RANT AHEAD 🗣️ y'all don't have to read my insane ramblings but I do have to get it out of my system.
Genuinely, what were the devs cooking when it comes to Ian's writing?
I feel like I have to preface this by saying this loser is one of my favorite characters from the game, and was even my absolute fav before this patch. So, let's recap what we knew about him before 1.0, since I've been into this game for a few years now lol.
Okay, so, we meet this guy who's clearly a bit socially awkward, but is obviously very good with programming and tech. Ok. Cool. A nice setup in a game that generally focuses on character development and relationships between the characters. Right? Maybe he'll learn how to socialize more or communicate better with patients! ...Right?
It's still early on in the story, let's see what happens next!
Aww, damn, that's so sad! :( Clearly, this will be very relevant for a story that takes place in a HOSPITAL. And also talks about showing up for the people you love despite your career/projects/work. Surely, since Paige is getting her own arc, he'll get his personal moment to shine too!
Okay, Act 6 update. Now that we're nearing the finale, we've gotta start addressing one of the two poster children of the game!
Oh ok, so he was definitely a little isolated when he was younger. Makes sense why he is the way he is. This couldn't just be him being written off as comedic relief! We'll certainly work through this, help his social anxiety, perhaps make him build a relationship with one of the other characters that ISN'T Paige once again.
Okay. Nope. Not in this act. Understandable, we've got a lot of other shit on our plate. But hey, since this act ends with the player having to make a choice, and the story branching into two different routes, surely ONE of them is focused on him and–
Even if you play the Paige leaves route, he's essentially the player's tutorial man. He waltzes around, goes ":'O" to everything bad that happens, and just when you've lost all hope of him getting any sort of character arc, this scene happens.
Okay. It at least gives him a few lines of focus, but we just end up getting more issues to work through. Dude is a serious people pleaser. It's BAD. No matter what insane bullshit Edega asks him to do, he'll do it because he doesn't know how to say no. And, of course, the issue with him kinda needing a stable job because he has a sick family member. Remember that? Oh, yeah, it wasn't brought up since act 3. And it won't be brought up ever again!!! :D It sure does serve as a convenient excuse to keep him either in or out of the hospital, depending on what the story needs in that moment. But, hey, moving on! There's still time, story's not finished yet. Let's see what happens.
bro is GONE. Alright, I'd admit this scene was a good start, if it wasn't literally right at the end of the game, and also only a minute long, and also in the middle of the final boss battle, and also RIGHT before THAT scene with Mark and Edega that just completely overshadowed this moment. Like, let's be real now. Did you see anyone play the game and then remember this scene at all after what happened right after it? It's an afterthought at best. (One of the MAIN TWO CHARACTERS, by the way. Or at least that's what all the official Steam art wants me to believe.) Another massive problem is that, while it does at least give him credit for everything he's been doing around the place, it doesn't actually address any issues specific to his character. Being tired and stressed is kinda in the portfolio of every character in the game, it's the main overarching theme, not HIS problem specifically. And god knows he's got a lot of them to pick from.
Phew, ok, we survived the boss battle. Let's see what the other characters have to say :)
Huh. Okay. I mean, absolutely DO thank Paige, yes, but don't y'all think Ian also deserves a thank you? You know, especially when we consider the fact that he made the damn device that saved Mark's life? I just... Lmao. Lol. Rofl. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
And then, the very last scene of the game. There's just no way to fuck this up, ri-
Oh come on you have to be kidding me. Last cutscene of the game. The character that literally introduced us to the game just GETS UP AND WALKS AWAY. FOR NO GOOD REASON. JUST GOES "ok I'mma head out" AND LEAVES. And he isn't there for the genuinely interesting conversation that happens between Edega and Paige. For the very last scene. Why? God fucking knows. First of all, from a storytelling perspective, this is horrendous. Just puts him in the background like he's irrelevant. And from a character perspective, it's the cherry on top for his lack of character development. It would've been SO easy to use this scene to make him finally stand up for himself, to say no. Literally just make him be the one to scold Edega instead of Paige. It would be SOMETHING, at least. No, instead one of the two main characters just isn't there at all. He just runs away from his problems once more.
I began genuinely losing my temper here lmao, and I planned for this to be more composed originally. Alas.
Another really small thing that irks me – he's literally the only important character that doesn't have a full name. We have Ada Paige, Gabriel Edega, Cole Brew, Nicole Ting, Lucky Maximo Jonronero, Mark Booker, hell, even Hailey and Logan have last names in the game files. He's just...
Not even a last name. And it's not even a pun or something else clever like the other characters' names. Just Ian. I'm vexed. If you told me four years ago that Edega of all people would get a character arc before Ian does, I'd call you insane.
No resolution to literally ANY of his personal issues. No character arc. No character development. Hell, not even a damn song. Like I at least expected him to get a boss battle like Paige did. Nuh uh. Bro doesn't even have a last name. All the setup for a good arc, but none of the actual arc.
Genuinely, it's so bad that I have to believe he's gonna get a DLC or something because otherwise I'm just going to go insane. And I say this BECAUSE I like him so much. Before this most recent update he was literally my fav character from the game lmao. I even have a "Stan Ian!!!" sleeve paint on one of my old save files. I was ready to bet my right arm on him getting focus or even being THE endgame character.
I feel like this is overwhelmingly negative for my usual posts/general attitude, but I just... I'm bamboozled to the point it's genuinely funny. The longer I thought about it, the worse it got. So I just had to get this all out of my system. God knows how much I love this game but Ian specifically is one single thing I'd change about it. I cannot comprehend how they wrote so many amazing character arcs and so many lovable little critters and then absolutely dropped the ball here. It HAS to be intentional I refuse to believe otherwise. Just... Give him something. Please bro.
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