Characters literally come back from the dead. Also I don't really see why you'd have to retcon elements out of existance to have a warden focused sequel?
They do? That
is shoddy. Dead should be dead. And that is why a Warden-focused sequel wouldn't work: the Warden can die, not by accident, but through deliberate player choice. How would one account for that? At any rate, I'm just generally not fond of sequels or spinoffs that build on a game with vastly different endings. If the devs end up implying there's only one true way of playing a game by making that "canon", it just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
But I fear we're going to get into a pointless debate about imaginary things so I'll just agree to disagree. :P8U
Probably a good idea.
I've never been one to skip either gameplay segments or storyline and dialogue. It's part of the experience I paid for, and to skip over them is only ripping myself off.
If players are inspired to skip either, then it's a good indication that you've done something wrong as a developer.
Not necessarily. It can also be a sign that you've done enough right to attract people who normally don't go for a certain element of your games at all, by giving them another element that they really like. Whether this is good or bad overall, and in whose eyes, is another question.
And sometimes I just want to continue with the story without having to deal with three dozen random encounters and pointless mook fights first -- or go and fight something without listening to half an hour of exposition from some NPC I don't care about anyway.