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submitted 1 day ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/gaming@beehaw.org

I've noticed a trend—particularly in some recent RPGs—of, well, let's call it 'Netflixiness'.

Dialogue designed to leave absolutely nothing to interpretation, to exposit information in the most direct way possible, devoid of any real character or context. There's an assumption that any moment the audience spends confused, curious, or out-of-the-loop is a narrative disaster.

I hate to keep knocking Dragon Age: The Veilguard about, especially since I still had a decent time with it all told, but the thing that made me break off from it after 60 hours really was its story. It's a tale that does get (slightly) better, but it gave me a terrible first impression I never quite shook.

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[-] any1th3r3@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago

That's a good point and, for lack of studies about it, it's impossible to tell which is the most pervasive.

As a counterpoint, and this might be an "unpopular opinion"™: not all games are (should be) made for as broad an audience as possible and different attention (investment) levels should be expected depending on the game. That obviously won't resonate with the business side of the gaming industry, but I think everyone needs to be aware of how much time they can dedicate to their hobbies and pick them accordingly.
I'm thankfully not in a position where I have to work 60hrs a week and I'm childless as well, but some weeks might leave me with less free time than others and I pick entertainment/media accordingly. That might not be what others do and I know my experience is likely purely anecdotal, but if I feel I don't have enough time to properly enjoy a game or remember its premises as I play, I'll simply do something else, even if gaming is my favourite hobby.

And to be clear, I fully agree that society needs to change dramatically either way. Everyone would benefit from better work-life balance.

[-] FaceDeer@fedia.io 6 points 1 day ago

not all games are (should be) made for as broad an audience as possible

The problem is that when a AAA game costs three hundred million dollars to make due to all the performance capture and famous actors and high fidelity graphics and whatnot, you have to reach as broad an audience as possible in order to make that money back.

I think this is what's killing the blockbuster movies, too. Everything needs to be lowest-common-denomenator to have a hope of turning a profit.

[-] any1th3r3@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago

Sure, and that makes financial sense, but that's only one specific subset of games.
Smaller productions/games still have ways to turn a profit with smaller intended audiences and can in turn offer more complex storylines.

[-] Sc00ter@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago

Im really hoping clair obscur rocked the market enough to change their ways

this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2025
92 points (100.0% liked)

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