(10-16-2016, 03:19 PM)Seriphyn Wrote:(10-14-2016, 10:05 PM)Nero Wrote: Good shit
It sounds like you're after a more character-driven story than device-driven, the latter seemingly the case for FFXIV? Because, comparatively, I think the MSQ is an absolute masterpiece insofar as the MMO framework goes. But then, I'm into the BIG THEATRICS rather than the character drama.
Perhaps part of the reason why I'm yearning for a character-driven story is because I'm not particularly fond of the plot itself.
That said, I agree entirely with Valence's assessment that FFXIV's story is written around the game design, so stuff like my previously huge rant on Thordan's pacing and him being a waste of a character is something I (now) try to be lenient on, because how I see it is the game designers saying "Okay writers, the players need to get to Azys Lla and fight the Knights of the Round. Make it happen" and within that scenario, there is remarkably little room for producing a compelling scenario. Or, "The players are going to fight Nidhogg-Estinien in 3.3, make it so they don't die in 3.0".
Of course, all that is me giving the writers the benefit of the doubt, and choosing to believe that they're limited by the development process and not themselves, so it's entirely possible that I'm wrong.
But there are moments where the writers are given room to tie up the story, and the majority of these moments tend to be character-driven. The scene following Estinien's recovery--where he talks about what it was like being under Nidhogg's influence and how his desire for revenge has been snuffed--that was a good scene. Aymeric's dinner was pretty much a plot device to get the WoL away from the Fortemps house so Alisaie could sneak in with her arrow wound. These elements can pretty much be written off from a design standpoint since the goals are extremely basic ("End the 3.3 story" in Estininien's case, "Get WoL out of manor" in Aymeric's case, etc.)
Where the writers seem to have the most power is in expressing the characters, and where they have the least power is in the greater narrative (because that's driven by the game design), so it's in the characters that I'd like to see them improve.
