I really dislike how the devs appear to approach DP (+ Challenge 70 discourse)
This is a hot take I've had for awhile. Keep in mind that I haven't unlocked the devlogs yet and have yet to play Watcher (I will, I just want to finish the DP content first. Challenge 70 is a bitch and I'm bad at games/hj), but this is less about the lore itself and more about how I've seen the devs/some players approach the lore so it shouldn't affect it too much.
I'm not sure what it is, if it's a schism in the development team, some devs disagreeing, or if they're all united on this front, but the devs seem to really dislike Downpour, which is honestly just confusing to me (you're the ones who took it and published it instead of leaving it as a community modpack??). The reason I say this is the constant drum beat of "it isn't canon" that they uphold. I get that it isn't their creative vision but then... wild take.. maybe they shouldn't have added it to the game?? Like, obviously it's going to shape a new player's understanding of the lore! It's the best (biased) part of the game (at least lore wise).
The reason this is coming up for me is I saw someone talking about how Challenge 70 is meant to just "troll the lore theorists". And I think that's an absolute asshole move. Like, sorry I care about the thing you made??? Sorry for pouring the hundreds of hours it takes to get to that point in the game and having faith in the devs that it would be worthwhile? (something something unsatisfying struggle point of no return etc). I've actively avoided the devlogs when possible but from what little I've seen it's apparent that they DID put work into DP, it wasn't just a quick "official mod" kinda deal like ARK did back in the day, and they considered what content should and shouldn't be included (looking at Spearmaster and how he was almost cut).
The thing is, Challenge 70 is a BAD twist. It is BAD storytelling and it's not fun to experience when you think you've cracked smt, only to realize that can't be right, dig deeper and find out it's not canon. Inv is a fantastic example of trolling done right, like, actually funny for both players and developers. Challenge 70 just comes across as mean-spirited to people who care.
I realize my anger over this is mostly irrational, but I have poured so much more time and effort into this game than I planned to, pushing past all of my quit moments because I had faith in the developers and the people who praised the game for its lore and storytelling. And I feel let down by that. Not only do I feel the developers refusing to hold up on their "end of the bargain" as far as the art itself, I feel actively mocked for even caring in the first place. -- Gwen
