LCD Game's Dogma

Discussion in 'Latest Chapter Discussion' started by jacobpaige, Mar 4, 2021.

  1. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    Series link: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/games-dogma/

    C1: I don't think I've seen a 22 year old teenager before...

    I wonder if the guy that just bought his company did it so that he could sue the pants off the VR game for plagiarism. Even if the lawsuit was doomed to failure (which probably isn't the case), it would still be worthwhile for them to settle out of court for a fairly sizable amount of cash.

    C3: I wonder if any of this will ever make sense, or if the author just tossed out things they thought would be interesting with the intention of figuring out how they all went together later, if at all.

    Also curious if there are others that got yanked in like the MC. From the way they were talking, it didn't sound like he was unexpected, which would tend to indicate that there should be more.

    "He never heard from the tutorial that his attributes would be hidden!" What tutorial?

    It would have been better if he'd actually set out to find the rat rather than finding it by chance. It'd give him more agency as a character, while also toning down the "luck" factor that plagues so many power fantasy series.

    Actually, there's quite a lot of lore maniacs who would happily listen to the village chief babble about lore.

    C5: Actually, Hades is almost certainly a super popular PC name that appears in every MMO ever (excluding those with NPC's that have already reserved the name). There's no real reason for anyone to assume that this Hades is War of the Daemons' Hades.

    Considering the cost of the brainwave pod, I'm certain that a heck of a lot of online games would have survived Real World's release. Well, unless the cheapest models were much more affordable than the top of the line model that the MC bought. Like basically free kind of affordable.

    Why is he not even questioning how he got his class? Does the game always automatically assign classes with 0 player input?

    Seriously, why the f' would it matter if you were #1 in a keyboard and mouse game while playing a full dive VR game? It's like going to the Olympics and expecting people to bow down to you because of your record in Wii Sports. Though, I am glad that this story acknowledges that fact, unlike pretty much every other story in the genre that I've read.

    C6: Why does he assume that the MC must be a famous gamer? Wouldn't famous martial artist make more sense? Or is he still deluding himself about gamers being naturally proficient at a game that uses a completely different control scheme than anything they've dealt with previously?

    That aside, I wonder why the MC is bothering to try to train the guy.

    Since his phone still works, why isn't he calling anyone to get help? At minimum, he could call an ambulance or something.

    Why was it a "no brainer" to invest heavily in strength instead of one of the other stats? He doesn't even know what his class' specialty is. For all he knows, his third skill could be a magic spell, or pickpocketing, or something.

    C8: If you can't alter your appearance at all, then I have trouble understanding how this could have crushed every other game in existence. Being someone you're not is a major part of the draw for a significant chunk of the player base, especially those who are disfigured or disabled in some way, not to mention the transgender population, or even just the people who like playing the opposite gender without being transgender themselves.

    Walking away from an undesired spar isn't losing anything. Considering the pain settings, avoiding it is simply sensible. Heck, he doesn't even know if this is a death game that'll kill him for real if he dies in game.

    C9: Is the MC's spear a short spear or something? If not, then why does he need to be the one closing the distance when his opponent is using a sword?

    C10: The "noble upper class" people are at least as likely to be horribly despicable as any "grass roots" person. If he's not had to deal with bullies before, then it just means his parents have been heavily sheltering him. It has very little to do with class, beyond the fact that his parents were able to shelter him in the first place.

    Wow, what kind of idiot takes out a potion to drink while within range of his enemies?

    C11: Well, there go the stakes. The MC will never lose a fight again. At most, he might fail to protect someone or something.

    C12: I hope this means he'll finally start abusing his game knowledge actively. He's just been kinda existing up to now.

    C13: Honestly, when he said he needed equipment, I thought he was finally going to start using insider knowledge, not hit the auction house. Seriously, what was the point of the part of the premise that states that he designed this entire game if he wasn't going to abuse any of his knowledge of the game whatsoever?

    C14: "he only had to care about their attributes." What about how much they restrict his movements? There's a reason that multiple armor types exist in the real world after all.

    C15: I'll be a bit surprised if Zephyrwolf keeps his word. It'll be very unusual for the MC to not have to destroy the whole guild to put an end to this sort of thing.

    C16: "Its alright as long as our team record [..] isn't broken." lol. Booksy really should know better than to invite disaster like that ;)

    Honestly, I'm not sure why he looks down on his current skills so much given his fighting style and how useless skills have been when used against him so far.

    C17: Seriously, he needs to stop looking down on passives. They're fantastic. Sure, having an active can be very helpful, but passives are usually the true stars of OP builds, which, as a game designer, he should know even better than me.

    That aside, wtf would he add 8 points to Spear Mastery for 9% damage increase instead of putting those points into Might for an 90% bonus to his damage? Is he still hoping for an active skill so much that he's willing to practically cripple himself (comparatively speaking)? I could even see dumping it into his movement speed skill, since it would presumably improve his evasion too, and he relies on that heavily to not die, but Spear Mastery is just a total waste of points while Might still isn't maxxed out and he still doesn't have a single active skill that bases its damage/effect off of his weapon skill.

    C18: Honestly, I'm surprised he's not really helping out. I figured for sure that they'd get the team clear record thanks to him. Though, I suppose its still possible if the boss is the vast majority of the clear time.

    Why would Scaredyface cast Fireball at a fire based boss?

    C19: I guess the boss was the majority of the clear time. It feels strange to not get the whole gasping in awe, newly converted cheerleaders thing from watching the MC nearly solo the team dungeon. Not in a bad way mind you. Its just unexpected.

    C20: Are different time zones forced to be on different servers? If not, then its strange for such a popular game to have any time when the only dungeon in the game isn't busy.

    That aside, why didn't he drink a potion? Yeah, it won't heal him instantly, but it should still have kept him from death's door.

    C22: I get why Zephyrwolf trusts him, but I'm not clear on why the MC trusts Zephyrwolf.

    C23: How would Zephyrwolf's experience with other games help here? Is the game correcting for his total lack of knowledge of how to fight with a sword in some way? If so, then why did Hades suck so much? If not, then how does Zephyrwolf not suck?

    C25: Why teach a PK'r/thief like him the Exploit System? Also curious why the ES is even a secret honestly. It feels like something that would become common knowledge within the first five minutes of the game's launch if it wasn't in the promotional materials to begin with.

    C26: I know that the MC is about to get a major, free gear upgrade, but I have to wonder why he didn't buy new gear before going on this quest that he knew would be very difficult. He doesn't know he has impenetrable plot armor after all.

    C28: It's such a terrible idea to use a skill like Dying Precision around a known bandit that you're not intending to kill.

    C29: Considering the divorce rate, I just can't see that as a good resolution of their quest...

    C30: If no one can advance for a week, then won't that completely destroy the gap that the frontrunner worked so hard to create? After a full week of defending the cities, half the playerbase will be stuck at level 20, if not more. I'd be feeling quite bitter if I were that person. Or can people bank xp for after the class change?

    C31: Why insist on defending Yoda instead of Evergrand? Or is he planning to save both?

    C32: Honestly, the guy that blocked the MC from meeting the guild leader is the more normal one. He really wouldn't have time for random strangers so close to an invasion, especially when said strangers refuse to identify themselves or their business. PK is a real concern, even if wasting the guild leader's time wasn't.

    Of course, since PK is a real concern, allowing the MC to pass based on whether or not he can defeat the guards in a duel is just stupid.

    Um, looking down on people is arrogant. You can't really give the impression of one without giving the impression of the other.

    Well, this explains why Underworld will do whatever the MC wants when it would normally make no sense whatsoever for them to even listen to him.

    C33: Its a game. Why would it matter if the guild leader was the strongest in the guild? Their combat capability is their least important qualification. Also, why would they follow Satan if they didn't want to? Its not like he's paying their salary or anything.

    So, Satan has natural talent with athletics and has been training himself for years, but he still loses to an otaku that's likely never exercised in his life prior to the start of this game after only a few days of training and a few pointers from the MC? Yeah, sure. F' that whole "lifetime of effort" thing. It only applies to the MC's allies.

    "if you feel bitter about being in my shadow, then train harder! Become stronger than I am!" Um, that's exactly what he did do though...? No petty tricks involved.

    C34: Why would he think the MC was a masochist?

    Ah, so that's the reasoning for saving Yoda instead. Personally, I disagree with it. The time lost to trying to re-organize after arriving in Yoda is worth more than a few random players who probably wouldn't follow orders anyway.

    Honestly, I think the real reason is just so that the MC will be in the dominant position of receiving them into his city rather than subordinate one of seeking refuge in theirs. AKA: extreme selfishness, pride and arrogance.

    That aside, the MC is doing a really terrible job of keeping his identity secret.

    C36: Why wait until the last minute to send troops to the walls? Shouldn't that be the de facto first move? Even in the unlikely event that it turns out wrong, you can recall the troops just as easily as sending them out, so betting on the more likely scenario will likely save time and energy while improving the odds of success dramatically.

    Also, why is the MC in charge? Sure, he's good in one-v-one combat, but that's completely different from guild combat, where he's a total noob by comparison to either of them.

    Also also, why is there no mention of NPCs to guard the cities? Shouldn't they be in charge of the defense with the PCs acting as mercenaries? These aren't player owned cities after all, and all of the players are noobtastic compared to the NPC guards, much less the NPC soldiers.

    C38: Wasn't there supposed to be no penalty for death? How did his weapon drop?

    C39: Again, why would any skill from a keyboard and mouse game be assumed to transfer over to a deep dive VR game? Do CoD players regularly win international archery competitions in the author's mind?

    So, no one gets to pick their class? Seriously, how was this game able to crush all the others? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Realism will only take you so far, and even then, some people are actually repelled by it.

    I honestly just can't imagine this series actually becoming good anymore. I think I'll stop here.
     
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  2. Lurking

    Lurking Do the dead suffer, or is it a sweet release?

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    reading your critiques is very entertaining. thank you
     
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  3. userunfriendly

    userunfriendly A Wild Userunfriendly Appears!

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    But how is it? :cookie:
     
  4. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    So bad I've already mostly forgotten it and have no real desire to remember.
     
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  5. SaltyTank

    SaltyTank Active Member

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    Thank you for posting a review every chapter, well, at least until you gave up on the series. Really appreciate the dedication ^_^
    I've gotten in touch with the author about some of the points you've raised, so I could give a few answers on behalf of the author. Some are just my personal opinions though.
    Anyways, let's get started ;)

    Mistranslation on my part, thanks for pointing it out. Fixed it as well.

    The information does matter, but at a later stage. Saying anymore would be spoilers so I'm going to stop here.

    The tutorial has indeed been mentioned, here's an excerpt:
    Soon enough, he noticed an NPC that had a gigantic question mark floating above her head. After hearing a detailed explanation of the game's basic mechanics from the charming NPC girl, Drako Yau took out his phone.

    I've asked the author's opinion about this. I'll sum up his response here:
    'It's the other way around really; people bow down to you in Wii Sports because you are an Olympics champion. It's like winning a game of 2K against an NBA player, you'll still feel hella pumped up even though its just a basketball game not actual basketball. People expect you to be good when you're at peak level in a similar activity, it's just crowd mentality really.

    It's a matter of preference and opinion. I personally think if an actual brainwave VR technology becomes available tomorrow along with an actual MMORPG, it'll decimate most MMORPG games at the very least. True VR is like the dream technology really. It was also mentioned that you don't have to play combat classes; those who don't like to fight can engage in sub-class activities like pottery, farming, those sort of stuff, and some elderly play the game just because they can move like a healthy person in-game without having to deal with movement disabilities like in real life.

    Excerpt: After playing countless games, he could get the hang of new games very quickly.
    Guess you could say he's just quick at picking new things up.

    Again, a matter of opinion and perspective. Most of Evergrand's better players had left for Terrafirm and Empyreon at that point, so their chances of successfully defending the city was practically zero, even with the few reinforcements they could muster from Yoda. However, since Hades had the influence to bring almost everyone from Evergrand over to Yoda, it was clearly the better choice—for both cities. Like the MC said, bringing 90% of Evergrand's players over to Yoda was better than bringing 50% of Yoda's players over to Evergrand.

    It is mentioned in the next few chapters, so I'm not going to explain it here.

    The death penalty was referring to losing levels. I've updated the chapter to make this clear, thanks.

    Thanks for your efforts for writing such a long review. It's unfortunate that you didn't enjoy the series. Anyways, I hope this could clear things up for those who come across this LCD thread and review.
     
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