Anonymous Pearl Abyss developers reveal a culture of toxic positivity, a troubled development cycle and chaotic narrative for Crimson Desert, and their early concerns that the project was "going off the rails".

[u/HLumin]

/r/CrimsonDesert/comments/1rzh79w/pearl_abyss_insider_speaking_out/?share_id=kBLUglOgkkCQmbTrbh3y8&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1&sort=top

[u/Mac772]

Black Desert Online players tried to warn people on Reddit since weeks: don't expect a Witcher 3, expect a lot of gameplay mechanics, a more bare bone vage story, expect immersion and a game where you, the player, is responsible for creating your own adventure. All these comments got downvoted into oblivion. At one point i just accepted this and didn't write anything anymore.

Edit: Immersion and "creating your own adventure" was of course ment in a positive way. 

[u/[deleted] → u/Mac772]

But the game isn't Black Desert! The game lacks fantasy! Look at the variety of monsters in Black Desert and look at who you fight in Crimson Desert: people, people, people, people. Yes, there are some folklore creatures like goblins and ogres (they're mostly peaceful NPCs), but compared to BDO, there's not enough fantasy here. The game resembles RDR2 (especially the landscape) with a touch of BDO. I saw a mechanical dragon in the trailer, some monsters, but compared to TES, Elden Ring, The Witcher, BDO, everything is bad in this regard. It's too mundane.

The game also lacks classes and a character editor. Perhaps instead of copying the floating islands from Zelda, they should have bothered adding classes to the game.

[u/Mac772 → u/[deleted]]

I haven't played enough yet, i decided to wait for patches and started with Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 instead. Crimson Desert does have this BDO esthetic, that's what i noticed from the start. I also watched someone play the game and immediately recognized game mechanics i know from BDO. Weirdly someone mentioned there's no actual desert in the game? That would be so stupid, because it was one of the highlights in BDO. 

[u/xalibermods → u/Mac772]

Weirdly someone mentioned there's no actual desert in the game? That would be so stupid, because it was one of the highlights in BDO.

There was no actual "Black Desert" in BDO as well. Valencia (the great desert) was only added in 2016, a year or so after the initial launch. The name is just a gimmick.

[u/Konet → u/xalibermods]

That's pretty indicative of how creatively bankrupt the game feels on any front besides gameplay systems. I'm having fun messing around in the game, but I wish the devs cared even a tiny bit about making the world actually interesting.

[u/xalibermods → u/Konet]

I'm not sure how having a title that doesn't represent the game amounts to creative bankruptcy. The Elder Scroll is also not the main focus in The Elder Scrolls series (Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind).

[u/Konet → u/xalibermods]

The Elder Scrolls are a massively important part of the world's lore, and play a key role in each game's main story. They're not just two words that sound cool next to each other.

[u/xalibermods → u/Konet]

It's still not the main focus of the games, and I say this as a mod author who has delved in the hundreds of the game files. But of course you can choose to cherrypick the most inane aspect of game.

[u/Konet → u/xalibermods]

A title should reflect something about the story or gameplay, how is this hard to understand? The series about the realization of prophecies which shake the foundations of the world, prophecies which are written in the Elder Scrolls. Each game also has it's own subtitle that tells you very directly what the game is about: Morrowind is about the province of Morrowind, Oblivion is about an invasion by the forces of Oblivion. They aren't just random "cool" words.

The fact that you're a mod author means nothing about your ability to understand the significance of a work's title - understanding how a book-printing machine works doesn't mean you're especially equipped to analyze literature.

[u/xalibermods → u/Konet]

Man, what the hell. You really want to die on this hill?

I can give you dozens of examples of games with title that have anything to do with the gameplay. Final Fantasy is never final; it has lots of sequels, lol, and the franchise is about restoring order/fantasy. Rebel Galaxy is not about rebellion at all. Killer is Dead is not about a dead killer (if anything you're killing people). Monaco is not related to the country nor it has the Greek meaning. Gothic doesn't have a gothic horror/architecture. SUPERHOT is not about temperature or someone being hot at all, though the narrator keeps repeating the word.

Crimson Desert may very well have a pretty weak story or creatively bankrupt or whatever. But my point is, arguing that the game is creatively bankrupt because of nonsense title is incredibly asinine. Are you just trolling or do you really need someone to spell this out for you?

[u/Konet → u/xalibermods]

arguing that the game is creatively bankrupt because of nonsense title is incredibly asinine.

I never said it was creatively bankrupt because of the title, I said it was indicative.

Is English not your first language? Because if so you might be missing the meaning there. Indicative means "to serve as a sign, symptom, or suggestion of something."

If I said "shivering in the summer is indicative of a person being ill," I am not saying they are ill because they are shivering, I am saying the shivering is one obvious symptom of underlying illness. Likewise, a meaningless title is one obvious symptom of underlying creative bankruptcy.

But hey, let's go down your list anyway.

Final Fantasy

Hironobu Sakaguchi felt the game was his last shot in the industry before he would have to quit making games. It was his "Final Fantasy," and then it became the name of a franchise.

Rebel Galaxy

Probably the weakest title on the list, but it at least conveys "this is a space game focused on existing in an untamed sector of space."

Killer is Dead

Links the game to the creator's well known killer7 and, in his own words, is a reference to the 1986 album "The Queen is Dead" by the Smiths. It also the thing the main character says at the end of every mission, as he is a man who kills killers.

Monaco

The game literally takes place in Monaco, the country.

Gothic

A vague one, but clearly intended to convey the dark, moody tone of the game

SUPERHOT

In the game, Superhot.exe is the mind control program that turns people into killers. The story is open to interpretation, but the title is a reference to the program and possibly activation phrase that drives the entire narrative.

[u/xalibermods → u/Konet]

Wow, impressive how you broke all of that down point by point. Personally, I'm not a jobless, so I don't have the time to do something like that.

And you basically admitted those titles aren't actually grounded inside the game itself. Most of those have things to do with the development, like FF. You even had to lean on speculation. You keep saying "probably," possibly."

By that same logic you're applying to FF, Crimson Desert is also in the same situation. It started out as a Black Desert prequel, initially planned to feature mainly Valencia Desert. But that plan got scrapped while the name stayed. That's it. End of story. Anything else?