Post by SongRune on 2024-05-05 19:32:03
If you voice them, you need to do a very good job in terms of both expression, flow and pacing. But I don't need you to voice them. I've never had any trouble with FFXI's cutscenes, and they have managed to have a very strong impact when appropriate. Instead, build a bank of very good, reusable music that you can use to set the emotional tone and fit the scene. You're absolutely allowed to reuse these, and in fact doing so wisely helps you increase the emotional impact of your cutscenes overall. You don't need them in small informative-style cutscenes, but reliably using them in cutscenes of meaningful length or emotional impact nudges players minds into the appropriate emotional space, making it easier to absorb and sync up to the cutscene, as well as subtly helping prevent the mind from wandering randomly. Don't overdo it. You don't need "epic", you need a stable backdrop that sets the appropriate tone. This isn't about "making an impact". It's about creating a vocabulary that you can use to communicate with your players.
When it comes to cutscenes, what entices you to not skip them? Tell us about your favorites, and what makes them unique.
Characters I care about sharing real experiences or perspectives (be that past or present). Give me something that serves as a connection to the world and the people in it. This can be large or small, and comes in many shapes and sizes.
You're mainly going to lose me if your cutscenes are needlessly repetitive, your characters don't make sense, or I just don't care about what they're experiencing, categorically. Show me the impact I have on the world (or inspire me to have one), show me the impact the world has on me, or make me understand or care about what the world is like in general.
Ultimately it boils down to "good writing". Be clear, be concise, understand what you want to convey and what kind of impact you want to have. If you do that, and have the skill to execute it, you'll be fine. You don't always need a big cutscene to achieve your goals. You don't need to be stingy, or go overboard. What ultimately matters is whether you can tell your story effectively.
For length or frequency, I haven't really kept solid statistics, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of feedback on that, but the key point for me is timing . Don't interrupt my activities and flows with cutscenes very often. Place them so I'm at a natural rest point or a lull between activities. Usually when I've just finished doing something, or when I probably don't already have specific plans. Cutscenes make a good endcap for an experience, or section of an experience. But put them at 'checkpoints', or where 'getting the cutscene' is itself the goal (and therefore itself a checkpoint). You can send me right back out to resume what I was just doing, but probably not more than once, occasionally unless it's specifically the sort of situation where you'd expect that. I guess I'm saying "if you interrupted me specifically, you'd better have a good reason for it". I don't really expect you'll have trouble with this.
More later, maybe.
EDIT: Ashes is a never-safe PvP game. Make an exception. Your cutscenes are gonna lose all their impact if someone else skips them for me, even if I can resume them later. Don't let people gank me mid-cutscene. They can wait.
When it comes to cutscenes, what entices you to not skip them? Tell us about your favorites, and what makes them unique.
Characters I care about sharing real experiences or perspectives (be that past or present). Give me something that serves as a connection to the world and the people in it. This can be large or small, and comes in many shapes and sizes.
You're mainly going to lose me if your cutscenes are needlessly repetitive, your characters don't make sense, or I just don't care about what they're experiencing, categorically. Show me the impact I have on the world (or inspire me to have one), show me the impact the world has on me, or make me understand or care about what the world is like in general.
Ultimately it boils down to "good writing". Be clear, be concise, understand what you want to convey and what kind of impact you want to have. If you do that, and have the skill to execute it, you'll be fine. You don't always need a big cutscene to achieve your goals. You don't need to be stingy, or go overboard. What ultimately matters is whether you can tell your story effectively.
For length or frequency, I haven't really kept solid statistics, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of feedback on that, but the key point for me is timing . Don't interrupt my activities and flows with cutscenes very often. Place them so I'm at a natural rest point or a lull between activities. Usually when I've just finished doing something, or when I probably don't already have specific plans. Cutscenes make a good endcap for an experience, or section of an experience. But put them at 'checkpoints', or where 'getting the cutscene' is itself the goal (and therefore itself a checkpoint). You can send me right back out to resume what I was just doing, but probably not more than once, occasionally unless it's specifically the sort of situation where you'd expect that. I guess I'm saying "if you interrupted me specifically, you'd better have a good reason for it". I don't really expect you'll have trouble with this.
More later, maybe.
EDIT: Ashes is a never-safe PvP game. Make an exception. Your cutscenes are gonna lose all their impact if someone else skips them for me, even if I can resume them later. Don't let people gank me mid-cutscene. They can wait.