ACIDHEDZ'S PROFILE

@Liberty
You say...
"this article was accepted by staff because it has merit beyond just one person saying they don't like x or y."
Second sentence of the article...
"I find most of the stories, especially in video games, repetitive and boring, not just “inspired” by great art"

The entire article is literally the poster coming up with justifications for their own personal dislike of revenge plots. Topped off with a healthy dose of snobbery.

The first two sections just detail why people use revenge plots. The third, which is where they're supposedly making a point... Boils down to, I think straight forward revenge plots are boring, and if you use one you are "destined to be generic and mediocre" therefore you should "aim higher".

The final section, supposed alternatives...
I simply have to ask myself how precisely that's supposedly "aiming higher". Because the whole "your people killed my people, and I have prejudice towards all of you because of it", is just as much a cliche. Or trope if you prefer.

I didn't insult them, I called them on their BS. How they feel about that is irrelevant. It's called an appeal to outrage fallacy.
It's also extremely hypocritical to say I'm right about them being pretentious, then say I'm acting childish. I presented my view, they responded by using an ad hominem and being pretentious.

@MAS
First off, your OPINION of Pratchett is irrelevant.
You didn't address anything I said. Your reply consisted entirely of how much you don't like the author I quoted.
If normal people are so interesting, then why doesn't anyone do stories about them? Stories are always about either extraordinary people, or people in extraordinary circumstances.

Pratchett is only one of my influences. HP Lovecraft and Hunter S Thompson are two other major ones. Not that it matters in the slightest, since it's irrelevant to what I've said.

I just happen to like that quote because it's true. Things become cliches because they are universal, easy to understand, and cut to the heart of human emotion. Hammers and screwdrivers.

Most murders happen when someone gets pissed off at someone they know, or for gain. They rarely have anything "deeper" to them than that. That is the mundanity of human "evil".
Your post is the clamoring of a child pleading for everything to have some sort of "greater" meaning, when more oft than not, there's none at all. The vast majority of people don't do things because of convoluted reasons. They are petty, driven by their emotions, and simple. And quite often... they're just stupid and apathetic.
Every year here in the States people leave their children in the car during the summer, and they die. Why? Because they didn't think about it. There isn't any greater meaning to it. They were just being stupid.
And quite frankly, some people really are just born bad. Not every criminal has a dark past, because most of them either felt forced to do whatever it was they did, or simply don't care about the effect it had on others.
Most people with prejudices don't have any reason for having them at all. Usually they have them because their parents did, and they did because their parents did.

It may not be nice. It may not feel good. But reality doesn't care if you like it or not. It just is.

Hate and love are probably the two most powerful emotions humans experience. And revenge is usually sitting firmly at their crossroads. Revenge is something that can compel a person to act. It may not have any "greater" meaning, but it's honest and realistic.

And lastly, to restate a point I made earlier. I didn't insult you. I told you what I thought about what you said. If you felt insulted, that's your problem. I found your article highly condescending, and to be nothing but your own dislike dressed up as advice. So I said so. And you have done nothing to offer rebuttal, nor to dispel my impression of you. In fact, all you've done is reinforce it.

“The reason that clichés become clichés is that they are the hammers and screwdrivers in the toolbox of communication.”
― Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!

Real people ARE predictable and mediocre. That's why people don't focus on petty prejudices and other such things in media. It's banal. The entire reason most people like playing games and watching movies is because the characters aren't like real people. Real people are boring. Most real people just sit on their bottoms, moan, complain and do nothing about anything.
The best stories are about extraordinary people, and/or extraordinary circumstances.
That's why most war movies don't have main characters that die, as much as some may complain about it. Simple truth is that most people don't want to see a movie about John Johnson from Johnsonville that's just a dude that got killed during a random battle because he stupidly stuck his head up at the wrong time.

This is typical of appeal to novelty arguments. IE, "add something extremely interesting and creative" is just as likely to come across as forced, contrived, over thought, silly, or just downright nonsensical. Different isn't inherently better.

Now, if it seems I'm against realism, I'm not. Quite to contrary, I am a stickler for it. In the right places. Most people don't have super complicated reasons for doing things.
So applying the KISS principle IS being realistic. "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." IS a realistic motivation. No matter how cliche it may feel to you, or how much you might think it's boring.

The issue isn't with revenge plots. In some cases it's an issue of execution, but mostly it just comes down to you personally being tired of them. As such, your post could have consisted of one sentence.
"I'm tired of revenge plots, and sometimes they are executed poorly."