General Gaming Disco Elysium: The Final Cut - PC Gamer interviews the game's narrator, who never acted before

[ARZ]

BOOOO! It was supposed to be this summer.

Oh well, more backlog!

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

2 hours ago, ARZ said:

BOOOO! It was supposed to be this summer.

Oh well, more backlog!

 

I think you meant to post this in the Deathloop thread?

[Keyser_Soze]

7 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

I think you meant to post this in the Deathloop thread?

 

He's just roleplaying his low int Disco Elysium character.

[ARZ]

Nah, waiting for the XBox version still

[Best]

5 hours ago, ARZ said:

Nah, waiting for the XBox version still

 

Same here, too.

[elbobo]

Just starting day 3

 

From a prose standpoint the writing in the game has so completely and utterly destroyed the scale of what I considered good writing in a videogame that I have no idea how I am going to play dialogue heavy games again after this.

[heydude93]

11 hours ago, elbobo said:

Just starting day 3

 

From a prose standpoint the writing in the game has so completely and utterly destroyed the scale of what I considered good writing in a videogame that I have no idea how I am going to play dialogue heavy games again after this.

 

Touchdown.  This is the dialogue tree system we've been waiting for. Imagine wanting to go back to Cyberpunk, The Witcher and Mass Effect after this and feeling as immersed by the narrative and dialogue in those games 

 

So far, DE is up there with TLOU2 in proving how much of a disservice game writing has done the audience compared to the stuff we COULD be getting.

[Kal-El814]

On 4/17/2021 at 2:20 PM, heydude93 said:

 

Touchdown.  This is the dialogue tree system we've been waiting for. Imagine wanting to go back to Cyberpunk, The Witcher and Mass Effect after this and feeling as immersed by the narrative and dialogue in those games 

 

So far, DE is up there with TLOU2 in proving how much of a disservice game writing has done the audience compared to the stuff we COULD be getting.

Just finished DE yesterday. The writing takes a big ol dump on everything Naughty Dog has ever written, it’s not even close. ND is obviously much, much better at delivering a cinematic experience. But in terms of dialog, character depth, world building, yeah, DE gobbles up just about everyone else’s lunch. 
 

I’ll say that I could completely understand someone getting to the end of DE and thinking that the game doesn’t stick the landing, or not like that this is a “real” RPG and has no combat to speak of. Or if you’re the kind of person who wants the world to revolve around the protagonist a la BioWare stuff... this isn’t that game. 
 

But if you’re the type of person who thinks that the point of the journey is the journey and not the destination, it’s hard to imagine someone failing to appreciate this.

 

One thing it does very well that most video RPGs handle very badly is failure. In many modern tabletop RPGs, you’re not expected to succeed on every check and a good GM works “failing” into the narrative. Something like Mass Effect, you fail something and that’s it. In a lot of indie tabletop RPGs and DE, failure often provides different ways to move forward, just with consequences. 

[heydude93]

I don't see a reason to compare DE with Naughty Dog's storytelling in TLOU since they have different approaches and different creative goals in mind. I just think they provide examples of solid execution of those goals in a way that's rarely seen in the medium.  Agree with everything else (so far, at least. Still have plenty left to experience in my initial DE playthrough).

[johnny]

a place like naughty dog isn’t really the problem, and they make different games compared to this. they have well written games (kal might disagree but he is a hater lol)

 

not every game is going to be a masterclass in writing and storytelling like DE apparently is  (i bought it, just need some time to play it).

 

the problem is there are so many games with half assed writing. those devs need to pick it up, not ND really (of course there is always room for improvement, not saying they are perfect). 

 

but i do agree with the failure thing. almost all games make it so if you do enough of x, there’s no way you can fail.  

[Kal-El814]

1 hour ago, johnny said:

a place like naughty dog isn’t really the problem, and they make different games compared to this. they have well written games (kal might disagree but he is a hater lol)

 

not every game is going to be a masterclass in writing and storytelling like DE apparently is  (i bought it, just need some time to play it).

 

the problem is there are so many games with half assed writing. those devs need to pick it up, not ND really (of course there is always room for improvement, not saying they are perfect). 

 

but i do agree with the failure thing. almost all games make it so if you do enough of x, there’s no way you can fail.  

 

Hey I didn't bring up ND. And I don't think their writing is "bad," I just think they 1) don't do a good job of having the gameplay and narrative gel and 2) I think their writing is good for games, not necessarily "good writing" in general. But I'm no hater, I buy almost all of their shit on launch day. Except Crash Bandicoot, friends don't let friends play Crash Bandicoot games.  Also around these parts I have a rep to maintain about being a ND critic, I have to keep paying those taxes.

 

Honestly I think the biggest thing that DE has going for it aside from writing quality is related to what I was getting at before... It's not a power fantasy, the world does not revolve against you. AT ALL. It's clear its world has history, both recent and more distant, that are affecting YOU and the world around you. But you're focused on the murder, the whole game takes place in one city block. That really puts the PC and the events of the game under a microscope in an interesting way, which is much more aligned with how many TT RPGs run. Most systems aren't built for you to change the world you're in, you're just living in it.

 

I love that something like Mass Effect lets you change the fate of a whole species with a conversation or two, I enjoy power fantasies and "big scope" as much as anyone. But as someone who plays a bunch of indie RPGs, I also have and appreciate for those "small" moments where the world changes YOUR character, or when your actions just... change another character's mind about your character. That stuff really hits in TT RPGs and DE lives in that space as well as any CRPG I've played.

 

In DE I did a thing. Someone that hated me before I did it changed their opinion of me after I was done, and then they did something kind for me to thank me. That meant as much to me as something like the giraffe scene in TLoU because I made the choice to do it. I could have failed doing it, but I did not. I could have not done it at all, but I did. This isn't to shit on TLoU, I adore that scene. But personally I'm always going to be more attached to an outcome that I could affect than one I could not.

[legend]

Some of my favorite moments in DE are when I failed.

 

I don't think I've ever said that about another video game.

 

 

For example, on my first run through, I had a high chance of success on the karaoke singing. I was so ready. Nope, failed. But the failure was amazing as were the character reactions. Another almost complete failure was one of the very few times there's any chance for combat at all. I failed so many fucking rolls, but it made everything so much more impactful with the way they handled it.

 

You don't save scum DE or you're missing out.

 

 

I started my final cut playthrough today. Trying a different character build this time.

[Kal-El814]

3 minutes ago, legend said:

You don't save scum DE or you're missing out.

 

I really cannot emphasize this enough. Not all successes are good, not all failure is bad.

[Moa]

I save scummed multiple times in my playthrough and I'll do it again!

[legend]

40 minutes ago, Moa said:

I save scummed multiple times in my playthrough and I'll do it again!

 

I bet you put ketchup on your hot dogs too, don't you?

[Moa]

5 hours ago, legend said:

 

I bet you put ketchup on your hot dogs too, don't you?

Exclusively 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

We talk to Disco Elysium's incredible narrator, who recorded 350,000 words of dialogue and has never acted before | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

---

A chat with Lenval Brown and voice director Cash DeCuir.

 

[elbobo]

11 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

We talk to Disco Elysium's incredible narrator, who recorded 350,000 words of dialogue and has never acted before | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

---

A chat with Lenval Brown and voice director Cash DeCuir.

 

 

to put this in perspective 350,000 words is about the length of an average book in A Song of Ice and Fire. The longest Harry Potter novel is 257,000 words. War and Peace is 561,000

 

there are a LOT of words in DE, apparently the entire script is over 1,000,000 words which is an insane number for one person to write for a game, that is roughly the same as all of the Harry Potter books combined.

[elbobo]

just failed the karaoke skill check, game continues to amaze 

[Bloodporne]

So I finally bought this last night, spent a few hours playing and I'm not sure this is my cup of tea so far. I really like the world, art direction (which is fantastic), dialog and everything but I guess I've never played a game in whatever sub-genre this is because the sheer amount of text and dialog actually ended up putting me to sleep on the couch. I legitimately nodded off and passed out for like 10 minutes while playing. 

 

I'm still intrigued of course, it's objectively great, but not sure I can stomach the endless barrage of tiny text and narration long term. I also felt completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tasks/quests, skills and so on. One of those 'argh X out quickly or get an anxiety attack' in-game menus. Also, I have no idea at all what governs whether I win the in-dialog challenges really, is it just RNG based on your percentage of potential success? Also is it normal that on PS5 that the whole thing has kind of a...jerky...motion to it sometimes? Characters, or the screen maybe, sometimes feel jerky and weird in terms of scrolling or movement. The audio is also a bit fucky but small things like that don't bother me personally. 

 

Weird game for me so far but I'm curious to see how my next session with it will go now that I know what to expect. 

[Bloodporne]

@Xbob42 Sir! I know you played the shit out of this game, or at least think you did. Is it normal to have a million loose ends/objectives lingering around in the first few hours? I'm maybe...4 or 5 hours in and have a massive laundry list of open objectives, it's freaking me out. 

[Xbob42]

28 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

@Xbob42 Sir! I know you played the shit out of this game, or at least think you did. Is it normal to have a million loose ends/objectives lingering around in the first few hours? I'm maybe...4 or 5 hours in and have a massive laundry list of open objectives, it's freaking me out. 

Totally. Don't think of them as objectives if that helps, you're not forced to do any of them. Just think of them as things you'll accomplish as you play and explore. It's more of a "hey, you can check this out" rather than "YO GET THIS DONE RIGHT NOW." Don't get distracted by objectives, your main objective in this game is to talk to people and explore the environment. Getting lost in strange conversations and the weirdly intricate world building.

[Bloodporne]

19 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Totally. Don't think of them as objectives if that helps, you're not forced to do any of them. Just think of them as things you'll accomplish as you play and explore. It's more of a "hey, you can check this out" rather than "YO GET THIS DONE RIGHT NOW." Don't get distracted by objectives, your main objective in this game is to talk to people and explore the environment. Getting lost in strange conversations and the weirdly intricate world building.

I'm trying to shake 'videogame urgency' while playing this game right now. It's a totally different speed and pacing that I'm used to, even compared to some Point & Clicks I've played recently. I'm in that mentality where I thought I had to finish objectives before adding new ones and instead I just keep adding to this insane list but what you're saying makes way more sense with the game's pace, yeah. I'm still kind of just dumping my skill points into random things that have cool pieces of art associated with them and wandering around aimlessly but I'm settling in and it's becoming fun, that's for sure. 

[Kal-El814]

Just do things that interest you or that you think will be of interest to your character, if there's a difference between the two. You'll fail some objectives, you'll miss the opportunity to do some, etc. Just do your thing.

[Keyser_Soze]

I haven't played this game but the objective thing sort of sounds like Divinity OS. That game literally gives you an objective to beat the game at the beginning of the game. So your head would be spinning if you played that one.

[Bloodporne]

1 hour ago, Kal-El814 said:

Just do things that interest you or that you think will be of interest to your character, if there's a difference between the two. You'll fail some objectives, you'll miss the opportunity to do some, etc. Just do your thing.

Yeah I'm failing a ton of shit actually and I'm trying not to get pissed every time it happens haha...

 

Yesterday I didn't have a clue what the game wanted me to do other than equip the bolt cutter when trying to cut a padlock in the apartment building and it failed me at 72% probability or something. I realized that's that for that room and got fucking pissed only to realize it's probably a game where you just move on and do your thing like you said. 

 

Unrelated but holy shit could they have made the text any smaller on PS5. I have a 55" screen I think and a narrow, rectangular living room and I still have a hard time reading the text regularly. 

[Best]

I don't know now. After reading bloodpornes impressions it has me worried.  😟 

 

Voice acting would have been a nice option, too. I'll definitely give this a shot just because everyone that has beaten it says it's a masterpiece. Hopefully the text walls aren't too small either. I play on a 65 inch screen so it shouldn't be an issue. 

[Greatoneshere]

4 minutes ago, best3444 said:

I don't know now. After reading bloodpornes impressions it has me worried.  😟 

 

Voice acting would have been a nice option, too. I'll definitely give this a shot just because everyone that has beaten it says it's a masterpiece. Hopefully the text walls aren't too small either. I play on a 65 inch screen so it shouldn't be an issue. 

 

The entire game is voice acted now, I believe.

[Best]

2 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

The entire game is voice acted now, I believe.

 

Ok. Then I'm definitely in. 

[Bloodporne]

2 hours ago, best3444 said:

I don't know now. After reading bloodpornes impressions it has me worried.  😟 

 

Voice acting would have been a nice option, too. I'll definitely give this a shot just because everyone that has beaten it says it's a masterpiece. Hopefully the text walls aren't too small either. I play on a 65 inch screen so it shouldn't be an issue. 

 

2 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

The entire game is voice acted now, I believe.

No no, they shouldn't. It's a really damn good game, just not a genre and style I'm used to but I'm slowly settling in, that's all. The text size does kind of blow and it has some technical issues but the art is incredible, sometimes even stunning in my opinion, and the dialog and plot are actually quite riveting. I still think it can get exhausting sometimes but that's just me.

 

And GreatOne's right, the game is fully voice-acted and the voice acting is really damn good. The narrator especially rules. 

[Best]

1 hour ago, Bloodporne said:

And GreatOne's right, the game is fully voice-acted and the voice acting is really damn good. The narrator especially rules. 

 

That's good to hear. Do you have any idea when it's going to release on Xbox or Playstation?

[Bloodporne]

1 minute ago, best3444 said:

 

That's good to hear. Do you have any idea when it's going to release on Xbox or Playstation?

I'm playing it on PS5 so must also be on PS4 but not sure how it runs there.

[Best]

Just now, Bloodporne said:

I'm playing it on PS5 so must also be on PS4 but not sure how it runs there.

 

Wtf. I had no idea it was even out on ps5. I thought you were playing on pc for some reason. Then I checked more of your impressions and missed you're playing it on ps5. I'll check and see if it's available on ps4. God, I have so many games to play these days. It's a great thing, overall. 

[Keyser_Soze]

8 minutes ago, best3444 said:

Wtf. I had no idea it was even out on ps5.

 

Do you ever read the thread you're posting in?

 

Yes it's on PS5 and PS4.

[Bloodporne]

37 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

Wtf. I had no idea it was even out on ps5. I thought you were playing on pc for some reason. Then I checked more of your impressions and missed you're playing it on ps5. I'll check and see if it's available on ps4. God, I have so many games to play these days. It's a great thing, overall. 

The Final Cut version of it is the one that hit all platforms not long ago, yeah, it wasn't on consoles prior I believe.