Hey my secret and loyal admirers.
I wasn’t doing much lately in this and my review thread, as I’m kinda busy with Episode Community Story Awards reviews. But decided to write a couple of things today…cause… Like this is too much. I called this post:
What buggers me in stories
In directing
- When two or more characters in the same scene simultaneously use similar animations - it looks flat, it looks cheap and it makes me roll my eyes. There are more than one laugh, flirt, anger animations. Use different!
- You need background characters. You change their looks, and think it will do, without changing their clothes? WRONG. It’s not that hard to put a little effort, and spend like 2 minutes and combine an outfit.
- You don’t really know how to make choices except for the outfit, so you think it’s a good idea to make outfit choice for MC, her friend and her long-lost cousin from Bangladesh that decided to stop by because you wanna hit the club? IT’S NOT! It’s annoying, and no one (almost) cares how other characters are dressed, so these additional outfit choices serve only as a filler-choice. And it makes people like me mad. Conversation choices are even easier to do then outfit choice - so don’t be a lazy ass and just do them.
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Exaggerated animations. I think I meet this thing in around 15-20% Episode stories. Your character bought a slice of pizza and is cheering about it like a cheerleader? This is distracting and takes away realism. Think about which animations are appropriate to use, pick the right range of emotions. Just put yourself in character’s shoes.
- More than one sentence in 1 dialogue line. While it can be fine with very short sentences, I don’t think it’s that good to do for longer. Why? Mostly because when you put a few sentences, they take more time to read (Captain Obvious), and in the middle of such dialogue line character stands with his mouth closed (in case of animation is not looped).
- When the character uses the same animation for more than 1 consecutive dialogue line. With some animations, it might work maybe two times. But when the character keeps on going with the same animation for like 3 and more dialogue lines, it becomes obvious and irritating. There are so many animations - just choose a few fitting and alternate them.
- Same thing that when writers use non-talking animation for dialogue lines, is to use talking animation for thought lines. Just don’t.
In plot
- When MC (or any other character for that matter) drinks a lot of alcohol, so much that the next morning he/she can’t remember how he/she is at this place, and who’s with them, and their partner is like “oh, it was the best sex in my life”. Give me a fucking break. If you never were black-out drunk, ask someone who did like me. If you can’t remember what happened last night, and how you even got where you are, it’s a miracle you didn’t puke all over the place, so don’t get me started on the whole “that was the best sex ever”. Dumb and cliche.
- MC goes for a one night stand, she just met a guy and wants to have sex with him. That’s fine. I’m open-minded and I’m not slut-shaming sluts here. But don’t narrate MC’s thoughts like she writes a wedding vow or smthg. “His eyes were the ocean, so full of life yet so uncertain. The blue-green hue carried his emotional currents, and before I could breathe I was drowning…”. It looks really silly.
My rant is over, for now, I will continue after doing more reviews. 