PoE didn't need more VA budget, it needed more of those picture-book sequences

[Idleray]

What VA work there was already stellar and imo the game didn't need more of it if it didn't have the luxury of an AAA budget.

 

Instead, I found that the picture-book scenes that represented action sequences to be also very immersive and felt that the game could have used them a-lot more, especially at some of the key points of the game; for example during the key plot sequences/reveals of NPC companions and most importantly 

when you met the Gods during the quest Council of the Stars

. That sequence could have been much enhanced if there was some visual representation to work on rather than just the Adra stones.

[communard]

Add my vote for more of those. Great idea, under-utilized IMO.

[Tigranes]

Yep, the skill checks and variant consequences are awesome and they weren't maximised properly. The number of choices you get for Heodan at the start is one of the few places where previous choices as well as non-skillf actors (like a ranged weapon) come into play.

[Elerond]

Yep, the skill checks and variant consequences are awesome and they weren't maximised properly. The number of choices you get for Heodan at the start is one of the few places where previous choices as well as non-skillf actors (like a ranged weapon) come into play.

 

Heodan script becomes feel more excellent every time you play it with different character as you find more and more different flavor options, even though there is only few consequences. 

[Sabin Stargem]

Yeah, more of those would be good.

[kaiki]

Yep, the skill checks and variant consequences are awesome and they weren't maximised properly. The number of choices you get for Heodan at the start is one of the few places where previous choices as well as non-skillf actors (like a ranged weapon) come into play.

 

Listening to the commentary it sounded like that was one of the last sequences (or -the last one?) made for the game. I guess(hope) the Heodan sequence will be indicative of the majority of such sequences in PoE 2. Now that the devs have a handle on the scope of what's possible with that technique.

[Prime-Mover]

What am I missing here. Is there a trade off between those scripted sequences and VA?

Edited May 2, 2015 by Prime-Mover

[Ink Blot]

What am I missing here. Is there a trade off between those scripted sequences and VA?

Yeah, I'm not sure if one has to do with the other, but I'll add my vote for more of them. Even though I agree with Tigranes that they weren't used to maximum effect, they really gave me the feeling I was playing a PnP session, which I found very enjoyable.

[Adragan]

I'm an absolute fan of Planescape:Torment, so don't get the following wrong, because the main interest for me in a video game is the quality of the narrative and overall ambiance.

 

I find that that such picture book sequences tend to violently break my immersion when they are used to depict action. They are good for passive narration, such as the arrival to a city, a new chapter that begins, the introduction to a dream.

 

But when there is action I enjoy way way more seeing actual characters acting on screen. In doesn't matter if they aren't graphically animated as the narration says. Baldur's Gate 2 did scripted sequences awesomely but they didn't contain narrative, they were dialogue and actions. Planecape:Torment went full text most of the time and that was perfect.

 

I guess the rule of thumb for me is that UI walls that block the screen break my immersion. I'm immersed in the scene (of which the dialog window is a part), and that picture book sequence has a bad tendency to kick me out of it. I had a pretty bad experience with the ambush in the very first area: I felt no threat or immediacy whatsoever.

 

Heodan's was way more acceptable as it was a closure to a chapter.

[Volourn]

Why? They were boring, bland, and added nothing to the game. All they made me do was click fast so I could get back to actually PLAYING. They were the very definition of anti immersive.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Volourn

[redneckdevil]

I say we need more picture book instances BUT!!!!!!!!l I want Ron Perlman to voice and read it to us using his "lich" voice from adventure time.

 

That is all.

Edited May 2, 2015 by redneckdevil

[Adragan]

Voice acting is only good when used sparsely IMO. Baldur's Gate 2 and Planescape:Torment did it awesomely.

 

The will to add voice acting to as many lines of text as possible doesn't suit an IE-style game IMHO. In many games, story and narrative are constrained by voice acting. It should be the absolute opposite. Not even a middle ground where some voice acting is done where it feels good depending on budget, no, voices must be added as sparingly and cleverly as music is used. The Great Flying Spaghetti Monster knows how music in video games can become obnoxious just as much as it can deepen immersion.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Adragan

[Sabin Stargem]

Voice acting works best for visual novels - it is there to convey the personality of characters.  Not as important in a WRPG, since you can lend mechanical weight to the actions of characters in addition to narrative.  That is why the adventure-book sequences are good for POE, since they allow the game to recognize the abilities of characters and give feedback.

[Jean-Luc]

Would've liked more of those "choose your own adventure" events as well. I'd also like for them to be more detailed and with significant outcomes. It felt like the "running from the biawac" one was the best and then it went downhill from there. 

[Kriber22]

Oh yes, I loved those sequences. The first time I saw one I was asking myself, "how come more games don't do this instead of those idiotic Quick-Time Events?".

[luzarius]

Why is everyone against all the voice acting.   I enjoyed Calsica's, Durance, Eder, Aloth's VO, I thought they were well done.

[lychee26]

I would like more of those sequences too, plus more voice acting - only for those sequences. I reckon they would be twice as awesome with a narrator.

[Katarack21]

Why? They were boring, bland, and added nothing to the game. All they made me do was click fast so I could get back to actually PLAYING. They were the very definition of anti immersive.

I'm pretty sure you aren't the market for this, and therefore nobody in particular really cares what you and the people who agree with you want. I, and apparently many other people here, *liked* those and found them immersive and are simply stating that more of it would be something we enjoy.

[kaiki]

Why is everyone against all the voice acting.   I enjoyed Calsica's, Durance, Eder, Aloth's VO, I thought they were well done.

 

I enjoyed the voice acting as well. Each actor did an excellent job that brought alot of character and emotion to their roles. The problem I have is the cost. Since the budget of the game would have needed to be 17m or so (4x the original budget) to VO the whole game I'm very happy to have the amount of VO in PoE in order for Obsidian to keep the budget down.

 

While the scripted sequences add an immersive feel unlike any other rpg I've played in awhile and seem relatively cheap to make. Between the two buckets to put money into it seems to me that scripted sequences would get more bang for the buck.

Edited May 3, 2015 by kaiki

[transfett]

Unfortunately "more VA" might be misunderstood.  The irony is, at fixed development budget, more VA means less dialogue.

That is one reason most of us actually supported the game - lack of voice actíng.

 

So to be clear, if I say I want more voice acting, I mean more voice acting at strategic, meaningful points of dialogue and that this dialogue has been designed to benefit from voice acting (which in most cases is not just reading out loud).

 

Thinking about it, what we might want is more use of ambient sounds: wind blowing through trees, creaking doors,screaming/weeping coming out of a cellar, simple background themes like the white shark theme, etc.

Edited May 3, 2015 by transfett

[Tigranes]

Yep. No matter what the budget of your game, even if the budget is over a hundred million, having lots of VO has always meant having less dialogue, having dialogue that is less editable (and thus plot / writing of a lower quality). 

[Noin]

Why? In my humble opinion, They were boring, bland, and added nothing to the game. All they made me do was click fast so I could get back to actually PLAYING. They were the very definition of anti immersive for me.

Here, fixed that for you. No need to thank me.

[Silent Winter]

 

I enjoyed the voice acting as well. Each actor did an excellent job that brought alot of character and emotion to their roles. The problem I have is the cost. Since the budget of the game would have needed to be 17m or so (4x the original budget) to VO the whole game I'm very happy to have the amount of VO in PoE in order for Obsidian to keep the budget down.

Just to clarify - the quoted amount almost certainly meant 4x the VA budget, not 4x the game budget (6000 lines were voiced out of 25000 lines = just under a quarter of the total -> 4 and a bit times the lines = 4 and a bit times the budget (approx)).  We don't know the original budget for the VA so we don't know how much it would've cost (probably not the 17 million you're saying).

 

Still - I'm happy with the current level of VO - could even reduce it and use it just for opening lines IMO.

The scripted interactions were great and I'd welcome more of them for use in the future.

[Volourn]

"I'm pretty sure you aren't the market for this, and therefore nobody in particular really cares what you and the people who agree with you want. I, and apparently many other people here, *liked* those and found them immersive and are simply stating that more of it would be something we enjoy."

 

Huh?

 

 

"Here, fixed that for you. No need to thank me."\

 

Every post is pretty much an opinion. It doesn't need to be written.  Nobody in this thread has a humble opinion though so don't lie.

[Noin]

"I'm pretty sure you aren't the market for this, and therefore nobody in particular really cares what you and the people who agree with you want. I, and apparently many other people here, *liked* those and found them immersive and are simply stating that more of it would be something we enjoy."

 

Huh?

 

 

"Here, fixed that for you. No need to thank me."\

 

Every post is pretty much an opinion. It doesn't need to be written.  Nobody in this thread has a humble opinion though so don't lie.

 

There is a big difference in saying "This feature is s***" (it implies that the feature is bad for everyone or at least for the most of people and in most circumstances, also it implies you have an authority or expertise to make such a statement) and saying "In my opinion, this feature is s***". The difference is HUGE, actually. In the second instance you don't sound like an I-know-better prick, for one. 

Edited May 3, 2015 by Noin