Guild Wars 2

I recently saw two interesting videos that were linked together both talking about mechanics in games and how they work together with the narrative of the game or grind against them. I heartily recommend that if you are interested in this forum thread and/or interested in game design they are both a good watch.

Idea Channel “Are Videogames About Their Mechanics”
Extra Credits “Mechanics and Tone – How Does Gameplay Relate to Story”

The extra credits video is especially poignant as they talk briefly about MMOs in general. Personally I enjoy Guild Wars 2 ‘Living Story’ as I enjoy plot but even I find that the games mechanics are often simply put aside for story. When we play the living story we have to stop to read text as the characters talk to one another and you are not really interacting with it even though your avatar is involved in the conversation. I discovered a lot of people will simply skip through all the writing to get to the action.

This a contrast to the mechanics helping narrative when we have ‘Random Events’ where we use our knowledge of the mechanics and skill to help a narrative without needing to stop and read. You also get the feeling you are physically helping the world. This is why I like when the living story has us engage the narrative openly, like the fortresses in The Silverwastes, rather than the parts were we go into personal instanced sections.

Still, I would like your thoughts of Guild Wars 2’s mechanics and narrative. Where do you think the game’s mechanics and narrative do well together in harmony? Or where they don’t where you can remember every detail of that epic fight but you cannot remember why you were in that fight to begin with?

Yeah, thinking about it I have forgotten one way of story writing is starting small with a steady pace before leading up to a climax but with thorns already sprouting all over the world it would be nice to have a small element of investigation outside of an instanced story. I imagine we will see as the story progresses of what the developers have in mind.

As for the zerging of many of the events. I do agree that as challenge goes, it doesn’t make as much of a fulfilling experience as it can be like The Shatterer. The Twisted Marionette was one of the best world bosses from the living story as it required both skill/tactics and the teamwork of lot of players involvement making for a true battle that was more than just rushing in.

One personally hopes there will be more like the Marionette , a one off event that will be remembered rather than one that will forever spawn back every day.

A simple question really. While I can agree with some that season 2’s focus on more personal living story has its benefits to making it personal to the player’s character I do kind of miss the mmo nature of things.

Despite some faults I did love the grand battles that happened in the landscape that happened to everyone in the zone from the Battle of Lion’s Arch to the Attack on the Karka Queen. It gave a scope that you were part of an army to work together to take down overwhelming odds and created a sense of “I was there”

Now I know that season 2 has just begun and the story is still in the initial investigation part but I hope that Arenanet may sprinkle some giant open events down the road along with them.

This could be personal, I am a rp’er and I find it difficult to think that in a mmo filled with hundreds of players, you are the only person that did all these amazing things.

I can’t really write an expansive post on GW2’s new zone Dry Top but there is one issue that has been bugging me.

Before I go into that I would like to congratulate the Guild Wars team for making a very visually impressive and interactive zone. The use of the dust storms that actually shortens the view distance and the and how completing events would give everyone better rewards with the merchants are nice touches.

My main issue is the sense of linearity that has been beginning to make itself apparent with the use of corridor like areas. I can understand why the game’s designers may have done this to make it easier to create a visually impressive areas such as first entering the oasis. I know it also plays a key part in running with the living story too but when all the other zones are open, allowing players to explore them, this does feel stifling.

I hope that the rest of the zone will not feel like a corridor run.