[/lurk]
Man it´s been ages. But for some reason, my whims decided to lead me back to this board on christmas eve.
But not to wax nostalgia (well, at least not primarily <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />), but to give my 2 Eurocents on what part of Divinity could stand the most improvement in it´s sequel/expansion.
The subject I want to talk about is a bit non-standard, and I´ve been trying to come up with a good, catchy name for it.
But after finally getting it through my (rather thick) skull that marketing is not my calling I settled for "lenght-rationing".
Now what, pray tell, do I mean by that?
Well, you see, after finishing Divine Divinity, I somehow felt that it was a bit short.
*waits for riots to die down, then brushes of the various rotting vegetables and the occasional egg*
Yes, yes, I KNOW that it is by no means a short game, quite the opposite in fact. I didn´t keep track but I´m pretty sure it took me in excess of 60 hours to finish DD.
My point is, that although it is longer then most modern games, it somehow FELT short to me. And my aim in this post is to get to the bottom of why this is so.
The first reason I can think of is the ratio of Storyquests versus Sidequests. Compared with other CRPGs this is slanted heavily toward the latter. However, other games get away with this without feeling short (e.g. the Fallout series, especially Fallout 2).
This birngs me to the second factor that I thought was a bit off in DD: pacing.
The Storyquests in a RPG should follow, IMO, a similar pattern as a movieplot: The setup, several climaxes seperated by "downtime" or "lulls in the action", which should ideally be used to explore the characters and give them some depth, and finally, these climaxes should build up to the obligatory grand finale.
Now, the only point in the game that stands out in my mind as climactic (other then the final confrontation) is the scene of the reincarnation of the Player as the Divine One in the Council halls. Though I have to admit: That is one of the best and most atmospheric scenes in any RPG I have played, ever. Special mention goes to the music, the council halls background theme is the best in the game IMO. And the Succubus! I was actually sad when I discovered that she was the only one in the entire game. Best looking monster in an isometric game I have played (read: hot babes still do the trick <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />)
Anyway, back on topic (*sound of car doing a handbrake-turn*): For some reason when I got to the council scene for the first time, I somehow felt that this is the point where the action really starts. That now, having become the Divine one, is the time where I can start to make moves against the Demon of Lies. And somehow, that led me to believe that, as far as the main story is concerned, the Council scene is the midpoint. Which probably explains why I felt that the game was "short"...
This is the reason that the concepts of "acts" and "chapters" are so popular in fiction, be it it literature, movies or theatre. They are invaluable in setting up the story "curve" or arc such that the audience feels that the story is moving along, and that it isn´t treading water.
Sidenote: Also an important storytelling tool that is often neglected in games is the epilogue (which is by no means limited to the "outtro" movie clip) which should give a sense of closure, and (maybe) set the scene for any sequel. For example, a conversation scene between the player and Arhu about his/her decision not to kill the child would have been great.
Anyway, the obvious problem with Acts or Chapters in computer games is that they limit non-linearity and freedom of movement for the player. One solution is a compromise (Exhibit A: Baldurs Gate 2). Another is to make them transparent to the player, using them only to write the script and to decide what quests and/or locations become available when (Exhibit B: Fallout series).
The final reason for DD somehow feeling shorter then it is, is that it also feels smaller then it is.
I tried to explore every nook and cranny in the game, so I know how massive the game world is. Yet it feels small. Not in the amount of terrain you can traverse but in... scope.
The areas of the game are setup such that one gets the impression that they are directly adjacent to each other, and have only been broken up for technical reasons. Thus, the castle and surrounding farmland feels like the suburbs of the big city, and the dwarf city feels like it is only half a days march away from the castle. This makes the game feel less epic in it´s scope, and makes the whole kingdom feel like only a small spec on the map.
This is the reason why RPGs often feature "travel maps" alá Indiana Jones, and why I think that they often are vitally important: I am absolutly certain, if the splash screen shown when switching areas in DD had been a map (not even animated) showing the way that the player travels from (for example) the forest to the castle, it would have made the world of DD feel much "larger" and thus, more epic.
Phew, that´s quite a rant. But I also had a lot of time to "build it up" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />.
I just hope it isn´t mulitplied, or worse, eaten by the ISE... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />
[lurk]
