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[Irish]

I like how the people complaining in the OT couldn't even bother to read the very first post, which was really short. Last I knew, that was a bannable offense. I also thought it hilarious to see people in there that I've seen do nothing other than shit on the entire AC series at every chance they get. Kinda makes you wonder what they were doing in the OT at all.

The information in the AC:R OT was extremely relevant because it is the final chapter for two of the main characters in the series. It was a great recap of all the stuff that Ezio and Altair have gone through in their lives. I'd expect to see the same thing for any other 'finale'.

I also think its funny that people think that is similar to PR or that you can easily access all of that information in a single place. I have never seen PR material that detailed or inclusive. I also know that to gather that info myself would have taken hours and hours with visits to a dozen or so different sites.

 

[Evlar]

I like how the people complaining in the OT couldn't even bother to read the very first post, which was really short. Last I knew, that was a bannable offense. I also thought it hilarious to see people in there that I've seen do nothing other than shit on the entire AC series at every chance they get. Kinda makes you wonder what they were doing in the OT at all.

The information in the AC:R OT was extremely relevant because it is the final chapter for two of the main characters in the series. It was a great recap of all the stuff that Ezio and Altair have gone through in their lives. I'd expect to see the same thing for any other 'finale'.

I also think its funny that people think that is similar to PR or that you can easily access all of that information in a single place. I have never seen PR material that detailed or inclusive. I also know that to gather that info myself would have taken hours and hours with visits to a dozen or so different sites.

http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Assassin's_Creed:_Revelations

There you go.

 

[X26]

http://neogaf.net/forum/showthread.php?t=301558

NG2 OT still the best

 

[BruiserBear]

moreover, this kind of yawning fanboy rubbing material only serves to set up a sycophantic worship tone for the rest of the thread, stifling rational debate. how dare anyone criticize a king in his own palace?

I had to quote that line because it's hilarious, and true.

 

[Colocho]

I usually go in to check out the release date (and if it's a game I don't know, the platforms it's out for) and I have to fumble and scramble to find it with these bloated OTs. It's the info I should find right away, it annoys me to no end.

Plus, I remember the huge Rage OT didn't even mention the game ran at 60fps on consoles and when I asked about it, the OP told me it was info everyone knew. What the fuck is that shit?

 

[Kaizer]

Whether an OT is too much or too little, as long as it's memorable, it's good in my book. I enjoy the ACR OT, but I totally get why some people find it quite excessive. I don't think every game release needs that "PR-handled" feeling for it's OT. Humorous OT's like the original Uncharted 3 OT, the CoD: MW2 OT, Ninja Gaiden II OT or Dragon Age Origins 2 OT were great in their own ways. A bright point for me personally is I know that I'm going to be hyped for ACR all week long, so it's nice to have a huge OT with lots of info, graphics, etc. to read all week long. On the other hand a minimal OT with community discussion would suffice as well.

 

[Kintaro]

Fully agree with the OP. The bloated OT OPs tend to read an either some strange PR campaign for the game or a resume for a job application at that publisher.

 

[Irish]

http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Assassin's_Creed:_Revelations

There you go.

The AC wiki is merely a starting point where I always find myself having to go to more places to get the info I'm looking for.

 

[Double D]

I will say that I clicked on the asscreed OT and scrolled and scrolled looking for the release date, which should be one of the most prominent information pieces in the opening of an OT. I ended up just going to GameStop.com 5 minutes later.

 

[Loudninja]

People can do what they please with a OT, if you think you can do better volunteer next time and make it the way you want.

I am not going to trash some OT because its too small or too long.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

I like how the people complaining in the OT couldn't even bother to read the very first post, which was really short. Last I knew, that was a bannable offense. I also thought it hilarious to see people in there that I've seen do nothing other than shit on the entire AC series at every chance they get. Kinda makes you wonder what they were doing in the OT at all.

I like how this thread is now being used by some people to throw baseless and pointless insults at the AC franchise as a whole, because they know they would risk a ban if they tried it in any other thread.

Stay classy.

I noticed this as well. I bet most of them haven't even played the series or maybe put a few hours into AC1 and quit. I mentioned this before but I wonder if this thread would even have been made if it were for a forum darling like Skyrim.

 

[Rapstah]

I will say that I clicked on the asscreed OT and scrolled and scrolled looking for the release date, which should be one of the most prominent information pieces in the opening of an OT. I ended up just going to GameStop.com 5 minutes later.

How absolutely ridicolous. Say someone enters and CTRL + F'es "release date". There are two hits on the page and neither has to do with the game's release date.

 

[Esch]

thanks to this thread i actually read that OT. Great advertising no doubt. Also pretty stylish. Big, yes, but whatever.

 

[iNvid02]

I will say that I clicked on the asscreed OT and scrolled and scrolled looking for the release date, which should be one of the most prominent information pieces in the opening of an OT. I ended up just going to GameStop.com 5 minutes later.

first post.. come on

the main thing is there are no guidelines for ot's, you cant say "ot's should be concise" or "your doing it wrong" because its bullshit, thats just your preference on what you want them to look like - a fair number of people like as much info as possible. so until the rules are changed, everything from massive ots to minimal ot's are acceptable.

also, almost all of the info i put in there is relevant. if you knew anything about the series you'd be aware of the fact that this is the last chapter for the 2 main protagonists, so a quick recap on the series is perfectly justified.

seems like half the people are not even remotely interested in the series and wanted to fuck something

 

[fernoca]

I will say that I clicked on the asscreed OT and scrolled and scrolled looking for the release date, which should be one of the most prominent information pieces in the opening of an OT. I ended up just going to GameStop.com 5 minutes later.

How absolutely ridicolous. Say someone enters and CTRL + F'es "release date". There are two hits on the page and neither has to do with the game's release date.

What do you mean by "scrolled and scrolled"?...it's on the first post.

Right below the table of content, so people can click on each topic and be taken there directly instead of, you know "scroll and scroll".

 

[flyinpiranha]

I noticed this as well. I bet most of them haven't even played the series or maybe put a few hours into AC1 and quit. I mentioned this before but I wonder if this thread would even have been made if it were for a forum darling like Skyrim.

Of course not. The only problem I have with the AC thread is that the text is in the pictures. That's it. The rest is great.

 

[pa22word]

[URL="[/URL]

NG2 OT still the best

Holy hell that's awesome O__O

 

[chickdigger802]

What do you mean by "scrolled and scrolled"?...it's on the first post.

Right below the table of content, so people can click on each topic and be taken there directly instead of, you know "scroll and scroll".

That banner doesn't mention the pc release date

 

[ColonialRaptor]

I don't know how I feel about this...

My BF3 OT was all blood guts and soul of mine put into devoting a bunch of my time into a game that I am in love with.

When compared to some other OT's, yeah I guess it doesn't look as professional or as 'pretty' and things like that but I guess I wasn't going for that, and it did end up being a bit of a rush job in this end... but the look I was going for was that kind of smashed and coddled together military spec stuff.

I don't know if people believe that my work was PR like or not, but I hand wrote virtually every bit of text in that thread pretty much from my own memory or with the help from other gaffers. We tried to include ONLY useful information. I would hope that the thread that I made would be seen as the type of 'bloated' OT that is the right kind.

Personally, I wouldn't read the ACR OT because I'm not a big fan of AC, I've never played through one of the games even - but I can see the amazing amount of quality that went into the OT - it almost looks like some of the posts came straight out of some magazine pages or an official guide or something. Pretty intense!

 

[Card Boy]

How many hours did your BF3 OT take CR?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I don't see the point in making them, but I see even less point in bitching about them. If they bug you that much skip to page 2.

 

[Jamesways]

Yeah! That OP RUINED MY ENTIRE WEEK!!!! And my experience of the game! I'm pretty sure reading it gave me cancer.

I don't know, just trying to fit in...

*shrug.jpg*

Like I said in the AC:R thread, I do appreciate the details and back story, never finished AC:B, now I'm caught up for the new one.

The Wiki is fine, but I think it's great that it's all right there. Makes for some interesting reading about the series without having to search for it.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

I noticed this as well. I bet most of them haven't even played the series or maybe put a few hours into AC1 and quit. I mentioned this before but I wonder if this thread would even have been made if it were for a forum darling like Skyrim.

"Forum darlings" like MGS, Battlefield, and Uncharted got criticized for bloated OTs, so no, there's no conspiracy angle here.

 

[Shig]

I chuckle at how, if someone makes an Off-Topic post begging for free design work ("Help, I need a logo", etc.), DesignGAF will jump down their throats for wanting something for free that they should pay someone for... meanwhile the gaming side is littered with insane, unsolicited OPs that would put any paid PR person to absolute shame. Amusing dichotomy.

I'm on DesignGAF's side, to be clear. It makes my skin kinda crawly that people devote days and days to basically publishing free advertising pamphlets (or, in some cases, books) for others. I appreciate the gesture, but some folks should really place more value on their time and services.

 

[sprsk]

This is all amir0x's fault btw.

 

[Special J]

"Forum darlings" like MGS, Battlefield, and Uncharted got criticized for bloated OTs, so no, there's no conspiracy angle here.

ColonialRaptor am sad.

 

[Satchel]

No offense to Bruceleeroy and the others who put a fair amount of work into those OTs, but they are a bit much.

Most of the "info" is just pr fluff and useless info.

 

[fernoca]

That banner doesn't mention the pc release date

Nah, but is still there consoles only, I give you that. But saying that scrolled and scrolled, when said information is on the very first post doesn't make sense.

I don't know if people believe that my work was PR like or not, but I hand wrote virtually every bit of text in that thread pretty much from my own memory or with the help from other gaffers. We tried to include ONLY useful information. I would hope that the thread that I made would be seen as the type of 'bloated' OT that is the right kind.

They won't.
I did the same for the MK OT (story summary, content, etc.) and only copy-pasted "official stuff" like the character bios; but it was still seen as PR/pasted-material.

 

[Captain_Spanky]

if you think you can do better volunteer next time and make it the way you want.

This line of thinking pops up from time to time in discussions related to creative works and needs to be put a stop to. It's utterly insidious in its insinuations, poisonous at such a fundamental level that any right thinking person would reject it for the folly it is.

Saying that someone has to be able to create something on an equal or higher level of quality before they can critique a work is beyond inept, so far past stupid that the mind boggles that someone can say or type it with a straight face. Do you learn how you cook gourmet dinners with the top chefs in France before you can decide whether you like food or not? Did you write the great American novel before deciding you enjoyed that last book you read? What did your friends make of your Oscar winning production that you produced before recommending they see Tintin?

Stop this nonsense now please.

 

[stupei]

I noticed this as well. I bet most of them haven't even played the series or maybe put a few hours into AC1 and quit. I mentioned this before but I wonder if this thread would even have been made if it were for a forum darling like Skyrim.

You know, it's not the bloated OTs that give GAF their personality; it's the baseless conspiracy theories.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Nothing at all wrong with a large OT, its not hurting you in any single way. You can NOT look at it. Personally i think there great, not only are the bigger ones a great way to catch up with a series that iv forgotten elements of but they look amazing and a really a testament to the games fan base.

With popular OT's becoming community threads after a month i see even more reason for them to exists as detailed as they do, They turn into social hubs for FANS to discuss the franchise and a good OT serves effectivly as a one stop source for previous and current info about the game.

I dont see how these posts hurt anyone in anyway the arguments against are pretty straw like. For instance i dont like Uncharted, you know what i do? i dont play it, simple. If your not going to appriciate the time and effort put into a OT GAF has plent of other members who will so for their sake just carry on with your day and ignore the OT.

First world problems to the max.

Edit: I created a small OT (dragonball z UT) and so i know the work that goes into these things id like to thank everyone who has made a large OT seems this thread seems to be against them.

 

[Parallax Scroll]

the main thing is there are no guidelines for ot's, you cant say "ot's should be concise" or "your doing it wrong" because its bullshit, thats just your preference on what you want them to look like - a fair number of people like as much info as possible. so until the rules are changed, everything from massive ots to minimal ot's are acceptable.

While people may have different opinions of how much is "enough" info to put into an OP, putting all the text content into an image with no alt text is doing it wrong.

 

[Parallax Scroll]

dp my bad

 

[Jamesways]

Nothing at all wrong with a large OT, its not hurting you in any single way. You can NOT look at it. Personally i think there great, not only are the bigger ones a great way to catch up with a series that iv forgotten elements of but they look amazing and a really a testament to the games fan base.

With popular OT's becoming community threads after a month i see even more reason for them to exists as detailed as they do, They turn into social hubs for FANS to discuss the franchise and a good OT serves effectivly as a one stop source for previous and current info about the game.

I dont see how these posts hurt anyone in anyway the arguments against are pretty straw like. For instance i dont like Uncharted, you know what i do? i dont play it, simple. If your not going to appriciate the time and effort put into a OT GAF has plent of other members who will so for their sake just carry on with your day and ignore the OT.

First world problems to the max.

Edit: I created a small OT (dragonball z UT) and so i know the work that goes into these things id like to thank everyone who has made a large OT seems this thread seems to be against them.

Bingo. My thoughts exactly.

 

[Captain_Spanky]

Nothing at all wrong with a large OT, its not hurting you in any single way. You can NOT look at it.

And how does one do this before looking at it and deciding they dislike it? Second sight perhaps?

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Friends, this is Kagari's OT to the Japanese release of FF Type-0.

One post. Links to most of the information given in the larger OTs. Yet, isn't a Tower of Babel adding on bloat to out-tower other Towers of Babel OTs.

I'm not one for hard and fast rules on non-critical board rules, especially when Im not calling shots, but my opinion stays that anything that can be said in 35 posts can be said in 10 or less, especially in light of Type-0's OT.

 

[Kagari]

Friends, this is Kagari's OT to the Japanese release of FF Type-0.

One post. Links to most of the information given in the larger OTs. Yet, isn't a Tower of Babel adding on bloat to out-tower other Towers of Babel OTs.

I'm not one for hard and fast rules on non-critical board rules, especially when Im not calling shots, but my opinion stays that anything that can be said in 35 posts can be said in 10 or less, especially in light of Type-0's OT.

The one I do for FFXIII-2 will also be one page.

 

[Fjordson]

With popular OT's becoming community threads after a month i see even more reason for them to exists as detailed as they do, They turn into social hubs for FANS to discuss the franchise and a good OT serves effectivly as a one stop source for previous and current info about the game.

Very valid point.

 

[JWong]

Uncharted 3 OT is great.

Concise and all.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

Friends, this is Kagari's OT to the Japanese release of FF Type-0.

One post. Links to most of the information given in the larger OTs. Yet, isn't a Tower of Babel adding on bloat to out-tower other Towers of Babel OTs.

I'm not one for hard and fast rules on non-critical board rules, especially when Im not calling shots, but my opinion stays that anything that can be said in 35 posts can be said in 10 or less, especially in light of Type-0's OT.

Good OP right there.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

And how does one do this before looking at it and deciding they dislike it? Second sight perhaps?

I never said you had to stop looking before your inital look.
You can skim it and if your not intrested stop looking, no one is forcing you to read them. Really no need to be smug about it.

 

[pilonv1]

I'm sending a C&D to all |OT|s

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Agree completely. If it were up to me the rules for OTs would be:

- One banner and no other images. If you can't explain what the game is all about with words then you shouldn't be making the OT.
- Only one post, with the second reserved so that the OP can add patch notes/links as they come out.
- Zero marketing information; no links to amazon, no advertising of preorder bonuses from retailers etc.

An OT should ideally be a place to create a community around a game, it's not meant to be free marketing.

With popular OT's becoming community threads after a month i see even more reason for them to exists as detailed as they do, They turn into social hubs for FANS to discuss the franchise and a good OT serves effectivly as a one stop source for previous and current info about the game.

They can still serve this purpose just as well without being advertorials.

 

[Seth C]

I will say that I clicked on the asscreed OT and scrolled and scrolled looking for the release date, which should be one of the most prominent information pieces in the opening of an OT. I ended up just going to GameStop.com 5 minutes later.

When you're better off using Google than the OT to find release dates they have completely failed to serve their purpose. And seriously, just link me to the 20 page re-cap of the game's storyline. Damn.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

"Forum darlings" like MGS, Battlefield, and Uncharted got criticized for bloated OTs, so no, there's no conspiracy angle here.

I wasn't around in 2007 or whenever MGS4 came out but from what I've read, most people were in awe of the OT and saying how great it was. It wasn't till years after the fact that people started making light of it.

Also, BF3 isn't a forum darling. I wouldn't really consider Uncharted one, either, as it's a PS3-exclusive. Skyrim and Batman would be good examples.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Agree completely. If it were up to me the rules for OTs would be:

- One banner and no other images. If you can't explain what the game is all about with words then you shouldn't be making the OT.
- Only one post, with the second reserved so that the OP can add patch notes/links as they come out.
- Zero marketing information; no links to amazon, no advertising of preorder bonuses from retailers etc.

An OT should ideally be a place to create a community around a game, it's not meant to be free marketing.

What you call "free marketing" i call informing fellow forum users about where to find the elements of the game they are most intrested in.

No other images? what if i want to know what the game looks like without going to google? its the same complaint some have about release dates.

 

[Kiriku]

I'm on the concise side in this, I would never, ever read even 5 % of that kind of |OT| even if it was my most wanted game of 2011.
I much prefer text with some screenshots and banners thrown in. I can't even quote or copy any part of the text when it's integrated into images either, it's like some kind of |OT|-DRM. And the images are too wide for my resolution (1270x720), which I find very annoying.
I just want the info, plain and simple. Hell, that's one of the reasons I prefer GAF over all those graphics intense gaming sites.

 

[Sciz]

also, almost all of the info i put in there is relevant. if you knew anything about the series you'd be aware of the fact that this is the last chapter for the 2 main protagonists, so a quick recap on the series is perfectly justified.

seems like half the people are not even remotely interested in the series and wanted to fuck something

From the perspective of someone who really doesn't know anything about the series, it tells me jack squat. I get that the art is nice, and the new gameplay features sound kind of interesting out of context, but there's nothing at all that tells me why a bajillion people are hyping this game through the stratosphere. It doesn't have to be much, but what's the big hook? Why is this game so great?

And sticking the release date at the bottom of the post next to all of the platform logos no one ever looks at probably isn't a great idea either.

 

[Rapstah]

Very valid point.

Name me one OT that is not Dark Souls or BF3 that has new people coming to it all the time after the first few weeks. The truth is they almost exclusively get a subcommunity of five to fifteen people who don't give a crap about what the OT says because they're talking to each other in the thread.

OTs shouldn't be a compendium of all the information that exists on the game because there are other sites whose only point is exactly to host that information. OTs should contain the bare essentials of what one needs to know on a game, like when it releases, a picture or two, what consoles it is on and a few distinguishing features, and then be updated for updates on the game. If you can keep this information, with updates, within a single post, then you probably have all the important information that currently exists for the game packed efficiently.

No one who's thinking "I missed this whole Assassin's Creed thing, I wonder what it is" will go read up on the AC: R thread to get that information. They'll google it or something. The people who'll read the OT are people who already know all the ridicously superfluous information in it. It's not worth the time people are taking.

 

[butter_stick]

There's a difference between an OT being informative and it being pornography for fans of the franchise to circle jerk to.