Let me start by saying this is both a rant, and a series of constrictive criticisms about how better to integrate future living story arcs after Scarlets, but in a TL:DR version that will likely be elaborated in depth at a later point.
Ill start with bullet point format:
- Living Story content for storyline content should be longer, and released less frequently than game play updates, story needs substance and having shallow snippets isn’t good enough to give someone anything more than a sour taste in the mouth.
- Focus more on using current characters in the world and letting them change, suffer, grow stronger, but stop adding more new npc’s with very little personality.
- I would advise from now on keeping “human” antagonists as I call them or humanoid individuals, to personal story expansions, while giving the living story more glorified threats like the dragons themselves, which would play better into the format you’re trying to accomplish in a storytelling design.
- You cannot make humanoid villains into sociopath lunatics that want to murder everyone for no apparently obvious agenda until the very end. Even the Jokers motivations are however psychotic, clear cut enough that people know “okay, this guy is just a pure anarchist”. Its also not fun to see the bad guy thwarted, because players don’t just want to hate the villain, they want the villain to hate them.
E.g.
Scarlets introduction was pretty solid, even if the content after that has become nothing but a “scarlet did it” montage. She did indeed promise to make our lives hell for foiling her plan and shes done just that, so good job in that respects.
But that’s not enough.
Not only is it a personal one to one battle of wit, you need to know what the villain wants, and Scarlet is a classic example of “vague intentions” I get that there’s supposed to be a mystery behind her that keeps us guessing but when it becomes tiresome to see her appear at every turn it shows she isn’t really doing anything that makes sense, and if that’s her motive, its a pretty weak one at best.
There is power in a bad guy, or girl, there is presence, acting is important, design equally so, Scarlets actor? Good, her design? It suits her…
But her story? Her story feels so out of character, especially after you read her short-story which goes against everything she’s been doing, it seemed like she had a calculated plan, and now its just random violence for the sake of it, lulz.
I ask, I beg you, if you intend to make another major humanoid antagonist, this time, make it one:
- A) from present and past lore.
-
that can be more clearly relate-able.
- C) That actually does something personal, like hurt a main companion, kill off the queen, “something” that moves the world.
Right now, all Scarlet has done is peeved off everyone, she hasn’t actually “hurt” anyone beyond mindless killing, if that’s supposed to phase me, it doesn’t.
I want the reason for stopping a bad guy to not just be worldly, but personal too, I want to feel like the threat is important to me, not just some random Charr’s problem or humans, and that’s Scarlet’s problem, who is she trying to threaten, who is she trying to hurt personally?
I don’t know, and I want to know, I want to know this for every antagonist in future, so please, next time, try, please try, to make antagonists that actually make, me, care, personally.
Id rather see the Queens palace blown to pieces, than just some random guy I don’t even know cry about how his wife died.
You know why Kasmeer moved me? Because when she cried, about her story, because when she told it with such conviction, I felt moved.
That, is what makes good story, that, more of it, depth, development, involvement, this, is what gives context.
Do it, more often, more effectively, take your time to write a good story, flesh it out, deliver a memorable experience, sometimes, it has to hurt too.
The Reason GW1 was so effective? Dark, things went bad, you wanted to do something right, it got worse, you felt hope only at the very END of the road when something FINALLY went right, but that’s because the things you were against were unstoppable, they killed people you cared about, made you feel sad, pain, anger.
That’s what drove you to kill the Mursaat, to end Abbadon, to stop Shiro Tagachi.
Because you ‘cared’ about what they did to you.