Anna Megill, former lead writer for Fable IV, believes that writers shouldn't expend extra effort on players who insist on skipping cutscenes, nor should they try to force lore onto players who are only interested in gameplay.
Megill discussed the phenomenon of players rapidly skipping animations and dialogue on the podcast "The Corner of Story and Game." She explained that some players just want to experience the game mechanics, and trying to retain them with more complex narratives won't work.
Megill stated, "Many people skip cutscenes as quickly as possible and have no interest in listening to dialogue. Writers aren't writing for these players anyway, so it's better to let them skip Everythinggj and continue playing, since this content isn't meant for them."
She also noted that game narrative involves costs such as scriptwriting, editing, casting, and voice recording. Even AAA projects must strictly control their budgets. It doesn't make sense to invest more in narrative for players who will immediately skip these elements.
Megill advocates for a "good enough" approach: keep main story information concise and focused, relying more on visual storytelling and level design; deeper lore details can be made optional for players who wish to explore.
Meg Jayanth has over 20 years of industry experience, having worked at Nintendo, Arkane Studios, Ubisoft, Remedy Entertainment, and Playground Games. She is currently part of CD Projekt Red's Boston team, working on the next entry in the Cyberpunk series, codenamed "Project Orion."