Long Scenes

[^_^ 2]

To start with, I opened this nearly forgotten project of mine and then I noticed that the INTRODUCTION part was really long and me, myself, became bored...

 

Now to my point/s:

  > What do you guys think about lengthy cutscenes and dialogues?

  > Any suggestions in spicing up the long cutscenes?

 

Thanks

[Rikifive 3,411]

> It all depends on what kind of dialogues it has. If the dialogues are related to some quest or other less interesting general things like history etc. then most of the time I can't stand them if it takes too long, but if it contains interesting dialogues ~ more 'real' and are related to important/personal stuff then if done nicely it'll be okay.

 

> Adding visual stuff? I mean reading and reading the text in the text box and looking on the sprites that don't move etc. is quite boring. Adding some visuals like at least 'talking' portraits will always make it better. Other than that, making the cutscene fully animated would be the best. =3

[Rezanta 373]

To me, in any kind of game, there can only be three extremely long cutscenes (regardless if they're broken up)

 

The first is obviously the intro, which shows the game. Do note that you can show or hide the characters and/or plot, giving a neat surprise if done right.

 

Second is the climax of the story/game. This is to show what's going to happen if they don't act fast, or what the antagonist is doing, or what have you.

 

Finally, the ending scene. This wraps up some plot points, though if done right, this can lead you directly to a new game of a series.

[lonequeso 1,921]

I generally don't like long cutscenes because I want to actually play the game not watch it. Sometimes longe scenes are unavoidable though.  I have two that are pretty long due to the people involved. In a nutshell, the first one involved a very stubborn pharaoh who didn't much like the idea of you setting foot on their sacred ground. The other involved a very paranoid mage who believed "they" were out to get him and "they" sent you after him. In both, the party has a tough time convincing the NPCs. 

 

With a longer scene that seems boring, there's a few tings you can do. You can try to shorten it. SOmetimes that's hard to do without making the scene feel rushed or the interaction unrealistic. If cutting the scene down doesn't work, try changing the mood a bit. Comic relief works exceptionally for more serious scenes. It's a nice way to break up the ambience. Music is very important for scenes. If it's a longer scene, you may need to change the track when the mood changes. Music can be a great way to set the mood and the tempo of a scene. If the scene starts slow, but ends with a lot of action, the last track should have a faster tempo to reflect that.

 

Another route to go would be to break it up into dialogue options. There's a couple different ways to do it. The first is allowing the player to choose whether to get straight to the point or learn about something expositional like a more detailed description of an item, place, or person, or historical where they can learn more about the world's events.

 

The other would be to make a game out of it where the player has to choose the right options to get what they want. Those can be fun if the results of each are well written. 

 

So there's a few different ways to break up the monotony. Hope it helps.  

[Tarq 746]

I suppose it comes down to the audience. A lot of the classic rpgs are renowned for lengthy scenes, fairly frequent interruptions for cinematics, and considerably more reading than the average novel. So if someone's picking up an rpg game then I think its fair for them to not expect to dive right into gameplay, and maybe for gameplay to be considered secondary to storytelling even.

 

That being said, Half-Life exists. Learn from it :3

[+ Takeo212 1,079]

Skip to 3:02

Everyone already said what I would say, so here is a video that states what I think - but better xD

[Kayzee 4,032]

I would question if you are really invested in long cut-scenes to tell your story if you really want to make a game in the first place. Maybe a visual novel would work better.

[SpuddyFerret 90]

Tarq, don't underestimate the audience! However, I totally agree with the fact that a common convention of RPGs are lengthy cutscenes. Adding on to Tarq's point, I think it's down to the game. If you use long cutscenes in a shooter, the shooting aspect will go and players who want to shoot stuff don't get what they want unless it's the Last of Us or another amazing story heavy game, while if you use long cutscenes in a RPG, then it adds on to the world experience. 

Edited June 27, 2016 by SpuddyFerret

[Chadzter01 183]

I don't mind watching long cutscenes as long as it's good. But if the cutscene is a loooong text with a black background with nothing on it or static sprites talking to each other, Then i would be bored. Making the cutscene more lively and real(By using balloon icons on characters. Use of screen shake and other stuff when it comes to dialogue.) is a good way to make the cutscene a little less boring. 

[SpuddyFerret 90]

I don't mind watching long cutscenes as long as it's good. But if the cutscene is a loooong text with a black background with nothing on it or static sprites talking to each other, Then i would be bored. Making the cutscene more lively and real(By using balloon icons on characters. Use of screen shake and other stuff when it comes to dialogue.) is a good way to make the cutscene a little less boring. 

Totally agree. What a common error people do when it comes to long cutscenes is that they forget that it's still a game, not just a sequence of text boxes and story.

[Whiona 310]

When it comes to cutscene length, just make them as long or short as they need to be. No extra fluff, but no rushing through important plot points either. If you're writing a crucial story moment, it's okay to make the cutscene take a little longer, because it needs to be longer so that you can properly convey everything that's going on. Likewise, if a random NPC is telling you about how to get to the next dungeon, you don't need a whole lot there, so keep it short and sweet or else the player will get bored. Cutting out unimportant parts but taking your time to properly execute the key scenes is good practice for all writing, not just RPGs.

 

To keep longer cutscenes interesting, I definitely agree with previous points about having the sprites move around. Lonequeso is right that humour is a good way to keep people's interest, but it might not always fit with the tone of the scene and/or the overall game. (And it could make things worse if you stretch out a joke for too long!) Having character artwork with a variety of expressions helps a lot for me personally.

 

Also, consider adding a skippable cutscene script. That way, if a player isn't interested in what's going on or they're replaying the game, they have a way to immediately carry on with the gameplay.

[Tsarmina 2,612]

I guess "long" is relative.....I get pretty annoyed if it's longer than like, 5 minutes XD Unless it's really interesting/funny. I don't like walls of text or static things--if you're going to have a long cutscene, give me some motion, or at least pictures that change occasionally.

[lonequeso 1,921]

5 minutes in a game IS long. Anything longer than that had better be entertaining or you're going to bore the audience. I have more patience with 3D cutscenes that have no text to read, but like I said before, the more I like the gameplay, the less tolerance I have for cutscenes.

[amerk 1,122]

Xenogears is amongst my favorite game in the PS1 era, and those cut scenes were long. One I remember clocking in to around 1 and 1/2 hours. The problem was I died shortly thereafter as there was no save option before, during, or after the scene I can recall. If you plan a lengthy cut scene, at least offer an option to save right after so people don't have to listen to it again, or a skip option.

 

That said, as long as the scene fits the mood, the dialogue flows naturally, it's not repetitive, and you are limiting the lengthier scenes to just the major events of the game rather than having each scene be just as long, it should work.

[Cap_H 5]

In general, I don't mind long cutscenes. But my gammak philosophy is to hook up the player with the gameplay first. Then, the story can enter and I'm awaiting it eagerly.

I think, that in an RM game, you should start with something really short. Lisa does it right. You actually play part of the intro there. It doesn't matter that you only walk right for circa two minutes. It helps to get you involved.

[freakytapir 55]

Maybe cut the cutscene up by having the player move to a different location once in a while ? For example, the king giving a speech moves from the throne room to the balcony and the player must follow him there. 

 

What can also help, in my opinion is giving the player dialogue options relatively frequently, even if they dont alter much beyond the coming 2 or 3 lines.

 

For example persona 4 is one big cutscene for the first 3 hours( and many times has cutscenes exceeding the half hour mark), and it didn't feel that long for me. It kept the cutscene moving to different locations, introducing new things all the time and giving meaningfull choices all the way through by giving slight stat boosts for certain conversation options.The scenes where also pretty visual, with characters emoting the entire time, lots of movement and pantomime. It also helped that I actually cared about the people the cutscene was about.

[Saturnity 60]

I agree with just about everything the other posters here have offered, but I also have something to add.

Good dialogue and visual cues are definitely a must for a long cutscene, they help hold onto your player's attention.
One of the most important things, however, is the characters themselves. When you design your cutscene, do you think that the players will be more interested in a group of dull, lifeless characters with little to no introduction or backstory, no names given, or will they prefer to watch a scene with powerful characters that have been developed and have varying and unique personalities? I'm not saying to spoil character stories for the player, but when you introduce a protagonist that you want your audience to fall in love with, find a unique way to make them lovable. If you want to make a first time appearance of a hated villain, be sure to give the player a REASON to hate him. Have the necessary elements of character design, but don't be afraid to stray away from the formula.

The same can be said for the game world itself. Would you like to see your characters standing around in the middle of Town Square A in Generic Town with cookie cutter houses and NPCs that, quite literally, only wander around waiting to talk to your character and your character alone? Why not make a world that moves regardless of your character's presence? You'd be surprised how much of a difference it can make by having NPCs interact with each other and the world around them. It really creates a sense of immersion. like "This feels like a world with actual people and places, not simply events that respond to me."

I hope you can take some of the ideas of this thread and make something great. Too many decent RPGs fall to their lack of immersion, so I wish you luck!

[+ Gongorro 2]

You should replay ff9 for the cut scene, they are all great in my opion, and with purpose, some short and impactful. Some are just to take a break from the game.