Millennial writing in video games

[Dr.Kisaragi]

I'm curious if there are many video games written in a millennial style—I haven’t seen any before. People criticize writers for this, so how do you spot millennial-style writing, and what is the stigma around it.

 

[newtype711]

The Saint's Row Reboot is a prime example. While taste is always relative the best description of the "millennial style" is anytime the story or dialouge apes a Disney marvel movie or anything written by Josh Wedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
Put in a more formal way it is a style that tries to challenge the tropes of entertainment to the excess of being trite or cilche.

 

[Doomsday519]

I think one of the bigger examples is Borderlands. The quirky characters & writing, sarcasm and the like. Criticism has always been that millennial writing is cringe or corny. Take a serious scene then insert unnecessary jokes, sarcasm, quips, "well, that just happened...", etc. For me I think a lot of the influence comes from one man and he didn't even write a video game. The man is Joss Whedon. I feel like he popularized that style and millennials in general just ran with it and kinda made it worse.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 7:07 AM

The Saint's Row Reboot is a prime example. While taste is always relative the best description of the "millennial style" is anytime the story or dialouge apes a Disney marvel movie or anything written by Josh Wedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
Put in a more formal way it is a style that tries to challenge the tropes of entertainment to the excess of being trite or cilche.

Like minds mentioning "Joss Whedon" lol

 

[starseeker300]

this is because of metroid prime 4 isnt it.

 

[ThatOneLum ThatOneLum]

I think I can second most people's suggestion that Borderlands 3/4 both suffer from what we call "millennial writing", tough honestly it feels more like it's "currently trending hacky writing" than specific to any given generation.

I've not played it, but from what I understand, Forspoken had this issue as well. Overly quippy, grounded dialogue spouted by people in fantastical scenarios as much as it would be in an everyday scenario.

Personally, I'm not a fan, but there are so many projects outside of the mainstream system that don't suffer from it. I dunno how prevalent it has become in games outside of a few games that generally just failed.

 

[Neb Lleb]

I think one of the bigger examples is Borderlands. The quirky characters & writing, sarcasm and the like. Criticism has always been that millennial writing is cringe or corny. Take a serious scene then insert unnecessary jokes, sarcasm, quips, "well, that just happened...", etc. For me I think a lot of the influence comes from one man and he didn't even write a video game. The man is Joss Whedon. I feel like he popularized that style and millennials in general just ran with it and kinda made it worse.

Yeah. Millennial Writing and the creatives who use it are very influenced by Joss Whedon, and TBH? they don't know WHY his writing for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer worked in the first place. Buffy was a sincere show even with the lampshades and in-jokes (I.E. "Nightmares", the highlight of that show's first season and one that is 100% sincere in its plot and the torment Buffy and the scoobies go through), and most millennial-penned works of fiction are anything but, mainly due to these people having insane egos the size of Arrakis (to quote one of my two threads on one of the worst offenders, Netflix May Cry).

Thing is, it's okay to tell a joke to alleviate tension. But you need to be genuine as you do so, and millennial writers lack this quality.

 

[DanCalibur]

 

[Sumea]

Yeah. Millennial Writing and the creatives who use it are very influenced by Joss Whedon, and TBH? they don't know WHY his writing for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer worked in the first place. Buffy was a sincere show even with the lampshades and in-jokes

Yeah. To me, this is difference of writing in GTA3 to 4, versus how writing and scenes are in GTA5. GTA up to 4 is very sincere especially in their characters even if the world has heavily satirical elements. Whereas 5 makes even the characters part of the satirical world, and also goes just quite overboard with the "quirky" nature of everything. To me, something like diving equipment company being named "Prolaps" is just that slight push over. Yet, I would not call GTA5 a case of "Millenial Writing" but more of example of new writers not getting the balance and golden ratio of old.

Even when I could use "Millenial Writing" as handwavy thing against some games easily, it is bit of a blanketed statement. I am still not sure if it it "Written by millenials" or "Written for millenials" - it is bit of both, I think, and I am sure there is at least two good thing written by and for millenials. To me examples from the "Flood" of "Millenial writing" are Forspoken by square, with a main character that is written to suck brain cells dry and bringing it's concept and world down. The type people tend to hate is where writers intend to make "Strong individual" but end up making them self centered jerks that are hard to root for unless you identify with the character and is a yike for that, or are so forceful with their "subversion" of tropes for the game style, world or concept so hard it comes off as petty hatred for the concept itself. Trying too hard to make a mundane concept grandiose and falling flat, uninteresting, boring and unenjoyable. Generally just writing misfires like that. Generally, if I had to give it one more TL;DR, writing that just is so hard "How do you do, fellow millenials?" with poor quality and not much other merit to wrap the bones with.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:25 AM

I found this channel also a while back and it is absolutely fun to listen to her analysis videos. I am not even an hobbyist writer but it helped a little in identifying what can just feel wrong in a story or it's outline, without being able to really put a word or sentence down for it.

 

[Retro Doomer]

I'm curious if there are many video games written in a millennial style—I haven’t seen any before. People criticize writers for this, so how do you spot millennial-style writing, and what is the stigma around it.

I heard Reddit humor is a good indicator that its written by a Millennial but I am not sure about this.
So I assume it has a lot of cringe worthy humor in it so things that just make you roll your eyes and not laugh at it.

 

[Neb Lleb]

Yeah. To me, this is difference of writing in GTA3 to 4, versus how writing and scenes are in GTA5. GTA up to 4 is very sincere especially in their characters even if the world has heavily satirical elements. Whereas 5 makes even the characters part of the satirical world, and also goes just quite overboard with the "quirky" nature of everything. To me, something like diving equipment company being named "Prolaps" is just that slight push over. Yet, I would not call GTA5 a case of "Millenial Writing" but more of example of new writers not getting the balance and golden ratio of old.

Reading this, I'm reminded of the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds story "Subspace Rhapsody". Up until this episode, I thought that Strange New Worlds was doing a fine job of modernising classic Trek tropes, but "Subspace Rhapsody" ditched this for trying to ape Buffy, specifically "Once More With Feeling", without realising why Buffy did this so well. For one, Buffy had five seasons before it, so it had earnt the right to do a musical outing, and it was also a sincere attempt at a musical with some genuinely great songwriting. "Subspace Rhapsody" rushed in during the second season, had characters that lacked the depth needed to pull something like this off, and felt like a blatant ratings grab.

But again, I wouldn't consider it "Millennial Writing", but rather another case of people not getting why things worked in the past leading to their effort suffering as a result.
EDIT: If you needed more proof as to the intent of "Subspace Rhapsody", they even have the character La'An mention bunnies. Why? You know why...

 

[RanmyakuIchi's icon RanmyakuIchi RanmyakuIchi]

For what it's worth, most us millennial's hate millennial writing too. Joss Whedon really did irreparable harm to a whole generation.

 

[SpcDaicon]

I always found this term "millennial writing" funny.

People use it to refer to writing in modern movies/shows/games as if this somehow indicates that the movie/show/game is bad, sort of "virtue signaling" that they have, somehow, superior tastes than people who enjoy or don't notice this particular style of writing, something like "heh, I don't like THIS shit made for Millennials, I like GOOD writing like *procedes to name other millenial writing movies/shows/games* *smirks* *push glasses*".

In reality, this whole thing of making jokes and being sarcastic is not just "millennial writing", it is basically the norm since the 90s. People like to blame Joss Whedon, but the use of quips, jokes and sarcasm HAS ALWAYS existed in (specially in american) writing.

This style of writing, in my view, is only a reflection of the total cynicism that the mainstream media and audience in general has today. Often these jokes and quips are used to undercut moments of tension or emotion, sort of like a meta humor saying "hey guys, nothing of this here is serious. Isn't it cringe to feel EMOTIONS about something that is not real? *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*. I'm so inteligent and cool pointing that out!".

There is nothing more "reddit humor" than pointing out and making fun of "reddit humor", in a pathetic attempt to distance oneself from it. "Hey guys! Isn't this REDDIT AND MILLENIAL HUMOR totally cringe? Glad I'm not one of them!"

In the end, both people who enjoy "millenial writing" for its "witty and smart" dialog and people who critisize it are birds of a feather and both are pathetic.

 

[contrail_]

This hasn't happened yet, but the moment video game dialogue begins to read like a twitter exchange, I'm dropping a game. Something about the mundane making its way into the creative rubs me the wrong way.
Also,

In the end, both people who enjoy "millenial writing" for its "witty and smart" dialog and people who critisize it are birds of a feather and both are pathetic.

 

[moonbits]

Making it generational is rather naive but I'll say that games like Borderlands do push it for me. I like the term Marvel writing instead, it feels like it took over everything.

 

[Metroid_Hybrid]

This was illuminating. It has provided me one of the only silver-linings to being forced to go to schools that were absolutely jam-packed full of the borderline-[[insert "R-word" that I've received a warning over recently, but is objectively the most accurate word to use in this context (that particular moderator should watch this video as well)]]..

Because I've largely had to educate myself, it has invariably led to numerous blindspots. Think of having to describe something as a "light purple-ish pink" because you were completely unaware of the word "magenta." (My color vision is insanely good, btw)

It's nice to know WHY so many people habitually hyper-focus on certain words at the expense of general comprehension. They're not (always) stupid, or purposefully bad-faith, but they were literally trained to do exactly that!

 

[PhaseJump]

For what it's worth, most us millennial's hate millennial writing too. Joss Whedon really did irreparable harm to a whole generation.

The whole generation was raised on cynicism and sarcastic asshole archetype cartoon characters. The 80s and 90s entertainment industry dove head first into gritty drama, rampant nihilism and violence in prime time. Junkie Gen-X theatre kids were platformed as rock stars.

Whedon brought the quips and his own style, but now the idiots who once fetched coffee for people like him are in charge of production. Writer's rooms are filled with stunted adults that never lived, never faced hardship, never went to war or did anything meaningful. People who have been given participation trophies and passing marks just for showing up to college, paying top dollar for a pat on the back and the ability to network with other dumbasses who aren't worth listening to.

 

[Graw]

I dunno if it's millenial writing or not but the title of the thread brings Timespinners and Undertale to mind. The writing in those games feels very millenial to me.

 

[zalen0]

this is because of metroid prime 4 isnt it.

Lol you know it is

 

[petran79]

Yeah. Millennial Writing and the creatives who use it are very influenced by Joss Whedon, and TBH? they don't know WHY his writing for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer worked in the first place. Buffy was a sincere show even with the lampshades and in-jokes (I.E. "Nightmares", the highlight of that show's first season and one that is 100% sincere in its plot and the torment Buffy and the scoobies go through), and most millennial-penned works of fiction are anything but, mainly due to these people having insane egos the size of Arrakis (to quote one of my two threads on one of the worst offenders, Netflix May Cry).

Thing is, it's okay to tell a joke to alleviate tension. But you need to be genuine as you do so, and millennial writers lack this quality.

I thought that type of popular writing started few years earlier with Hercules and Xena TV series

 

[Greila]

90s writing is little more than the decade's take on typical North American comedy writing. Modern videogame writing basically is an amalgamation of that and 90s videogame translation writing. "Generation so-and-so writing" is a empty concept that means whatever the person saying it wants it to mean. Many circles, as SpcDaicon pointed out above, like using those terms specifically because they mean nothing, so everyone will just project whatever "hip and trendy" writing style they don't like and give OP upvotes and likes.

A more valid criticism would be "writing that undercuts emotional sincerity with jokes" or "writing that is trying too hard to outsmart the audience and falls flat at it", but for any modern example of it, there are dozens you can grab from decades before any of us were ever born. 1940's Looney Tunes was doing jokes like those almost every single short (to make fun at Disney-styled melodrama which was popular at the time! Which shows that what one decade considers "hip" will be the "cringe" of the following decades and so on).

As everything, it's not what you do but how, when, and how much. Anything that is seen as "trendy" will soon become oversaturated, and the pendulum will swing into the other direction searching for the next hit with audiences. "Witty" writing will go away when people are done with it and will come back when whatever replaces it overstays its welcome. People are going to yearn for the current trends you loathe because the problem is never that one style or the other exists, it's the lack of variety that happens when everyone is trying to do the exact same thing because they decided the previous thing wasn't cool anymore. And you can't escape it. Everything is a product of its environment in one way or the other.

 

[dropsmegamega]

I think the most marking and annoying characteristic of millenial writing is how characters behave like internet users. Like you are in a fucking fantasy world, but it doesn't matter, people will talk and act like they have spawned straight from twitter, which is why I can't stand games like Undertale. MCU also does this by using the jokes and self-awareness specifically as a way to not fully commit to the reality of their own story.

It's a reflection specifically of today's culture so I believe "millenial writing" applies. The fact that similar techniques existed decades ago doesn’t matter. Edgy anti-heroes existed before the 2000s, but nobody pretends the 2000s weren’t defined by them. Trends are marked by when they dominate, not when they first appeared.

 

[trickybus]

I'll echo the sentiment that 'millennial writing' is MCU writing by another name. There's a complete lack of understanding or self-awareness when it comes to writing conventions and how they work. Characters aren't written to be interesting and believable but as self-inserts to fulfill a fantasy or air out the writer's dirty laundry—looking at you, Mindy Kaling and that abortion of a show.

A lot of these writing conventions started in fanfiction and unfortunately, quite a few of these "writers" got into the industry but never learned to write well because in a fanfiction community, mediocrity is celebrated to avoid ruffling feathers.