Disappointed with AAMFP

[Kreekakon]

Everyone please try to manage your quoting better. It makes the forums really hard to read if there's quote trains everywhere, and I'd hate having to go, and edit all your posts when I see some get out of hand.

Most great narratives do have a twist if you look carefully. Makes the experience much more memorable.

It may be so, but in the fundamental sense of a good story a plot twist is not one required to make a good story. Just as good stories can be done by sending the characters through an engaging journey that you know clearly everybody's agenda from the very start. Drive the plot using character interactions, emotions, and well-written dialogue that reflects character traits well. Doing that can be just as good as using plot twists.

It's actually been noted by some people in the movie industry, though I think it applies to any media with a plot, that they dislike certain stories which rely on mystery, and keeping the audience in the dark until the plot twist as their way of intriguing them. Many believe that just as good stories, or even superior stories can be written through character traits, their interactions, and personal goals...all of which carries the story until the very end.

I actually don't agree completely with that notion, but I do definitely believe that stories do not need plot twists to be extremely engaging, and it's even worse if you try to shoehorn one in just for the sake of forced intrigue based off of the audience not knowing everything.

Example: The Last of Us. For people who've played that game quickly think the whole thing through. There are unexpected moments true, but are there any truly radical changes in plot which could be considered a plot twist? At least I don't recall any ones radical enough to be considered a massive twist. Instead it mainly carries itself through the use of character development as well as their changing interactions.

[padme]

Next up is story. i did not understand much of the story during my playthrough of A Machine For Pigs, so I will soon play through it again to hopefully get a better understanding of the world. I did miss voiced diary entries. There were the playbacks, but those were more a replacement for most of the flashbacks. Why do I miss diary entries read aloud? Well, I simply feel it enhances the experience, hearing the entries written by the character in his very own voice. The situation and emotion might become stronger (it would for me, anyway), and there is a whole lot more emphasis. Lastly, I think it would make the story easier to pay attention to, for many player. I was dragged more into the story in The Dark Descent when my character read his own words aloud.

I'm still playing the game and I agree with this part. The voiced diary entries in TDD were really good and they kept me stuck. And also it was a way to know if the entry was important or not, it was important for the story.

Now in AMFP there is so much text that sometimes I just skip parts of it. And I'm starting to dislike the notes, they are distracting. For example, in the church, I picked the candle and an entry was added to the notes: "Yep it's a candle". Oh thank you! I stopped the game just to read this? Annoying.

And I really miss the oil from TDD, it was some kind of way of telling to the player to use the lantern wisely. Now what's the point of turning it off?

I think the critics to AMFP are deserved. TDD was far from a perfect game but it had good ideias that could be very much improved but they were dropped instead.

[Cuyir]

LMAO.

Because TCR changed the gameplay sooooooooo much in AMFP. Oh man.

And The Tomb Raider reboot is still a Tomb Raider game in heart and in name, but hey who cares about that when you can piss and moan about anything?

Just wow, now I know what AMFP is up against, and knowing is half the battle.

*G.I Joe Jingle*

And a story built on a silly, stupid, unnecessary twist in which the writer (s) wittingly hide elements in a very clumsy and haphazard way, just so they can then pull the curtain and go ''WHAT A TWIST'' is a terrible one. There's a difference between being ambiguous and ''that''. Kreekakon's example is spot on. The Last Of Us isn't built around a gimmicky twist, it's built around the world after the disaster and the relationships of Joel and Ellie and the people they meet.

Whining about knowing that Mandus' kids were dead and bla bla bla is moot when that's not the point of the story. Dearie me people, i'd expect more out of people that have played through FG's games (I assume).

I'd much much much much much much rather have ZERO ''WHAT A TWEEEST'' moments in a novel or game and instead have a well thought out, written, emotional and impactful story.

[SurvivalHorror]

Everyone please try to manage your quoting better. It makes the forums really hard to read if there's quote trains everywhere, and I'd hate having to go, and edit all your posts when I see some get out of hand.

Most great narratives do have a twist if you look carefully. Makes the experience much more memorable.

It may be so, but in the fundamental sense of a good story a plot twist is not one required to make a good story. Just as good stories can be done by sending the characters through an engaging journey that you know clearly everybody's agenda from the very start. Drive the plot using character interactions, emotions, and well-written dialogue that reflects character traits well. Doing that can be just as good as using plot twists.

It's actually been noted by some people in the movie industry, though I think it applies to any media with a plot, that they dislike certain stories which rely on mystery, and keeping the audience in the dark until the plot twist as their way of intriguing them. Many believe that just as good stories, or even superior stories can be written through character traits, their interactions, and personal goals...all of which carries the story until the very end.

I actually don't agree completely with that notion, but I do definitely believe that stories do not need plot twists to be extremely engaging, and it's even worse if you try to shoehorn one in just for the sake of forced intrigue based off of the audience not knowing everything.

Example: The Last of Us. For people who've played that game quickly think the whole thing through. There are unexpected moments true, but are there any truly radical changes in plot which could be considered a plot twist? At least I don't recall any ones radical enough to be considered a massive twist. Instead it mainly carries itself through the use of character development as well as their changing interactions.

Great example using the last of us. I felt the game really developed an emotional connection which made the narrative more engaging and meaningful. It was one of those rare gems of a game that aroused interest without an effective but clichéd twist. However, in my opinion AMFP was unable to pull that off and they might have been better off using the good old convenient twist.

---

LMAO.

Because TCR changed the gameplay sooooooooo much in AMFP. Oh man.

And The Tomb Raider reboot is still a Tomb Raider game in heart and in name, but hey who cares about that when you can piss and moan about anything?

Just wow, now I know what AMFP is up against, and knowing is half the battle.

*G.I Joe Jingle*

And a story built on a silly, stupid, unnecessary twist in which the writer (s) wittingly hide elements in a very clumsy and haphazard way, just so they can then pull the curtain and go ''WHAT A TWIST'' is a terrible one. There's a difference between being ambiguous and ''that''. Kreekakon's example is spot on. The Last Of Us isn't built around a gimmicky twist, it's built around the world after the disaster and the relationships of Joel and Ellie and the people they meet.

Whining about knowing that Mandus' kids were dead and bla bla bla is moot when that's not the point of the story. Dearie me people, i'd expect more out of people that have played through FG's games (I assume).

I'd much much much much much much rather have ZERO ''WHAT A TWEEEST'' moments in a novel or game and instead have a well thought out, written, emotional and impactful story.

The gameplay change e.g. lack of inventory, wasn't really the problem. The problem was that the focus and hence experience delivered by the game was totally and more importantly, deceptively changed, from survival horror into interactive novel. Perhaps I am able to concede that a twist is not absolutely necessary for a memorable adventure, but AMFP wasn't one of those rare masterpieces which delivered an experience similar to the last of us, FAR from it . The story seemed terribly linear and obvious(knowing the kids were dead for example) I don't understand why you insist that this doesn't detract from the narrative, when it clearly does. You know what AMFP is up against? why do you insist on grouping the negative reviewers as simpletons unable to understand or appreciate the story? This only serves to show your ignorance to us all. If this were such a masterpiece of a game why would most(imo) of us be struggling to find value in it? Look at the last of us? any heated debate over whether the game was good over there? I'd wager not. You talk about emotional experience, but there was no real sadness after realizing Mandus had sacrificed his children Aztec style, because of a lack of emotional development between the gamer and Mandus, as well as the children.

[str4wberrypanic]

Is it just me? Or am I the only one that notices that all the people that have negative criticism towards AMFP literally registered less than 1 week ago?

Well, actually no. I'm registered for about 1~2 years and i really didn't like the new gameplay. The storyline and soundtrack were great, but it was linear and wasn't scary. This game was more a narrative than a game.

[Cuyir]

@ SurvivalHorror

TDD, survival horror?

Riiiiiight.

It was a first person adventure/puzzler horror game. Not a survival horror game, for starters.

When people keep saying ''it's not an Amnesia game because they changed the gameplay!'' and when asked what changed about the gameplay they answer ''NO SANITY METER, NO INVENTORY, NO BACKTRACKING AND NO INTERACTION'' it clearly shows how knee jerky and reactive they are. AMFP plays mostly like TDD did. Puzzles are simpler (though I wouldn't call them puzzles), the game is more linear than TDD and they removed two elements. That's hardly turning the game into another genre. So the genre didn't change. It's a different focus but that doesn't mean it's ''not an Amnesia'' game. For it to be just ''some game they slapped Amnesia in front of the title'' it'd have to have no connection to the universe and completely changed the gameplay, ie turning it from a first person adventure horror game into a kart racer so the example is clear.

Did they do anything like that? Of course not. So i'm just pointing out how knee jerky people are just because ''it's not le scary''.

As for the story, again, same argument. ''It's so predictable! I ignored the notes cause they were boring and couldn't understand them!!!" The story is supposed to inspire a cerebral fear of how disgusting and vile Mandus is and how a person's goal to change the world in some way goes horribly awry. It NEVER tried to make you think that the kids were alive, they clearly weren't. They never tried to make you think Mandus was a sane individual. NEVER. They didn't add a stupid twist because they weren't TRYING to make the player think ''oooh who is this guy? Are the kids alright? I sure hopeeeee soooooooo''.

And I never said anything about AMFP offering an ''emotional experience''. The only emotions i've felt is fear and disgust, not the feels The Last Of Us gave me. What I was talking in that instance was that i''d rather play or read a game with a story written like that than one with a stupid twist. AMFP's story, so far, has been interesting, well written and makes me want to keep going deeper and deeper so I can find out how far Mandus went. THAT's the whole point of the story in this case. Not a ''who-dunnit''.

[Dune Jumper]

LMAO.

Because TCR changed the gameplay sooooooooo much in AMFP. Oh man.

And The Tomb Raider reboot is still a Tomb Raider game in heart and in name, but hey who cares about that when you can piss and moan about anything?

If a game takes place in the same universe as it's predecessor, it should have the same or at least similar gameplay. AAMFP hardly represents the first Amnesia.
How would we like it if Valve made 'Half Life 3', but you play as a character you've never heard before, the game is not connected to the original story, and has completely different gameplay from the original? How is that considered a sequel? Simply saying "it takes place in the same universe" doesn't cut it.

[Statyk]

Why is it so wrong for people to have differing opinions without insult?

[SurvivalHorror]

@ SurvivalHorror

TDD, survival horror?

Riiiiiight.

It was a first person adventure/puzzler horror game. Not a survival horror game, for starters.

When people keep saying ''it's not an Amnesia game because they changed the gameplay!'' and when asked what changed about the gameplay they answer ''NO SANITY METER, NO INVENTORY, NO BACKTRACKING AND NO INTERACTION'' it clearly shows how knee jerky and reactive they are. AMFP plays mostly like TDD did. Puzzles are simpler (though I wouldn't call them puzzles), the game is more linear than TDD and they removed two elements. That's hardly turning the game into another genre. So the genre didn't change. It's a different focus but that doesn't mean it's ''not an Amnesia'' game. For it to be just ''some game they slapped Amnesia in front of the title'' it'd have to have no connection to the universe and completely changed the gameplay, ie turning it from a first person adventure horror game into a kart racer so the example is clear.

Did they do anything like that? Of course not. So i'm just pointing out how knee jerky people are just because ''it's not le scary''.

As for the story, again, same argument. ''It's so predictable! I ignored the notes cause they were boring and couldn't understand them!!!" The story is supposed to inspire a cerebral fear of how disgusting and vile Mandus is and how a person's goal to change the world in some way goes horribly awry. It NEVER tried to make you think that the kids were alive, they clearly weren't. They never tried to make you think Mandus was a sane individual. NEVER. They didn't add a stupid twist because they weren't TRYING to make the player think ''oooh who is this guy? Are the kids alright? I sure hopeeeee soooooooo''.

And I never said anything about AMFP offering an ''emotional experience''. The only emotions i've felt is fear and disgust, not the feels The Last Of Us gave me. What I was talking in that instance was that i''d rather play or read a game with a story written like that than one with a stupid twist. AMFP's story, so far, has been interesting, well written and makes me want to keep going deeper and deeper so I can find out how far Mandus went. THAT's the whole point of the story in this case. Not a ''who-dunnit''.

Amnesia not survival horror? I think maybe you should read up on the definition of survival horror tbf. This point is not up for debate. Puzzle adventure, seriously? And yes the game should be classified in a different genre. How about COD without guns in the same universe? with the same characters. Either the game intended to change the genre or they failed totally and miserably in creating the Amnesia experience. Your pick. And You're doing it again. You think all of us haven't read the notes and are incapable of comprehension? I re-read everything a second time in a desperate bid to find any redeeming quality in the story. I found nothing of note. Cerebral fear? Words just aren't that scary. You talked about emotional experience in order to dismiss the use of a twist as a narrative technique, so one would naturally assume you were trying to defend the position of AMFP, if not why would you put it in your post? My main point is that your vindictive classification of all the naysayers is insulting, uncalled for and totally ignorant, but maybe you cant comprehend that since ive already mentioned it numerous times.

[Khelim]

Why is it so wrong for people to have differing opinions without insult?

Yeah, was about to tell Nuit's Grace to pull stick out of his ass and put it into his mouth, but I guess I won't His talks about cerebral fear seem to be only argument he has (too hard for him to fathom that some of us here are quite cynical to have such fear at all), all the rest are insults and calling names.