Hello ArenaNet and players!
What I am proposing is basically the addition of a theatre stage. A medium sized platform that sits off the ground, but at the proper height that so viewers can see what’s going on clearly.
This theatre stage, however, is not just another piece of environmental eye candy; it is also a mini-game! This game consists of actors and actresses from all races coming together to bring entertainment to Tyria. Any level of any race can participate! All it takes is curiosity and a lack of stage fright.
There will be many roles for players to fill, including:
- Director – Manages the crew and prop placement.
- Actor – The meat of the biscuit, these guys and gals do the acting!
- Stage Manager – Handles most of the technical aspects of a play, including opening and closing the large curtains.
The plays themselves can be anything you want! It could be a moment in Tyrian history or recent events in real life. You may write your own script or use one that is already written. There are lots of play scripts already available online for you to use. Show off your creativity!
Players will do the actual ‘acting’ via emotes and text chat, possibly through a specially coloured chat channel so there is no interference from the audience.
Coming up on the theatre stage itself, here are some of the features it will have:
- Customizable props.
This is something that would bring an enormous amount of depth into any given play. These props could be anything; small trees, tables, laboratory equipment, etc. These props would, of course, be scaled down to fit on the stage. These props can be placed anywhere on the stage by the director or stage manager. These props can be deleted or moved at anytime during or before the performance.
- Interchangeable background scenes.
Having a background would really help to set the mood of the play, and these could be swapped out or changed at any time. Since there is already tons of beautiful concept art throughout the game, why not use those as stage backgrounds? The director or stage manager could simply select one from a predefined list.
- Costumes for actors.
Hey, not everyone can be a dragon slayer, we need townsfolk too! The clothing that you see on NPCs would make excellent costumes. Players would need to go to the dressing rooms, approach the costume they wish to wear, and press F to equip it. These costumes don’t need to be custom tailored to the player either. In fact is better that they acquire the NPC model as well. This way players can be bandits, peasants, or even Logan Thackeray!
Now, even though this would be called a mini-game, it wouldn’t be as simple as jumping in and doing whatever you want. When a player decides they want to put on a play they would need to talk to an NPC and become a director. They would then need to have a guild or group of people that want to participate.
After your party is ready to practice or perform, they would need to talk to an NPC who would give them a time slot to do so. This would alleviate some of the problems of miss use, or players just sitting on the stage or using it all day for no reason. The time would be adequate, enough that players can perform or practice, but not long enough that they use the stage frivolously.
This is an idea I would absolutely love to see implemented and I believe it would be very popular among role-players, acting enthusiasts, musicians, and more! The possibilities are endless in what you could use this stage for.
I also believe this would fill a large gap in the Guild Wars 2 community. I feel that people need to come together more in this game, just to do things like this.
Thank you for taking the time to look at this suggestion and I hope it is reviewed by a staff member!
