Cutscenes: Am I the only one who misses them?

[Andhaira]

Lands of Lore, Eye of the Beholder, Ultima, Wizardry, Baldurs gate, Star trail, I could go on and on.

All these wonderful rpg's had these breif yet very elegent and charming cutscenes that really enchanced the mood and immersiveness I really miss them in today's heyday of In-Game CGI using the same engine the game is played with.

What 'bout you, and do you see them coming back any time soon?

 

[larpingdude14]

 

[covr]

IBR

 

[DoppelG]

The game, although not an RPG, wich imo has some of the best cutscenes i ever saw probably is Diablo 2.
Yes, i very much like handcrafted cutscenes instead of the ingame cutscene hype.

Guess that's again something that will fade away over time.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

 

[nowanmai]

The game, although not an RPG, wich imo has some of the best cutscenes i ever saw probably is Diablo 2.
Yes, i very much like handcrafted cutscenes instead of the ingame cutscene hype.

Guess that's again something that will fade away over time.

You're prolly right about Diablo 2 - The Dark Wanderer, heading east, always heading east..

Yeah, it was kind of neat. I still play it sometimes just for the videos, which aren't really cutscenes. But still, they're great, atmospheric, if you will. Just brilliantly made, imo.

 

[Black]

Not this shit again.

 

[Section8]

I want to play games, not watch them. Fuck cutscenes.

 

[MetalCraze]

I thought something interesting will be in the topic with this name. and then I noticed the author. fuck I fell for this trap again.

 

[spacemoose]

if you want cutscenes go get some jrpgs

 

[Norfleet]

It depends on the cutscenes. One thing I absolutely, absolutely, HATE, is the kind of cutscene which forces your character to invariably walk the middle of a circle of enemies, like an utter idiot, thus rendering most spells instantly useless when the unavoidable combat subsequent starts. Why would you *DO* such a thing, ESPECIALLY with a bunch of enemies that conveniently position themselves in fireball formation when they haven't detected you because you are cloaked? Mandatory decloaking and positioning cutscenes SUCK and need to DIE WITH FIRE.

 

[Sovy Kurosei]

What happened in the 90s should stay in the 90s. Corollary, what happens in jRPGs should also stay in jRPGs.

 

[Lurkar]

Some cutscenes are great and can really add to the game.

Some are...well, the opposite.

Unfortunately, it's easier just to not have any then it is to make good ones.

 

[Shoelip]

Besides, have you played The Witcher?

 

[Naked Ninja]

I really enjoy cut scenes/videos. F*k people who can't enjoy them for the context and tone they bring. Admittedly there are some which are done horribly, removing player agency, but lets not throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Any Blizzard cut-scene and the Dawn of War one for the win. Oh wait, and the ones from Thief 1 & 2. Oh man they gave me shivers. And the ones from Homeworld, and...and...

 

[RK47]

Rest well this night, for tomorrow you will head to the province of....Daggerfall.

 

[Shoelip]

Rest well this night, for tomorrow you sail for the Kingdom... of Daggerfall.

Fixed

 

[Bladderfish]

Cutscences have their place - as a introduction to the game or a part of the game, something that adds to the limited atmosphere that the in-game graphics, sound and music can provide.

Thief is a prime example of this as Naked Ninja said. The game would have been nowhere near as good without Garrett's voiceover and the stylised introductions to each level. They added, they did not detract - which often happens with certain other games, especially Japanese stuff, in which cutscenes takeover the game. Metal Gear Solid anyone?

Half Life 2 is often touted as the argument against cutscenes, as it containted none of them; everything was done in-game. However, this is bollocks. If you've ever played the game, you will know that the alternative to cutscenes was being stuck in a small area getting increasingly frustrated, jumping on chairs, trying to shoot people in the head, while waiting for the actual game to start again. It was frustrating, in other words. Give me Diablo 2, Starcraft or Thief instead of that any day. In those games, the cutscenes were genuinely interesting and felt like a reward.

 

[elander_]

Whoever used Half-Life 2 as an argument against cut-scenes is a retarded dumbfuck because that game doesn't have any interactive dialogs which is what we say in common language just dialogs. HL2 scenes are essentially poor dumbfuck cut-scenes.

I agree we should have great CG movie cut-scenes and also books. How do you show the player the myths, the lore and history of the world without turning your well designed dialog lines into wikipedia, you use books or play a movie if you ask someone to tell you a story about the past.

When you achieve certain game objectives that are important for role-playing in the world you have created it makes sense to have a cut-scene just like holy Fallout did.

 

[Alex]

I do think that the player freedom should be as less often removed as possible. Introductions are a different matter, but it probably would be better if the player didn't have any actions forced upon his character in the introduction.

If you want to show something to the player, I think that a better idea is to allow the player to look at what is going on. For example, take ultima 7's way of showing you the current position of the planets. Instead of forcing you through a cut-scene, it allows you to look at the device through a crystal ball, allowing the player to decide to look or not.

Now, some may say that if it wasn't rendered by the engine, it might have looked better. That is not my point. However one chooses to render something, my point is that instead of forcing the player to look at it, he should try to leave the decision to the player.

 

[Radisshu]

I don't like cutscenes that force your character to act in a certain way, although I don't mind well-crafted ones that make sense.

 

[Andhaira]

The cutscenes in bloodomes:legzacy of kain were bloody fantastic. A great example if I do say so myself. :D

The cutscenes in Jedi Knight were also fantastic.

 

[King Crispy]

Doom 3.

/end topic

Edit: I like your new tag, Andy.

 

[Annonchinil]

The opening and closing cutscenes in Brood War were fantastic, but I actually liked some of the in game cutscenes in KOTOR2. I don't think developers should limit themselves to one style of presentation. Also I hear the opening intro to MGS4 was outsourced, took more than a year to make and cost more than a million dollars. The ingame cutscenes in MGS were always amazing, the Shagohod battle ones in Snake Eater felt like a movie.

 

[Nameless0ne]

Cutscenes are good if well made. But, firstly all cut scenes should allow user to skip them when needed. Else it just gets boring to watch it all over.

And hell yeah, there should be more of the "gameplay" then cut scenes :twisted: