Minor blog note:

I’ve decided to shift over to WordPress fully. So I’ll be transferring the posts I have here over to Lycoriseum over the next few weeks. This blog will remain, though, in case I decide to return here in future.

Caed Nua: The Empty Stronghold

Pillars of Eternity has been a really fun and rich adventure: beautiful environments, interesting and loveable characters, and an intriguing main plot. My expectations of this game have been met and exceeded many times. But, nearing the end of Act 3, I've found something I really wished was implemented better. As the title says, it's about Caed Nua. To be more specific, how empty the stronghold seems.

This stronghold is given to players very early on in the game, and it promises to bring many benefits as it is slowly rebuilt through much love and attention (not to mention gold) from the Watcher. Now, I have rebuilt everything there is to build in the stronghold, and I am quite disappointed. Make no mistake, there is a certain feeling of accomplishment to see Caed Nua transform from a run-down, dusty ruin to a stronghold that looks sturdy enough to repel an invading force. But my main problem with it, is that it feels so lifeless.

Sure, there are hirelings you pay to guard your stronghold from bandit attacks, the occasional merchant or supplicant who visits, and the permanent merchants (who stay in their buildings). The thing is, with only 8 hireling slots and visitors who come only once in a blue moon, the population seems so sparse that it's no better than a ghost town.

When I first got Caed Nua, I'd envisioned something more like Crossroad Keep in Neverwinter Nights 2. Now that stronghold bustled with people. Merchants hawked their wares outside of their designated buildings, companions hung out at various parts of the Keep, and guards kept watch at their posts or patrolled around. I felt like I was actually part of something important, instead of being a lord of an abandoned keep which travelers use as a rest stop. Granted, Crossroad Keep needed to have more people due to its significance in the story (housing the army that would repel the antagonist, and the PC who basically owns that land around it). But Caed Nua could have been much, much more.

So the entire point of this entry is: Caed Nua needs more life. More people. There are a few ways to go about it.

1. Place the merchants outside of their designated buildings. Not only would that help with the "lively" aesthetic, it would significantly reduce the amount of loading screens the player has to go through. Right now, if I wanted to visit two different merchants in Caed Nua, I'd have to suffer through a grand total of 4 loading screens (from entering and exiting the buildings). There are already enough loading screens in the entire game, people.
2. Let us have more hirelings. I'm not really sure if it's a game engine or scenario execution limitation, but having more hirelings would make my stronghold defence force feel more substantial.  Really, 8 people to defend the entire stronghold? That doesn't really boost my confidence, especially if I have to fast travel back to Caed Nua to help defend it every time there's an attack. Auto-resolving it just puts many of my hard-earned structures in jeopardy of being destroyed.
3. While we're on the subject of attacks, let the battles take place outdoors. Either that, or give us more locations around the stronghold to fight in, depending on the type of attackers. For example: Doemenel thugs (whose reputation sounds more devious) could take place in the Main Keep, where they enter through some back door in a crafty attack plan. Ogres (if there are, I can't remember from offhand) would attack from the main entrance in their usual lumbering fashion, and that is where the battle is located. Mix it up a little. I'm getting tired of resolving mini-fights in the Main Keep, where my steward is munching on proverbial popcorn and watching the bloodshed take place.
4. Add more NPCs. It doesn't matter if they are random stock characters. Just stick them in. They can be the families of merchants who have moved in. People who are taking shelter in Caed Nua, or are living there. It could be a small settlement springing up around the stronghold. Think Athkatla from Baldur's Gate 2, just not as busy to keep up the appearance of a keep that is admittedly rather out of the way.
5. Scatter the companions around. I understand that Brighthollow is a good place to rest in, but having them quietly skulk about in their rooms is just...no. Place them in areas they would feel at home in. Sagani, as a ranger, could hang out near the trees along with Hiravias. Durance could be near the chapel. Kana bounces on his heels near the entrance to Od Nua, throwing puppy-dog eyes at the Watcher and asking them to continue their adventure into the depths. Put the companions in environments they would feel most comfortable in, not boring rooms.

That is it. My main gripe with Caed Nua. This is, however, not a very glaring problem as I don't spend much of my time there anyway. But having more and more people appearing in the stronghold as a result of my (and the steward's) care would have more of a sentimental impact on me. It would raise the stakes as well, in the event of attacks. You'd have actual people to defend, a motive to fight with all you've got. Right now, it's just a money-making home for my Watcher to travel back to for free lodgings.

I'll probably write another entry on Pillars of Eternity after I've finished it. Can't wait.

Alright, so I've set up a Wordpress blog in addition to this one. Will be trying that one out for the time being. Until I can decide which I prefer, blog entries will be posted on both sites. Let the blog showdown begin!

Lycoriseum [Wordpress]

Final Fantasy XIII: Revisit

After beating Bhunivelze on the third try and almost flinging my controller away in euphoria, I had this urge to replay the entire XIII series again. There was not much reason not to, so I did: popped in the first disc of three and let the nostalgia wash over me.

I was glad that I started to replay this. I picked up FFXIII back in 2010, when I still haven't built much of a personal perspective on games yet. Now, it feels like a new light has been cast on my experience of it.

XIII was my "formal" introduction to the Final Fantasy series. That is to say, it was the first Final Fantasy game I ever played. Sure, I've heard of the game franchise, watched "The Spirits Within", "Advent Children" and VII's cutscenes before, but the thought of actually playing it never really crossed my mind. Lightning was the main reason I jumped into Final Fantasy - she is such a gorgeous and strong character that I fell in love with her even before I picked the game up.

So imagine my surprise when I heard many complaints about Lightning as a character. In fact, there was quite a palpable sense of...dislike (even hatred) for the XIII series. As a newcomer, I did not really understand it in the first place. But now, I can understand their reasons - even though they didn't make me like the game any less.

But let's forget the negative, and that's pretty easy once the introduction movie starts playing. The beautiful graphics that held me captive the first time still steals my breath away. CGI is really one of Final Fantasy's strong points - that, and music, but let's not get into that right now - and it is one of my decidedly-not-guilty pleasures in gaming. Graphics do not determine my passion for a game; rather, it should be the icing of a delicious cake - not all that necessary, but it completes the experience.

Apart from CGI, the in-game environments are breathtaking as well. Lake Bresha is absolutely gorgeous: the entire lake crystallised in mid-wave. It gave me the urge to reach in and touch the crystal surface myself.

But that brings up one problem. With such lovely environments, the linear maps make it absolutely frustrating for the player who wants to frolic and jump aimlessly around the map. It's like dangling a piece of candy just out of  reach of a toddler strapped to a high chair. Without giving us the option to explore, the environments are just glamourous set pieces to be gawked at from a distance. Sure the artists' efforts are appreciated, but there's just an aspect of fun missing from the game.

Now, on to the gameplay. It should be admitted that FFXIII suffers from a very slow introduction due to the method of storytelling chosen. The entire party is split into 3 different groups for the first few hours, and our time is spread across all of them until they finally band together to achieve their common goal. Now, from a storytelling perspective, this is all well and good. It gives us time to learn about the characters, to start sympathising and perhaps care for them.

However, this means we'll have to play through the same map (albeit in different areas) and fight the same, repetitive battles over and over again. In the beginning, before the characters are turned L'Cie and given magic abilities, the battles are essentially just "press A to win". Things become much better after the party acquires magic and their own special roles, so that tactics are more important. I'll have to admit, though, that having to play through different parties with different roles and setups does offer the chance for more exploration and eventually finding a paradigm that I'm comfortable with. In fact, it made me try out the Synergist and Saboteur roles more - something I didn't really use outside of boss fights in my first playthrough.

So that's that. I'll write more after further play. Really enjoying this revisit to FFXIII.

Music in Video Games

Soundtracks in video games resonate more strongly with me than those from other types of media. This, I believe, is due to the level of immersion I enjoy in games. When exploring a new landscape, the music often helps to shape how we perceive it. It is an integral part of the novel experience we have while trekking through lush green fields with fantastical creatures roaming leisurely around us, or stepping carefully in a dungeon, wary of traps and beasts lurking in the darkness.

There are times when a piece of music is so beautiful that it takes my breath away from the start. More often, however, it is only in retrospect that I realise how great the soundtrack is. The nostalgia it evokes, of when I first stepped into the land of Cyrodiil, or Thedas, of the time I spent exploring every nook and cranny of the map, and even falling off edges at times due to my damnable curiosity.

Anyhow, that brings me to two tracks that have stayed on my mind recently. The first would be "Dust to Dust" from Final Fantasy XIII.

I've finally kicked my own lazy butt into motion and worked my way to the end of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (after an entire year). Right before the final boss battle, I decided to tackle the 4 Trials and thus went into the Altar of Judgment first. It was here that "Dust to Dust" started playing - even during battles. Putting aside my weakness for melodic ballads used as battle music, it really invoked a sense of longing in me for Oerba (in FFXIII). 

According to the wiki, it "mirrors the feelings of Fang and Vanille" when they return to their old hometown - now empty and inhabited by monsters. It conveys the loss and emptiness of losing one's home. Before reading the above, however, I felt this piece also presents a sanctuary of sorts - where one could rest and heal. Indeed, this is one of the songs I listen to when I feel upset or emotionally drained. It offers a musical haven that helps to soothe the soul, and allows me to lay down my burdens for a while.

Another piece that has captured my heart, would be "Lith My'athar" from Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark. 

Lith My'athar is the drow rebel camp that would be your "hub" for Chapter 2 in the DLC. Up until that point, players were only given the distinct impression that the drow were just war-like and treacherous dark elves who would kill them without second thought. Of course, to those who have played other D&D games or know a bit of lore, there are rebels who deviate from this generalisation: like the well-known Drizzt Do'Urden, and of course Nathyrra herself, who brings you to the camp.

The music that plays within this camp first caught my interest, then my heart. It gives the camp and the rebels that dwell in it a mystical quality. It reflects the hardiness of the people and their determination to not fall to the evil ways of their brethren - and the massive army of the Valsharess who hunts them. There is a sense of a "tribe" that this song applies to the rebels: people who would stick together in their common belief in a better way of living.

On a side note, I have identified this song so much with the drow rebels, that it was rather jarring to hear it reused in Neverwinter Nights 2. This time, in a mountainous area above ground. To me, it did not fit and just seemed like a lazy move to fill the silence. Although I enjoyed listening to it again, I would have enjoyed it more if it was played in a setting similar to Lith My'athar. Perhaps in an encounter with drow, or in a camp with cornered rebels.

So that's it for now. Writing this entry about music was really interesting, and I'd like to continue it in future.

So, instead of just thinking about writing here again, I'm just going to do it. Having something concrete to ground me wouldn't hurt. In my recent disappearance, I've completed a couple of games before school rush overtook me, so there's a list for me to write on, at least.

Completed:

• Dragon Age: Inquisition
• Neverwinter Nights

Ongoing:

• Neverwinter Nights 2
• Dragon Age: Awakening

These are the games that I'll most probably be tackling soon. Perhaps not Dragon Age, as too much time has passed. Besides, I'd like to do some concurrent blogging with my second playthrough - makes it easier for me to grab my thoughts before they disappear into the void. Neverwinter Nights seems likely, or just a simple post about some mobile games I've been playing for some time.

All right. This is here now. I'll be back soon.