Dungeon Master Comes with New Option to Skip Cutscenes

“It used to take some creativity and skill to get the DM to cut it short and get to the good stuff."

Acme Dungeon Masters has announced that they will be will including the option to “skip cutscenes” in some of next year’s dungeon master models. “We’ve listened to our customers, and they’re saying that sometimes they just don’t want to hear 30 minute long conversations between NPCs,” says Acme Dungeon Masters CEO Natalie Vrilmm. “Honestly, I’m shocked. We put a lot of effort into the improv and voice acting capabilities of the current generation, based on previous market research, but we have to give the players what they want.”

The change was largely inspired by a grassroots movement organized by long time player Adam Tsurts, whose petition for the option was signed by over two hundred thousand players. “There’s no wrong way to play the game,” Tsurts tells The Dungeon Tribune. “And that includes the option to actually play the game instead of having to listen to a dungeon master talk the entire time.”

Not everyone is happy with the option, though. Self-proclaimed “purist”, Sydney Argenkin explains that being able to skip the boring parts of the game takes away an essential part of the experience. “I still tell epic stories of listening to gamemasters ramble on about what the NPC is wearing,” says Argenkin. “One time I sat through a 2-hour explanation of some tapestries that didn’t even have important lore associated with them. It’s a shame that newer players won’t be able to get those experiences because it won’t be forced on them.”

Those who study the history of the game tend to agree. “It certainly takes away some of the artistic aspects of the game,” says game historian Willis Earllington. “It used to take some creativity and skill to get the DM to cut it short and get to the good stuff. Dealing with longwinded dungeon masters was it’s own separate game in some ways.”

But Vrilmm says the key is to give the players options. “If you buy an Acme Dungeon Master, I want you to get the experience that you’re seeking,” Vrilmm announced at a press conference at the Consumer Analog Exposition. “We can see it worked with the adjustable loot settings, the no death setting, and the various cheat codes we’ve added over the years. This feature will be just as successful as those.” Vrillmm also reminded those in attendance that they will still sell and provide support for older models without the feature.

Play testers of the new models have reported that the new feature doesn’t just skip cut scenes, but also acts as a failsafe in the case of a software error. “Everyone remembers the Verbose Bug of 2003, where DMs would drone on for hours about inn architecture” says alpha tester Phil Disterns. “You had to do a hard reset. But on these models we’ve found skipping cutscenes actually provides a sort of quick fix for those issues before they can be patched.”

Still, some opponents of the feature warn that if the dungeon master isn’t talking too much, someone will be. “We’ve already seen it happen in testing,” says Jas Duffnerne. “Once the dungeon master stops monopolizing the sessions, the neediest player usually steps in to fill the role. And given the choice, I’d rather have an artificial intelligence with pre-generated content dominate the game.”