Taimi

[juhani.5361]

@"Chadramar.8156" said:snip1) I don't care much for children, I don't find them cute or endearing or whatever. And I especially do not like children in my entertainment because too many cheap and lazy writers try to be manipulative by using children to appeal to "parental instincts" instead of writing an actually compelling character, situation or overall story. Anet is definitely guilty of this, too. Taimi is simultaneously supposed to be the smartest and most competent person in the world and also a helpless child we're supposed to care ever-so-much about protecting, but don't anyone dare to even think that she is a child in need of protection! The Rata Novus detour in HoT was very much in-your-face about that. You can't have it both ways, writers.

Oh gods, am I getting sick of this type of video game story writing. It's everywhere now. ME:A and the first illegal kid born in the galaxy-- heartwarming! Train and comfort Aurene the dragon-- look at how cute she is almost getting you slaughtered by tons of elite oozes because she won't move! Now you can teleport to a special room and play catch with her, awww. Taimi in general, especially the way we're patting her on the back after she lost control of her "game." LW S3's full of that, and it's driving me up the wall. I used be able to tolerate her until that kitten game quest.

Dear Anet, please stop!

Then there's the whole writer's pet thing. You don't tell someone how awesome they are after they've screwed up. You don't automatically trust all their deus ex machina breakthroughs after they've messed up more than once.

[Silyth.7382]

@Ayumi Spender.1082 said:

@Pimsley.3681 said:Not sure why people are hating on Taimi.

I find the Asura NPCs to be the most entertaining and likable.

Taimi is the only Asura I can think of I loathe actually.I honestly can not think of another Asura I don't find awesome.

Funny, I'm the opposite. Taimi is the only asura I like (from gw2, loved Vekk from gw1). Most embody the bad parts of grad school too much. Taimi has the nice freelance scientist, run amuck curiosity feel. For the record, I would have totally poked the red exalted.

[Crossaber.8934]

The moment that Taimi hid into her golem and get ambushed by inquest back in season2 was her best moment imo. She ran off because someone was trying to steal her invention, and put herself in danger...

That was where i start caring for her, i like this character, but i felt that season 3 was pushing too much on her, and she was too confident on her theory somehow.

[IndigoSundown.5419]

@Miss Lana.5276 said:

Yeah that makes sense, but there is still no definitive line between defeated and dead. Is not losing all your health considered death? It certainly is in my book. The fact that it's only used as a convenient plot device makes me believe the writers really just don't care.

I doubt that is the case. I suspect, like anyone who creates for a living, they are trying to make things people will like. The problem video game writers face is that they are writing for an audience of many thousands (or bigger numbers in some cases). That horde of players is not all the same, so it is going to be impossible to please everyone, or have things make sense to everyone.

I get the frustration involved when story stuff doesn't make sense. One of the hardest things for SF/Fantasy writers to accomplish is to explore the fantastic while getting readers (or players) to suspend their disbelief. MMO fantasy writers have to do that while creating a story flow that players can't break (some of them would if they could). They're also working within the confines of lore that they may not have created. Above all, the writing has to fit within the context of the game's mechanics. I belief this is a big reason why MMO stories tend towards the simple and the cliched, and why some things will not make sense to everyone.

To bring this back to the NPC's in the story, and Taimi, I believe that is why MMO NPC characters can be so simplistic in execution. It isn't always the case. Silyth mentioned Vekk from the original Guild Wars. His flawed relationship with his father and how it turned out may also have been a writing cliche, but it was done well. I wish I could say the same about Taimi and the other NPC's, but I cannot.

[Willhart.8230]

Oh. Another reason for me to like Tami is because her name translates to "sprout" and "seedling" in finnish and as a Finn that is very cute to me.

[Lina.1327]

she’s my least favourite behind Kas, because she’s just so annoying.