This topic was started on LUni by Jamester:
Posted 24 March 2011 - 10:34 PM
There's been a debate on whether or not LEGO Universe is too dark. The original design of the game was light hearted, but a bit on the cheesy side. The redesign made things a bit darker - almost too dark. There was a topic on the LEGO Message Boards about it, but the argument got out of hand and it was locked/deleted. I sent in a suggestion a little while ago:
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The game feels a bit too dark at the moment. Not all areas - Avant Gardens and the Gnarled Forest are great, they aren't too dark at all. But some areas, like Forbidden Valley and Crux Prime, feel the same throughout - all 100% darkness. It's a bit too much. Also, things like the Darkitect cutscene seem a bit dark considering this is a game based off of a kid's toy. Balance it a bit. Whatever happened to the original LEGO Universe? It's no secret that practically the entire game was redesigned sometime in 2009. Whatever happened to Nimbus Park with Friendly Felix, or YouReeka? What about the early design for Forbidden Valley? Also, some characters feel a bit too detailed. They've lost the LEGO feel. Just compare the original Captain Jack Knife and Numb Chuck to their early counterparts, the older ones are more memorable. I'm not asking for a lolipops and rainbows Universe, just for a bit more of the LEGO feel and more balance between light and dark in the world design and story.
This is their reply:
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We appreciate and understand your feedback - you're not the first player to bring up the darker elements of LEGO Universe! A lot of the redesigns were brought about due to negative feedback from many fans, though many of those same players have ended up asking about things like YouReeka. The exact status of Nimbus Park and YouReeka isn't something we can reveal too much about - but maybe they shall see the light of day in the near future?
We have forwarded your comments on to the Development Team. They will definitely appreciate the thoughts of such a LEGO fan such as yourself - perhaps we will see a bit more of a LEGO feel to LEGO Universe soon!
If you have any questions, or any more thoughts to share with us, please contact us again.
May Imagination be with you, jamessterLU!
LEGO Universe Support Team
So, the early design was so light that it felt cheesy. People complained. They made it darker and edgier, but went a little too far in the process, causing people to complain about that. As said in my suggestion, not all areas or story elements are too dark. Avant Gardens and the Gnarled Forest were redesigned perfectly, with Avant Gardens being an excellent blend of fighting and relaxing, and the Gnarled Forest capturing the pirate jungle feel, which the original version didn't have (I don't care for the original GF all that much) without being too dark. Nimbus Station is just kinda meh - it's not dark or anything, just kinda bland. YouReeka was cheesy, but at least you're never going to forget it. NS just doesn't feel that special, it's like the developers didn't know what theme they were basing it on so they just combined the concert from Nimbus Park with the plaza from YouReeka and added a racetrack. Forbidden Valley is closer to the original 1999 LEGO Ninja theme with the barren rocks and such, but the fact that it's barren all around makes it feel a bit too dark. A peaceful garden or something would have helped drastically. Crux Prime is supposed to be a battlefield, so the darkness is fitting there, but it feels like a Forbidden Valley clone (heck, it even has a ninja monastery!). Pet Ranch vs Pet Cove, I haven't seen enough of Pet Ranch to decide, but I really do like the semi-tropical feel of Pet Cove, it reminds me of LEGO Island... So many memories there. But what really bothers me the most about the redesign is the Darkitect cutscene. I mean, it's nightmare fuel. It's not that it's too scary (Not to older fans anyways), but come on, there's gotta be some 6-year-old out there who saw that and wet his pants. This is a game based off of a kid's building toy, and on top of that, the brand had a strong no-violence policy for the longest time (not that I totally agree with a non-violence policy, what would LEGO Space be without giant laser guns? :-P ). It really seems odd that you're seeing that sort of stuff in a game based off of LEGO.
Oh, one more thing. I'd like you to compare these.
linklinkOne's slightly too cheesy, the other's a bit too dark. We need a balance somewhere.
Images removed.
