas in a few simple words or characters like Japanese. IMO, the personal story cutscenes were the reason NA players couldn’t understand a complex character like Trahearne. We really needed to see him in the scene talking to our PCs and interacting with the environment.

For me, the current cutscenes communicate the necessary information that I as a player need to know about the storyline. I really like the stuff.

I must respectfully disagree with this. As an American, I’d rather you not speak on my behalf on what I prefer. It’s one thing to list your own personal preference, another to speak for a whole group of people. Not to mention America has a diverse population and people vary greatly from region to region, categorizing all of us into one is unrealistic.

starlightx.3728:

Not sure if this is the right section, apologies in advance if it isn’t.

Sighs I heard Arenanet purposely removed the cut-scene dialogues because it was uninteractive.

It was actually one of the reasons I enjoyed GW2 so much, because it was one of the few MMO’s that gave the player character a true voice. GW2 is actually the only MMORPG I’ve played where I actually pay attention to the storyline and is actually quite immersed in it, and a big part of that were due to the cutscenes.

To me, the cutscenes made it possible for my character to truly interact and converse with the other characters, it feels like he/she is really part of the story, developing real relationships with other characters in the story.

S2 format… In the first few instances I wasn’t even sure if the NPC’s knew me or not, I felt invisible, no longer a part of the story. Just a mindless observer that’s there to make an occasional decision here or there.

I wonder if anyone else shares this feeling ;/ I hope I’m not the only one.

I know I shouldn’t be complaining about free content, but at this point these story patches take me about ten min to finish.(as long as there no buged events) The last story patch was great when the Eternal Alchemy, but this one felt like they trying to squease as elements to stretch this ls out as long as possible.

Will agree that on many occasions I feel like I didn’t just recently command the Pact to defeat an Elder Dragon, then additionally coordinate people and practically single-handedly defeat Scarlet who was basically destroying Lion’s Arch which is like destroying Boston or something.

You’d think that we’d get a lil dang respect instead of “oh boy thanks Taimi for doing all this”. “Well I couldn’t have done it without our friend here”. And then they look at me. “Yes of course, thanks friend, you are so helpful”.

Yea no crap you’d all be dead right now if I hadn’t pretty much been a super hero.

That’s my problem with this entire thing. Despite the ridiculous stuff you’ve done to protect Tyria, it’s like we’re basically some minor celebrity. Not even like a Brad Pitt, more like some no-name TV actor where you kind of recognize them but not sure from where, but you know they are famous, you just aren’t sure how famous and you don’t want to look stupid so you pretend you don’t even recognize them to be smooth about it.

Zaxares.5419:

The old style wasn’t BAD, but I like the new style much better. I think the main advantage of the old cutscene style was being able to hear your character talk, something that’s missing in the new style.

The new style is better in principle but is currently less refined than the old style (unable to skip dialogue, no player character dialogue). I would have preferred that ANet use the old system until they got the new system up to the same level of functionality.

zityz.6089:

Here’s what I say to Arena Net; Keep both. There is a good time and place for the 1 vs 1’s like when talking to Rylock for example. However when showing an overall over arcing cut scene spanning a larger sense of what’s going on, keep the “new” style and the flashy cut scenes as well.

I know in some ways the “new” style is somewhat easier but I find from an artistic stand point there isn’t anything wrong with the old way of doing it either. It only means more VO for the story character more so than art work.

In essence I do agree with you, although the reason why the removed it is because player (presumably the majority) felt otherwise. I think outright removing it was probably a bit hasty, I’d have preferred it if they played around with it and attempted to address some of the issues players had with it (although some of those issues did relate to the very concepts underlying the old system).

JayMack.8295:

I miss my characters talking, sure, but the old style personal story and dungeon cutscenes were just awkward and uninteresting to look at, in my opinion.

Visually they were interesting, although the lacked a lot of context (you could only see two people, so you didn’t know who was there, the character animations and interactions were rather limited so you couldn’t tell the story via actions etc.) however the new system lacks a certain cinematic quality. Because I control the camera during most of the dialog I still more often than not don’t see what people are doing, and since it’s all zoomed out I don’t see a lot of expressions or animations so again the means of story telling is limited only to big actions (go where, attack etc.). Honestly I kinda wish ANet would wrestle the camera away from me and give me a close up view of the characters talking and interacting.

darkace.8925:

How is the problem is technological?

Word of god (well word of ANet) is that it’s technical issues (most likely they’re having issues fire off dialog, and dialogue bubbles from our PCs or something equavalent). Remember initially Anet used a different system for character interaction so they never built the underlying architecture of features to support our characters talking and interacting outside of the puppet theater.

Kurrilino.2706:

The chat box click through makes the dialog uninteresting ????
The nice parts are when the characters actually talking.

In my case limited options and simplistic dialogue trees make the chat box clicking uninteresting. Having only one dialogue option isn’t very engaging. The value of non-voiced over text boxes is that you can go into detail and depth (since text is cheap compared to VA work).

kta.6502:

It’s not appropriate for the US market due to how folks in this part of the world communicate. We Americans …

You do realize body language is a common communication trait among the human species? It’s subconscious, instinctual. Same goes for looking at faces, you see our faces show a lot of emotions so looking at them during communication is pretty standard as far as humans are concerned. A smile in Bangladesh doesn’t look all that different from a smile in Holland. Tone of voice is also pretty universal, trust me shouting is shouting.
Humans actually have a very small gene-pool I’m afraid, and we’re not particularly genetically varied. You and I for example only vary about 0.1 percent. Which I’m afraid renders us similar in many regards including how we communicate.
http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih1/genetic/guide/genetic_variation1.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1416706/DNA-survey-finds-all-humans-are-99.9pc-the-same.html

Ah if only that volcano didn’t explode, things might have been a lot more interesting… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toba_catastrophe_theory

I thought I’d point that out just in case you though that someone like myself (a Afrikaans lad from the platteland) communicated in some weird alien luminescent, scent based fashion :P

CureForLiving.5360:

I thought I’d point that out just in case you though that someone like myself (a Afrikaans lad from the platteland) communicated in some weird alien luminescent, scent based fashion :P

Wait, did you just say you do not light your farts to communicate empathy with those around you? xD

it’s not bad, just a slower version of the same thing we want to get rid of.
as long as they’re not gonna make dialogs as interactive as SWToR i just can’t take their story serious, i want to be involved and choose the right action for my self but if Anet constantly holds hands it’s not gonna work.

I don’t miss the cutscenes at all. If they were done like Swtor, then it would be amazing. Side-by-side cutscenes are terrible though. Season 2 is a lot better by far. It’s more interactive and less restricting.