I think the thing about "investing time and effort" can sometimes be a bit purist. I get the point and to an extent I agree with it, having seen games where insufficient effort has been given to some elements apparently at the expense of others. But I'm also aware that it's an argument that carries quite a high risk of being specious, and there is scope to do different areas to a reasonable minimum standard that caters for different tastes.
That last point is one that I've become wary of: with gaming in general, and it would seem RPGs in particular, there seems to be an element of "my way or no way" when it comes to preferences of gameplay. I tend to be a lot more laissez faire about it, and unless there is a very conspicuous compromise being made, I figure that's fair enough. Even on the subject of "conspicuous compromises", I think a lot of that is down to more corporate issues like deadlines rather than the ability and capacity of the team to cater for demand. I just keep on thinking about Dragon Age 2, in both regards really: a game that was very obviously released at least a year sooner than it should have been, it was clear that nowhere near enough effort was invested in storytelling or places to explore (the overly reused dungeons were notorious: I forget how many there actually were, but ISTR only 3-4 smallish, generic dungeons approached from different angles) which contrasted badly with too much emphasis on edgy artwork and gimmicks such as "the awesome button". Someone claiming to be an insider said that the latter was the real problem, but I can't help feeling that the apparently rushed development time was a bigger one. Anyway, I digress, but you get the point, hopefully.
Vaguely on topic, I'm very, very belatedly enjoying Divine Divinity for the first time, having arrived via Ego Draconis when it was still current. And I have to say I'm enjoying it a lot, but I would also add that I would enjoy it a lot more if the graphics were better and especially if I could switch to 3rd-person when the fancy takes me. Alas, it's what it is, but I'd rather future games don't have that constraint unless absolutely necessary. I understand in the case of D:OS2, as a necessity it is pretty much an absolute because of limited budgets and development time, but I wouldn't be happy if the exclusion of something that would significantly improve my gaming experience was because one set of fans said the preferences of another set of fans shouldn't be catered for.
