I am generally a big fan of cutscenes. However, I often skip them in games after I have already seen them once. A few games, though, have managed to keep me engaged even after multiple viewings. These include GW1, WoW, Blizzard games in general, and single-player titles like Mass Effect and The Witcher. What these titles have achieved is the ability to convey emotions through their cutscenes. They evoke sorrow when a beloved character dies and epic feelings when reinforcements suddenly appear out of nowhere to turn the tide of battle.
In my opinion, the key to this is complex story elements, intertwined and intriguing storylines, unpredictable events, and relatable characters that are not one-dimensional, allowing players to identify with them. This is undoubtedly a significant challenge for a sandbox game like AoC, but I have complete trust in the developers based on everything I have seen from the development so far, and I look forward to witnessing epic battles in cutscenes.
1. All cutscenes should feature high-quality voice acting. (Consider the standard set by Baldur's Gate 3.)
2. Each cutscene must have a clear objective and purpose that advances the storyline or quest.
3. Avoid cutscenes where characters or heroes excessively complain or mope.
4. Cutscenes should be short, yet powerful and memorable.
5. Ensure high-quality camera work and immersive music.
I am going to use the term cutscene to include all different forms it can take shape in, including things like cinematics, in-game cutscenes that deliver dialogue, real-time scripted sequences happening on screen, etc.
1. Knowing When NOT to use a cutscene (show through gameplay instead)
A) Summary
- I've posted a lot in the past (such as in the commissions preview feedback thread, and the lore characters discussion) about how a big draw of systemic rpg games is that you can actually experience a story and role play through the gameplay and theory-craft your own understanding of the lore and story through your own discoveries as a player, rather than being told or shown through things like cutscenes, which is definitely my preference in terms of storytelling. However, assuming you know better than me about when things like cutscenes are necessary over in-game experiences (maybe used as a way to deliver lore/clues/story info as a type of reward for those who actively seek to discover more of the story, or maybe used as occasional and brief ways of supplementing/reinforcing key aspects of those other storytelling methods?), then there are definitely certain aspects about cutscenes that I like and dislike from my experience.
- overall, show don't tell is a better approach than cutscenes, things like environmental storytelling, experiential emergent systemic gameplay experiences, and gameplay mastery being represented and rewarded through cinematic-like on-screen visuals that capture the flow and choreography similar to being in a cutscene. Basically, when the gameplay was so well coordinated and immersive that it basically resembles a cutscene/movie/cinematic.
B- Examples
This could be things like:
A) the epic build up, story, and scaling of bosses in shadow of the colossus
B- The cinematic like experience of perfectly planning and executing an elaborate sequence in Hitman
C) The choreographed-like fight sequences when playing games like Sifu/Ghost of Tsushima/Sekiro/and Armored Core 6 at a high level of skill
That is something that really stood out to me about Armored Core 6, is that when you are in the flow trying to manage dodging attacks, manage your distance from the enemy and reposition, while simultaneously trying to launch attacks of your own, manage your air supply and shield energy, etc., basically juggling the overall battle strategy with the moment-to-moment tactics and having to do that quickly, and watching the fruits of that play out on screen in an epic sequence makes you really feel like you a part of fight scene in a movie, which is a very unique experience that has a story of its own, and makes you feel immersed in the world and in the moment like a cutscene is supposed to do.
D) The fluid series of assasinations and traversal in Assasins creed
H) It could be how the Half-Life series avoid cutscenes altogether, by showing you the story from the player perspective, with characters that are scripted to come up to you and talk face to face, and how the scripted events happen on-screen and are a part of the game world, which pairs well with Ashes predicate system of these types of scripted sequences being triggered by certain predicates, and depending on how you react can trigger other new predicates and scripted sequences. This all makes for a much more immersive and emergent "scripted" experiences.
2. Aspects of good cutscenes
A) Summary
- cutscenes are only used when necessary/if it can't be done through other storytelling methods (such as environmental/gameplay experiential/dynamic music/leitmotif/etc.)
- cutscenes are brief and occasional, with options to skip, in order to maintain good pacing or allow players to customize their own pacing/experience
- cutscenes act as rewards that are unique to a cutscene experience (such as lore, clues, key story aspects like foreshadowing or 'big reveals', and tutorialization)
- cutscenes have relevant gameplay related implications/effects
- capitalizes on emotional investment and invokes emotional responses
- establishes mystery and sparks curiosity in the player to learn and discover more
- minimalist approach that focuses on delivering crucial story elements to supplement other storytelling methods
- possibly allows for player agency whenever possible (such as in-game realtime cutscenes that might still allow players to interact/move around)
- high quality cinematics whenever they are used
- cutscenes are stored for easy access to watch again later on
- utilizes good storytelling techniques
- good music/sound design when applicable
- good anticipation and build up to the cutscenes, players are already invested beforehand
- smoothly ties into the overarching story/bigger picture
If they are done in this way I think cutscenes can actually be pretty awesome and hype, and will keep me engaged and excited for what will happen next.
B- Game Examples:
Overwatch
The overwatch cutscenes/shorts can be cliche but still manage to get the emotions going somehow. Blizzard is good at doing this in their cinematics. This is one example of this:
This game sticks out to me from when I was younger. It was called Glorydays 2 on Nintendo DS. This one was about being a soldier in a war, and in between missions there were cutscenes (pictures with dialogue in this case) where you take on the perspective of different soldiers writing back home before the upcoming mission. There was something about the way it was done that immersed me into the mission as if I were the soldier who was writing the letters, and made me empathize for the soldier and the people he was writing to, which gave a lot of weight and stakes to the mission at hand. It also was pretty emotional because it made me feel what the soldier might have been feeling before, during, and after said mission; such as the worry and uncertainty of how the mission might go, whether I would see my family again, the sadness of knowing my family misses me and wants me to come home safely, the tension during the mission to make sure I am focused on the task at hand rather than being distracted by those thoughts, how those feelings were more exagerated when in the middle of the battle, as well as the triumph felt when completing the mission successfully and the sadness of knowing some comrades wouldn't be making it home.
Its something that seems kind of simple to do but for some reason I haven't really experienced it the same as I did in this game, which made for a much more immersive and emotionally impactful story/gameplay experience, due to the setup done in the cutscenes/story and how the gameplay fed into those aspects.
Locks Quest
I think another game that really invoked some emotion through its cutscenes for me was called Locks Quest on Nintendo DS. I think this is mainly due to the story just being good, but basically in the end you find out that basically you were the very thing you have been fighting against the whole game, which was revealed in a dramtaic way through a cutscene, which made for a very impactful moment.
This kind of felt like a betrayal of everything you felt up to that point, like the pride of who you are, the anger you have for the other side, the love you felt for you allys, etc., which was all undermined to a degree through the big reveal which gave a whole new perspective on those feelings and provoked a lot of thought in who you really are, why you are doing what you are doing, and who you actually want to become. I think this shows that cutscenes can be used very effectively for those key story reveals for very impactful moments.
Super Smash Bros
This includes the Adventure mode from Brawl, the World of Light cutscenes from Smash Ultimate, and all of the character reveal trailers over the years I would classify as good cutscenes. I think part of what made them unique was:
- no words are needed to get the point acrossed
- the cutscenes give a clear picture of the goals, motivations, personalities of each character
- the iconic nature of the characters and anticipation in the reveals adds a lot of hype
This goes to show that teasing information, creating attachment to characters, and revealing information through cutscenes can be very effective. The short cinematic character reveal trailers made for some of the most anticipated and hypest moments in all of gaming, generating millions of views, reaction videos, etc.
- lots of cliffhangers and unanswered questions that spark curiousity and mystery in the story
- slowly pieces the story puzzle pieces together through things like flashbacks and providing context and clues as you progress and watch more cutscenes
- has a handful of higher quality cinematics with noticably better graphics and epic sequences to capitalize on key story moments (such as at 0:00, 48:45, 1:26:42 and 1:35:36)
- minimalist approach that focuses on delivering mainly crucial information. Each individual cutscenes is short and you could theoretically watch them without actually playing the game but still have a good grasp on the story.
- here is a great example of showing off the personality of a character through a cutscene, which helped to cement them as an iconic and memorable character, which I think keeps players more invested into the story and looking forward to interacting with, and learning more about those characters.
- I think this comes down to the unique style in how the character first enters the screen, how he talks, the expressiveness shown as the battle starts, the way his moves sync to the beat, and his unique boss theme music.
Here are a few more aspects related to story/mystery elements done well through cutscenes from other games
- cutscenes that imply mysterious characters who are lurking out of sight and spying on you
- cutscenes that show off character power and capabilities/personality/cool character art
- cutscenes that have unique music/sound design
- cutscenes that set up mystery through teasing mysterious areas/characters
- cutscenes where there is a character is shown off by saving another at the last second
- cutscenes that have a "big reveal" in the story
- cutscenes that tease new tools/allys/skills etc.
- cutscenes that give meaning to in-game areas, such as through presenting a glimpse of potential obstacles/clues and references to what you might want to look for in that area/etc.
- cutscene utilize good storytelling techniques that fit into the larger story
- cutscenes that emphasize rewards or "power-up moments" for characters in the story
- cutscenes that include iconic characters or have other cool references. Its always cool to see familiar faces and seeing them act within their element.
-cutscenes smoothly transition to from gameplay to cutscene/from cutscene to gameplay whenever applicable such as this:
This is always cool especially when a cutscene seamlessly transitions into a moment you would actually want to play yourself, rather than watch, such as an action sequence.
- another aspect of cutscenes is that they should not disconnect you from the gameplay immersion. Just like you don't want "ludonarrative dissonance" where there is a disconnect in the narrative with what is actual going on with the gameplay; you don't want there to be a disconnect with what is going on in the cutscenes with what is going on with the gameplay/story experience
- Regarding cinematics, I think there is also a lot of inspiration that can be drawn from any of the legendary/iconic scenes over the years from various forms of media, such as anime fights, epic and memorable movie scenes like prologues/flashbacks/etc, legendary cutscenes from various games, epic game trailers, etc.
- But again, a lot of these things can be done through actual gameplay experiences, systems, and sequences so be mindful of that.
D) Extra
This may or may not be a good idea but real-time cutscenes like this one can be cool and funny:
- Maybe these kinds of cutscenes could help with the "vulnerable to pvp during cutscene" problem, by allowing cutscenes to take place in the world in real time, so they can cancel out of them if they need to.
@Vaknar Hi! Is this related to main story or just general cutscene dialogue when you speak to an NPC?
I am OK with cutscenes for throughout main story. I think it sets up the story and lore really well that way. They can definitely be skipable, as long as you can't progress further into the mission/dungeon/story until rest of party are done watching.
I am however not OK with dialogue cutscenes when speaking to random NPC's throughout the world. Where the camera takes over. I'd rather just have voice over and a dialogue text box with the NPC.
Make the players feel that they belong to the story , either with less or more importance , but make the players feel that their effort , dedication or the simple fact that their character exists influences what happens around them .
I don't want to be the hero that saves the world but !hey! I would like my job as a farmer in a certain town to be at least of importance, that kind of feeling could be generated with a narrative story where the players and their actions could influence the narrative.
The great potential of story trailers/cinematics/cutscenes
the story traielrs/cinematics would be mostly used to make the player(s) feel like they belong to something , as if it were the narration of a story , as if Morgan Freeman was narrating the events that accompany the path you are traveling in AoC , I think it's a little hard to understand but a narrated story sounds great in a world where social interaction plays a big role .
I can imagine a voice like Morgan Freeman narrating the events that my guild caused in a certain month's node war, that would be awesome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cCW2a8kT3Q
A story that is being told depending on the events that occur in the different types of servers as if the storyteller with the voice of Morgan Freeman was telling it and where the players can know that they are part of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYpVDgcrnAg
Look at this jewel, a good narration, music and voice gives so much importance, epicity and sense to what happens, that gives a sense of belonging. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxb7tjb_sPY
The last thing I want to see is a couple of models walk up to a location, stop, turn to the person they plan on talking to, initiate a talking emote, and then stand there for some un-voice acted and player read subtitle cutscene.
I want the characters to walk around like I real person would, the pathing of characters should look real, the body language, the expression, the gestures should all be closer to the real thing. I don't need someone to stroke their chin while their other hand coddles their elbow for me to know they are "thinking". Real people don't do that. If you sell the scene right you won't need exaggerated expression.
I want to learn something from a cut scene. If I can skip the scene and go about my day as if nothing has happened then what's the point in the first place. I should be able to rewatch a cutscene. I can't tell how many times you accidently click the mouse and skip a cutscenes by mistake.
The player characters needs to be voice acted. Minimum provide one male and female voice actor and that's it. You don't need to provide 20 different voice options depending on the character creator but a player character should be able to provide a response in a cutscene.
Boss fight cutscenes give me a hint as to their elemental type, potential attack patterns, they give me a moment to come up with a plan, and they get you excited for the fight.
Make the characters/NPCS have a different tone of voice (not different language because I think I remember in AoC there will be only one language), would it be good?
I mean, would it be interesting to give the Vaelune a different voice tone than the Kaelar ?
That would help the cutscenes to feel more organic ? more real ? more immersive ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WhwpoCfYaY
I wonder if in the AoC world there will be voice intonation differentiation 🤔
Will the Kaelar have the same intonation as the Vaelune or will they sound different since they belong to different territories of Verra?
The intonation of a Texan is not the same as that of a New Yorker , Will this also apply to AoC?
I like when they're related to overall story or huge character impacts. Voice acting makes an impact but doesn't have to be all narrative. Overall, i feel like less is more. When you get a cutscene it should feel like a treat or something special.
In other games these usually coincide with major releases/expansions but occasionally occur if there's some large world shattering event that takes place within the world's narrative.
by the way, for example, some videos can be stored on a YouTube channel. And add a video player to the game that will open these videos. This is done in some games to reduce the weight of the game.
Ah, cutscenes. I like watching them in full at least once without interruption, and more times after if it is particularly cool or holds some hidden messages in the imagery that require multiple viewings.
I can't say I have a favorite, but between machinima and being able to pop player characters into a cinematic event, I like when cutscenes use the player character in high render quality scenes. Since everything is pretty in UE5, that shouldn't be too hard to do.
I like when they are safe, so you can watch them without being attacked. I couldn't imagine Intrepid doing anything differently than that. This makes me think that the open world won't have cutscenes and they will be be restricted to instances, or that it only plays for people within proximity of an event area that provides them protection while they watch. I could see bosses using cutscenes to change up the arena when they're at 1/2 health remaining, and those cutscenes would be unskippable and put the players in a safe area.
Y'know I lied, Quantum Break has pretty amazing cutscenes. It is not really replicable for Ashes of Creation, but group decision making along the way could be pretty useful.
I personally love cut scenes. I believe it really brings together the RP aspect of the title MMORPG.
I think that for years WoW has done them really well; giving the main story an epic feeling as the "champion" goes through hero's journey.
Being able to skip them is important too. If I repeat them on an alt, I'll likely desire to skip it and move on, as I already know what happens.
Lastly, I'd really like an easy way to revisit cut scenes, rather than going to youtube.
Over time, I've gone to youtube for the "story thus far" where someone has stitched together a super cut of the entire series (examplers: God of War, and Mortal Kombat). I would behoove Intreped to beat others to the punch and put up supercuts on the official youtube channel, and retain control of the advertising money, and user clicks for their IP.
Love that you ask these questions each month. Keep doing the amazing job your doing!
I don't usually skip cutscenes in general I like to follow the story, even when its bad. I like it when cutscenes are done in engine so it doesn't yank you out of the moment. Obviously be voiced, in general I hope AoC has a plan to voice everything, the 2004 WoW text boxes in a 2025+ game isn't going to cut it. Lastly do cool things with the camera during a cutscene before returning things to the player at the end.
Honestly it's going to be very hard to implement cut scenes into this game as some might never even be seen if a server just doesn't go a certain route. Unless I'm missing something. I personally really enjoyed the cutscenes I would see right before a raid in Destiny 2 or in Lost Ark when it shows your whole party. Now that would be near impossible with the raid size in this game, but something along those lines in smaller instances would be neat.
I think fully voice acted and CGI cut scenes would be best to try to cut out the awkward movements of characters that you often see. If we get those in very rare, very special moments, I think they'd land pretty well. I know that's asking a lot though, so I don't expect it to actually happen.
The only cut scenes I enjoy in MMOs are ones that include star NPC's that are almost always apart of the main scenario. FF14 did this well by having a main cast of characters that you become attached to, who are essentially the narrators of the story.
I REALLY good example of a good cutscene are the original WoW introductions you get after first starting your character, showing and explaining a bit about the area that your character originates from.
If there is a story to be told, I would rather it be told through a cut scene rather than having to read text.
Cut scenes, are best used as iterations of what is yet to come.
As such, they should include:
1. A sense of mystery.
2. A rollercoaster ride of emotion: a balance of excitement; betrayal; intrigue; comedy; tension; tragedy; merriment; suspense etc.
3. Incredible sound and music (remember George Lucas? - 50% of a movie is the sound).
4. Efficiency... hit us hard and fast, with sudden bursts of content.
5. Clues... hinting at: a dungeon to be explored?; a place we will visit?; an item to be found? etc.
6. Elements and cinematic style borrowed from master storytellers: ie. Sergio Leone; Akira Kurosawa; Stanley Kubrick; Afred Hitchcock; Robert E. Howard; etc.
7. Effective plot maneuvering.
8. Blood.
9. Continuity and flow that allow the cut scenes to open diverse potential plot narratives.
10. A lasting impact that leaves us wanting more.
If I'm not lost in thought after watching one of your cut scenes, then you've failed.
There's devils on each side of you,
With bottles in their hands
You need one more drop of poison
And you'll dream of foreign lands
When it comes to cutscenes, what entices you to not skip them? Tell us about your favorites, and what makes them unique.
Feeling, emotion, investment, not everything needs to be life or death but I should care about this character, this story. The setup and introductions are vital into making the relationship worth it.
I think you will always have different audiences that play the game, some like to consume lore outside of the game from content creators or videos/stories. So that they can just get in the game and level. I personally want to take in the game as a whole, that includes everything lore and cut scenes.
What will entice me not to skip, personally just good detail in the environment and story. I think in today's landscape you may have to draw the audience in earlier. What that looks like I am not sure, dramatic entrances, big explosions, epic duels, dragon flyovers, earthquakes, mountain slides. All of these major events that us humans dont see in real life are what will most likely capture attention of most of the audiences.
WoW and Destiny are the two most prominent games that I have played with very good cut scenes. While many have given WoW negative feedback about their cut scenes I actually really enjoy them. Another one I really enjoy that is a little old school is Metal Gear Solid, it is basically known as the long cut scene game, But I loved it. I think there is a time and place for both short less then 30 second cut scenes and also a place for 60 second or greater cut scenes.
I don't skip cutscenes when:
1. It's the first time I'm seeing it
2. I care about what the cut scene is showing me. If I'm invested in the story or characters or whatever the cutscene is about. I assume they are 'expensive' to make so they should probably be key moments lol
I may be a little late to the party but generally I'll watch a cutscene if;
The story grabs me. I'm quite picky sadly. Generic MMO quest stories don't do it for me. To be a winner here the story needs to feel meaningful. Controversially I also prefer the player character to play a role and not be a silent protagonist. Honestly, of all the MMOs I have played, Runescape has some of the best quests/stories. The player character is a bit of a dumbass at times but actually it works and is quite funny.
The characters are enjoyable with great voice acting
It is something of a spectacle or amusing
The top point there really is the biggest one. If the story doesn't grab me, chances are I'll skip it. However, other reasons for skipping are because;
It's at the start of a raid/dungeon/boss/level/whatever and I've already seen it - this gets old fast
The story simply does not grab me. The majority of MMO stories fall here sadly. They have a tendency to be generic and don't feel meaningful.
The player character is a silent protagonist - This just doesn't work for me. I understand the idea is that the player can then project their own flavour in some way but no... Even if the character isn't exactly how I would react, a reaction is better than no reaction.
I hate the characters or voice acting involved - Please, whatever you do, don't give us the handler (or silent protagonist) from Monster Hunter: World..
It has spiders... NOPE!
Edit: To add to the meaningful side, typically I would say making the story feel actually connected to the world helps. Other than that, just having good writers really. Words aren't my forte so I'm not great at explaining why a story doesn't grab me. I guess it's all subjective. Characters though, even if the story is sub par, great characters that you care about can definitely go a long way. I'll be more likely to persevere through a story to find out what happens to a character I love, to a limit of course.
Comedy, that'll help too. Also I realise this edit has been more about what makes a story compelling, but without that, I'm not going to watch a cutscene really soooo I hope that helps a little.
First time I play a video game I will always watch every single cutscene. It is when I replay a game I will skip some lines to see if there are alternate paths in the cutscene or if it is simply something to not remember.
What keeps me watching the cutscene even after 7 playthroughs is Music, Key Moments, Dialogue. A good example of all three is Act 2 in BG3. I wont spoil it for those who didn't play, but the music in combination of the dialogue make for some very intense scenes that even after all this time I do not cut away from.
Another example is SWTOR as a Sith Warrior. There is one mission I never cut away from, and it is the one were you meet two Jedi in an ambush in the first act of the class story, and I never skip it. These characters never appear again and there is no broad consequence to what happens. Yet this mission, if you carefully pick your answers can have 5 different variations of what happens. Both jedi die, both jedi can turn, either one can turn and the other remains light sided or dead, one abandons the other, and both can live. This is technically an RPG, so it can be different from most cutscenes, yet the level of choice in dialogue will always keep me watching and not skipping past it.
Comments
2 : learn me about characters or world
In my opinion, the key to this is complex story elements, intertwined and intriguing storylines, unpredictable events, and relatable characters that are not one-dimensional, allowing players to identify with them. This is undoubtedly a significant challenge for a sandbox game like AoC, but I have complete trust in the developers based on everything I have seen from the development so far, and I look forward to witnessing epic battles in cutscenes.
Best regards, Geno
2. Each cutscene must have a clear objective and purpose that advances the storyline or quest.
3. Avoid cutscenes where characters or heroes excessively complain or mope.
4. Cutscenes should be short, yet powerful and memorable.
5. Ensure high-quality camera work and immersive music.
1. Knowing When NOT to use a cutscene (show through gameplay instead)
A) Summary
- overall, show don't tell is a better approach than cutscenes, things like environmental storytelling, experiential emergent systemic gameplay experiences, and gameplay mastery being represented and rewarded through cinematic-like on-screen visuals that capture the flow and choreography similar to being in a cutscene. Basically, when the gameplay was so well coordinated and immersive that it basically resembles a cutscene/movie/cinematic.
B- Examples
A) the epic build up, story, and scaling of bosses in shadow of the colossus
B- The cinematic like experience of perfectly planning and executing an elaborate sequence in Hitman
C) The choreographed-like fight sequences when playing games like Sifu/Ghost of Tsushima/Sekiro/and Armored Core 6 at a high level of skill
Here are some quick but very cool examples of how cinematic a skilled fight experience can look in sekiro
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/dx7c2aNTuLU
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/XHaVAztowbg
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/iYFBObS1aOc
That is something that really stood out to me about Armored Core 6, is that when you are in the flow trying to manage dodging attacks, manage your distance from the enemy and reposition, while simultaneously trying to launch attacks of your own, manage your air supply and shield energy, etc., basically juggling the overall battle strategy with the moment-to-moment tactics and having to do that quickly, and watching the fruits of that play out on screen in an epic sequence makes you really feel like you a part of fight scene in a movie, which is a very unique experience that has a story of its own, and makes you feel immersed in the world and in the moment like a cutscene is supposed to do.
D) The fluid series of assasinations and traversal in Assasins creed
Here is an example of how cool masterful movement can look for the on-screen visuals
E) the use of cutscene-like experiences through mechanical/systemic subversion of expectations, such as in The Last Guardian
F) The spontaneous choreographed gameplay sections from Abzu as explained in this brief review
G) dynamically triggered music and use of leitmotif for cinematic-like/impactful musical storytelling experience, such as in Journey
H) It could be how the Half-Life series avoid cutscenes altogether, by showing you the story from the player perspective, with characters that are scripted to come up to you and talk face to face, and how the scripted events happen on-screen and are a part of the game world, which pairs well with Ashes predicate system of these types of scripted sequences being triggered by certain predicates, and depending on how you react can trigger other new predicates and scripted sequences. This all makes for a much more immersive and emergent "scripted" experiences.
2. Aspects of good cutscenes
A) Summary
- cutscenes are brief and occasional, with options to skip, in order to maintain good pacing or allow players to customize their own pacing/experience
- cutscenes act as rewards that are unique to a cutscene experience (such as lore, clues, key story aspects like foreshadowing or 'big reveals', and tutorialization)
- cutscenes have relevant gameplay related implications/effects
- capitalizes on emotional investment and invokes emotional responses
- establishes mystery and sparks curiosity in the player to learn and discover more
- minimalist approach that focuses on delivering crucial story elements to supplement other storytelling methods
- possibly allows for player agency whenever possible (such as in-game realtime cutscenes that might still allow players to interact/move around)
- high quality cinematics whenever they are used
- cutscenes are stored for easy access to watch again later on
- utilizes good storytelling techniques
- good music/sound design when applicable
- good anticipation and build up to the cutscenes, players are already invested beforehand
- smoothly ties into the overarching story/bigger picture
If they are done in this way I think cutscenes can actually be pretty awesome and hype, and will keep me engaged and excited for what will happen next.
B- Game Examples:
Overwatch
Glorydays 2
Its something that seems kind of simple to do but for some reason I haven't really experienced it the same as I did in this game, which made for a much more immersive and emotionally impactful story/gameplay experience, due to the setup done in the cutscenes/story and how the gameplay fed into those aspects.
Locks Quest
This kind of felt like a betrayal of everything you felt up to that point, like the pride of who you are, the anger you have for the other side, the love you felt for you allys, etc., which was all undermined to a degree through the big reveal which gave a whole new perspective on those feelings and provoked a lot of thought in who you really are, why you are doing what you are doing, and who you actually want to become. I think this shows that cutscenes can be used very effectively for those key story reveals for very impactful moments.
Super Smash Bros
- no words are needed to get the point acrossed
- the cutscenes give a clear picture of the goals, motivations, personalities of each character
- the iconic nature of the characters and anticipation in the reveals adds a lot of hype
This goes to show that teasing information, creating attachment to characters, and revealing information through cutscenes can be very effective. The short cinematic character reveal trailers made for some of the most anticipated and hypest moments in all of gaming, generating millions of views, reaction videos, etc.
Spectrobes origins
- slowly pieces the story puzzle pieces together through things like flashbacks and providing context and clues as you progress and watch more cutscenes
- has a handful of higher quality cinematics with noticably better graphics and epic sequences to capitalize on key story moments (such as at 0:00, 48:45, 1:26:42 and 1:35:36)
- minimalist approach that focuses on delivering mainly crucial information. Each individual cutscenes is short and you could theoretically watch them without actually playing the game but still have a good grasp on the story.
Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness
- I think this comes down to the unique style in how the character first enters the screen, how he talks, the expressiveness shown as the battle starts, the way his moves sync to the beat, and his unique boss theme music.
C) Aspects from other games:
- cutscenes that imply mysterious characters who are lurking out of sight and spying on you
- cutscenes that show off character power and capabilities/personality/cool character art
- cutscenes that have unique music/sound design
- cutscenes that set up mystery through teasing mysterious areas/characters
- cutscenes where there is a character is shown off by saving another at the last second
- cutscenes that have a "big reveal" in the story
- cutscenes that tease new tools/allys/skills etc.
- cutscenes that give meaning to in-game areas, such as through presenting a glimpse of potential obstacles/clues and references to what you might want to look for in that area/etc.
- cutscene utilize good storytelling techniques that fit into the larger story
- cutscenes that emphasize rewards or "power-up moments" for characters in the story
- cutscenes that include iconic characters or have other cool references. Its always cool to see familiar faces and seeing them act within their element.
-cutscenes smoothly transition to from gameplay to cutscene/from cutscene to gameplay whenever applicable such as this:
This is always cool especially when a cutscene seamlessly transitions into a moment you would actually want to play yourself, rather than watch, such as an action sequence.
- another aspect of cutscenes is that they should not disconnect you from the gameplay immersion. Just like you don't want "ludonarrative dissonance" where there is a disconnect in the narrative with what is actual going on with the gameplay; you don't want there to be a disconnect with what is going on in the cutscenes with what is going on with the gameplay/story experience
- Regarding cinematics, I think there is also a lot of inspiration that can be drawn from any of the legendary/iconic scenes over the years from various forms of media, such as anime fights, epic and memorable movie scenes like prologues/flashbacks/etc, legendary cutscenes from various games, epic game trailers, etc.
- But again, a lot of these things can be done through actual gameplay experiences, systems, and sequences so be mindful of that.
D) Extra
- Maybe these kinds of cutscenes could help with the "vulnerable to pvp during cutscene" problem, by allowing cutscenes to take place in the world in real time, so they can cancel out of them if they need to.
I am OK with cutscenes for throughout main story. I think it sets up the story and lore really well that way. They can definitely be skipable, as long as you can't progress further into the mission/dungeon/story until rest of party are done watching.
I am however not OK with dialogue cutscenes when speaking to random NPC's throughout the world. Where the camera takes over. I'd rather just have voice over and a dialogue text box with the NPC.
Make the players feel that they belong to the story , either with less or more importance , but make the players feel that their effort , dedication or the simple fact that their character exists influences what happens around them .
I don't want to be the hero that saves the world but !hey! I would like my job as a farmer in a certain town to be at least of importance, that kind of feeling could be generated with a narrative story where the players and their actions could influence the narrative.
The great potential of story trailers/cinematics/cutscenes
the story traielrs/cinematics would be mostly used to make the player(s) feel like they belong to something , as if it were the narration of a story , as if Morgan Freeman was narrating the events that accompany the path you are traveling in AoC , I think it's a little hard to understand but a narrated story sounds great in a world where social interaction plays a big role .
I can imagine a voice like Morgan Freeman narrating the events that my guild caused in a certain month's node war, that would be awesome.
A story that is being told depending on the events that occur in the different types of servers as if the storyteller with the voice of Morgan Freeman was telling it and where the players can know that they are part of it.
LOTR It has a lot of those things in the way it shows things, it's as if within the same story they were telling other stories, the narrative gives it importance.
Prologue ( I would like this for a future AoC trailer or prologue.)
Look at this jewel, a good narration, music and voice gives so much importance, epicity and sense to what happens, that gives a sense of belonging.
The last thing I want to see is a couple of models walk up to a location, stop, turn to the person they plan on talking to, initiate a talking emote, and then stand there for some un-voice acted and player read subtitle cutscene.
I want the characters to walk around like I real person would, the pathing of characters should look real, the body language, the expression, the gestures should all be closer to the real thing. I don't need someone to stroke their chin while their other hand coddles their elbow for me to know they are "thinking". Real people don't do that. If you sell the scene right you won't need exaggerated expression.
I want to learn something from a cut scene. If I can skip the scene and go about my day as if nothing has happened then what's the point in the first place. I should be able to rewatch a cutscene. I can't tell how many times you accidently click the mouse and skip a cutscenes by mistake.
The player characters needs to be voice acted. Minimum provide one male and female voice actor and that's it. You don't need to provide 20 different voice options depending on the character creator but a player character should be able to provide a response in a cutscene.
Boss fight cutscenes give me a hint as to their elemental type, potential attack patterns, they give me a moment to come up with a plan, and they get you excited for the fight.
I mean, would it be interesting to give the Vaelune a different voice tone than the Kaelar ?
That would help the cutscenes to feel more organic ? more real ? more immersive ?
I wonder if in the AoC world there will be voice intonation differentiation 🤔
Will the Kaelar have the same intonation as the Vaelune or will they sound different since they belong to different territories of Verra?
The intonation of a Texan is not the same as that of a New Yorker , Will this also apply to AoC?
In other games these usually coincide with major releases/expansions but occasionally occur if there's some large world shattering event that takes place within the world's narrative.
I can't say I have a favorite, but between machinima and being able to pop player characters into a cinematic event, I like when cutscenes use the player character in high render quality scenes. Since everything is pretty in UE5, that shouldn't be too hard to do.
I like when they are safe, so you can watch them without being attacked. I couldn't imagine Intrepid doing anything differently than that. This makes me think that the open world won't have cutscenes and they will be be restricted to instances, or that it only plays for people within proximity of an event area that provides them protection while they watch. I could see bosses using cutscenes to change up the arena when they're at 1/2 health remaining, and those cutscenes would be unskippable and put the players in a safe area.
Y'know I lied, Quantum Break has pretty amazing cutscenes. It is not really replicable for Ashes of Creation, but group decision making along the way could be pretty useful.
I think that for years WoW has done them really well; giving the main story an epic feeling as the "champion" goes through hero's journey.
Being able to skip them is important too. If I repeat them on an alt, I'll likely desire to skip it and move on, as I already know what happens.
Lastly, I'd really like an easy way to revisit cut scenes, rather than going to youtube.
Over time, I've gone to youtube for the "story thus far" where someone has stitched together a super cut of the entire series (examplers: God of War, and Mortal Kombat). I would behoove Intreped to beat others to the punch and put up supercuts on the official youtube channel, and retain control of the advertising money, and user clicks for their IP.
Love that you ask these questions each month. Keep doing the amazing job your doing!
Cheers,
-=TGB
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP31ixSBO7GHKLBefWVcJaA
I think fully voice acted and CGI cut scenes would be best to try to cut out the awkward movements of characters that you often see. If we get those in very rare, very special moments, I think they'd land pretty well. I know that's asking a lot though, so I don't expect it to actually happen.
I REALLY good example of a good cutscene are the original WoW introductions you get after first starting your character, showing and explaining a bit about the area that your character originates from.
If there is a story to be told, I would rather it be told through a cut scene rather than having to read text.
As such, they should include:
1. A sense of mystery.
2. A rollercoaster ride of emotion: a balance of excitement; betrayal; intrigue; comedy; tension; tragedy; merriment; suspense etc.
3. Incredible sound and music (remember George Lucas? - 50% of a movie is the sound).
4. Efficiency... hit us hard and fast, with sudden bursts of content.
5. Clues... hinting at: a dungeon to be explored?; a place we will visit?; an item to be found? etc.
6. Elements and cinematic style borrowed from master storytellers: ie. Sergio Leone; Akira Kurosawa; Stanley Kubrick; Afred Hitchcock; Robert E. Howard; etc.
7. Effective plot maneuvering.
8. Blood.
9. Continuity and flow that allow the cut scenes to open diverse potential plot narratives.
10. A lasting impact that leaves us wanting more.
If I'm not lost in thought after watching one of your cut scenes, then you've failed.
With bottles in their hands
You need one more drop of poison
And you'll dream of foreign lands
Feeling, emotion, investment, not everything needs to be life or death but I should care about this character, this story. The setup and introductions are vital into making the relationship worth it.
I think you will always have different audiences that play the game, some like to consume lore outside of the game from content creators or videos/stories. So that they can just get in the game and level. I personally want to take in the game as a whole, that includes everything lore and cut scenes.
What will entice me not to skip, personally just good detail in the environment and story. I think in today's landscape you may have to draw the audience in earlier. What that looks like I am not sure, dramatic entrances, big explosions, epic duels, dragon flyovers, earthquakes, mountain slides. All of these major events that us humans dont see in real life are what will most likely capture attention of most of the audiences.
WoW and Destiny are the two most prominent games that I have played with very good cut scenes. While many have given WoW negative feedback about their cut scenes I actually really enjoy them. Another one I really enjoy that is a little old school is Metal Gear Solid, it is basically known as the long cut scene game, But I loved it. I think there is a time and place for both short less then 30 second cut scenes and also a place for 60 second or greater cut scenes.
1. It's the first time I'm seeing it
2. I care about what the cut scene is showing me. If I'm invested in the story or characters or whatever the cutscene is about. I assume they are 'expensive' to make so they should probably be key moments lol
The top point there really is the biggest one. If the story doesn't grab me, chances are I'll skip it. However, other reasons for skipping are because;
Edit: To add to the meaningful side, typically I would say making the story feel actually connected to the world helps. Other than that, just having good writers really. Words aren't my forte so I'm not great at explaining why a story doesn't grab me. I guess it's all subjective. Characters though, even if the story is sub par, great characters that you care about can definitely go a long way. I'll be more likely to persevere through a story to find out what happens to a character I love, to a limit of course.
Comedy, that'll help too. Also I realise this edit has been more about what makes a story compelling, but without that, I'm not going to watch a cutscene really soooo I hope that helps a little.
What keeps me watching the cutscene even after 7 playthroughs is Music, Key Moments, Dialogue. A good example of all three is Act 2 in BG3. I wont spoil it for those who didn't play, but the music in combination of the dialogue make for some very intense scenes that even after all this time I do not cut away from.
Another example is SWTOR as a Sith Warrior. There is one mission I never cut away from, and it is the one were you meet two Jedi in an ambush in the first act of the class story, and I never skip it. These characters never appear again and there is no broad consequence to what happens. Yet this mission, if you carefully pick your answers can have 5 different variations of what happens. Both jedi die, both jedi can turn, either one can turn and the other remains light sided or dead, one abandons the other, and both can live. This is technically an RPG, so it can be different from most cutscenes, yet the level of choice in dialogue will always keep me watching and not skipping past it.