#fbg crit

[the-avaricious-meddler]

I think ultimately I like more about FLondon than I dislike, which is why I keep playing? But there are a LOT of glaring flaws that keep adding up and it's frustrating! It really is! Because I know FBG can do better! Because if they were simply incapable of doing better, then there wouldn't be anything I liked about the game, those aspects simply wouldn't be there- and I would simply not like the game and not keep coming back.

And it's because I like the game that I want it to do better. And what makes it all the more frustrating that it's not.

[thedeafprophet]

I'm really trying not to harp but the format of firmament is already difficult to read, that the minimal writing quality really takes a blunder. the grammer mistakes, the missing periods, sentence fragments, and lines that straight up do not make any sense grammaictally or meaning wise is kind of driving me crazy

like. here for example. "two laws that if both broken open." makes absolutely zero sense. did they forget a word? is it meant to be "as if both broken open" or just "if both broken open" without the that? are they just trying to do something weird with the writing format?

like im geniuenly at nightmares 8 here because of this. the manager is gonna show up just because im struggling to parse through this bad 😭😭😭

[the-clay-quarters]

Enter the Clay Quarters, you're welcome among them.

Hi! I'm Toffee, I'm 21 and use he/they. This is a sideblog for Fallen London because the special interest has hit me like a truck and I live here now I guess.

Main blog is @toffee-rambles, art blog is @toffee-biscuits, and for other sites I have a carrd.

Asks and dms are open if you want to chat! Keep in mind that I'm slow and also in europe, so it might take a bit for a reply. I use tone indicators when I think it's necessary but feel free to ask for clarification.

I also talk about my ocs! A lot! So here's some basics about them and links to their stuff.

- Flint Silverstein: My main account! A clay man pretending to be human who I adore to pieces. Standoffish and monotone but dependable. Ambition is heart's desire, closest to revs, lives out by the observatory to avoid everyone. [he/him] --- Reference, Tag, Ingame profile, Toyhouse

- Cordelia/Theodore Pembroke: Part high society part adrenaline junkie, pretends to be a married couple but is actually just one genderfluid mess. Somewhat chaotic and a menace, not afraid to cause a scene to have some fun, ADHD vibes. Ambition is bag a legend, closest to society, lives above her own tailor shop, very busy guy. [she/he] --- Reference, Tag, Ingame profile, Toyhouse

- Vincent Bell: Also occasionally known as Vícenç Creuer Libèl·lula, guy who came to the neath for research and has not been having a good time since. High anxiety and a people pleaser, but eager to talk about their research with bugs or topics like language and surface politics. Ambition is light fingers, lives in a small flat near the university. [they/them] --- Reference, Tag, Ingame profile, Toyhouse

Tag list below the cut- these will probably change but hopefully I'll remember to update this post oops

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Tags for filtering - Suggestive: self explanatory, I'm an adult 👍 - Long post: simply my personal vendetta against mile long posts carried over from main (/lh) - FL crit: unsure if I'll actually end up complaining much but putting this here just in case

Post types: - My art / Fic: what it says on the tin! I make things sometimes :D - Originals / Chatter / Asks: various degrees of actual content - Reblog game / Ask game: "reblog and answer in the tags" and ask prompt list type posts - Officially noticed: mostly for my own amusement, posts that have been reblogged by FBG

Reference tags, generally restricted to things between 1850-1920: - Historical art: includes writing, sculpture, etc - Photography: photos and film - Fashion: clothes! mainly dresses - Items: all sorts of things, various bits and bobs - Reference: anything else that doesn't fit these

Content tags: - Sskies / Sseas / Motr: I've played/am playing these! - c: Curators: general masters/curators tag bcus I love them all - c: Manager: the manager of the royal bethlehem/may of the calendar council/This Fuckin Guy, I just think he's neat <3

[thedeafprophet]

I get that making games without a preset player character is difficult to make engaging with personality and variability in backgrounds, and that often its just more feasible to go with some preset factors for the player character even when you have personalizations

But when you do that don't??? Go in on the description of the game in how the player is choosing who you're going to be and describe the character choices with no specific background in mind...

....and then write with only the expectation of Christian Englishmen:tm:.

It's come across WAY worse... as if thats the only people type of people you think would be playing. Just give a preset character base if thats what ur gonna do

If you're gonna pre decide the player characters ethnicity you need to say that and not just...assume. its really weird

[the-avaricious-meddler]

It kind of occurred to me... That the main issue behind the Third City is a particularly egregious instance of FBG's ongoing failure to focus on the common person instead of Big, Important Figures.

[thedeafprophet]

HONESTLY then they could have like... included a bit of Archie making it clear he's fine with jewish people which wouldve been more points to him ajdfgkghkh

'being as frictionless and inconsequential as possible' i think sums up the issue with a lot the writing tbh. everything felt kind of....sanded down, so to speak, and that there was never enough time or focus on tension and build up - or the text confusingly jumped to someone suddenly being mad at you.

so it wasnt just them focusing less on bothering to put some friction in with the judaism stuff, and more so just avoiding complicated things:tm: in general, is how i feel about it. and overall made for a less compelling and franly baffling at times writing

Me sitting in the car, minding my own business

My brain: Hey remember how motr included a thing with having a Jewish character compare the plights of Jewish people in the time period to the devils in the game

[thedeafprophet]

Like okay I think you could argue that September's kirk is nonreligious, given that the game actively says the religious aspects have been removed and replaced with other things. (that doesn't change what the building originally was or anything, and it would still be weird for the player to build one)

But the burrow station is still so aggravating with how the only option is to follow the rituals of a specific sect of Christianity, and the text flat out assuming that's something your character would do 🤨

Me: * sitting on my computer, minding my own business *

My brain: "Hey remember when that person defended the burrow station by saying a church is a non-religious building'

Me: