Narrated sequences instead of cutscenes (let's use our imagination again).

[Bluekkis]

Yes for narrated sequences. Cutscenes are good at beginning and end like in BG, but story is best told by.. telling it. And I also agree that it is important to pick good voice to do it, and not just good in general but one that fits the overall mood of the story. BG has great voice for unknown, explorative mood that story line had since player was seeking his/hers origins. Total Annihilation (and soon to be made Planetary Annihilation, that I backed ) has a great deep voice for dooming mood.

[Rose]

Yes, let's please bring back narrative and imagination. Cut scenes can be useful in key places (I found it extremely satisfying to see Irenicus' magic fail and him get tackled into the pits by demons when I first played Baldur's Gate 2), but there's nothing quite like a good story teller who can make your mind race with images all of its own. I mean, aren't those self-made mental pictures and interpretations what fantasy is all about?

[Monte Carlo]

I enjoy narration and illustration a great deal and loved what Justin Sweet did for us in the IWD and IWD2 intros. I am also fond of the Darklands style of special interactions where even one loose, static illustration with text helps pull the viewer/reader into a more "imaginary" mode of thought.

 

Indeed, I loved them and even now I can remember it in my head as I write. But it was the music, too, that pulled it together.

 

How often do you get a medium more appealing, and evocative but cheaper than the current industry standard? It's almost a no-brainer.

[Kaz]

Hello, first post here.

I'm all about the narration + simple imagery approach.

I always thought the old Miyazaki film Nausicaa had an intro sequence with a cool iconic style that invokes a strong sense of mystery and adventure.

 

http://video.google....790173215648057 (skip to 2:00)

 

 

 

It also contrasts well against the in-game art because when you cut away from simple drawing / etchings, it makes in-game art feel lush and detailed. Also the patchwork will echo the stained glass / cobble stone look that BG2 employed.

 

A quick google search for "ancient nordic art" turned up stuff like this. It's close to the IWD approach, but reads "flatter" and extra embellishments give it the feel of a story book.

 

 

 

 

All that being said, a full blown painting by Justin Sweet or someone of his caliber would be awesome too! Just my 2cents.

[Karranthain]

I'd prefer a large painting instead of series of less-detailed sketches myself, but both could work.

[Labadal]

Narration is cool, but I'd like to see it with stills like in DS3 or the FNV ending. It doesn't have to be used a lot, entering very important places or before/after very important main story scenarios. Oh, and for the endings, ofcourse.

[Karranthain]

Narration is cool, but I'd like to see it with stills like in DS3 or the FNV ending. It doesn't have to be used a lot, entering very important places or before/after very important main story scenarios. Oh, and for the endings, ofcourse.

 

Yeah, Fallout/Arcanum ending slides would be marvelous.

[descalabro]

You should turn this topic into a poll. It's an important matter. And that way the guys at Obsidian won't have to be reading posts to know how we feel.

 

I think narrated sequences are better because they save money and time, usually relate more closely to old board/book games, and cutscenes are usually not as good as the game itself; sometimes they just don't blend. Maybe we can have them between chapters, but some artworks to go along the narration are ok too. IWD did this simply and effectively. I enjoyed cutscenes on Black Isle games, but I prefer having the money used elsewhere.

[generic.hybridity]

Narration can be quite enjoyable and it is a nice throwback to Old School RPGs, a stylistic choice. On a pragmatic side, I imagine it is much cheaper to write and voice narration rather than create an entire cutscene/

[Badmojo]

I like both, narration and in game cutscenes. I agree with the mod that it should not take away control from the players though, I also like that you had some choices in the narration like MOTB to influence the narration a bit.

[pedroantonio]

I will like to listen and read to narration very much. Another thing I would like is that the writing style was similar to the one in Torment, where in the text boxes you could read not only dialogue, but short descriptions about the appearence of the character you are talking with, his or her gestures, what is he doing as he speaks with you, that kind of thing: I think it really adds to the fleshing of the NPC's.

[NoxNoctum]

Narration + drawn/painted stylized art is the way to go.

 

Thief 1+2 are two more games that did this well. (a bit different since it's 1st person narration but same basic idea):

 

That kind of thing sucks me in to the experience about 100x more than a custscene does.

Edited September 20, 2012 by NoxNoctum

[Gazoinks]

EDIT: Apparently i'm blind. ^

 

I enjoy narration and illustration a great deal and loved what Justin Sweet did for us in the IWD and IWD2 intros. I am also fond of the Darklands style of special interactions where even one loose, static illustration with text helps pull the viewer/reader into a more "imaginary" mode of thought.

Have you ever played King of Dragon Pass? Illustration+Text make up a big portion of the game. It's also brilliant.

 

On cutscenes: What about something like the moving picture style in the first 2 Thief games?

Edited September 20, 2012 by Gazoinks

[DYWYPI]

I loved the narrated monologues in between many IE-engine game chapters. Felt and sounded just like an important DM description.

 

"The tunnel slopes upward into the welcome glare of daylight..."

[DarthAdamRG]

In a project like this id much rather narration with awesome immersive art work rather then wasting the budget on ridiculous cinematics.

[Sabri]

OK I've never played an IE game, but have been a big fan of Obsidians more recent games (and bought PST in the GOG sale which I plan to play through shortly).

 

But anyway, as a more recent example I REALLY liked the narrated cutscenes with painted backgrounds in the Witcher 1 (not so much the semi-animated comic booky ones in The Witcher 2, though those weren't bad). So if you guys are able to do a couple of painted backgrounds with narration over them instead of full blown cutscenes, in my opinion that would be amazing!

[Sensuki]

These are the prisoners from the disturbance at Waukeen's Promenade

 

What is known?

 

Naught but their names. The Mage is Jon Irenicus. The girl is Imoen.

 

I did nothing. He did it all - I had ...

 

Silence child allow the fool to make his judgement

 

Why was this man not gagged, did he not slay four of you?

 

We dared not approach.

 

Uhm, regardless. In the end he came willingly

 

What should be done with them sir?

 

They are deviants. Let them rot in spellhold

 

:D

[Bos_hybrid]

Imagination is vastly underused nowadays.

 

This is modern RPGs, summed up nicely.

 

Players aren't allowed/given a chance to.

[tarasis]

Put me down as another who'd like narration & stylish art stills / sketches for sequences. It's very much a lost art, and I don't need whizzy game engine style animation. (And sometimes game engine animation fails because it doesn't take into account how I look for what I'm driving / riding)

[DarthAdamRG]

Seems to be more or less agreed upon so hopefully this gets taken into some consideration.

[Karranthain]

How often do you get a medium more appealing, and evocative but cheaper than the current industry standard? It's almost a no-brainer.

 

Exactly.

[SanguineAngel]

I'm all for this.

[Gibbscape_Torment]

Maybe if stills were added to it. Just having your character stand there would be a detriment to the story being told. A few nice stills added in to give a general visual vibe to what is being said would imo be the least i'd expect from such a sequence.

[Karranthain]

Maybe if stills were added to it. Just having your character stand there would be a detriment to the story being told. A few nice stills added in to give a general visual vibe to what is being said would imo be the least i'd expect from such a sequence.

 

Yeah, just use something atmospheric as a backdrop :

 

[septembervirgin]

Narration can be well used but I didn't like it's use in that dream sequence from Baldur's Gate. They should have cut some of the text as superfluous and given the reader of the text a few breaks while reading it. He sounded rushed in places and at other times a bit unsure of what he was reading.