Poll: Do spoilers ruin a story?

[lacktheknack]

It depends how big the spoiler is.

If someone spoils for me that, say, Lara Croft's mother dies, that's hardly anything. It's in the manual of the first game, and seen early on in Legend if you start there.

If someone spoils, say, the "twist" in Myst where it turns out that BOTH brothers are evil, that's annoying, but not a total wreck.

Now, if someone was to spoil, say, the reveal of Second Sight or the twist in Thr3e, then they must be hanged. Immediately. With no further questioning. (BTW, guys, in case I haven't plugged it enough... you NEED to play Second Sight before some asshat wrecks the ending for you.)

 

[Little Woodsman]

Generally no, though I understand why it does for some people. Most of my friends are *really* sensitive to spoilers so I have learned to avoid giving them, and I understand where they are coming from.

 

[Karoshi]

There's a difference between worsen and ruin. Do spoilers worsen the experience? Yeah, but definitely not ruin. A good twist is nevertheless enjoyable, since you can pick up all the clues and hints, that you would have missed.

I have played Bioshock and Spec Ops while being spoiled through and through, and loved both games, despite the knowing the twist. A good plot is a good plot after all and doesn't always need to make your head spin.

 

[II2]

Yes, absolutely ... IF I care about it.

People flipping out over really minor sideline plot beats is too far, but yeah, don't be a dick and go spouting off important plot points of a narrative piece you know people to hold dear; it's just a basic courtesy.

If you truly can't tell which are the sort of beloved, plot-important stories, then you probably weren't paying close attention anyway and your opinion is of limited value.

 

[badgersprite]

No, or at least not necessarily.

Sometimes you can appreciate the story more if you know they're building to certain things; you get the story behind the story and you can see how the author/writer/director is constructing the central arc or how certain scenes or lines have meaning with respect to the character's ultimate fate or the conclusion of the story or its overarching message or what have you.

Sometimes having something spoiled for you is the only way to know for sure you'll enjoy the story - knowing that something you're going to like or something that appeals to your sensibilities is going to happen at some stage.

But it does depend on the story. Some stories are built wholly on, say, a twist that's intended to surprise the audience. If you give away that twist, then there probably really is no point to the rest of the story. So it depends on the story.

I personally don't think I've ever had a problem with a spoiler ruining my enjoyment of something. I don't take any steps to shield myself from spoilers, and sometimes I actively seek them out because they have never bothered me whatsoever.

 

[Zeraki]

Oh definitely, because it robs me of "that moment". It's that moment that pretty much not only shocks you, but makes you think to yourself "okay, this is awesome". If someone had spoiled the first Mass Effect for me, I probably wouldn't have loved the game as much as I did.

I had the big twist for Knights of The Old Republic spoiled for me and I was pissed(I was unable to finish that game for years due to technical issues). When I finally got around to finishing the game, I got up to that part and all I could muster was "meh". Because it was already ruined. All the tension and meaning was just deflated.

Captcha: Nothing like it

Captcha... you scare me sometimes.

 

[Adventurer2626]

Pretty straight forward for me: it breaks the experience of reading/viewing the story. Something spoilery I do though, is watch let's plays of games I probably won't play so I can still get the gist of the story even though I'm not experiencing it the way it was meant to be, as a gamer. It's cool knowing some of the tricks authors/designers employ to sell a story and seeing them in action but it's gotten to the point where I wish I didn't. From overexposure to story-telling media I see way too many things coming and knowing some of the behind-the-scenes string pulling ruins a lot of stories for me and makes me wonder how I enjoyed such crappy novels when I was younger. I WANT MY IGNORANCE BACK!

 

[Roxor]

I actively seek out spoilers for things I'm interested in. So, no, they don't ruin the story.

What does bother me about spoilers is when other people complain about them or ban discussion of them on websites.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

Well someone (who I thought was a friend as the time) told me the big spoiler for Harry Potter, which I'm sure you can all guess what I mean by that.

After I knew what was going to happen I just never bothered to read the book.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

Depends really. If the twist is ultimately what the story is about then yes. Fight Club is a completely different movie if you know how it plays out.

 

[DementedSheep]

Occasionally, 95% of the time it makes no difference to me and don't really try to avoid them. It only matters if it is a really good twist.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

Not usually. Even if you know what's going to happen, the way things lead up to it and the way it plays out can still blow your mind.

For instance I knew about the twist in the original Bioshock, but even though I knew it was coming it was executed in such a way that it was still awesome. Same for a bunch of events (particularly character deaths) in the Ice and Fire series.

 

[afroebob]

I honestly don't think anybody can truly be invested in a story if they don't care about spoilers. It just ruins the entire experience.

 

[Nouw]

I'm the kind of guy that asks "why is this even a question?" I am a spoiler-free purist so yes, they do ruin a story.

 

[PleaseDele]

I wouldn't say it RUINS it for me. Having a mild spoiler might even spark some interest and makes me wonder how the story is gonna go there. So I guess it mostly replaces the kind of suspense I get from stories.

 

[smithy_2045]

It depends on the story. A well told story won't be ruined, because it's the buildup and the nuances of tale that make it interest. A poorly told story relies on shocks and surprises, and so spoiling the big plot twist in that case ruins the story.

Also, Snape killed Dumbledore.

 

[Strazdas]

No. Lets say your watching a TV show, you know the character is going to survive because damn if they make a TV show last 5 seasons if the main characters die in 1st season. That does nto ruin the TV show though.

 

[King Billi]

It's nice to be surprised by things sometimes but honestly I can't honestly say I've seen or experienced anything that was ever actually ruined due to my hearing a spoiler.

Also while I certainly try to not spoil things for others, some peoples definitions of what constitutes a "spoiler" can be quite ridiculous.

 

[xshadowscreamx]

not sure if knowing what happens in ''a Serbian film'' ruined it or mentally prepared my mind.

 

[SoranMBane]

If spoilers really ruined stories, there'd be no reason to ever re-experience anything. If the big twist or emotional scene of a particular story was implemented at all well, it'll still be effective regardless of whether you know it's coming or not. I can certainly understand wanting to avoid spoilers and being annoyed if someone spoils something for you with no warning, because surprises can be fun, but I'll never understand the sort of people who'll then not bother to experience the story for themselves just because they heard a spoiler. That just seems silly to me.