Guild Wars 2

I love a good story.
I love a good ponder.
I love a mystery.
I love a book I can pick up, read a bit, then go on my way, musing.

I am enjoying Flame and Frost. Thank you Guild Wars 2 writers.

Uhm… where did you find that “story” you speak of? Surely you do not mean the ~50 lines of generic banter on even more generic nps, who do not display any personality whatsoever?

^
i was about to say the same, but i kind of deleted my post.

there was absolutely nothing good about the 2 preludes (2 months…)

and by that i mean, less than nothing. aside the fact that i ended up going in a zone i had not vistited yet, which was cool.

I enjoy the promise of a story with a more serious tone, but it’s a bit too early to call it a success.

I’m kool with the op enjoying it, i personally am finding it a little lacking.. but i agree with the others What Story…as far as i’ve been able to see there isn’t one…

I really enjoy a start and a finish in acts, this mystery just makes me lose interest and ignore it, sorry but my opinion.

So far I’m not seeing much life or much story in this ‘living story’.

It seems like this ‘living story’ is being told as a serial, but instead of a chapter at a time (with nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat cliffhangers) we’re getting one sentence at a time. Here’s a dramatization of my impressions (and expectations based on those impressions) thus far:

January: There were some refugees seeking refuge.

February: Some of them had lost stuff along the way.

March: Almost all of them liked pie.

April: A la mode.

George R.R. Martin cranks out ASOIAF books faster than this. Well, not really, but I’m using hyperbole to emphasize my point. Which is, in storytelling pacing is everything. And this isn’t pacing. This is watching a slow-motion video of someone explaining the process by which paint dries.

Colin said in an interview that later down the line, living story updates on the same story arc will be released closer together in time. It’s a new thing that they’re implementing right now, so they’re being cautious and taking their time.

cautious?

geez…
put at least half a page of text if you dont feel like putting encounters.

everytime i reached a refugee i was like; hmm hello. heres some token. cya *lights fire.

this aint a story!

Avatar.1923:

cautious?

geez…
put at least half a page of text if you dont feel like putting encounters.

everytime i reached a refugee i was like; hmm hello. heres some token. cya *lights fire.

this aint a story!

Cool story bro.

I am enjoying it so far, though I would have liked seeing a horde of survivors running away from a horde of attacking foes while everyone screams of anger, pain, fear and being lit on fire.

Tachenon: The process of writing a novel is completely different to the process of writing story-based content for a video game, and that’s completely ignoring all of the other supportive content that needs to go with it. It also involves a substantial investment of time and resources by a team of people, and so is inherently more risky in terms of effort vs. reward. Pacing is also utterly different, and crafting a strong narrative in a game that promotes player freedom (ie; the ability to specifically not follow any narrative) as much as GW2 does can be difficult. I understand what you’re saying and I appreciate that F&F may be better enjoyed when its has more meat on its bones, but it’s clear that the Devs are purposefully testing the waters to see how people take to this.

If anything, I’m appreciating the team’s stab at content that’s more geared towards long-term narrative. I’m curious to see where it goes.

I after say, I would descibe Jan/Feb as average, medicore at best…Mar has alot to live upto…but it is FREE additional content so can we really complain that much?

Flamenco.3894:

Avatar.1923:

cautious?

geez…
put at least half a page of text if you dont feel like putting encounters.

everytime i reached a refugee i was like; hmm hello. heres some token. cya *lights fire.

this aint a story!

Cool story bro.

I am enjoying it so far, though I would have liked seeing a horde of survivors running away from a horde of attacking foes while everyone screams of anger, pain, fear and being lit on fire.

moral of the story; dont do what you re engine/game cant, itll look cheesy.

What I have noticed in games, and I am certain that the Arenanet writers have, as well. Is that many gamers do not bother to read anything that is more than one sentence, if they even read that.

I do not know how many times, for example, I have had to say: Well what does the event tell you to do? And been asked “Where do I find that?”

Have you all not noticed that within 5 minutes of any content people come to these forums and clamor for detailed instructions on exactly how and what to do, without bothering to spend more than a modicum of effort looking around in the game or speaking to NPC’s? No, they want the 1 2 3 and A B C spelled out succinctly without a story at all so they can get it done FAST FAST FAST. Personally, I avoid the areas now on the release day and go after most have done it, so that I will not be given everything in Map chat, or led by the nose to get it done in one sitting.

I am an avid reader. I have read since I was 3 years old. I had my first library card at 5, and I have worn out entire libraries in small towns I have lived in throughout my life.

But, I have also learned that many people in this world do not read at my level, do not learn at my level, and I am certain that many people in these forums have had this happen to them as well; in school you got it in the first go round, and when the teacher repeated content for the slower members of the class you were stuck staring out a window daydreaming. If you were like me, then you were sometimes pegged as an “underachiever” or “not living up to your potential” because you did not wish to repeat something you already learned.

I have learned to be patient and wait, and ponder and daydream.

“It is when the waiting hour forces you to stop
in stillness that you wish would not return
that you say, I am the same as other men;
I must live to wake beyond the fears of hope
into an hour that does not quite arrive. . .”

Horace Gregory “This Is The Place To Wait”

Even though I like the premise of the living story I’ll admit Feb was slow on it, but its the beginning of the story. Personally I like how we’re seeing more and more refugees pile up in Hoelbrak, Citadel, and Lion’s Arch. It gives me the sense that something is growing.

I’m also one to talk with nearly any NPC I can find too.
I guess in the meta gaming sense there’s not much right now, but from an In Character perspective its more confusing than empty. Suddenly these areas are piling up with people, wierd stuff is happening up north, Dredge and Flame Legions working together, what the fricking heck?! That’s at least how I assume mine would look at it.

Hopefully by March or April there’ll be more of a face to it, some characters we’ll like or hate, and then things will pick up.

The fact that the Consortium is setting up a “resort” for the refugees in Southsun Cove, operating with what seems quite frankly to be nefarious intent, is really all I needed to get hooked by the story. I’m also very curious as to what the nature of the partnership between the Dredge and Flame Legion is. Instinctually I’d say the Flame Legion is wearing the pants, but they’re also debasing their godlike view of themselves by equipping Dredge-made armor. Finally, it was interesting to learn that the invaders aren’t simply targeting the civilized refugees of the Shiverpeaks but also causing enough disturbance to drive the Grawl out as well. What are they after?

Yes, it has been a slow burn and you have to piece things together. I like it.

I have to agree with the nay-sayers on this. There has been ‘0’ story so far.

Jan: The story amounted to nothing more than us clicking on 75 items. Seriously?

Feb: I magically know about some cup some guy dropped and I have to compete against 50 other characters to try to get kill credit on random portals that pop up IN THE MIDDLE OF A EMPTY AREA during the 5 seconds before the portals get killed.

For two months now we have been bashed over the head by the fact that there are refugees streaming from the north. OK, I get it. There are refugees. They are streaming. This is a fact, not a story.

Maybe in the future there will be a story, but there is zip so far.

As a side note… who plans the military operations for these ‘invaders’? You open your portals, which are giant flaming circles seemingly aimed to maximize attention and potential aggressive response, in a giant open area with absolutely no significant strategic or tactical objectives around?

Stark.1350:

How about you guys let him enjoy the story and keep your negative nonsense to yourselves?

I’m sorry I think you missed the part where someone states something publicly that it allows others to weigh in on their feelings as well.

Nalora.7964:

I love a good story.
I love a good ponder.
I love a mystery.
I love a book I can pick up, read a bit, then go on my way, musing.

I am enjoying Flame and Frost. Thank you Guild Wars 2 writers.

I am old, jaded and have a tendency to focus on the annoyances in this game.

Thanks for putting things in perspective – I am walking away from this post smiling because you are absolutely right :-)

As long as it picks up later. These teeny tiny little unexciting/uninformative bits don’t qualify as story; more like tone-setting.

Hopefully the reason for the lack of story-meat is because they’re working on the main stuff now and just doing really small things to set us up in the meantime.

Supposedly next month it starts for real.

So far my opinion of the teaser is well it’s been pretty weird and felt a bit disconnected from the game. The achievements list and finding these things in the world is also really awkward.

If it’s supposed to engage the player… it should do that directly. Not expect us to root around with everyone on a map thoroughly confused.

I also have to say: JUST ADD QUEST JOURNALS TO THE GAME.

They aren’t that evil and we really need a container for some things.

I love Flame and Frost too!

That’s it. Can’t think of anything else besides praising the patch series

Scumbag Mawile.6384:

As long as it picks up later. These teeny tiny little unexciting/uninformative bits don’t qualify as story; more like tone-setting.

Hopefully the reason for the lack of story-meat is because they’re working on the main stuff now and just doing really small things to set us up in the meantime.

According to ArenaNet, it will pick up.

They are calling these past two months of storytelling “teasers”.

So not really story… so much as… getting… (let me tell you next month)… our attention.

They mention they aren’t really telling the story in full force yet, but will at the and of March:

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/living-story-evolution/

“These first couple months of teaser content have allowed us to ramp up to make the long-term Living Story an even fuller and more satisfying experience for you all. As designers have come off other projects and joined us, we’ve increased the amount of content we’ll be delivering, starting at the end of March.”

I’m glad things will speed up, because I personally don’t like the pace of these teasers.

A month between story elements is odd pacing given how little we can meaningfully do in the story so far.

I’ve never seen an MMO tell a story this slowly, but am curious to see how they develop/implement their concept.

However, from their comments above, it looks like they needed time to accumulate the manpower to support this story going forward.

The problem is that these things don’t immerse me into the game. The only time I was immersed in this game was my early leveling up until the conclusion of the personal story.

I’m liking it so far, the plot thickens.