Discussion: The Intrepid Informer: Issue #17

For the record, that someone who suggested that we kill off Statesman?

Black Pebble

Evil Marketing indeed.

Black Pebble = Darrin Wade?

I was surprised when you announced that you were killing Statesman off. I'm glad you're going to keep using him for marketing purposes, as I think he has an iconic name and design. I look forward to running SSA 5 tonight to see how it's done.

Now that I've played at least Heroside of the SSA, I feel it was kind of a mistake to spoil that Statesman was going to die. The 'how' was kind of trumped up a lot and in the end, well, it boils down to 'a magic spell'. A -special- magic spell, but just 'a magic spell' nonetheless, so I feel like a lot of the impact was taken out since I knew he was going to bite it already. It was still a pretty touching scene with his last moments, but the spoiler really robbed it of a lot of the impact I think.

And.. issue 23? Wow. That's quite a ways off, even if its only like 6 months, it's still a real disconnect from how 'big' this event was supposed to be. And it is big but just releasing it piecemeal kind of robs it of a lot of the importance.

As for where I want to see the story go? Well, for one, time them better. You have a rough idea of when issues are going to come out, pending disasters in testing, and you know you'll be releasing these things monthly, so, try to line them up so you avoid exactly this where we have a 'monumental event' that affects the whole game world but we have to wait for that event a good half year or more to actually affect the game world, even when the event itself happens -now-.

And I kind of think 7 months is just a little too long to play out a plot like this. I mean -this- one is pretty epic, yeah, and deserves build up and showcasing the different characters, etc. But I think in general the SSAs would serve better in 4-5 chunks, especially if they're this game changing that they can affect the game world at large, so you can time them better to line up with Issue releases.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to maybe switch up the arc lengths from episode to episode either. 3 is a good standard, but 'surprise' us once in a while, like just a 4th mission every now and again, maybe 5 for 'extra important' plots, otherwise it gets a little too formulaic with the dance of 'Hook, Set up, Climax' that all of them are so far.

Positron, you're next.

I'd just finished Who Will Die Part 5 on both sides. I'd like to note to anyone reading this that *hasn't* done the arc on either side to be sure to turn on the in-game music. It definitely adds to the emotional value of the last big cutscene for WWD#5.

That being said, I flew over to the boat for the STF over in Independence Port after completing WWD#5. Guess what?







Statesman is still there. >_>

So either there's supposed to be phasing tech in place that's not working, or something else is at work.

Has Statesman truly left this mortal coil?

Will we be seeing in-game memorials for a fallen hero?

Will Recluse change his ways after losing both his greatest rival and former closest friend?

Stay tuned...

Statesman is a terrible, boring character and I am glad to see him go. The only thing I could say was good about the character was that he wasn't a full-on avatar of jingoism.

I don't expect Statesman to be removed completely, as in the OP, but you have to admit it kinda kills the immersion. >_>'''

With loading screens, box art, and marketing stuff, I get it.

Everything else in-game? I believe it needs to reflect the results of the entire WWD saga.

And that's probably the thing. But hey, I've been wrong before. Either way, I'm still enjoying the game and will still plunk in my sub fees.

1st thing i did after i completed the SSA#5 was head to IP.

Either he'll be back in SSA7 at full strength, or your Phasing Tech is malfunctioning.

Cause with all honesty, if you do something this epic, shaking up the game like THIS, better do it right the 1st time. Have it get dragged out months before you guys are done with phasing him out looks like you guys are waaaay behind on schedule, or that this was a last minute effort to shake up the game.
Looked to me and others that someone else who would be easier to take out the game was going to die, and if it really is Statesman, i wonder why you guys haven't finished it up before SSA5 came out.
I hope, and assume, that you guys planned the whole story line before even starting to create SSA1, cause if you are just creating a new SSA each month without knowing the full story i'd say you guys are wasting valuable resources.

PS: Yes, i HATED it with a passion that this was leaked! Almost made me not wanna play this. But Zwill was leaning on how he died, that that would be spectacular..and it wasn't, not imo.
It wasn't a honorable death for the most iconic hero in the game, it was more like a big Fa-Q to Jack.

And here we have it...

ISSUE 23: SOMETHING MISSING

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Played through both sides of SSA#5.

The cutscene had the intended effect - it was touching, and the arc itself was a fun play if ... shorter ... than I was hoping. I was also hoping for an additional cutscene at the end with some sort of reaction from the Phalanx - or a cutscene of the memorial/news reports; the scene itself was climactic enough for me, but the aftermath seemed ... well, just not there. But that's likely coming later.

The cutscene did seem very out of place villain side. I think I was secretly hoping it would actually be noticeably different, with darker, more sinister music and focused more on my character (or Wade) taunting him in his final moments, and belittling what he'd accomplished in his life. More of a 'good riddance' than the same one the heroes get. And then having the ability to inspect his body and notice the smile and realizing all the jeers and taunting really amounted to nothing ... he still found peace in death, and realized others would take up his mantle. In essence, killing him really didn't accomplish that much...

I do hope 'remove all references' is not going to be a repeat of the Council takeover. One of the things I've really enjoyed about the SSA's (and some other content I won't mention here) is how important I feel in the story; they do ... mostly ... feel centered on me (or, at the least, I'm important). I was there when Stateman died - I played an important role in the story. The game content being rewritten as though he never even existed completely marginalizes that. I hope there are still references to him, and that they are better than 'former villain group' or 'previous regime' typically used to refer to the 5th Column. I want to see him referenced by name.

But, to be honest, I don't see much point in even removing him completely. It's not necessary. It seems more natural to me for any given character that the game content treats States as alive for the stuff from 1 to 40 and it's only the post 40 content where he's treated as dead and gone. Couple that with playing each part of the arc as you level up (provided you have access to them), and it (for me) gives the feel that the 'old guard' that I looked up to (or respected, or whatever) getting from 1 to 40 is being replaced by me. Your character is no longer the up-and-comer: you're now taking your role as one of the most important heroes in Paragon City - and the world ... or one of the most notorious villains.

Those are my thoughts on the whole thing, but I'll be very curious to see where this ultimately goes... if Statesman is going to be removed to the point where he has virtually no role to play at all in the actual game content, I'll certainly be watching how it's going to be done with a lot of interest.

EDIT: And to blatantly disagree with some posters - I was happy to see him in Indie Port. I actually don't like the idea of being locked out of starting a TF (even one I don't play very often, and one that actually gives incarnate components) just because I chose to play a particular mission.

So... this is it? This is the actual character who is dying? It's not some thing where you go "Statesman DIES!" and then in future parts it turns out his death moves Manticore or whoever to sacrifice himself to bring him back and that's the character who actually dies? I'm *assuming* you wouldn't make up this whole article to mislead us, because that would be kind of dumb.

And so Statesman dies in part 5, and there are two more parts that are still called "Who Will Die?" even though the question is already answered?

Look, I love what you guys have dome with Freedom and the store and all the new costumes and power sets, but at this point the only way I can enjoy the writing is if I make up a drinking game to go along with it.

Just ran the arc. Me is sad.