Opa-Opa said:
JRPGs aren't without their own shortcomings in this generation, I'll be the first to admit that. But I think you're overestimating Bioware's "open-world" gaming experience, they're much more linear than you would want to admit. Sure, there are hours of recorded dialogue, and decisions to be made, but this it what it boils down to: After hours of dicking around, do you want to be the good guy or the bad guy? |
And what should it boil down to instead?
Realistically, someone will only play through a game once or twice. How many resources should a company expend into creating 5+ different paths through a game when the average player probably wouldn't see more than two of them? At the same time, those resources could be used toward fleshing out the world and making the paths that are there more interesting.
For example, Bioware could write one 40 hour story, a pair of 20 hour stories, four 10 hour stories, or eight 5 hour stories. If your audience is only going to go through the game twice at most, what options make the most sense?
You can complain about the good guy/bad guy dichotomy as much as you like, but complaints without understanding are unreasonable.
