Guild Wars 2

[cont’d from part 1]

Phase 5 (weeks 9&10): Climax and Resolution

The players play a part in finding and enabling a solution to the crisis, a series of sequential events that culminate in a definitive climax. Putting the lid on a cataclysmic sequence of events shouldn’t feel like janitorial work— it should contribute to a sense of accomplishment and finality. This should be reflected by some permanent alteration to the game world.

Phase 6 (weeks 11 & 12): Epilogue

This wraps up the loose ends of the story arc, allows players to bid farewell to NPC allies, offers latecomers a chance to catch up on limited-time content, and shows a restoration of some damaged or devastated parts of the game world to their former functionality, or perhaps a new functionality. It also functions as a period where the Foreshadowing phase begins for a new, separate story arc. Because it arguably requires the least demands for new content, the epilogue also represents a period of time where the next arc can be tweaked and polished.

These ideas aren’t terribly detailed, mainly representing a strategy of sorts. In many ways this structure already resembles what already exists in the Living Story, which is why I think it can be made to work. Some might argue that a 12-week schedule is too long, but it is an alternative to the disjointed 2-4 week schedule that currently exists.

I haven’t reviewed all of the responses to this issue, though what I’ve read so far is encouraging, innovative, validating, and humanizing. I always knew a good number of people had issues with the Living Story, but the extent to which people are willing to offer carefully thought out ideas exhibits a special kind of love for the core idea behind it.

Supposing that the two week update schedule continues as part of a bid to keep players on board, a lot of other people have made points that I think most players would agree with— namely Narrative Coherence, Cause & Effect, Empathy, and Permanence.

What I generally read is an agreement that it is difficult to develop content that establishes these four elements if said content is designed as prepackaged fast food intended to be consumed and digested quickly, its packaging and legacy crumpled up and tossed away.

To solve this, someone suggested that each Living Story update should be part of a long arc. This is already the case, yet not the case. The main gripe is that Living Story updates form arcs, but these arcs seldom logically connect to one another. I imagine this as a symptom of a high-pressure update schedule combined with the rigors of coordinating multiple teams.

If the Living Story is to improve in the eyes of the players while adhering to a two-week schedule there need to be longer arcs. Instead of a month dedicated to a select story, two or even three could be set aside for the purpose. Here’s how it would work, in an 8-12 week schedule:

Phase 1 (weeks 1&2): Foreshadowing

Corresponding with the end of a previous Living Story arc, unannounced content creeps in. New NPCs, changes to the world, and so on could offer the attentive clues about what is coming down the road. We’ve already seen one notable example of this- the change to Auld Red Dwarf leading up to the beginning of the current arc. This is ‘showing, not telling’, a bit of numina that by its very existence generates some gossip. What is shown at this phase should be engineered to hint at what’s to come without giving things away.

Phase 2 (weeks 3&4): Reporting & Mobilization

Two weeks in, word is now circulating in the game itself about what is going on. The content is officially announced on the website. We become acquainted with the NPCs that will soon become important to the storyline. This shouldn’t simply consist of scavenger hunts and menial duties, as was the problem with some content in Flame & Frost. Dynamic events and combat instances here should reflect the game world’s recognition that there is a crisis that people need to mobilize for, but that there isn’t a full awareness of the crisis’ magnitude or a clear solution to it.

Phase 3 (Weeks 5&6): Epiphany

This is the critical point where the mystery unravels and a clear line is established between allies and adversaries. Many players feel like this has thus far been handled in a clumsy way- a new breed of enemy appears out of nowhere without any clear motivation. This contributes to the unflattering label of ‘Saturday Morning Villains’ . If, however, enemies arise from NPCs we have already met and talked with, perhaps even invested in, we can start to feel more involved in a struggle. This is where see just how severe the crisis really is.

Phase 4 (weeks 7 & 8 ): War

Having established allies and adversaries, hopefully with the allies at a bit of a disadvantage, this is where the players and key NPC allies frantically try to find a solution to the crisis. The intensity of the action could seem to give the enemies an advantage, making victory that much more pressing.

[cont’d in part 2]

This far down the line, folks who read Ghosts of Ascalon might not remember much of what was in it, but perhaps they remember the feelings they had after reading it.

When Borders was going under I got a copy of both Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny for cheap, partly at the behest of a friend and partly because I intended to jump into GW2 and wanted to know a bit more about it coming up. GoA surprised me by being, besides an insight into the Guild Wars universe, a good book with decent characters- flawed, complex, and generally empathic. Edge of Destiny, by contrast, felt shallow. Destiny’s Edge, the much vaunted heroes of the personal story, felt dull and childish, and the degree to which this contrasted with Ghosts of Ascalon was palpable.

The characters from Ghosts of Ascalon are in GW2, but only as random NPCs sprinkled about the landscape. As a reader, I felt like I connected with Dougal, Ember, Gullik, Killeen, and Kranxx, and even Almorra more than I do with most of the GW2 cast. In a sense, I feel like their in-game potential thus far has been wasted.

Here’s the idea— Destiny’s Edge plays a prominent role in the Player’s personal story and in the various dungeons, and while they could return for future living story updates I personally think it’s best to reserve the dragon hunters for proper dragon hunting. The cast of ‘Ghosts’, however, is not similarly bound. Like Destiny’s Edge they constitute a team of adventurers, veterans of a difficult mission, but unlike their celebrity peers they don’t have very much to do.

Let’s return to these characters, or introduce them to everyone who didn’t have a chance to read the book. Let’s match them up with a good living story arc. Well-crafted characters are tough to come by in GW2, and they exist to be used, not simply stand around and fade out of sight. Does anyone else feel the same, that the characters of ‘Ghosts’ could or should have some time in the spotlight?