circus of cheerful slaughter

dietlime

[Please mark spoilers if you discuss this quest]

I just wanted to say, while this game's characters have always been likable; they never struck me as deeper than characters from any more modern games. That all changed when I played this quest.

Character development and depth have been severely lacking from gaming in general, but especially the MMO genre. MMO characters served basically as checkpoints with exclamations on their heads.

Anyway "The Circus of Cheerful Slaughter" seemed totally banal and then just came out of left field and became actually touching in a saddening way- just ever so slightly. It was totally intentional, and it was done so well. That's really rare in video games. Pay attention game makers. This is what made "Adventure Time" such a pop culture sensation. Characters with emotional facets.


~*~*~*~

I think ESO has a sort of bad rap because the people formally reviewing games and the popular-culture gamer identities aren't paying attention to the subtle things it does well. I appreciate it a lot though. Enough for it to be the first MMO since the early WoW days that I am interested in playing.

Particularly it's striking how good the voice actors are. The characters aren't whiny, and the game doesn't sound childish. It's silly where it should be, occasionally funny or over the top but never annoying. I really find myself listening to lots of quest dialogues and paying attention. While the actual quest mechanics are positively par-the-course they are presented in a way that makes them often appreciable.

You did it. You didn't let expectations hold you back. You spent all your time world-building, and it paid off. It's a beautifully detailed world Bethesda/Zeni has built. More than any other MMO I have ever seen. I put it right up there with Morrowind in that regard.

zamiel

It's not just about that quest. The VO generally is superb, they are actually actors not just some random blokes reading texts.
I really like this game, and perfectly understand that why people dislike it - what it does great - the playing with emotions part - can and will be lost on people who don't want to invest in it. But when you do invest in it, it returns all your efforts tenfold.

Captainkrunch96

I also liked the name of the places

SirPuppingtonVonHat

This is probably my favorite quest in the game thus far. However wrote it gets a sweetroll on me.

dietlime

zamiel wrote: »

It's not just about that quest. The VO generally is superb, they are actually actors not just some random blokes reading texts.
I really like this game, and perfectly understand that why people dislike it - what it does great - the playing with emotions part - can and will be lost on people who don't want to invest in it. But when you do invest in it, it returns all your efforts tenfold.

For me the big thing is that while it's a very tried and true MMO in design (and that's setting aside the combat mechanics which are a blast compared to most MMO and much more involved) it has the world-design of an Elder Scrolls game.

I love how every corner of the world is filled. No stone was left un-turned. When you discover a dead end-alley or a niche in the wall: there's something in it. A dude died there, and there's a skeleton. There's some alchemy equipment lying around.

Even the un-important areas; even the ones that literally do nothing have an attention to detail second to no other game in the genre, and it makes just exploring the world an absolute blast.

This is the first game I have ever felt the need to finish completion achievements in.