How appropriate are spoilers?

[kingmike]

Well, mod said to create another thread.

I've been trying to find where it was, but I'm sure there's one magazine of the era that just casually dropped Lufia 1's biggest spoiler (it's like 75% of the way through the game) in describing the game.

SPOILER: Click to show

Lufia is Erim. They said something like "It's a tale of boy meets girl, boy finds out girl is supernatural beast".

Thing about Lufia, is that's almost impossible to tell people about the series without spoiling Lufia II.
If you played Lufia I, you probably would have a feeling what was going to happen in Lufia II but try to just enjoy the ride.

[toei]

That sort of plot point doesn't matter all that much to me, I'm more interested in the moment-to-moment unfolding of the story than some big payoff. In the case of Lufia, I didn't remember the spoiler you're referring to, just the general flow and feel of the game, and knowing how Lufia 2 ends didn't diminish it in any way since how they got there is so much more interesting. But of course, I'd avoid revealing some big spoiler out for whatever game I'm discussing out of respect, unless in a conversation with people who've played it (or that I know won't). In Internet circumstances, I'd say a thread discussing a specific game that's already out is fair game, otherwise I'd avoid it. Unless it's something that really doesn't matter, like, say, a dream fish, or a fish's dream in a game with minimal story.

[phediuk]

I don't give a shit, frankly. There isn't a single case where knowing some plot details has "spoiled" a game for me and I find the hysteria around them to be idiotic.

If the worth of your story can be reduced to a list of plot points, it was a bad story to begin with.

[Arale]

Who said anything about plot?

[toei]

Typically spoilers are considered to concern plot elements.

[Arale]

Right, but I think that's a bit of a simplistic viewpoint, to cleanly separate plot from other aspects, especially in video games in which the player is an actor in said plot.

Like, Metal Gear 1 comes to mind - there's a part where the player is misled by the bad guy into inconveniencing themselves. But it's not a scripted event, it's part of gameplay, so it's totally possible to not do that if you are aware that that event happens. In that case, the gameplay itself changes because of your advance knowledge (and there's no real point in forcing yourself to get caught just to experience it).

[alphex]

Lufia 2 is a peculiar case. Anybody remember that life action Mortal Kombat TV series? Took place hundreds of years before the games, and is about that generations chosen warriors. Well, anybody who knows the basic premise of the games (or the movie, even) would know how it was gonna work out for them.

[toei]

Feb 17, 2018 17:46:26 GMT -5 Arale said:

Right, but I think that's a bit of a simplistic viewpoint, to cleanly separate plot from other aspects, especially in video games in which the player is an actor in said plot.

Like, Metal Gear 1 comes to mind - there's a part where the player is misled by the bad guy into inconveniencing themselves. But it's not a scripted event, it's part of gameplay, so it's totally possible to not do that if you are aware that that event happens. In that case, the gameplay itself changes because of your advance knowledge (and there's no real point in forcing yourself to get caught just to experience it).

I haven't played that game, but it sounds like it might still be related to the plot, even if it happens outside of a cutscene. Unless it relies purely around setting up false gameplay expectations through gameplay itself. Anyway, I agree with you that there might theoretically be situations where something can be spoiled that isn't plot, but it seems like those would be pretty rare instances. I don't think it would bother anybody to learn in advance that you would gain a certain move later on, say, even if the game doesn't let on in advance (and as such it's technically a surprise).

[Arale]

They are rare instances, but they really shouldn't be. That might be a story for another thread though. (Except that I'll emphasize how cool it is for Metal Gear to be doing that kind of thing in the 80s.)

Though, I don't think they are as rare as you're thinking - exploration games like La-Mulana are coming to mind where any guidance at all will change the way the player proceeds. Of course, in that particular case, the player is usually going to be spoiling themselves on purpose.

[Segata]

Spoilers don't hurt my experience in games. I typically seek them out.

[GamerL]

I hate to be spoiled, it's not the end of the world but nothing beats going into a story fresh, which is how every story is supposed to be experienced.

I feel like when discussing spoilers on the internet one should always be cautious just out of politeness, if there's spoiler tags then it's no skin of your nose to use them whether it's a current game or an old one and if there aren't a simple "spoilers" before saying what you're gonna say will suffice.

Not everyone has gotten the chance to experience every form of media out there and like I said, it's no skin of your nose to exercise a little caution to avoid spoiling something for someone else.

[Sac (a.k.a Icaras)]

I think it really depends on the circumstance.

The Lufia series I feel is a fair spoiler...at least concerning the cast of Lufia 2, because their fate is basically a big part of the entire, setup of the 1st game. With the 2nd game being a direct sequel(prequel), I think the game is EXPECTING players to already be aware of what's happening, the premise is "yeah that happened, but let's see what led up to that point and actually flesh out these characters"

But this is probably one of the few exceptions I think.

Knowing a reveal before you're meant to influences how you feel about a situation or character.
Like say....if a playable character betrays the party. If you find out about this due to spoilers, not only will you not feel the shock the PCs do at the reveal, but you're also very unlikely to get invested with that character (and will likely bench them and strip them of gear and items in readiness) and in fact, the reveal may feel follow to you.

And IMHO, that just takes away the fun of such moments. Hell, I'd imagine it can even maker it harder to interact with a community for the game, because you will have had a much different experience to most players, due to being spoiled.

[Segata]

If something is more than 5 years old then sorry I'm not concerned about revealing specifics like hey in Spec Ops the line you were the bad guy and are responsible for a lot of people dying and you ere never talking to a CO or Phantasy Star 3 you were on a space station the whole time. At some point, something is just old and there is a statute of limitations. 5 years is more than long enough.

[Arale]

I already wrote a research paper on that topic, and I won't paste it back here.

But I think that showing spoilers not because you want to talk about the game, but just because you don't want people to care, falls on the unnecessary side.

[GamerL]

Feb 18, 2018 6:09:37 GMT -5 Arale said:

I already wrote a research paper on that topic, and I won't paste it back here.

But I think that showing spoilers not because you want to talk about the game, but just because you don't want people to care, falls on the unnecessary side.

I have to agree.