Thread 724847108

Lore dumps in terminals is not good environmental storytelling

>reading about world history on wikipedia
God this is a shit way to dump lore.

>>724847108 (OP)
Exposition is a difficult and nuanced art. You should endeavor to do better than those writers of the past who failed to capture your imagination and simply told you how to think or feel or what to look at. Based and true frog

Lore should be delicious and used as a reward. Few games understand that understanding itself is valuable.

>Lore dumps in audiologs that are quieter than the combat
>Lore dumps in unskippable non-cutscene dialogue that allows you to move around, but not progress
>Lore dumps on the game's forum, by someone no longer employed in the company

better than 99.9% of the lore being in fucking item descriptions

>>724847419
I appreciate how efficient bundling loot and lore together is. Some would call it lazy, but it's an elegant solution to item bloat.

>>724847550
>how efficient bundling loot and lore together is
Yeah heaven forbid the game itself show you the lore via it's gameplay and progression of the MC's journey.
Let's just shove a text dump into items and let them read it

>>724847108 (OP)
it can be.

I played a game where the villain doesn't spend time with you. Doesn't go out of the way to confront you. Doesn't reveal her identity. Doesn't tell you the plan.

>>724847108 (OP)
How about I take a lore dump down your throat, faggot?

>>724847617
65% of gamers skip cutscenes. Even on their first playthrough. This way combatfags can charge directly through the game and lorebeards can sniff around their inventory and puzzle things together.

From: some guy
To: Some other guy
Date: a few days ago

Hey I set up your new account, login otherguy2 password is "hunter"
Also some things have been going missing recently so I reset the PIN code to the armory back to 1248.
See you at Friday drinks

zanzibart...

>>724847108 (OP)
Pic rel was the only time I liked notepage/terminal info dumps

If I ever run a mega corp it will be mandated that people record at least 1 audio log of their current thoughts each week. For accountability.
It'll automatically delete older logs after 2 weeks so only the most recent relevant logs are saved. For data protection.

What do you anons think a good method of delivering lore is? Ignoring the very obvious and kino environmental storytelling.

>>724847108 (OP)
the only game where i've actively read "lore dumps" and expositions is the resident evil remake, each one is well written and it often has something that you can do in game

>>724847304
>Lore/story during a walking section where the dialogue is longer than the walk so you have to just stand around like an idiot while the character acts like they're in a hurry

>>724847108 (OP)
No, it's great.
Leaves the lore to people who actually want to consume it, rather than dumbing it down for some crappy audiolog.

>>724847108 (OP)
how the fuck is "READ NIGGER READ" environmental storytelling, frogshitter?

◄►
HELIOS STATION ARCHIVE NODE // SECTOR 7-G
◄►

> RETRIEVING: "narrative_design_notes.txt"
> AUTHOR: Dr. K. Morrison
> DATE: 2184.03.17

-------------------------------------------------------------

RE: "Terminal lore dumps are bad storytelling"

Disagree. Here's why:

1. DIEGETIC OBJECTS
Terminal still running = people left fast, power's on.
The object itself tells a story.

2. NARRATIVE ARCHAEOLOGY
Fragmented logs. Missing entries. Player reconstructs events.
Discovery, not exposition.

3. PLAYER AGENCY
Read everything or skim for codes. Both valid.
No forced cutscenes.

4. NECESSARY MEDIUM
Can't show political conspiracy or emotional arcs through
debris alone. Sometimes you need words.

REAL PROBLEM: Bad writing, not the method.
Terminals work when integrated properly and written for
in-world purposes.

-Morrison

-------------------------------------------------------------

[CONNECTION TIMEOUT]

REPORT ON [REDACTED]
TOP SECRET

[REDACTED] IS [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED], [REDACTED] [REDACTED] NOTED THAT [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED], POSSIBLY [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED].

I don't care how a lore is dumped as long as they make interesting, and 90% of the games aren't able to do it. I don't give a shit about these dozens of random characters who only exist in name having a conversations

>>724849235
The backrooms was shit from get go. It just is more shit now which unshitifies it to you. Give it 2-3 more years and you'll see zoomers making longform video essays on how Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield were actually underrated kino.

>>724848902
This.
The normalfags are entertained and can ignore details, and the autists can figure out what shade of brown the antagonist's shit is if they choose to do so. It's a win-win.

>>724848627
Doesn't really work in video games, but an in-universe fable/myth/legend/children's story that is an abstracted version of the lore

>>724848627
Environmental storytelling isn't always good because devs will always cut corners so sometimes people theorize and become obsessed with random assets that don't have any real lore behind them

>>724849235
Mascot horror did a number on liminal stuff huh. That's a shame.

>>724847286

Have to agree with that. Lore should explain the world, how this place came to be, where did the enemies came from, what are character's motivations etc.
Journals and terminals are fine for that, audiologs too.

>lore dumps are unskippable cutscenes in the critical path
>lore dumps are unskippable cutscenes in side quests
>lore dumps are provided in side quests
>lore dumps can be skipped
>lore dumps can be skipped (with a one paragraph summary provided instead)
>lore dumps are hidden in books or terminals
>lore dumps are delivered over the radio or by eavsdropping conversations
>lore is never dumped outside of the game's opening cutscene, you just have to piece it together from scant environmental clues

>game has in-game encyclopedia that automatically fills up as you encounter relevant terms in a conversation
Forever best way to get your lore.

"How video game's lore BROKE YOUTUBE VIDEO ESSAYISTS"

>>724849737
I did like how Kingdom Hearts and Golden Sun 3 did these.the ability to look back at the terms in case youre lost about something or need a refresher on in-game lore is cool.

i miss poliwhirl in pokemon games

>>724849737
You will never see new games as complex as the Xenosaga trilogy, especially when stupid, brain dead shit like Xenoblade is successful.

>>724848627
Crosses into environmental storytelling but the way characters address each other, introducing more characters to react to whatever you are doing (or not doing), recurring motifs and allegory is great.

Shadow of the colossus is a prime example. Game story is fairly straightforward up until the point where a gang of armed men led by a priestly man shows up and denounces all you've done.

There were already hints of this.
The protagonist's horse is too large for him, it's likely stolen. He's going to the Forbidden Land with no supplies or large backpack. Everything is likely improvised and highly illegal/taboo.

And now you get confirmation, with these guys shooting crossbow bolts at you and trying to execute you. Wander even spurts black blood like the Colossi to really hammer home the point that you've crossed a terrible threshold.

>>724849331
Skyrim is already getting that treatment and its not like it was ever considered underrated anyways it was always massive in normalfag spheres.
Starfield wont get that though. I guarantee it.

>>724849954
>Game that was considered good is now considered good
Sometimes I think you people are contrarian shitposters.