Subtitles For Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

Sklarlight · Nov 20, 2018 11:24 PM

Hi!

I'm new to these forums, as are a few of you after the recent release of Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. Back in the late nineties, early noughties, subtitles weren't as common in video games and it wasn't until accessibility became a much bigger thing that we started to see subtitles and other forms of accessibility spreading across all forms of media, video games included. However, Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, much like the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy before it, has no subtitles during their cut-scenes. Some of you may perhaps think that this is a non-issue given that Crash has very little dialogue, and Spyro revolves more around the gameplay than the story. But for those who are hard of hearing, do not know English as their first language or just appreciate the convenience of subtitles, they are missing out on what many consider to be a crucial component of the games. Most games these days have subtitles and they are purely optional.

Activision responded to the lack of subtitles by stating that they wanted to remain as authentic to the original experience as possible. If this is what they wanted to do, they may as well have released a port instead. The Spyro Trilogy, much like the Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, was remade from the ground up according to modern standards. That includes visuals, audio, and accessibility. Only, they forgot that last part.

If you are affected, know anybody who may be affected, or simply want to support those who are, it would mean the world to me if you would consider signing this petition. It may not yield any results, but I can only try my best for this to receive more attention.

IGN covered some of my statements in their article, which you may also read if you would like to.

Thank you.

Last edited by Sklarlight (Nov 20, 2018 11:26 PM)

MrXLink · Nov 21, 2018 12:22 AM

Playing the authenticity card when it comes to accessibility is honestly a really low blow. If you want a remaster to be as close to its predecessor as possible, mindlessly copying something like this isn't something any reasonable developer would do. This is basic settings and options design in this day and age, and whereas Unreal Engine comes with many accessibility settings by default, subtitles is obviously not one that can be set automatically without entering the transcripts. At the time, Insomniac's attempts to make their games more accessible were already great for what was possible to integrate into their systems while staying within their CD Disk space range (which is also the reason why PAL versions of the original trilogy lacked certain soundtracks compared to NTSC to make room for multilingual transcripts and/or audio). If Activision/Toys for Bob were to stick as closely to Insomniac's vision back in the day, they would add more accessibility options than the game originally had to comply with modern day standards and expectations.

This is merely Activision deflecting and somehow attempting to protect their reputation. I assume the lack of subtitles in cutscenes and for S1 dragons was just a big development oversight which is honestly fine and it happens (even after the N.Sane Trilogy), but there's no need to make up excuses as to why this has happened. This really isn't about authenticity, it's just something that's being forgotten, and can be easily patched in with the power of DLC/Product Updates. Heck, it could even be a crunchtime exemption to make the November 13th deadline. I'm really more annoyed with how Activision reacts to it rather than why the game doesn't have them. Never been much of an advocate for Activision anyway, but this is really just sub-par for such a massive company that one would assume holds their fair share of responsibility. This is not anything hard to implement either. Given the transcripts, this could be implemented in a few days. The Unreal UI Editor makes it really simple for anyone to do so.

By the way, this issue is actually world news by now, contrary to the N.Sane Trilogy. The pressure is on quite heavily, so I really hope all the attention it's getting helps. Just taking the blow and spending an utterly negligible amount of resources to have this fixed really could save them a whole lot of trouble. I hope that this vast amount of media attention is going to help turn the tides, as I honestly am unsure whether petitions will help against industry giants. Doesn't hurt to sign though, so you have my support.

Sklarlight · Nov 21, 2018 1:05 AM

MrX-Link wrote:

This is merely Activision deflecting and somehow attempting to protect their reputation. I assume the lack of subtitles in cutscenes and for S1 dragons was just a big development oversight which is honestly fine and it happens (even after the N.Sane Trilogy), but there's no need to make up excuses as to why this has happened. This really isn't about authenticity, it's just something that's being forgotten, and can be easily patched in with the power of DLC/Product Updates.

That's true, that's exactly what it seems like to me also. It's a shame because while I'm thoroughly enjoying the gameplay, every time there's a cut-scene, I'm immediately reminded by the lack of subtitles and I become disconnected from the game. (I'm hard of hearing myself.) So my overall experience of the game feels like it's been slightly dampened.

MrX-Link wrote:

I'm really more annoyed with how Activision reacts to it rather than why the game doesn't have them. Never been much of an advocate for Activision anyway, but this is really just sub-par for such a massive company that one would assume holds their fair share of responsibility. This is not anything hard to implement either. Given the transcripts, this could be implemented in a few days. The Unreal UI Editor makes it really simple for anyone to do so.

Absolutely! I'm an indie dev myself using the Unreal Engine 4 with a small team, and we've implemented subtitles into our game. As you mentioned, with their UI Editor, it's very simple indeed.

MrX-Link wrote:

Doesn't hurt to sign though, so you have my support.

Thank you very much, it's hugely appreciated.

36IStillLikeSpyro36 · Nov 22, 2018 4:03 AM

signed! smile

Sklarlight · Nov 26, 2018 1:11 AM

36IStillLikeSpyro36 wrote:

signed!

Thank you!

Punk_Rock_Kirby · Dec 09, 2018 12:41 PM

This might not seem like a big deal to some, but I was very disappointed with the lack of subtitles. Me and my two roommates are all gamers of some degree and are good friends so we often game together or at least in vicinity of each other. Subtitles have become a must for anything here unless you're in your own quarters. They also make it easy to have conversations. If I were hearing unpaired I'd be even more distressed about it.

36IStillLikeSpyro36 · Mar 13, 2019 2:52 PM

SUBTITLES HAVE BEEN ADDED! confirmed by a deaf guy on YouTube. smile

#1 Nov 20, 2018 11:24 PM

Subtitles For Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

#2 Nov 21, 2018 12:22 AM

Re: Subtitles For Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

#3 Nov 21, 2018 1:05 AM

Re: Subtitles For Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

#4 Nov 22, 2018 4:03 AM

Re: Subtitles For Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

#5 Nov 26, 2018 1:11 AM

Re: Subtitles For Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

#6 Dec 09, 2018 12:41 PM

Re: Subtitles For Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

#7 Mar 13, 2019 2:52 PM

Re: Subtitles For Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

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