I doubt we uncovered it as much as we're just acknowledging something everyone knows. Granted, I sometimes also wonder if the lack of care for a game's back half may also have to do with the changes in gaming demographics. Westerners are a large market, but we're also older and likely have more responsibilities like family and careers to work. I wonder if we looked at data, we could summarize that most gamers really never finish games to begin with, so many companies feel its safe to skimp on those parts because they know the consumer is likely never going to reach it anyway. I mean most of the people I know my age who play games outside of the online world tend to spend most of their time playing styles of games that really don't have an endgame sequence to begin with and usually play more for co-op fun or for unwinding as opposed to playing a game for the experience itself.
Well, aside from the examples you mentioned, I feel chapter 4 (of 5) in the first Witcher game is its strongest, though that's a weird case, considering the fact that it is kind of out of place compared to the rest of the game, counting as more of an Arcadian Interlude, but it's woven in so great and has such an incredible feel to it that it really kind of makes the game? Also, now that I think about it, it seems that the Persona games are all pretty good about having well-fleshed out later halves, and that goes for both the OG Persona and new Persona games. In Innocent Sin you do get the slightly overlong Zodiac dungeons and the final dungeon to P1 is just ridiculous, but narratively speaking, they still feel strong and fleshed out. Of course, in the case of Persona 3, the game only really goes from great to sublime in its back half, so that's definitely an example of that, though I guess the opening is pretty gripping as well. What's interesting is that this may actually be something that modern games have the edge over older games in, as I feel there's much more room for creating games based on a concept that's already been fleshed out and paying equal attention to all the important parts, rather than just the beginning and the end. But then again, even a game as incredibly well-designed as the Witcher 3 does kind of rely too much on retreading the story of the books at its back half, so we're back to square one in that regard. It's interesting that of the two expansion packs, the shorter (and much more narratively fulfilling like omg I can't stress this one enough) actually averts this by being impeccably paced throughout, while the second (the clearly much more rushed one but with an incredible map to explore and tons of glorious fanservice for longtime fans) really does feel like it rushes through its back half. I think we may have uncovered a curse.
The only games I can think of that don't fall apart at the 2/3rds mark are games like DQIII, Chrono Trigger, and to a lesser extent, FFVI. Though I feel a large part of that is different per game. DQIII's final stretch was a huge plot twist, but more importantly, it's actually incredibly short since you don't have to seriously grind to reach the locations in Alefgard, so the final stretch is pretty quick if you know what to do which makes it far more pleasant than it would normally be for this series. The fact they give you a ship right off the bat helps. For CT, all of the optional quests have a story component to it which largely ties up most of the loose ends in the plot, so there is a serious incentive for players to do it. Hell most gamers don't seem to realize all that stuff is optional. VI sort of works. I can agree that it can be a momentum killer for some players, but unlike getting the Legendary Weapons in V, the Big Materia quest, or running errands for Sage Joch in Secret of Mana; the justifications for the Ruined World actually works and keeps it from feeling like filler unlike the other entries I mentioned. Still, I feel the final third mark issue has larger issues cause even going into games like FFXIII or Xenosaga which are far more linear in execution and don't run the problem of just throwing a silly open world sequence at the end, these games still suffer from not building on the momentum of their stories like they should. Granted, the easy excuse here is simply that the later sequences come later in development, so when the time crunch hits, these sections usually suffer the most, which is why they tend to feel more lackluster. Not to mention most devs prioritize the opening section of the game because that's the make it, break it part of whether the player will continue or not. It would be interesting to figure out which games really had strong back halves compared to their openings.
See, the thing is that this game is packed, even by today's standards, I feel. It's not a smaller project that feels smaller, like Planescape: Torment. The amount of sidequests feels overwhelming in that you'll probably not even find them all on your own in one playthrough. It's just that they're all so organically woven in that none of it really feels like they're making it just to fill a quota. It's great. Of course, while I love BG2, it too has its issues, since I feel that (the Throne of Bhaal expansion aside), the beginning is the strongest in this game as this is where you get the most control over how you play the game. Later you're on a more linear path, which I'm not really against personally, but there is at least one chapter that feels like padding. Getting out of the Underdark shouldn't take as long as it does and it just feels like an extended detour. Granted, I know all this stems from the fact that BG1 was a miracle made by a bunch of doctors who made D&D and then the sequel had to be bigger and better in every way but they also had a strict deadline, so a lot of the stuff they wanted to put in had to be cut, and that's why it feels that way. Honestly, now that I think about it, a lot of games seem to hit a lull about 2/3 of the way through, don't they? I had this issue in Torment where after leaving the main hub town the game just becomes a generic RPG with a more standard setting and stuff that just feels like out of place (including a bigger focus on combat) for a couple of hours, before returning to the good stuff again. Same thing happens in BG2, as I mentioned before. A lot of FFs seem to have this problem as we,, such as with the dead horse that is the huge materia quest in FFVII, or even the Rapha/Marach section in FFT (which is still great but overall feels less developed and a bit out of place compared to the rest of the game). I honestly don't understand why this keeps on happening, but it's only now that I've really noticed it. Technically, this should be where the game builds up its climax but it just... meanders? A similar thing happens in Pillars of Eternity, where you leave the city that was the main hub up to that point to get to the final stretch of the plot, only for the road there to be a bit too long and the additional quests there just... not really meshing well with the overall growing urgency of the plot. But speaking of that game, it's another fantastic example of what you're talking about - Pillars was a kickstarter project that was designed by Baldur's Gate/Planescape: Torment devs (including the lovely Chris Avellone, probably the best video game writer on the Western front who is fully responsible for the weirdly beautiful Torment, whom I think you should definitely look into if you haven't already) that is deliberately evocative of those games and it is designed in exactly that way because there were no studio execs to force them to make it as mainstream as possible. I hate to sound like someone stuck in the past, but I'm beginning to believe you may actually be right and they really don't make them like they used to anymore Phew, so that was a long rant Glad to know DQ is keeping you happy, regardless of the actual game. That reminds me that XI is actually the first game I've actually invested a significant amount of time playing the casino, and I'll probably return there at a later point because the prizes change as the game progresses. I'm still kind of not feeling it, because there's something about gambling that just immediately repels me and I have no idea why, but I pushed through it and got some nice gear.
I honestly feel the remakes and newer entries crank up the encounter rate. Playing DQIV, I've had far better success in running into them and having them not run away immediately. I've changed gears in VIII, I'm save scumming my way to massive money gains in the casino so I can buy some more gear and hopefully fix my money woes in this game. I'm close to 200,000 tokens at the moment, but I'll probably do it until I'm closer to a million just to give me some pocket money. I'll dive back into DQIII most likely tomorrow. My controller can't hold a charge while plugged into my computer so I had to boot up my old console to charge, which is why I've been slacking there. Glad BG2 has been a nostalgic treat for you. I mean they really did just design these games better back in the day if you ask me. I feel like the only way to find something similar is with either smaller titles or indie ones that emulate the golden age. It's harder to find them in big budget titles anymore because they focus too much on quantity over quality.
It's super easy in the 3DS version because you see them all running around on the field screen Symbol encounters are good. Meanwhile, I am now hooked on BG2 and once again I am very appreciative of old-school quest design. So early in the game there comes a moment where your main story goal is to raise 20,000 gp, so you're pretty much left to explore your local City of Adventure and it's surroundings for cash ad, once again, all quests are unique, have their own stories, and none of them are fetch quests. In fact, a good chunk of them involves helping potential party memebrs, who are really well fleshed-out in this game, so it all comes together really nicely.
I really need to get back to TZA and finish up the last few loose ends. I never enjoyed fighting Yiazmat though. Perhaps the new changes in TZA will make it feel less like a slog. In DQ news, I'm not doing much, mainly grinding out a few levels in DQIII and IV before I move on. I actually picked up DQVIII again just to finish the post game stuff because I never did it. I was going to grind levels for that one, but Metal King Slimes are incredibly rare in this game, and killing one is even more difficult because luck is just not on my side it seems.
So I've beaten Yiazmat recently. Had to clear up some hard drive space but I didn't wanna uninstall FFXII until I did it.
It looks like I'm going to have a lighter work load for the next few weeks, so that should help me have time to start writing again. Not sure if I'm going to do NaNo this year or try to get back to work on my novel or smaller stories to submit somewhere. I might focus on the smaller story bit as I really want to submit something else before the year is through. Glad you're getting some brainstorming ideas at least.
I've been juggling a few ideas, and my wife has also proposed an intersting one to me, but then there came one that seems kinda... horrific? ANd considering I usually wrtie more of a slow, depressing horror, I feel like it could be a nice change of pace to write something like this. it should also be shorter than usual. So we'll see how that goes. It's good that you've got something to keep your mind occupied, though (probably necessary considering... some of the things that seem to pop up even here, I've noticed ). DQ's helped me in a very tough time, so I can definitely see how it would help you. I actually managed to write a little bit of my novel yesterday and it's helped me feel a little bit more satisfied and at ease, so who knows - maybe if you get back into writing, that can help you out too. Of course, the farther I get into my book, the more my idea evolves and the more things I see will need to be axed, added, or just altered altogether, so the first bare draft is still only really going to be the first baby step in a very long process.
