@izzygraze: Old cRPGs had so much text partially due to technical limitations and partially because text allows for some ambiguity - you can't show everything, since some things aren't really meant to be shown. For example, I don't think the dreams, a very prominent part of Hong Kong's plot, would work if they were clear-cut cutscenes all the time, since they are dealing with things the characters have issues describing - and that problem is hard to visualize. Showing the stuff about falling out teeth etc. could fail, because it would be either laughable or simply lacking, since our imagination can do a lot, lot better. It's the reason why so many Lovecraft adaptations simply suck at conveying 90% of what made his work compelling. Things like magic lose a lot of their, well, magic, when they are literally portrayed.
There's also the fact that the game doesn't have voice acting and the perspective doesn't really lend itself to complex animations anyway. But I'd say most of it is an artistic decision, and one justified quite well.
And while not Chris Avellone-great (even though it has its moments, oh, it does), I felt that the writing was pretty solid, with some pretty vivid and good descriptions. And I dunno about character development, I enjoyed Dragonfall a lot in that regard - Gloria and Eiger's arcs were awesome.
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