What are your predictions for FE Switch?

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, YingofDarkness said:

There is also going to be a Fates artbook similar to this one so we will see how much world building actually exists for that game, but I'm assuming that a lot of it is actually going to be like some of the stuff for this one; things they created after the game was released because they hadn't noticed (or didn't assume we would notice) some plotholes and extra bits of trivia. The problem with them creating things after the games released is that it means that world building is pretty much at the bottom of their list of priorities with the games. I do think that Echoes is a step in he right direction and love the work the translators are doing with the art book, but I don't think we can use it as evidence of anything in my opinion.

Well we're not absolutely sure they invented later everything that ended up in the Accordion. However, we cannot eliminate this uncertainty, and as long as it exists, the quality of the plot, characters and world building will in a way be suspect.

The artbook approach has been used for decades, particularly for games that truthfully could not shove everything in them. However, relying on artbooks is problematic. For a year, Nuibaba was "Mwahahaha" to players, and when they finishing playing SoV, their final evaluation of Nuibaba were based wholly on this. Now do this with every other character and the world itself in SoV, and the impression is a lacking one. The artbooks do not improve the all-important first impression, they only salvage and alter views after that.

There is the issue that of the hundreds of thousands who have played SoV, how many will read the Accordion? An artbook is niche, it will change the minds of only a minority of players. The rest will continue assuming the characters and such to be flatter than they actually are.

And of course, it could be a sign of laziness that a developer rushes out a flawed plot and then cheaply later goes back and fills it in via an artbook. You know what would be better than reading the tragedy of Nuibaba? Hearing her speak in-game "Alm is on his way, I look down the cliff, that cruel day remembered. I hope he should try to scale it, so that I may knock him down. Sister and my turncoat beloved, as you did to me, so I shall do to this boy." Of course, that would take effort to include.

Edited April 7, 2018 by Interdimensional Observer

[Guest Dreamyboi]

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Well we're not absolutely sure they invented later everything that ended up in the Accordion. However, we cannot eliminate this uncertainty, and as long as it exists, the quality of the plot, characters and world building will in a way be suspect.

The artbook approach has been used for decades, particularly for games that truthfully could not shove everything in them. However, relying on artbooks is problematic. For a year, Nuibaba was "Mwahahaha" to players, and when they finishing playing SoV, their final evaluation of Nuibaba were based wholly on this. Now do this with every other character and the world itself in SoV, and the impression is a lacking one. The artbooks do not improve the all-important first impression, they only salvage and alter views after that.

There is the issue that of the hundreds of thousands who have played SoV, how many will read the Accordion? An artbook is niche, it will change the minds of only a minority of players. The rest will continue assuming the characters and such to be flatter than they actually are.

And of course, it could be a sign of laziness that a developer rushes out a flawed plot and then cheaply later goes back and fills it in via an artbook. You know what would be better than reading the tragedy of Nuibaba? Hearing her speak in-game "Alm is on his way, I look down the cliff, that cruel day remembered. I hope he should try to scale it, so that I may knock him down. Sister and my turncoat beloved, as you did to me, so I shall do to this boy." Of course, that would take effort to include.

There are a number of characters that needed more to them that'll probably be fixed via Accordion too like Grieth, Rinea, Berkut (imo) and I hear Deen gets a backstory in the damn thing but in game he's all "I don't wanna talk I'm stoic and edgy". Combine this with the few/short supports and it all feels like one big afterthought for a rushed game, which I really hope isn't the case.

[YingofDarkness]

3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

And of course, it could be a sign of laziness that a developer rushes out a flawed plot and then cheaply later goes back and fills it in via an artbook. You know what would be better than reading the tragedy of Nuibaba? Hearing her speak in-game "Alm is on his way, I look down the cliff, that cruel day remembered. I hope he should try to scale it, so that I may knock him down. Sister and my turncoat beloved, as you did to me, so I shall do to this boy." Of course, that would take effort to include.

They wouldn't even have to do that much to be honest. Just have one of the npc's in there thank Alm and friends for saving her and offer her a book she found in one of Nuibaba's chambers when she almost escaped once. That book would be Nuibaba's diary and reading it will give you her backstory in a couple of pages all on screen but not voiced (like those pages you find of that boy who went into one of the dungeons). She was happily married, but suspected that the man was having an affair with the sister and she planned to confront them about it. Have her mention it might be too the scars on her face from the incident. Then have the next page be a warped retelling along the lines of "they tried to get rid of me, but little did they know that I made a new friend IN THAT DITCH THEY LEFT ME TO DIE IN!!". Obviously not that exactly, but just something similar to show that they tried to kill her, she met somebody or something that saved her, and that she was no longer in her right state of mind. One more page at least can be written to describe her obsession with immortality and beauty maybe in the form of jealousy towards all the young women in the village. But the words would be twisted and give off the hint of why she is collecting young girls. That's it. It doesn't have to be voiced so no money lost there just the work being put into writing the pages and putting them on screen for us to read.

This is partly why I think laziness in this part of the writing department is a thing with them. World building doesn't have to be a long exposition explaining everything about a country. The best forms of it come in little bits like this. Just having some npcs, stone tablets or pieces, of paper scattered on the floor barely readable can say so much about the lore of a video game. I can understand why they didn't with Echoes since the budget was low and they were trying to go all out with the presentation and such but there is a part of me that can't help but get frustrated.