Guild Wars 2

Hello,
My name is Yumä, I’m a researcher at University of Chicago. I’m currently working on a project involving game narratives in MMORPGs. I’m interested in how players relate to stories in on-line games, especially through their character’s personal story.

I’m posting questions here in hopes of getting more insight through player feedback about their experiences in MMORPGs. There are 9 questions, most of which focus on character and story. Feel free to answer all, some, or even one of the questions. Keep in mind your answers may be used in my project, and are always kept anonymous through screen names (which I will change if included in the project to protect your identity). I would greatly appreciate getting only serious responses. Thank you for reading this, and thank you to those who choose to respond. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here and I will gladly respond to them.

1) What is your age? Gender?

2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?

3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?

4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?

5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?

6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?

7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?

8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?

9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?

1) I’m 18, male.

2) I’d like to say it’s high up in importance, but it really isn’t. I’ve played games with ridiculous/stupid plots, but enjoyed greatly because the way you play the game is fun. Having something to do when you want to do it is more important.

3) Characters. GW2, for example, I was enthralled with Forgal (Vigil mentor), much more than the Vigil itself. Groups are usually very general, whereas characters can have different facets to themselves.

4) My characters are definitely extensions of myself to some extent. While I’ll sometimes create characters that I don’t really identify with, I’ll never choose the overly violent option (because I oppose violence as a solution).

5) Depends on the game or person. If you’re a person who lets the game’s options do the storytelling for you, then it depends on the game. If you’ve got an open imagination and investment in it, then your choices affect your character. From a game standpoint, if it’s a linear storyline, you don’t really have a say. But one with choices you have to make along the way, then your character is created with your consent.

6) Not always. For my main, yes. But for my alts, they range from being renowned for their craftsmanship, to one day taking their rightful place on the throne.

7) I’d say it fits well. The story takes you through different environments, fighting enemies that normally you’d face there, and gives a purpose to those usually unimportant places.

8) I don’t really think about it. I see others running through the overworld, but they’ve all got their own stories to tell, not just mine.

9) In the crafted story that the game designers made, the personal story takes us through the larger game stories, making our character a part of the big plots and a dynamic force in events.

Thanks for responding Mystic, and with such thoughtful answers. I really appreciate it, any and all responses are really helpful.

I’d love to get some more responses, especially with how new Guild Wars 2 is. Thank you to people who post!

Yumae.7256:

1) What is your age? Gender?

29/Female

2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?

It is the most important aspect of a game for me.

3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?

I think that individual characters add a human/personalized element to the stories of larger events and groups, so I don’t actually think they’re separate for me.

4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?

My character is a fictional entity I created. She is not me. She has some qualities that I admire, but she also has some qualities I see as flaws.

5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?

Both, but primarily self-determined. Even when the game provides plot elements, I see myself as determining my character’s reactions.

6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?

My character’s ultimate goal is to help bring peace and stability to the (fictional) world, and to be happy with her family when the battles end. This sometimes incorporates elements of game mechanics, but also far transcends them.

7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?

Um… varies? I think this really depends on the MMO. Often somewhat disjointed, but see question 8.

I think this is an area GW2 could stand to work on, because the story transitions are often jarring rather than smooth – but that’s true between steps of the personal story, too. I think this is something the writers will figure out better over time.

8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?

I separate it in my mind. It’s simply not possible for everyone’s personal stories to fit together, so I don’t try to make them mesh. I just compartmentalize my own.

9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?

When I think of my character’s story arc as a whole, I would include both personal stories and the larger stories. When looking at them abstractly (not from the perspective of a single character,) I do think there’s a difference in that you have to compartmentalize as I mentioned above.

Good luck in your research!

1) 20, Male

2) It’s important, but it’s got to have good gameplay to back it up. I come from the first game and felt like GW2 had very little of the original’s feel, until the end of the Personal Story. Even then, I like the world as a seting for my headcanon for characters.

3) I’m interested in individual characters in the context of events and such.

4) I somewhat identify with my ranger, mostly because even when I think in character, he’s kind of the person who lightens the mood when the going gets rough (I don’t dance nearly as much, though). I do feel he’s more separate to myself, though—he just has some traits that I share.

5) As I play the game, the world unfolds and I like to think that I’m just playing out the world’s history. My character joined the Vigil, but I do not like to think he became Second in Command with the Pact, or even personally knew Trahearne.

6) Seeing as my character is actually a character—yes. Defeating Zhaitan was a sidetrip to make his main goal possible, which will unfold in Anet continues the White Mantle lore.

7) It fits well and while people may give Trahearne slack for taking over a story supposedly yours, I like to think your character is giving his side of things. Trahearne’s the leader of the Pact—the face. Anything ANYONE does in the campaign will be credited to him. It’s just when my character gets no credit on the field of battle that I get irked.

8) Honestly, I don’t even like the personal stories that much. I kind of take my own twist on them and make my characters my own—just like I did in the original.

9) The Personal bit of the story feels more like an origin story—who you were, where you came from, what got you here. In the large scheme of things, until the Pact was made, your character was not a major cog in turning the world. Trahearne made you into a cog—unfortunately, it was to his own benefit, some may say.

1) 22, Male
2) Very important, since it help bring the lore, plot and the entire world together
3) Depends, I usually like to find a balance of both, where I can feel the hero at times and yet be part of something huge like a raid or an assault
4) I do see myself in the character. I always try to make them as similar to me as possible so I can feel fully immersed in the game
5) Story wise, yes, my path is set. However, what gear I get, how I look, what I do, who I band with, is all my choice
6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?
7) Depends on how it is made. I usually enjoy discovering the lore, reading and doing things by myself to find out about the back story
8) I don’t really care actually, I just think of me as THE one player
9) In Guild Wars 2 I feel like the first part of the personal story was just bland and unrelated to the main issue. I still fail to see how finding out about my parents has anything to do with joining the Vigil and saving the world from Zhaitan

1. 19 M
2. Important, but not critical. Story can keep me wanting more as the game progresses, but if the gameplay is absolutely flawless, then I’ll play it no matter how bad the story is. On that same token, no story can save kitteny gameplay.
3. Individual characters, and how they interact with one another.
4. A bit of both. I picked Asura, since it fits my personality better than the “Endangered species” humans. I do identify with my character somewhat, about a 6 on a scale of 10.
5. Something I determine. The game is merely an environment to progress.
6. I don’t have one. Or if you REALLY want an answer, “To boldly go where no asuran has gone before.”
7. It fits in very well, and Arenanet has done the best job of it so far. But they’re still far from perfect when it comes to personal story.
8. I don’t believe that. The stories may be similar, but I would be suprised to find quite a few people doing the EXACT same personal story as me.
9. My character is just one of the many people that live in Tyria. Therefore, my story is simply one of the pieces of Tyria’s story as a whole. Group story is less personalized, for obvious reasons, and it feels like you could stick anyone in any group storyline, whereas the same cannot be said for personal story.

Thanks for the responses everyone! I’m really appreciative for you taking the time to do this. The research will be ongoing for a while yet, so more responses are welcome.

1) 24, Male
2) In terms of MMOs, the story is what engages me. If the overall story of the game is bad or poorly implemented then most likely I won’t get past the mid-character range as grind alone is not enough to keep me playing. A good community could get me to play a bit longer than that but if the story isn’t making me get that nice little escapism buzz then I won’t stick around forever.
3) I love finding out more about the world itself. A well written character will go a long way but for some reason world setting always gets me far more interested. Big defining events are the best part of this.
4) I view my characters as separate entities but not because the story isn’t good enough. I tend to avoid projecting myself onto my characters too much and surround myself with players who feel the same way. If you get too invested in your characters in an MMO the slightest bit of criticism will lead to drama.
5) In the case of GW2 it feels as though I am walking someone else’s path but at the same time the options available give it just enough customisation to still feel like I can change things somehow. My story isn’t going to be everyone else’s story (at least till the end)
6) Well it’s definitely not to defeat Zhaitan and go home. The story definitely isn’t finished yet. My character’s goals are still to continue on into whatever needs doing next.
7) There are times when it feels disjointed and there are other times where it not only slots in perfectly but it gives you context to places in the world that you may have run past a thousand times without realising. My favourite one of these is a little Farmhouse near Garrenhoff in the Wizards’ Fief. I had no idea why this abandoned farmhouse with an attached crypt was there until I played through my human story and found out who once lived there and why. It may seem insignificant, but little touches like that get me more engaged with the world. On the other hand however, when something gets utterly destroyed in my personal story but does not appear as even a scorch mark in the persistent world I find myself wondering where the clean-up crew is and how they got here so fast.
8) I would be surprised to find someone had made the exact same choices I had but it wouldn’t make me feel weird unless they were also playing the exact same class in the exact same way wearing the exact same armour with the exact same dye and the exact same exotics… That would be weird.
9) In the beginning my personal story felt a little bit provincial. Things I was doing weren’t having much of an impact in the larger scheme and although I was enjoying it, I found myself wanting to get involved in the larger scheme of things. The pacing of this, leading me from one man instances to five man dungeons and raids was pretty good. I really liked the split at level 30 where you started doing dungeons alongside your personal story. The juxtaposition of the two was something a bit interesting that I hadn’t seen before. The move from solo to group was done well I think. It didn’t leave me feeling awkward at all.

1) 28 Female

2) A love of stories is my original reason for playing games in the first place, so I’d rank them as the highest importance in the games that I play.

3) Overall I’d have to say individual characters are more important, but a sense of depth in how these individual characters link up with each other and everything else is equally important. Having an interesting character doesn’t do much if they are isolated or apart from everything else.

4) It depends. Many times the first character I make in a game will be like me. It takes a bit of extra effort to force myself to make an unusual character that I don’t directly identify with, and generally I lost interest in such characters.

5) Generally the game will create/determine at least some measure of my character’s progression, if for no other reason than I can’t reprogram the game to do exactly what I want it to do.

6) I personally view full exploration as the ultimate goal. Seeing and doing everything and enjoying the ride along the way.

7) In Guild Wars 2, I believe that the options are varied enough to where I don’t feel so much like everyone is just like me. I did feel a bit slighted that parts of the character personalization in the beginning didn’t end up having any effect on my personal story.

8) I liked that my personal story linked up with “group story” in the game dealing with Destiny’s Edge, although I felt the link up was a bit wobbly, since most people wouldn’t be completing their personal story and doing each dungeon exactly as it became available to them. While I like the idea, it the actual relation between the two stories seems a bit fuzzy. In particular, the “group story” felt kind of like only catching every other episode of a television drama, I was interested, but didn’t feel totally informed about what was happening.

Yumae.7256:

Hello,

1) What is your age? Gender?

2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?

3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?

4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?

5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?

6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?

7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?

8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?

9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?

1) Female, 13-15
2) I find it important, because I love stories, and because I want to be able to create my own story with writing it.
3) Both. It depends on what they’re like.
4) I view my character as someone who is like me, but better. She’s who I would be if I lived in that world. And besides, my Charr can’t be me, as I’m not a giant horned cat (as much as I want to be).
5) I view it as I’m the one deciding what happens, not the game.
6) My character doesn’t have an ultimate goal. She just wants to survive to the next day.
7) In Gw2, it’s good, but in other ones, it sucks.
8) I completely ignore it. It’s my story, not theirs, so theirs don’t matter as much to me. To them it might, but not to me.
9) I view it all the same way. Their are many stories, and none of them can be the same.

Hope this helps your research. Post the results on the forums when you get them. Please?

Yuma – did you run this past your University’s human subjects board? Your advisor committee?

I have a hard time believing they signed off on this method of information collection. It’s not nearly private enough to get good results, that’s a big one. Also, age and gender are protected pieces of information and there are legal requirements for how you handle that in research. Also, I hope you already are accounting for the self-selection and bias issues.

Take a bit of time, talk to your advisors, and definitely to the committee/group in charge of signing of on human participation in research. You may wind up not being able to use any of this information for a published paper if you don’t have everything properly set up.

@Responders, especially the teenager – don’t put your age and gender out in public on the internet. Seriously, that is a bad idea.

Genuine researchers have private surveys set up for this kind of thing. Large universities specifically have many resources just so their human-subjects research can meet legal requirements and doesn’t do this. Or heck, even a SurveyMonkey survey would be a better methodology.

This doesn’t look like a real research project at all to me – maybe an overly ambitious undergrad project. Unless it’s actually a research project on real-world online privacy behaviors, in which case bravo.

Gilosean.3805:

Yuma – did you run this past your University’s human subjects board? Your advisor committee?

I have a hard time believing they signed off on this method of information collection. It’s not nearly private enough to get good results, that’s a big one. Also, age and gender are protected pieces of information and there are legal requirements for how you handle that in research. Also, I hope you already are accounting for the self-selection and bias issues.

Take a bit of time, talk to your advisors, and definitely to the committee/group in charge of signing of on human participation in research. You may wind up not being able to use any of this information for a published paper if you don’t have everything properly set up.

@Responders, especially the teenager – don’t put your age and gender out in public on the internet. Seriously, that is a bad idea.

Genuine researchers have private surveys set up for this kind of thing. Large universities specifically have many resources just so their human-subjects research can meet legal requirements and doesn’t do this. Or heck, even a SurveyMonkey survey would be a better methodology.

This doesn’t look like a real research project at all to me – maybe an overly ambitious undergrad project. Unless it’s actually a research project on real-world online privacy behaviors, in which case bravo.

Actually this is approved by UChicago’s IRB, and as such is fully sanctioned. All information collected is publicly available and anonymous, further protected by pseudonyms I’m using. All of these qualifications have placed it under IRB approved exemption status.

I appreciate your concerns about my research, but they have gone through the appropriate channels. Furthermore I’d really appreciate it if this thread didn’t derail into IRB related issues.

Additionally, in the future try not to let your criticism take an unjustified patronizing overtone.

I’d like to thank everyone again for posting, and also say that this is still open for others as well. Remember that if you choose to respond you are in no way obligated to answer any questions you are uncomfortable with.

1. 17, male
2. In most games (= excluding games I only play because of the gameplay, e.g. Super Mario), the story is one of the most important aspects for me.
3. Depends on the game and story, but usually it’s about the individual character(s).
4. I do identify myself with them in some way. For example, in Pokémon games, I find it very easy to think of myself as the main character. In other games, such as GW2, especially when I have multiple characters, I’d go with the second option but like to emphasize with them.
5. I see it as something I determine myself, and if the game story does something I don’t like, I do my best to try and ignore it
6. Again, it depends on the game. I’m not too sure about GW2 yet, but at least in GW, my character’s goals included finishing the storyline, but didn’t end there.
7. I find that in both GW and GW2, the story fits very well into the rest of the game. Don’t know about other MMOs though, I only played WoW for about a month in which I actually didn’t notice much story.
8. I don’t feel negatively about it.
9. The lore often is more impressive and/or more important. However, keep in mind that personal story eventually will turn into lore (such as the WiK story quests now are lore almost 250 years later).

Thanks for the response Regendo!

Yumae.7256:

Gilosean.3805:

lol

Additionally, in the future try not to let your criticism take an unjustified patronizing overtone.

This is brilliant!

1) I’m a 26 yr old man.

2) Story is very important. I think it is the glue that keeps the game together. In a sense I feel like it is the loot at the end of a dungeon. A good story makes people want to progress through areas of the game that might have otherwise seemed too bland to do so on the merits of gameplay alone. When this question is asked I am fondly reminded of my experience playing a PS2 game – Ace Combat 5. AC5 is a flight combat simulator; a genre of game which I would usually never play. However; the game featured an amazing storyline, involving enough for me to play through the mediocre gameplay.

3) I don’t think this can necessarily be seen as an either/or situation. IMO this has a lot to do with how the storywriters portray the protagonist. Traditionally in a game I’d say there are two ways – you either have a character with a specific personality that the audience can relate to as their ‘vessel’ in the game world. Final Fantasy games and JRPGS in general often do this. Character interactions are paramount here because these are the interactions that will be felt by the player. Secondly you can have a blank slate character – this is a character who is carried by the story and events of the game. Their interaction to other characters is less important, because they are merely the eyes of the audience seeing the world unfold.

I think the problem with the GW2 story is that it tries to do both. The first half of the game features an intense character driven story; the upbringing of your character into hero-hood, and their development into the battle with Zhaitan. Then the game takes a turn into the second scenario I described; your protagonist becomes extremely out of touch and not in control of the events around them; merely the eyes of the audience viewing Trahearne’s story.

4) I must say I rarely ‘identify’ with my character, even if it was in a story that was written very well. I think its just in my nature not to since I always make female characters.

5) I believe that the character’s progression is the doings of the game itself. Even in games with a greater aptitude for decision making; e.g. Mass Effect, I often feel these decisions I make are usually governed by gameplay aspects. For instance; if two branches of the story offered different rewards pertaining to the gameplay, I’d likely choose the one that aided my gameplay most. My completionist attitude would dictate that I replay the game to see the other branch also, thus, it is rarely a choice made from a story driven approach.

6) I think most of the time I’m just ‘there for the ride’; i.e. I just want to see how the story unfolds, rarely do I share the same sense of ‘heroism’ that the character might have or the need to save the world.

7) I thought the instance method was a mediocre way of telling the story. I think guild wars 1, did this better with more elaborate maps and settings for the story missions. Often in Guildwars 2, I’m led to some cave in some remote location that have very little to do with the environment around it. Just recently I did a story mission that involved going into a cave to summon a spirit of a pirate. It just felt very unnecessary – theres nothing really special about the cave apart from the NPC saying that it was special, and tbh, I felt like it was something that could be done in another area in the game.

8) I don’t mind it. They serve the same purpose as nameless NPCs imo, with better battle proficiency.

9) TBH, I feel the story was so poorly written I can’t really even give a proper answer for this question. Coming out of it I felt nothing; not a shred of excitement or accomplishment (it felt like an ordeal). The world hardly seem changed; the home instance remained the same as it ever did. Now normally I wouldn’t expect anything different, a lot of games stop at this point and don’t have a ‘the world changed forever’ scenario but GW2 was advertised to be that game which did have these things, and I feel it has none of this.

Now that I’ve answered all your questions, I’d like you to answer one of mine! I’m a movie critique enthusiast myself, and one critique I especially enjoy (and is very relevant in your studies of character and story) is a lengthy review of Star Wars episode 1 by a man who goes by the pseudonym of Harry Plinkett. I was wondering if you’ve watched it before.

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/star-wars-episode-1-the-phantom-menace/

(the language is quite vulgar though, for comedic value)
The method in which he dissects the characters can also be applied here, and on that note I’d say the characters in gw2 are very dull, which impacts the story and makes it rather dull and not involving.

1) What is your age? Gender?

Male, late 20’s

2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?

VERY IMPORTANT. A game that does not have a compelling storyline does not maintain my interest even if the graphics are gorgeous (of course, there are exceptions based on game types – e.g. angry birds does not need to have a compelling story for it to be addictive but since you’re asking in an MMORPG context, i’ll be answering in an MMORPG context). A lot of people play MMORPG’s to escape into a fantasy alternate reality similar to when you read a book. It follows that the books to be interesting for you to keep reading it.

3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?

Individual characters

4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?

I view them as an alternate reality of myself – not exactly me, but an aspect of my personality. I would sometimes play certain characters (like my Asura engineer) as a hyperactive silly little Asura bent on dominating the world. I’m not like that in real life but I do have that side of me that wonders from time to time how that’d feel like. On another character, a Sylvari, I play them very seriously since the Sylvari are a sober race (which is more related to how I really am in real life).

5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?

The game itself creates/determines. Basing on how GW2 game progression is designed, it’s not as if you have a choice There are only limited options as to how you can progress.

6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?

Actually, when I play MMO’s, I don’t play them with an “ultimate goal” in mind. The world is open ended. Once I reached level 80, I’ll just run dungeons, upgrade my gear, and such. There’s no “end goal” so to speak.

7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?

In the context of GW2, I think it fits well with the rest of the game. I can’t say the same for the other MMORPG’s I’ve tried.

8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?

I think this has been raised before in the Personal Story forums as well. I really don’t mind. When I play the game, I don’t think “oh noes, everyone else is the same exact hero who did the same exact thing”. I think that’s not the right way to approach this game. It’s the same thing with single player RPG’s. You don’t play Mass Effect thinking that there are a bazillion other players who probably made the exact same choices and got the same ending as you. The only difference in MMO’s is that you meet these other people inside the game. But again, this does not affect how immersive the game is for me in any way.

9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?

I’ve done only a few dungeons so far. I have to say that at the moment, I don’t see any differences but that may change once I try all of the dungeons.

Thanks for the thoughtful responses guys. The effort put into them is extremely helpful!

1) What is your age? Gender?
Female, 34.

2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?
In RPGs and adventures, it’s the top priority. In other genres, it can still make the difference between a good game and a “meh” one (for good or bad, depending on the story quality), and between merely playing a game and being immersed in it.

3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?
Both are important. I want there to be a greater theme and goal and purpose. I also want recurring and well-developed friends and enemies, superiors and followers, mentors and rivals, because they make the “greater whole” personal. They create the emotional connections without which a story falls flat.

4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?
My characters are my creations, not self-inserts. Still, while I use them to explore some things I can’t or wouldn’t do myself, they stay within certain limits.

5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?
Depends on how well the game lends itself to roleplaying. Do I like the setting, does the gameplay/questing match the sort of character I’m playing, is it single- or multiplayer? And so on. In WoW for example, gameplay and roleplay were almost 100% separate.

6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?
See above.

7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?
Extremely ineffective and crudely tacked on to the generic MMO grind. I briefly played TOR and GW2 but lost interest in both pretty quickly partly because the hyped personal stories were such a letdown. It’s painfully obvious that GW2’s story was a distant tenth priority at best. The worst part of it is the complete and utter lack of continuity, which turn all the brief individual story-arcs into a disjointed and meaningless mess. The beginning was still fun because I was actually a sylvari/charr/whatever doing things that are important to my people, for my people, with my people. That sense of immersion makes the lack of continuity less obvious and painful. But before long the game turns my character into a generic featureless filler who loses all distinguishing cultural aspects and isn’t even recognized by any of her own kind anymore.

8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?
Doesn’t bother me at all. It does mean that no one can claim to be the one big special chosen superhero that the game paints us all to be, so that’s something everyone should keep in mind when roleplaying.

9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?
My ideal in a MMO would be an unbroken string of quests and plots based on my chosen species and class, from creation to “endgame”. Generic free-for-all quests that treat everyone the same should be a minority instead of the overwhelming majority. This would boost both replay value and immersion over the moon. Basically, I want my personal story to be the “larger story”, but different for each character.

1. My age is 20, I’m female.

2. A game’s story is extremely important to me. If I dislike the story of a game that centers around one, I can’t enjoy it.

3. I am interested in both, but if I have to choose I prefer individual characters.

4. Oddly… no. They’re not me. I see my characters as whole new people that I made edit: it’s not so much that I make them, it’s really more like I discover them in my head and put them into the game’s format. I may pilot them, but they have their own motivations, personality, etc.

5. I wish I could create/determine it myself, but I think that’s next to impossible in MMOs. I feel that in this game at least, it’s determined by the game itself. I may have choices, but they’re still pre mapped.

6. Right now, my ultimate goal for my main character is getting the TA armor. I couldn’t tell you what his is.

7. I feel that it fits pretty well. It’s something to do other than what you expect to find in an MMORPG, and it (mostly) introduces you to interesting characters that you may become very attached to. The reason I say mostly is because Trahearne. Just… Trahearne.

8. I’m fine with it. I don’t think about it, really, unless I’m helping my friend with his or just tagging along. I see it as “his story” even if I’ve made some of the same choices.

9. I can’t really connect them. Right now my highest character is 65, so that might be it. The story feels separate from the out of story game in most ways.

I am a well published social scientist with training in quantitative and qualitative research methods. It seems to me that if you want to conduct a survey of GW2 players that you should be working from a mailing list so that you can correct for selection biases due to nonresponse. The responses you see in a forum such as this have very limited generality. Was this research approved by the IRB of UC?

@Moonrabbit: She already mentioned above that the research is IRB-approved. C’mon, let’s keep this thread on track.

Yumae.7256:

1) What is your age? Gender?

21, Male.

Yumae.7256:

2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?

For me it’s the most important thing, even above gameplay (though gameplay has to be good too). Even in a game with a very simple story (think Shadow of the Colossus), if it’s beautifully executed, that’ll make a bigger impression on me than the gameplay.

With RPGs like GW1 & GW2, the depth of the background, lore & storyline is one of the main things I play for.

Yumae.7256:

3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?

Usually bigger events and groups. I find the story of a race or a renegade faction to be more interesting than the story of (for example) Logan or Caithe in GW2.

…The exception would be villains. I love individual villains. Dorian & Hablion, the Lich, Shiro, Kanaxai & Urgoz, Varesh & Kahyet, Abaddon, Dhuum, Burntsoul, and now Kudu, Faolain & Zhaitan… those are the characters that stick with me. It’s the villains that attract me in books, TV, film and games.

Yumae.7256:

4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?

Separate entity. I imagine him with a personality, but it’s not my personality. It’s a more quiet one. :P

Yumae.7256:

5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?

Both, I think. I can’t really describe what I mean here, I’m afraid.

Yumae.7256:

6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?

My personal goals in-game are my character’s goals. To defeat Zhaitan & Jormag et al, and accumulate epic loot in the meantime.

Yumae.7256:

7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?

Fits well. I don’t find it jarring or anything, and sometimes it’s really immersive (I’m thinking of Claw Island here).

Yumae.7256:

8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?

I don’t really think about it, to be honest.

Yumae.7256:

9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?

They meld together quite nicely, I think, though with an MMO, personal story & the story of the game don’t meld together as nicely as in a story-focused single-player game.

Good luck Yumae! I remember being interviewed about online gaming for a psychology test at university last year. Was fun.

Moonrabbit.1543:

Was this research approved by the IRB of UC?

As is stated earlier in the thread, this has been approved by the IRB at UC. I can understand if you have questions about my methodology, but I request that such questions be sent via private messages (I don’t want this thread to derail).

Neilos Tyrhanos.5427:

@Moonrabbit: She already mentioned above that the research is IRB-approved. C’mon, let’s keep this thread on track.

Thanks Neilos, and it’s good to hear about games research going on elsewhere! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I’ll be collecting and incorporating the responses soon, so these are the last few days to respond! Thanks to all those who have so far.

1. 19, female

2. I always enjoy a good storyline, however gameplay is more important to me. The amount of fun I have doesn’t depend on how much fun I have, though it can add to it.

3. I am always more interested in individual characters. While single characters can be shown to be actual humans(or whatever race they are) and show different emotions, have more complexity, etc. I find big groups usually consist of a couple of characters that are somewhat interesting, while the rest are cardboard cutouts…

4. I view my characters as a seperate entity. Although I don’t ‘act’ like my character in per example my guild, I find it fun to approach things differently on different characters and make choices in the game based on what they’d do. (My characters are all based off a story I’m writing)

5. In the open world I like to see my character completely different than from the story. (my characters would never become a commander of some sort…)
Due to some ‘set’ things in the story it’s sometimes something the game determines, when given a choice it’s something I determine.

6. It is different indeed. The ultimate goal is getting to know as much as possible about lore, different area’s, different races, cultures, motives, and so on.

7. I feel it fits in the rest of the game.

8. I hardly even think about it to be honest. And since there’s also different options to choose from it’s also fun to play through the story multiply times.

9. I feel they’re quite well done together. At first you start out as a ‘nobody’ and just help around your own people, find out more about yourself and people close to you. Later when you join an order you start to become a key-figure in the world.
I haven’t done much dungeons yet, but I feel they’re well done, although sometimes somewhat confusing in what’s going on in the cutscenes.

I hope this helps ^^

1) 18 year old Male

2) Fairly so. I can live without it, but I like having one there. It’s good as an entry point into the lore.

3) That depends, but for this game in particular I found myself much more interested in events and their impact on the world.

4) “A separate entity which I created” Would be a perfect discription. I still wish he didn’t speak however, as I always give my customized characters my own personality in my head.

5) As per the story, I felt like the game generally had all the power over me.

6) That depends on the personality I assign to that character. My main’s desires could best be summed up as “let’s faff about with mesmer magic!” This can kind of be applied to everything in the game, so that works out well.

7) The one thing that really stood out to me is how the levels progressed in comparison to the urgency of the story. For example, the story would say "Oh no X is in danger we have to save him/her/it ASAP. Then the instance ends and the game says “Okay, time to goof off for 5 levels.” It’s okay that we don’t have to hurry, but that fact that we were forced to take our time troubled me.

8) Doesn’t bother me at all. People also bought the same single player game as me, didn’t they?

9) As I said before, it serves as a nice entry point to the bigger lore. Showing you around the world so you can ask yourself things like “What happened here exactly?”

1)
I’m 28, male.

2)
It depends on the genre, really. For an RPG, you are very involved in a story (unless it’s a jRPG) so I can’t see myself “bonding” with my main character if the story is a total bore. For other games, it’s a “nice to have” feature and I’ll definitely enjoy it more if there’s a good one, but I don’t see it as important as in a RPG. However, for a racing, sports or FPS game… well, I hope they don’t bother with a story.

3)
Characters are a lot more important for me. I have seen a lot of bad stories being saved by interesting characters (Final Fantasy VIII comes to mind) but I have yet to see a good story make up for terrible characters. I believe that a story is only as good as its characters, and that a great story is carried by great characters.

4)
Strange question. I’m not sure where I stand. I like exploring a wide variety of characters instead of trying to put myself in the game, but when I pick a character, regardless of their race or gender, it’s because I want to identify myself to him or her. Basically I play who I’d like to be if I was a hero of Tyria, and if it brings me to play a charr female then I’d play that. Right now I have a male charr, norn and silvari and my main is a human woman. They’re light-years away from being me, but I strongly “bond” with all of them. (Or I wouldn’t play them.)

5)
It’s both. I always have an idea of the personality and background story for my characters (I play on the designated unofficial RP server, so…) but because my characters talk and take decisions without my input, I don’t always feel that they are the ones I envisioned at character creation.

6)
Depends on the character. Right now, my main character’s goal is to defeat Zaithan. She doesn’t really know what she’ll do after that. She used to be a simple barmaid and never dreamt about glory, but after Shaermore she got dragged into it, and from there she’s been living crazy things. She’d like to go back to living a tranquil life after this, but with all the glory she earned, she knows she can’t really go back to a simple life of kicking the behinds of drunkards who don’t pay their drinks.

On the other hand, my norn is the opposite: he’s in it for the glory, he doesn’t care how he gets it, so no his goals is not to defeat Zaithan or the dungeons, it’s to make his name in the norn legends. (Basically his introduction speech.)

7)
I feel it could be done better. There is no continuity the way there are in single-player RPGs. For example, a particular character told my charr at the end of level 11-20 arc that he’ll see him again in the future, but that never happens because nothing later references previous story arcs, and unless I’m blind, that character doesn’t appear in my home instance either. I’d like to be able to go back in my home instance and have my characters’ friends react differently based on what she has accomplished, and maybe have their story continue. Character fell in love, got a new job, etc. Nothing big, just something that makes them feel like they have a life after meeting you. The game should remember more what you have done and try to put some continuity to the story.

Another thing I found that hurts immersion is that the game doesn’t seem to care who I am, and it makes the game feel less personal. I think that sometimes the NPCs should react differently based on your profession, race or gender. For example, when I bring my human in the Black Citadel I expect her to get discriminated. It would be really cool if some NPCs moaned when she passes by them. There could also be a merchant or two giving her ludicrous prices unless intimidated, or a charr bar tender that refuses to serve drinks to humans and starts bar fights when he sees one. And of course that would be a great way to “forge” your character’s personality with tons of intimidation or talking.

8)
Considering that a character must make about 16 choices over his or her story, there are 43,046,721 possible paths a character can follow, and that’s a character who picked the same race I did… so I don’t think anyone has actually played through the exact same stories as I have. Even if it was possible though, it wouldn’t bother me at all. The experience of other players is not my own and it cannot take anything from mine. Besides, my characters still have heavily customized looks and I have yet to see a carbon copy of any of my characters.

9)
I think the personal story does a good job at introducing you to your race’s problems, to your race’s iconic, and later to the world’s general story, but it doesn’t tell you everything. You have to play through dungeons to learn what happens to your race’s iconics, and you have to play through reknown hearts and events to learn the land’s lore. The personal story is a piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the whole picture.

2) Quite important. Story always adds value to the game for me.

3) Hmm both, but slightly favouring individual character development.

4) I am my character! Sorta, just less pixelly and such. People that know me actually comment how close my dude looks like to me. :P

5) While it should be a mix of both, I don’t like getting railroaded into paths and ultimately should decide for myself how to progress.

6) That keeps changing as my character evolves (and given he’s the same guy I use everywhere he evolves quite a bit). Defeating the final boss for me is a mere stepping stone where victory is just a prelude to the next battle.

7) Again, depends on the MMORPG. GW2 strangely feels more disjointed than say Mabinogi, with the main problem being the persistence/consequences of your actions (or lack thereof).

8) Totally fine with sharing the same plot line. Only in old school UO did you get personalized quests if you were lucky or managed to get the GM’s attention – it was very hands on for them, but it resulted in unique experiences for the players.

9) They blend well enough, though in my view we move up the ranks too quickly and don’t really participate enough with the mid-level groups here story wise then get railroaded towards the war but that’s just limitations on the modern MMO structure I guess. I truly pity anyone who has never had the personalized UO quest experience as for me, that is very hard to beat (possibly only by table top gaming).

Derk.3189:

Yumae.7256:

Gilosean.3805:

lol

Additionally, in the future try not to let your criticism take an unjustified patronizing overtone.

Now that I’ve answered all your questions, I’d like you to answer one of mine! I’m a movie critique enthusiast myself, and one critique I especially enjoy (and is very relevant in your studies of character and story) is a lengthy review of Star Wars episode 1 by a man who goes by the pseudonym of Harry Plinkett. I was wondering if you’ve watched it before.

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/star-wars-episode-1-the-phantom-menace/

(the language is quite vulgar though, for comedic value)
The method in which he dissects the characters can also be applied here, and on that note I’d say the characters in gw2 are very dull, which impacts the story and makes it rather dull and not involving.

Sorry I missed this! I haven’t seen the critique, but I’ll make sure to check it out. Thanks! I’m quickly realizing this is a project far larger than I can cover in the current project, so I’m sure I’ll be returning to this for more work on character in the future.

1) Male, 28 years of age

2) Story provides me with a purpose. without story, the game isn’t going to be much fun with no direction. While some games are fun that way (with no story), it really depends on final design.

3) Individual character development is good thing for me

4) I view my character as an extension of myself into the game world

5) Character progression is determined by the game – methods to doing so, and the rewards/goals associated with that. all i have to do is choose the factors that make it fun for me.

6) The ultimate goal would be to be able to socialize in guild wars 2 more.

7) i think the story is okay to be shown through quests, but gathering 25 claws with not much backstory is lame.

8) it is cool, but then their efforts and your efforts are never combined. when getting to Fort Trinity, i expected to see a larger player base situated there, ready to move into Orr with me. i did not get that feeling anywhere in the game until deeper into Orr, near Arah.

9) the character story seems to touch certain events and groups of npcs, enough to maybe feel involved with the overarching storyline

Thanks again to all who have participated. I’m currently revamping the project somewhat and expanding it to meet final requirements for my degree. The final project will be focused specifically on Guild Wars 2 as an example of more recent changes to narrative in MMORPGs, so if there are any stragglers who would still like to contribute then feel welcome!

1) What is your age? Gender?
26. Male.

2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?
Not all that important, even much less in an MMO. While story can greatly enhance a game, I value gameplay way over it.

3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?
Characters for sure. Although having epic events does help.

4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?
I view them as part of myself.

5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?
Depends on the choices. If a certain choice seems much more fun than another, even though it would go against my character’s personality, I still go for it.

6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?
To save the world and look like a badkitten while doing so obviously.

7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?
Not all that effective, because of obvious reasons. I do like it, though, because I like playing solo from time to time. In Guild Wars 2 I feel it fits pretty well with the rest of the game.

8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?
I never even think about that. The story’s mine, that’s all that matters to me.

9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?
I don’t take group story as serious, because it’s ruined by other players derping around if it’s in the open world. In dungeons I’m more concerned about getting teamwork right to care much for the story.

1) What is your age? Gender?

28, Male

2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?

Very important. Stories are the reason I play games.

3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?

I am interested in both pretty much equally. A story with a poorly developed character, but awesome events will be rather dull to me, likewise a story with a greatly developed character, but nothing happening in the world around them will also bore me.

4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?

I do not identify with my character as my own in terms of the graphics or their actions. I do identify with my character in terms of my guild. i.e. when someone speaks to my characters name in guild chat, I identify in that they are talking to me. My avatar is not.

5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?

I view it as something the game itself creates and determines.

6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?

Originally, the goal was defeat the final boss. Now, I do not have an ultimate goal.

7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?

I feel that stories in MMORPGs are great. However, I find the personal story in GW2 is not. I do not like the choice system, as for every choice given, there is a loss in quality to the overall plot. This is due to (but not limited to) lack of character growth, providing generic/vague responses to avoid consistency issues, dropping extra characters like flies, reducing plot twists and so on. If there was one set story, the story could be told exactly how the writers intended it. However, with split stories, the quality degrades in favour of consistency.

8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?

Doesn’t affect me. It’s akin to me viewing the idea that many other people are watching the same movie or reading the same book. This likely has to do with the the fact that I do not identify with my character.

9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?

I am a little confused on what you are asking here. IMO the characters personal story is the larger story in the game and the lore of the game. The dungeon stories feel rather random and I do not really count them. I see the individual story as the ‘main’ story and the dungeon stories as the ‘side’ stories of side characters.

I hope I was helpful!

I sent you a PM rather than post in the topic.

I also ponder the means of gathering this information, and how exactly it may be used. I think you also may want to broaden your net for who to talk to and actually approach some of the fine folk at ArenaNet for their input.

Thanks Tobias. I’ve wondered about approaching ArenaNet to get some sort of feedback/involvement, but up to this point have not. I’ve found that there are a great deal of insights to be gained from what is already available, say through developer interviews with various gaming sites/organizations or even through the GW2 website. All the same, if I ever flesh this out into a larger monograph then I’d definitely want to get in touch with them.

Hello Yumä.

I hope this might help.

1) What is your age? Gender?

34 M

2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?

MMORPGs these days are equivalent to a fantasy book we can pick up from a book store or library. By reading books, we immerse ourselves into a world that we can only experience in our mind, often times we fill in the blanks in the story, mostly what the environment looks like.

In an MMORPG, we can see the environment and the surroundings that will take an author probably a whole chapter of the book to describe. Also in a book, we often follow the protagonist doing all the stuff and sometimes we disagree with the decision they make. In GW2, I am in control of my own story making my own decisions.

Just to give an example, in one of my Personal Story, I can either stop the barge supplying the mouth of zhaitan or confront the mouth directly. If I am following a pre-scripted protagonist, I will be disappointed if they choose to intercept the barge. So having the option to take the fight to zhaitan’s mouth, my experience of this story is personal, not just something I can relate to.

3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?

I would have to say both.

4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?

I have several characters under my account. In every game I play, I often pick my main character and the rest is just my entourage. In GW1, they have introduced a feature where my main character can party with my alternate characters in addition to heroes and henchmen. Ever since I treated all the chracters in my account as such. So I have a main character (male human thief) and an entourage of female champions — one for each profession.

5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?

The personal story has a lot of forking paths and I have to determine which path to take. But there are other aspect of the game that I simply did not have a choice like choosing who’s going to lead the Pact and who represents the orders. But—-

I don’t have to join an Order, nor I have to join the Pact. I can simply go around helping people in different areas.

6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?

The goal of my main character is simple. We eliminate whatever threatens our existence. Since there is more than one dragon that threatens us, so my character will go where ever he is needed.

7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?

The final chapter of the story about Orr and Zhaitan is a bit disjointed since after completing it, it doesn’t makes sense to see Orr still infested by the undead. So it feels like I never really did anything.

8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?

Eventhough it is the “same” personal story, the story is not the “same.” The choices we make through selecting the paths makes the personal story unique and — personal. The only thing that would probably won’t make any sense is the Pact chapter since every character is the Commander.

9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?

I do not agree on the decision Anet made by dissolving the Orders of Tyria into a Pact and make every character the Commander. IMO, they should have kept the characters in their own order as a Council member of the Pact representing the order they have chosen to join. This way, it would have made more sense that each Council members joined forces to end Zhaitan’s threat.