One of my main concerns while watching many of the videos the Guild Wars 2 folks have been sharing are the little one-liners the characters shout when they attack. You know, things like “Take that!”. I knew right away I would get sick of hearing that sort of thing all the time. Thankfully, they agree with me. Read this quote from their latest news, Talking Heads: VO and Dialogue in GW2:
We’re also aware that there can be too much of a good thing, which is why we’ve developed a sound throttling system so you won’t hear the same combat chatter repeated over and over again during fights. Those concerned about the game being diluted with “snappy one-liners†can breathe a sigh of relief. You won’t hear quips every five seconds, and most of them aren’t smarmy in nature. That annoys us just as much as it does you.
Make sure you listen to the samples while you are there.
– Ethic
The only snappy one liner I want to hear is “You have been accepted into beta”
They should just make them bound to your numpad like Diablo 2 has. Those Diablo 2 sounds were friggin great.
Here. This is yours. This is for you.
Thank you. Thanks.
Run! Run away!
Die! Time to die!
Then of course, DECKARD CAIN! YOUVE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!
I have been playing Torchlight again. Yes, I know that my pet is wounded. Yes, I know that he is fleeing. Look, you don’t need to tell me continuously just because he is still taking damage. I get it.
If you ask me, Valve has already gotten this right with Left 4 Dead. The character comments are often contextual, and then very occasionally they quip or exclaim. There’s always repetition if you play long enough, but it’s just about at the right sweet spot for me.
The quick radial voice commands that are player controlled help too, just so long as your teammates aren’t hitting the same ones over and over again.
Grabbin’ some pills!