I REALLY dislike Vivian

[Shodingus]

She's just a walking infodump that you're forced to suffer through to start each arc. The storytelling in this game is honestly so badly done. So much of it is tell, don't show.

[grumbledorf]

"well here is what's happening. First there's a boat coming from the south. But wait that wouldn't work as well. No, there's a bunch of people going across the land like this on my map".
Yea, she was a character I didn't really get attached to. I think he just narrated in words what was changing with the world when things got changed up and the places you could go to changed up.

[Tiberius]

this kind of storytelling happens every time this franchise took dive into political topic. Even FFT had this issue (you need to read chronicle entries to understand whats going on). It's also one of the main reasons why FFT, FF12, and FF16 plot were not as memorable as the rest of the franchise

[Comae®]

No, she is what is missing since the beginning and help understand whats happening because its not explained enough.

[Knavenformed]

I think it's just someone's mmo original character and she's there to fill the role of "obligatory Type-0 reference"

With all of the ruins and a cocoon forming in the sky I got a sneaking suspicion that the game is half a failed Fabula Nova Crystallis product salvaged to be a mainline FF
The production value having so much fluctuation kinda feels like it's two different projects smashed together.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally posted by Shodingus:

The storytelling in this game is honestly so badly done. So much of it is tell, don't show.

I'm still enjoying the game a good bit, but it kinda dawned on me how poorly the events were being told when the empire conquered a whole other country and you barely noticed.

[Shodingus]

Originally posted by StingingVelvet:

Originally posted by Shodingus:

The storytelling in this game is honestly so badly done. So much of it is tell, don't show.

I'm still enjoying the game a good bit, but it kinda dawned on me how poorly the events were being told when the empire conquered a whole other country and you barely noticed.

It happened during a 5 year time skip where that and getting a new hideout is basically all that happened. It's like the world stood still otherwise.

Originally posted by Knavenformed:

I think it's just someone's mmo original character and she's there to fill the role of "obligatory Type-0 reference"

With all of the ruins and a cocoon forming in the sky I got a sneaking suspicion that the game is half a failed Fabula Nova Crystallis product salvaged to be a mainline FF
The production value having so much fluctuation kinda feels like it's two different projects smashed together.

At the very least there's too many competing plotlines going and they all get in each other's way. There's the Dominants, the kingdoms at war (those two work together), then there's the Bearers plotline that gets started and then just kind of shoved to the background doing nothing, and then the Ultima plotline overarching everything else.

[UnholyDentist]

Vivian was implemented to make two very important features (the grand cast and situation map) feel less machine and dull. So they gave it a face that talks to you and a little story behind it. That's all Vivian's function. You don't need to like her personally, she's just there to make the Hideout more lively and homey.

[Shodingus]

Originally posted by UnholyDentist:

Vivian was implemented to make two very important features (the grand cast and situation map) feel less machine and dull. So they gave it a face that talks to you and a little story behind it. That's all Vivian's function. You don't need to like her personally, she's just there to make the Hideout more lively and homey.

They're really not that important and both of those mechanics are just a cop out for the writer's inability to properly write an engaging story. I don't want to stare at a map and have the lore spoonfed to me, that's not good storytelling especially in a visual medium where you can actually participate.

[Trube, dube!™]

This is so dishonest, OP. Vivian is not a "walking infodump." As far as I recall, she doesn't WALK anywhere. Totally stationary.

[Haseo8]

Originally posted by Shodingus:

Originally posted by UnholyDentist:

Vivian was implemented to make two very important features (the grand cast and situation map) feel less machine and dull. So they gave it a face that talks to you and a little story behind it. That's all Vivian's function. You don't need to like her personally, she's just there to make the Hideout more lively and homey.

They're really not that important and both of those mechanics are just a cop out for the writer's inability to properly write an engaging story. I don't want to stare at a map and have the lore spoonfed to me, that's not good storytelling especially in a visual medium where you can actually participate.

It's kind of a side effect of your main chara ter not really being an active participent in that political plotline. It's more for the world building than anything. They could have just had actual cutscenes for all that but then I fear there would be more complaints of even longer cutscenes, even though I personally would have liked that. I also would have liked all that to be in actual cutscenes.

[UnholyDentist]

Originally posted by Shodingus:

Originally posted by UnholyDentist:

Vivian was implemented to make two very important features (the grand cast and situation map) feel less machine and dull. So they gave it a face that talks to you and a little story behind it. That's all Vivian's function. You don't need to like her personally, she's just there to make the Hideout more lively and homey.

They're really not that important and both of those mechanics are just a cop out for the writer's inability to properly write an engaging story. I don't want to stare at a map and have the lore spoonfed to me, that's not good storytelling especially in a visual medium where you can actually participate.

I find it difficult to follow the emotional and political advancement as well as adventures and events that are happening with so many characters. Their decisions and the reasons behind them. If those features didn't exist, I would probably end up not understanding or ignoring half of the game story.

[Shodingus]

Originally posted by UnholyDentist:

Originally posted by Shodingus:

They're really not that important and both of those mechanics are just a cop out for the writer's inability to properly write an engaging story. I don't want to stare at a map and have the lore spoonfed to me, that's not good storytelling especially in a visual medium where you can actually participate.

I find it difficult to follow the emotional and political advancement as well as adventures and events that are happening with so many characters. Their decisions and the reasons behind them. If those features didn't exist, I would probably end up not understanding or ignoring half of the game story.

That's more because the storytelling is just really bad and disjointed with far too many plotlines going on and vying for attention. As much as I dislike FF12 it had a political story that you could actually follow because it told it better

[Shodingus]

Originally posted by Fulgerion:

Originally posted by Shodingus:

They're really not that important and both of those mechanics are just a cop out for the writer's inability to properly write an engaging story. I don't want to stare at a map and have the lore spoonfed to me, that's not good storytelling especially in a visual medium where you can actually participate.

So you want a lot more dialogue and infinitely longer cutscenes. Got it.

People get mad when there is little to read or listen to
Also people: They get mad when there is something to read and listen to.

If you didn't want to read books, why are your playing story driven games?

I'm sorry that you never learned to actually read. I want BETTER writing. This is not difficult to comprehend.

[Shodingus]

Originally posted by Fulgerion:

Originally posted by Shodingus:

I'm sorry that you never learned to actually read. I want BETTER writing. This is not difficult to comprehend.

If you knew how to read, you would have known that was not my argument or my point.

Your argument or point was against a strawman your peanut brain constructed that had nothing to do with anything.

[iameatingjam]

I do really like this game, but I was kind of expecting to see more of the political intrigue, rather than just having it happen in the background. So with that in mind, I'd rather have Vivian than not. I mean, I don't care who the character is, as long as they are providing that intel.