This applies to other people's games (not to mention books, movies, TV, and other media), but I'm discussing this from a game designer's perspective, so I'm letting this topic live in Development Discussion.
Do you like it when games have intricate backstories and lore for their characters and settings, or do you care nothing for this kind of detail? Similarly, do you like it when developers strive to maintain a sense of continuity across all the sequels, spinoffs, and related licensed media, or are you totally OK when games contradict themselves?
I'm not obsessed with game lore, but it can be interesting if it's a game series I'm invested in. Some of the recent Final Fantasy games have taken this to an extreme - I haven't actually played the more recent games in the series, but my understanding is you might have to play several games and watch an anime or movie just to understand the game's full plot. In contrast, Mario games tend to care very little about this - Mario games tend to introduce game worlds, use them in one game, and never mention them again (here's looking at you, Beanbean Kingdom and most of the places in Super Mario World not named Yoshi's Island or Chocolate Island).
As for continuity, I like it when developers try to maintain a sense of continuity and consistency - it's confusing and annoying when developers change basic facts about a character or change the shape of the world map without a plausible explanation. However, I also understand how a rigid insistence on maintaining continuity can become restrictive, so small discrepancies don't bother me (and if it's a series I don't care about, I probably won't even notice).
I've included something of an extended backstory across many of my older fangames. People may or may not have noticed, and if they noticed, they may or may not have cared. A future use for the Stop 'n Swop series may give me a chance to explain it in greater detail. For the RPG I'm making, many of the main characters have backstory that might not be explicitly stated in game, but it may be explained in greater detail in the online manual or in the bestiary (if I include those).
This applies to other people's games (not to mention books, movies, TV, and other media), but I'm discussing this from a game designer's perspective, so I'm letting this topic live in Development Discussion.
Do you like it when games have intricate backstories and lore for their characters and settings, or do you care nothing for this kind of detail? Similarly, do you like it when developers strive to maintain a sense of continuity across all the sequels, spinoffs, and related licensed media, or are you totally OK when games contradict themselves?
I'm not obsessed with game lore, but it can be interesting if it's a game series I'm invested in. Some of the recent Final Fantasy games have taken this to an extreme - I haven't actually played the more recent games in the series, but my understanding is you might have to play several games and watch an anime or movie just to understand the game's full plot. In contrast, Mario games tend to care very little about this - Mario games tend to introduce game worlds, use them in one game, and never mention them again (here's looking at you, Beanbean Kingdom and most of the places in Super Mario World not named Yoshi's Island or Chocolate Island).
As for continuity, I like it when developers try to maintain a sense of continuity and consistency - it's confusing and annoying when developers change basic facts about a character or change the shape of the world map without a plausible explanation. However, I also understand how a rigid insistence on maintaining continuity can become restrictive, so small discrepancies don't bother me (and if it's a series I don't care about, I probably won't even notice).
I've included something of an extended backstory across many of my older fangames. People may or may not have noticed, and if they noticed, they may or may not have cared. A future use for the Stop 'n Swop series may give me a chance to explain it in greater detail. For the RPG I'm making, many of the main characters have backstory that might not be explicitly stated in game, but it may be explained in greater detail in the online manual or in the bestiary (if I include those).
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Course clear! You got a card.
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