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Hmmm... I'm not sure that's the point I was trying to convey.Chris wrote:
Which is exactly what I'm saying. Morrowind's (and Oblivion's) MQ doesn't work well within the open world format, because it's unable to properly portray the devastation that should be happening. Even Skyrim has this problem, as the dragons are unable to actually threaten anything other than some random NPCs.DocClox wrote:I think with any creative work, you need to consider how well it works within the strengths and limitations of the medium and format used
More importantly though: "devastation that should be happening". According to whom? There is no imminent apocalypse. Nothing in the material quoted so far supports the notion of an imminent apocalypse, much less an ongoing one. There's certainly one planned, but no reason to suppose it should actually be happening right here and right now.
This the point I'm trying to get at: you seem to be expecting a traditional eve-of-destruction disaster-movie plot and criticising the game/format/story because it doesn't deliver your expectations. But everything in the game suggests that what we have is a long term scheme that gets thwarted while still years, possibly decades or even centuries from completion.
I think you're comparing the plot against something which is isn't about and to which it never aspired and then complaining that it falls short of your expectations.
That's pretty much ignoring the centuries long machinations of Azura to bring those events to pass. To say nothing of Vivec's careful preparations for the return of Nerevar. You are the instrument of the Gods in Morrowind. You can deny your heritage as Nerevar Reborn, but you cannot escape being the vehicle of Azura's revenge.Chris wrote:
And I'm perfectly fine with having a story that shows us "the wheels of the gods as they grind slowly but exceedingly fine". But I don't think Morrowind's MQ is that story, since it's about you helping uncover and then single-handedly handle the imminent threat of Dagoth Ur and the Sixth House.On the other hand we have lots of stories where everybody scrambles to defeat the Big Foozle and ignores everything else in the process. We don't have many that show us the wheels of the gods as they grind slowly but exceedingly fine.
As I understand it, the idea was that the main quest gets the player out into the game world and gives them a framework around which to construct their own narrative from events in the game world. So it serves a purpose both in terms of game design and as a unifying thread for the game. But yeah, you and I could do without it, and I certainly have been known to ignore it completely. But I think it still needs to stand out.Chris wrote:
But does the main quest need to stand out from the rest? I mean, in a TES-style open world game, you're going through the land telling your story and doing what your character would do. Does there need to be an underlying global threat driving everything, or could it simply be driven by your want to adventure and see the world?I also think that the main quest needs something global in scope (not necessarily apocalyptic) to make it stand out from the rest.
I never did get very far in Daggerfall. It's one of those games like the first System Shock where I just can't get past the graphics, no matter how good the game is. I don't have a problem with earlier ones and later ones are obviously fine, but there's a window - somewhere between the original Wasteland and Wolfenstien 3D - where we get first person POV without the resolution to really make it work. But that's probably just me; feel free to disagreeChris wrote: Daggerfall, for instance, didn't really have a global threat.
Anyway, I'll take your word for it about DF. So let me try that point again: I think the games need a plot that is global in scope (where global means the whole of the game map, rather than necessarily all Tamriel/Mundus/Whatever). It doesn't need to be a threat to All Everything Everywhere, but the nature of drama suggests that there should be a conflict or some sort. It should also be one that takes the player all over the map and which has effects which are felt right across the map.
(Which doesn't mean that (in Morrowind) we would need to see Corprus creatures overwhelm Sadrith Mora; but we do need something like Dyvath Fyr's Corprusarium and the corprus stalker in Tel Mora to establish the scope of the effects )
Stuff is going down, and eventually it's going to be on the scale that you envision. However, there's nothing to suggest that events in-game have progressed to the apocalyptic. For instance, from the same document you cite:Chris wrote:
Actually, it's stated in game too.(Also, I'll just point out that you were the one who suggested that the MQ story was less that it might have been because the format precluded full-scale invasion of the cites by corprus monsters, major characters being infected with corprus and a unified cross faction response to the threat of DU.)
"Phase 3:
Expand from smaller bases to other towns and villages, and recruit and indoctrinate subjects made susceptible by dream sendings. Occupy abandoned towers and ruins, and train corrupted cultists as raiders and irregular troops. Identify, discredit, and decimate possible sources of political resistance.
...
So, yeah. Stuff's supposed to be going down. Dagoth Ur's patient, but he's still moving. Don't forget, his plan is to conquer all of Tamriel and beyond, Vvardenfell is just going to be the first step. It's like a fire... at the macroscale it's slow and takes time to burn, but at the microscale it's pure constant destruction.
So neither Vivec (who gives you this document in-game) or the temple believe that an apocalypse is imminent, much less ongoing. They both seem to believe (as does DU) that without the temple is going to lose, but it's not going to happen any time soon. Unless Du gets his hands on Wraithguard and gets Akulakhan going, possibly. But that's not going to happen unless Vivec or the PC hand it over, and that's not going to happen.Dagoth Ur's Plans wrote: Dagoth Ur thinks on a large time scale -- for the most part, in the outside-of-time scale of the divine consciousness. He thinks that only obstacles of mythic scale are worth consideration. He believes he is fated to rule Morrowind, to free Morrowind of the Empire, and to become the new hard-loving Father of Morrowind. Given that perspective, the only opposing forces Dagoth Ur worries about are the Tribunal, the Daedra, the Emperor, and the Incarnate.
With the Tribunal's loss of Sunder and Keening, and with the diminishing resources of Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil, Dagoth Ur believes he has permanently gained a decisive strategic advantage. On a mortal timescale, the battle may last for centuries, but the outcome is not in doubt. And Akulakhan may be a device for dramatically reducing the time scale for a decisive victory.
So, yeah. DG is undoubtedly planning terrible things. It's just that there's nothing to suggest that events have (or should have) developed to the point where they impact the population of Vvardenfell on the scale and with the intensity that you seem to expect. On the other hand, there is plenty to suggest otherwise.
And after all, where is it written that the plot can only be foiled at the Eleventh Hour?
But isn't that the whole point of literary criticism/appreciation? You go through the narrative looking for those elements that yield a deeper insight into the work, cherry picking them in effect. Admittedly, I was writing an academic paper, I'd be expected to list those elements that worked against my thesis, if only to show that I was aware of them. But I didn't think we were being quite that formal hereChris wrote:
It's either that, or you cherry pick what you want from each. However, such a comparison will always be biased because it's a subjective measurement of just how important some piece of history or lore is to be included in the comparison.I think that's a bit of a false dichotomy myself. Either you can only consider events that directly involve the protagonist, or you have to include every bit of game lore no matter how irrelevant?
Cherry picking is a valid complaint of course if we're having an argument where someone has to be right and someone has to be wrong. However, I'd like to remind you that I've never said that you are wrong on this one particular point. I just happen to think that there may be more than one correct answer.
I also said from the start that this may be one point on which we have to agree to differ. That said, I'm happy to defend my position for as long as you wish
Unless you consider the PC of Morrowind to not be Nerevar reborn, but just some pawn of Azura or just one lucky SOB, which are valid interpretations. In which case, the history of Nerevar with the Tribunal and Dagoth Ur is irrelevant to the MQ, as might be Azura. See what I mean about including extraneous details making biased comparisons?Chris wrote: Secondly, discounting secondary information sources would also stop you from considering the backstory of many characters[1]. I find that particularly problematic in Morrowind since the story of Nerevar is is the backstory of the PC.
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It's less about who are are as the PC and more about the role in history you fulfil. Nerevar or not, you are the Nerevarine, anointed as such by Azura, bearer of the Moon-And-Star and acknowledged by Vivec and the Temple. To understand how your character fits into the game world, you need that backstory. That would still be the case if you were the Incarnate; if you were not the Incarnate; if you were but chose to deny it in order to annoy Dagoth Ur; if you were not but claimed you were because you thought it made you look cool; or if you were the Incarnate but were genuinely unaware of your prior incarnation. The fact that you're given some latitude in how you RP the character doesn't change who you are in the game world. Your role in history gets dumped on you whether you accept it or not.
I'm starting to think that it's more a matter of a disconnect between your expectations for the genre and the objectives of the writers. You get so preoccupied with how it falls short of what it could have been in another setting and with other writers that you're completely blinded as to how very well it accomplishes what it set out to do.Chris wrote:
Sure, but the point of all this is about the MQ story of open world RPGs compared to non-open world RPGs. Absolutely, Morrowind and other TES games as a whole can be considered on multiple levels. Yes, the TES games provide an arguably better experience than more linear RPGs. But the point is that the individual stories told by the TES games are weaker as a result of being in an open world format since they can't be as complex or in-depth with far-reaching consequences.To restate my earlier point: I think it's possible, as with any good creative work, to consider Morrowind on a number of levels.
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Typos. And some emphasis on the quoted passage.
Also I seem to keep hitting "quote" when I mean edit for some silly reason. Excess posts deleted.