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Originally Posted by Ecc2ca
Hum my favorite story is Shadowheart’s

100% agree, I think it's such an inspiring story.

Moulded by her environment to be something that she is not. All of that social pressure and fucked up sharran methods are suppressing her personality so hard until even she believes that's what she wants. And then slowly, painstakingly, seeing that reversed is something else. In the end she can overcome all those expectations and trauma through sheer strength of character. Finally say, fuck you, you don't define me. I define me! That arc hits me hard every time. Especially since it's no forgone conclusion, because the dark path is there. Where she breaks completely and just becomes a tool for others.

The whole thing resonated with me in a way that no other piece of fiction ever has (and that's a HIGH bar). So they definitely got some deserved awards in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by Ixal
Considering all the plot holes and retcons this award is a joke.

Ngl I kinda agree, I dunno what other game I think deserves it this year tho.

I honestly don't think that the actual story in this game is very good tho, it feels disjointed and just like you're moving between set pieces and it turns into a generic alien invasion plot instead the entire tadpole issue sorta just gets forgotten and doesn't rly matter.
Note I am talking about the main plot tho and not just general writing or side stories.
The main plot feels like it wasn't written with all 3 acts in mind imo, but like every act is a standalone.

Originally Posted by Wormerine
Originally Posted by Ixal
Considering all the plot holes and retcons this award is a joke.
Those are a problem, but one could make an argument that sheer interactivity of the story makes it special.

Though my personally poor integration of gameplay systems and narrative make it farily weak, even if more glaring story problems get patched up in the future.


There's definitely a fair bit of issues with the interactivity too it can be hard to tell sometimes tho when it's a bug and when it's intended.
But I've run into a lot of janky stuff with dialogue being unpolished or having messed up triggers, like characters acting like we've met before and are friends or like we aren't and characters saying I've done things that I didn't etc.
Recently in act 2 for instance I never interacted with the goblins at all in act 1 I just ignored them and in act 2 they're acting like we're friends and know each other lol.
Karlach also accused me of killing the grove when I didn't I even went back to look again and they Tieflings were gone but Kagha told me they were still there while Karlach says I killed them xD...
Minthara is also talking to me like we know each other from before when I never interacted with her in act 1 o_o...

Edit: Also characters acting like we're best friends and they can trust me with their deepest secrets after 5 minutes, I get that early access was only act 1 but I feel like a lot of that should've been for act 2 when you've actually traveled together for a while.
It feels like act 1 frontloads a lot of the companion bonding stuffs too early in a way that doesn't rly make sense.
There's A LOT of that with other characters too where we just met and then the next second they act like we've been through a lot together and we're bestest friends.

Last edited by Ginnung; 11/11/23 01:46 AM.
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Astarion's companion quest, Raphael everything, Durge everything other than the ending, almost all of Act 2.


#JusticeForAstarion
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Any situation where you must exclude large chunks of the product, including the ending and resolutions, from your considerations and then still make excuses for many more pieces of it being riddled with ridiculous plot holes and broken threads, and yet still end up with "Well this bit, and this bit were really good!" as your best compliment most definitely did not deserve to win any kind of award for story-telling.

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Cool For then but i dont Really Think they Deserv any Prize until the Game is Finishid and without Broken Stuff.
But Ho cares yu know ? haha
Good for Yu Larian.. now Fix the game PLease ?!
Dont let this stupid Prizes Get to your Head.. Finish the GAME>

Last edited by Thorvic; 11/11/23 02:13 AM.
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Originally Posted by Taleon
A word about popularity contests. The Joystick Awards are the result of a vote and every vote is a popularity contest. Well-spotted.

I have seen individual experts of various kinds pour scorn on things the public loves. They are expert - on their own taste. Just like everyone else.

A conversation about hype and marketing in gaming verus quality, however the particular person speaking defines it is something I can imagine spending a lot of time discussing in the past but the debate has no end and, debatably, no point. The less one agrees with apparently popular opinion the more one may be inclined to attribute it to alien distortion whereas when the same factors are in play and the same person agress with the consensus they might have no complaint.

BG3 is an extremely popular game even with players who do not love every origin character, every arc or literally any ending, even players actively campaigning for improvement. They love the characters, the situations, in a word the storytelling. That storytelling has earned affection in a way no game has in a long time. That is what these awards reflect.
I never get these sort of takes. 'It's popular' As a be-all end all for quality. Twilight was popular. McDonalds is popular.

Reducing anyone who criticizes anything to 'just a vote' and an the mindset of anyone who doesn't agree with it as an 'alien distortion' is just flippantly exclusionary and anti-discourse.

BG 3's story is a stitched together compromise of ambitions too big for the devs to handle. It comes apart at the seams if you look too closely.

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Good durge sounds like a very interesting playthrough.

Originally Posted by Ecc2ca
Hum my favorite story is Shadowheart’s especially when you play as a good Durge cleric of Selune and romance her. I think that’s all very well done— with perhaps the need for small tweaks/additions like hugs that we may get in the next couple of patches… and of course, an epilogue to tie everything up in a neat and satisfying way, at least relatively speaking. But yeah, I would say that Shadowheart’s story/character is extremely well done and it’s one of the things that keeps me coming back to the story again and again.



If everyone was treated the way they treated the person least able to resist there would be universal prosperity and complete peace

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I may be one of the only people who hasn't really experienced Shadowheart's story even though bits of it seem to be everywhere. It looks like an epic story.


Originally Posted by Dwapking
Originally Posted by Ecc2ca
Hum my favorite story is Shadowheart’s

100% agree, I think it's such an inspiring story.

The whole thing resonated with me in a way that no other piece of fiction ever has (and that's a HIGH bar). So they definitely got some deserved awards in my opinion.



If everyone was treated the way they treated the person least able to resist there would be universal prosperity and complete peace

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That's your opinion mate and you get to be absolute ruler of your head but everyone who disagrees with you and doesn't see it quite as chunky, riddled or unsatisfying is just as royal as you are.


Originally Posted by Niara
Any situation where you must exclude large chunks of the product, including the ending and resolutions, from your considerations and then still make excuses for many more pieces of it being riddled with ridiculous plot holes and broken threads, and yet still end up with "Well this bit, and this bit were really good!" as your best compliment most definitely did not deserve to win any kind of award for story-telling.



If everyone was treated the way they treated the person least able to resist there would be universal prosperity and complete peace

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What is the be all and end all of quality and who decides which view is correct? You?

Maybe everyone who loves this games thinks all the things you love are garbage. And they're right -for them. And you get to turn up your nose at their things.

Read the post again if you think it's worth your time. You have points upside down and entirely incorrect So you may need to work on your attention to detail. It won't make an imperfect story perfect but it will allow you to better enjoy whatever there is.



Originally Posted by Leucrotta
I never get these sort of takes. 'It's popular' As a be-all end all for quality. Twilight was popular. McDonalds is popular.

Reducing anyone who criticizes anything to 'just a vote' and an the mindset of anyone who doesn't agree with it as an 'alien distortion' is just flippantly exclusionary and anti-discourse.

BG 3's story is a stitched together compromise of ambitions too big for the devs to handle. It comes apart at the seams if you look too closely.



If everyone was treated the way they treated the person least able to resist there would be universal prosperity and complete peace

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Act 2 is brilliant. I particularly enjoy the options you have in certain situations and the difference your choices (and abilities) can make.


Originally Posted by vx_phoenix_vx
Astarion's companion quest, Raphael everything, Durge everything other than the ending, almost all of Act 2.



If everyone was treated the way they treated the person least able to resist there would be universal prosperity and complete peace

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Taking it rather personally aren't you? Think to yourself am I criticizing the game or you? Because if you think of the game as such an extension of yourself that any criticism of it is a personal attack on your person, maybe you should go outside and take a deep breath?

Personally, I feel a reaction like this validates my position somewhat, that BG 3 getting a slew of rewards despite the competition is really just the result of BG 3's large, very fixated fanbase just treating it as popularity contest regardless of the game's merits in such categories. If everyone's just a 'king in their own head' afterall and you just ignore the opinions of those you don't agree with than it's very easy to overlook shortcomings.

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Didn't want to re-read eh? I understand. Much easier to project and continue to run perfectly straight-foward ideas like you are right for you and they are right for them though the determined disdain machine sitting on your neck. That has to make thinking things validate your position -somewhat- easier.

If the people who voted for the game were voting on the merits they would prefer whatever you would have voted for and dismising their perpsective is not ignoring the opinon of people who don't agree with you at all right?

It's nice of you to llinger here among the tasteless and fixated. You're the real hero.


Originally Posted by Leucrotta
Taking it rather personally aren't you? Think to yourself am I criticizing the game or you? Because if you think of the game as such an extension of yourself that any criticism of it is a personal attack on your person, maybe you should go outside and take a deep breath?

Personally, I feel a reaction like this validates my position somewhat, that BG 3 getting a slew of rewards despite the competition is really just the result of BG 3's large, very fixated fanbase just treating it as popularity contest regardless of the game's merits in such categories. If everyone's just a 'king in their own head' afterall and you just ignore the opinions of those you don't agree with than it's very easy to overlook shortcomings.



If everyone was treated the way they treated the person least able to resist there would be universal prosperity and complete peace

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I love the story, everything about it and many fans do too and voted for it. Rightly won!

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The story was ravaged by rewrites and is undoubtedly weaker than the potential BG3 we saw in EA. Still, the vision that pokes through now and again before the collapse into power-fantasy nonsense in Act 3 is still good; compared to something like WOTR, which is nothing but empty bombast and power-fantasy, it still is better within the CRPG sphere. Of course, we all wish something like Disco Elysium or Torment could come out every year.

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I don't know. Act 1 and Act 2 were good. Act 3, however is not my favorite. I believe it's an issue of releasing the game early to outdo Starfield.

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Ok, here is the question:

Any other candidates for best Narrative?

Personally I struggle to think of one. Remedy’s chops would make me lean toward Alan Wake2, but as I didn’t play or seen much of the game, so I can’t comment, and it’s a very recent release so it might have not been a candidate to begin with. From the list of GJ candidates I only played Jedi Survivor… and I am also not too enthusiastic about it.

Honestly, 2023 feels like a lacklustre gaming year, at least to myself. Nintendo seemed to be on a roll, but I do not have Switch.

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Perhaps this year the competition was weak ?

"Wherever you sit on the alignment chart, from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil, developer Larian Studios has written a story to support all your choices. " (from the award text)

Is that true? Not from what I've seen here with complainants about the evil playthrough. I have also seen many discussions around choice actually being superficial - the most important one relating to the end...you know of what I speak. Having played this twice, I agree with that last sentiment...so yeah, the main story is not that convincing.

I thought the main story was average for a AAA story driven RPG (plot issues, pacing, bugs, over the top...), but perhaps the origin character stories the real reason? Given the huge fanbase around the major origin characters and the controversy, like Halsin..always good for business - I think that is probably what they focused on. The game was a huge commercial success (*very* much hyped/feted in mainstream media) and has a large story component (unlike a combat simulator for example) - so it was in the running. And the people who run these 'awards' need to agree with the masses (and large studio, more specifically) to remain 'relevant'.

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Originally Posted by Wormerine
Ok, here is the question:

Any other candidates for best Narrative?

Personally I struggle to think of one. Remedy’s chops would make me lean toward Alan Wake2, but as I didn’t play or seen much of the game, so I can’t comment

Alan Wake is very much praised for the narrative, although I didn't play it either and it wasn't nominated. But it was nominated in other categories, so why not in this one?
Phantom Liberty would be a great candidate too, although it's "just" an expansion and wasn't nominated either.

Last edited by Phea; 11/11/23 11:49 AM.
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Originally Posted by Phea
Originally Posted by Wormerine
Ok, here is the question:

Any other candidates for best Narrative?

Personally I struggle to think of one. Remedy’s chops would make me lean toward Alan Wake2, but as I didn’t play or seen much of the game, so I can’t comment

Alan Wake is very much praised for the narrative, although I didn't play it either and it wasn't nominated. But it was nominated in other categories, so why not in this one?
Alan Wake 2 wasn’t out in time to be nominated for the Best Storytelling award (voting for awards happened at different times). It was barely out in time for Ultimate Game of the Year, and many people wouldn’t have had a chance to play it in time to vote for it (including me!). I am looking forward to playing it, though!

Last edited by Icelyn; 11/11/23 12:32 PM.
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