If all you’ve got in the writing dept is a ‘mystery’, what have you? Once it’s ‘spolied’, can you go back and enjoy the story again?
Some of the greatest stories ever told depend on the mystery reveal to make them noteworthy. I mean there's an entire genre of writing devoted to the concept.
I'm with those who would rather see an end to the spoiling.
Both of these points are quite true. A good mystery can absolutely be enjoyed again because if it's a good mystery then there's enjoyment to be derived from from seeing all the hints and breadcrumbs that you missed on a first read. However that doesn't mean spoiling doesn't take something away. There's pleasure to be found in the first experience, of not knowing where things are going and possibly even putting the clues together ahead of time. I think that using the antagonists like this, can easily remove that fun from a first playthrough.
I also just think that the antagonists are the wrong characters to use for the marketting in general. Because these three antagonists don't have a meaningful presence in act one, we're not going to be building a relationship with them, and I think honestly that with how the game is constructed, we're just not gonna be building an emotional bond to them as players or as characters. They're going to obstacles to be overcome more than anything else. I think it would have been better therefore to focus on the companions we've not yet met. There's less chance of spoiling story beats later into the game and they're the characters we as player and PC are going to be building an emotional attatchment to and, in the case of the Origin Companions, playing as. Hell, it would be a great opportunity to properly introduce and explain Jaheira and Minsc to newcomers to the franchise. Brief trailers like this that can contextualise who they are and why we should be excited about them. Because as someone who only just dipped their toe into BG1, I know enough to know they're important, but I don't really know WHY beyond 'they were old, well-loved companions.'
Well said. To some extent a known story can be enjoyable if the story is great and is well portrayed. Rereading for example "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Ecco is still a pleasure for me, for the ingenious writing and the philosophic stuff alone. But I want to find out mayor stuff first by myself.
I can accept the infos about Ketheric Thorm because I played EA and heard about him already from this anabolic agents using druid. If I were new to the game, I don't know what to think. I would at least have felt differently in EA if the plot about the Absolute and the three lieutenants would have been revealed already. I was relatively sure that the first three bosses from the goblins were not that important, but I was not entirely sure. There was a comforting insecurity with the thought about a huge world with mysterious processes laying before me, with surprises and secrets to reveal. Now a lot gets revealed from outside of the game. I'd prefer the other way.
Another thought, the movement of the "Absolute" seems to be new, at least nobody from a bit more far away seems to have heard of it. The companions don't know anything, not even rumors seemingly have spread, despite the fact that an army of worm-carriers is produced at Moonrise Towers. A bit strange, but ok. Such a secret movement should remain in secrecy as long as possible, also for the player. Revealing core structures and members of a mafia organisation too early is not a wise move if we want to enjoy the investigation against them. If the Absolute and her main subordinates are just some underbosses to the real main villain (perhaps one of our companions ...
), ok, I'll change my mind. However I don't think the story is that big or crazy.
