Showing posts with label Blizzard makes me so mad sometimes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blizzard makes me so mad sometimes. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

RTMT: The Emperor is not wearing any exposition...

Pained
Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Emperor's New Clothes--it's a simple tale of vanity, deception, and  truth-seeking, and more importantly, truth-telling. This morning, I am feeling somewhat gypped. An alternative title should be "My Parents Went to Theramore and All I Got Was This Lousy Tabard."

Please do not read if you are afraid of accidentally clicking on spoilers. Please do not read any further if you think I have nothing valid to say. I may not. I just know there was something I was really looking forward to, allowed myself to get swept up in the moment, and then, like seeing Cinderella smoking behind the castle's bleachers or Mickey yelling at Minnie, I feel there is a bit of a let-down here. Many players put the Blizzard writers on pedestals, and let's just say I think they phoned this one in.

Tzufit took the words right out of my own mouth with her post on the Theramore scenario:

http://treehealsgowoosh.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/the-theramore-disaster/

To quote:

Pure and simple, the story of this scenario makes absolutely no sense without having read Tides of War.  Blizzard is no stranger to forcing us to go outside of the game for the full story about most major lore developments, but we usually have enough pieces of the puzzle given to us in-game that we can get a decent clue as to what’s going on. --Theramore Disaster

The events in Theramore were only satisfying at all because I brushed up a bit on my lore, read Vidyala's post, went and took screenshots, and wrote MY OWN DAMN STORY. 

Have the creatives and developers at Blizzard became too lazy when it comes to delivering on lore promises? Do they depend too much on their loyal followers to fill in the gaps? Or maybe, and this is giving them a boatload of credit, perhaps they just want us to read a damn book once in awhile? I have often commented that novels-to-movies are always more satisfying, nay, solely satisfying, if one has read the book first. Good movies from novels enhance the novel, but each medium does have its limitations. I just think Blizzard went a bit too far with this one. It could have been shokewl.

Lucky for me I still have my inner sense of storytelling, and although I couldn't save Theramore, or Lt. Aden, or anyone else, I can save the enjoyment of the game. Furthermore, I remind myself of my own creative beliefs: We craft the world we choose, or choose the worlds we craft.

Erinys recently posted something she crafted, a Darkmoon Dolly (it looks kind of deliciously-evil poppet to me):

The reasons I enjoy playing was never about the lore, and while I may be feeling a bit like I want my money back on this one, I'll get back to what I do enjoy - crafting my own world.

PS Of course, none of this will stop me from repeatedly queueing for the ride. /smirk


Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Drabble: Queen Azshara's Bathrobe...




Zep excitedly opened the gift from Matty—a new dress! Oh, she must have found it in while exploring the lands, seeking treasures. Sometimes she could be so thoughtful. Pulling the dress out of the satin-lined box, something was amiss. First, it was a dressing robe, not a gown. One wore it while readying oneself for more grand attire. Zep drew the chest and arms to her nose, and made a sour face. It smelled…awful, and hard to discern: sea salt, fish scales, sulfur, iron, and, Zep blushed, like a night of love. She would never wear it, despite its value.












Writer's Note
I cannot believe I am grumpy about this. But seriously--SERIOUSLY!?! COME ON!

(Deep breath)

My post in praise of archeology will come later, but why, Blizz, why, be so passive/aggressive sometimes? Give us a chance for a queen's dressing gown, and not just any queen, the QUEEN - Azshara, numero uno, the temptress, the archetypal bitch of beauty and desire, and then give us her own bathrobe? (And not even washed, no less.)


Why can't things like this be sent in a gift box:

So next time you open up your can of peanut brittle, Blizz, I'm putting a rubber snake in it.





Theme song: Heart-shaped Box/Nirvana (live)