And vice versa.

I' m talking strictly about game development.

I think Western developers should take notes on how to tell a story. Not to say storylines from American developers are inferior to JP developers. KOTOR had a great plot and an excellent storyline. However, videogames are both an interactive and visual media. And I think JP developers have learned to embrace the visual side of videogames moreso than other countries.

I don' t want American developers to strive for Final Fantasy level cutscenes. That' s not what I' m saying. But when I think of KOTOR I can' t remember a single cutscene I wanted to actually watch. Some would say FF overdoes it, but I would say American developers haven' t learn to do it enough. If you' re going to have cutscenes at least make them short and entertaining. Not short and boring.

And while on the subject on storylines, American developers can make some great storylines, but I also think American developers could learn to be a little bit more creative. I' m talking in regards to both character development and creative storylines.

I didn' t like Squall from Final Fantasy 8, but it' s rare to see a main hero with an obvious character flaw. That' s something you don' t see in most Western games. I wish more American developers could learn to add a layer of depth to their creations. Stop making generic action heroes all with the same, " I' m a badass" ideology.

And I realize there are the exceptions. I' m talking in generals here.

So what about you?

What do you think Western developers could learn from the East?
Or
What do you think Eastern developers could learn from the West?