Considering all of the unrealistic or impractical aspects to this game, this comes off as such a nitpick.
Considering all of the unrealistic or impractical aspects to this game, this comes off as such a nitpick.
That is never a good argument.
Good fantasy needs a solid grounding in reality to sell the fantasy.
If you don't so that you end up with goofy fantasy that is just a parody of itself with characters wearing tuxedos riding jet-propelled skateboards while killing orcs and goblins.
Considering all of the unrealistic or impractical aspects to this game, this comes off as such a nitpick.
That is never a good argument.
Good fantasy needs a solid grounding in reality to sell the fantasy.
If you don't so that you end up with goofy fantasy that is just a parody of itself with characters wearing tuxedos riding jet-propelled skateboards while killing orcs and goblins.
That isn't an argument. It's an observation about an irrelevant aspect of a story that is being called a MAJOR PLOT HOLE. You know what actually isn't a good argument? Hyperbole.
"Good fantasy needs a solid grounding in reality to sell the fantasy."
You've obviously never read any of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. But you're right, the reason why Legend, The Dark Crystal, Willow, or the Neverending Story are so beloved is their grounding in reality. Lol. Right.
Good fantasy needs a solid grounding in reality to sell the fantasy.
If you don't so that you end up with goofy fantasy that is just a parody of itself with characters wearing tuxedos riding jet-propelled skateboards while killing orcs and goblins.
SilverBride wrote: »Good fantasy needs a solid grounding in reality to sell the fantasy.
If you don't so that you end up with goofy fantasy that is just a parody of itself with characters wearing tuxedos riding jet-propelled skateboards while killing orcs and goblins.
Or flaming apex mounts and over the top skins.
Supreme_Atromancer wrote: »I agree that gameplay is an important focus, but world-building is one of the fundamental elements of TES. A crucial part of that is verisimilitude. And that needs thought and commitment in the design process.
SerafinaWaterstar wrote: »Used my own imagination & decided that they rowed out to a bigger boat. Don’t need everything explained to me in detail.
And what would you prefer? A cut scene with a red line across a map? Or time spent explaining they got on a bigger ship, or whatever?
SerafinaWaterstar wrote: »Used my own imagination & decided that they rowed out to a bigger boat. Don’t need everything explained to me in detail.
And what would you prefer? A cut scene with a red line across a map? Or time spent explaining they got on a bigger ship, or whatever?
(It's a fantasy world. While I agree that it should hang together somewhat, I'm always surprised by what people choose to pick on vs. what they ignore. This isn't aimed at the OP, but at everyone who does this.
And in ESO especially, if you can overlook the crazy mounts, the thing you just killed spawning back to life again, that horses don't swim, that you can jump off cliffs and not die, that you can die over and over again but not really die, etc. ad nauseum, then surely you can come up with some story to explain why they took a rowboat and still made it on time. Use your imagination!)
I think the rowboat was sucked into one of those magic whirlpools that I'm sure exist not too far from Skywatch, and it resurfaced from the adjoining whirlpool right near the island.
(It's a fantasy world. While I agree that it should hang together somewhat, I'm always surprised by what people choose to pick on vs. what they ignore. This isn't aimed at the OP, but at everyone who does this. And in ESO especially, if you can overlook the crazy mounts, the thing you just killed spawning back to life again, that horses don't swim, that you can jump off cliffs and not die, that you can die over and over again but not really die, etc. ad nauseum, then surely you can come up with some story to explain why they took a rowboat and still made it on time. Use your imagination!)
(The amount of "rituals" in ESO's quests doing very specific but potentially useful things ... and never mentioned again, is staggering.)
Supreme_Atromancer wrote: »I understand that you don't think these things are important. I suggest that if you want to move past being "always surprised", its good to remember that not everyone has the same values, and instead of feeding people's opinions to them, approach what you don't understand with openness and actually listen and try to understand where people might be coming from.
Totally agree about internal consistency, though I've noticed that most made-up worlds break their own rules when it's convenient. I suspect the rowboat thing was an oversight. However, there are quests in this game (and others) where we manage to miraculously arrive somewhere in a time frame that doesn't really make sense, that it made me wonder why this particular case got to the OP. Maybe the straw that broke the camel's back.Even fantasy worlds have rules. They have more ways to come up with different stuff, but even then, they should retain internal consistency.
Supreme_Atromancer wrote: »I understand that you don't think these things are important. I suggest that if you want to move past being "always surprised", its good to remember that not everyone has the same values, and instead of feeding people's opinions to them, approach what you don't understand with openness and actually listen and try to understand where people might be coming from.
I understand where you're coming from, but no fantasy worlds are completely consistent. There are always inconsistencies and holes. My point wasn't that I'm surprised some people can't get past that, but rather about what they choose to pick at vs. what they ignore. For example, that it's perfectly okay for ESO characters to not have to eat or drink on a regular basis, bathe, go to the bathroom, sleep, etc. They can ignore that or come up with some story for it. But the same person might not be able to get past a rowboat getting somewhere within a certain amount of time, that in a fantasy world with magic, they can't come up with a single explanation as to how that could happen.
I understand your point that different people can't get past different things. That was never in dispute and it's obvious that I get that from what I said in my original post. But that has nothing to do with "values". One person's way of thinking about it isn't better or more moral than another's. We're talking personality quirks, here.
I completely agree.Supreme_Atromancer wrote: »I think its fair to say that the greater the consistency, the more immersive it will be, and therefore, the more satisfying the experience for those of us who care about it.
I think in a perfect world, consistency would be a priority. But with games, if it gets in the way of fun (like involving tedious travel), then it has to go in that instance. The rowboat thing was likely an oversight. I guess, for me, I wonder how people who are very concerned about consistency can enjoy make believe worlds in games, books, movies, etc. There's always going to be something that's inconsistent or silly and requires a gigantic suspension of belief (or disbelief - never sure which one that's supposed to be).The more the immersion is intruded upon or broken by silly or thoughtless stuff, the less internally consistent, the less its doing what we signed up for. The fact that we might begrudgingly accept some things doesn't mean we don't think the instances of this should be minimised especially in instances where the only issue is the writing, which shouldn't be difficult to accommodate.
In fact, it shouldn't be an accommodation but a priority.
BloodyStigmata wrote: »You know how it goes in videogames. The bad guys have to conveniently sit around and wait however long it takes for you to just barely arrive in time and save the day.
Just once, I'd like an NPC to be like, "Yeah, so and so died like four weeks ago. The bad guys were way ahead of you. What do you mean you chased them by boat? WTF were you doing?"