Do you care about lore?

Eronakis

Do you care about lore of the world outside of the main plot that progresses the story? Do you actually read the lore or do you even care? I am actually starting to write lore for that map I posted two threads ago. I will say that I find it tedious sometimes when I write lore. I want lore to be exciting and to feel like the world had some substance to it.

Does anyone actually read lore? What would make lore more intriguing for those who don't read it?

The best outlet for players to get lore is through quests. Are there any other avenues in which a player can recieve lore?

Vidir

I never care about lore other than when games have personal quest's/story's for each character.

WhiteLantern

Lore is always at the forefront of my mind when playing games. I want to know everything about the world in which I'm investing my time.

 

For ideas besides quests, there could be readable books in the world, lore components in the manual (I know, who reads those besides me?), NPC "scholars", points of interest in the world that automatically fill in a player's journal (immersion-breaking, I know).  Stuff like that.

BartDaCat

I enjoy lore when it affects the art direction, level design, creature design, and the overall premise of gameplay, as long as it's taken seriously.

For example:

I enjoyed Warcraft's lore, because it drove the design of the game, and carried over into World of Warcraft and its expansions.  Sometimes I felt they dropped the ball, or pulled new lore out of their ass to implement something new (Blood Elf Paladins), but for the most part it was well done.

And to answer your question about whether or not I read the lore; I picked up almost all of the Warcraft novels as they came out, and for the most part, I enjoyed them immensely.  They added to my enjoyment of the game after reading them, because it brought various characters and zones in the game more into focus.

Zhauric

That I do. I'm probably going to pick up the two books published on Guild Wars 2 as it is. I like knowing the world around me and passing things or people I have read about. Makes it that much more interesting for me.

Elikal

Absolutely yes. I game without lore is a dead theatre stage. It is of course more than just conversations and text, it is everything that presents the world to you as a world.

fenistil

Yes.  Alot actually.

Zylaxx

Nope not one bit.

 

As long as the gameplay is fun, the graphics are at least decent, and the class system is "to my liking" I can overlook any lore related issues.

 

People who only play because of lore are the reasons why games like SWTOR are allowed to thrive.  If SWTOR was not based on Star Wars but instead on something made up on a whim from some 2-bit employee (looking at you Rift) then it wouldnt have 90% of the playerbase it has now.

Larsa

Yes, I care for lore. I don't care for quests or story though.

Player A: I'm doing the quest to save Mrs. L. from the zombies.

Player B: Ah, yes, I saved her yesterday.

Player C: Oh, I need to save her too.

Player Noobs, I saved her 4 weeks ago!

Unlight

I read everything in a game at least once.  And I mean everything.  Books, quest text, sign posts, plaques, headstones, NPC bios -- everything.  I don't tend to absorb it until much later in the game though, that is, if the game appeals to me for the long term.  If I'm in it for more than three or four months, then I'll start wanting to put together all the little pieces I've come across to get a better feel for the world.  There are often hidden mysteries to be discovered and digging into them becomes something of a metagame in its own right.  Late in the game, this can keep me going for many more months, just on its own -- provided the lore is thorough, plentiful, well-constructed and above all, interesting.

 

RefMinor

Lore yes, story no, but I mostly play sandbox games so there is more living history than story.

s1fu71

If there is an actual Role Playing element, then yes. I enjoyed the lore in EQ, WOW, AoC and LOTR.

In Eve Online, I do not follow it at all. To a large extent, players there make their own lore.

Yilelien

If im interested in the game i may read a little about the lore. But for the most part im more interested in the game play & community

fenistil

Originally posted by Zylaxx

 

People who only play because of lore are the reasons why games like SWTOR are allowed to thrive.  If SWTOR was not based on Star Wars but instead on something made up on a whim from some 2-bit employee (looking at you Rift) then it wouldnt have 90% of the playerbase it has now.

Not realy.

 

I care about lore alot ,but I don't care about Swtor as I found it boring.

 

Lore does NOT equal quests and voice overs. Don't confuse Lore with story. They might overlap a bit but they don't equal each other.

 

I care about lore , cohesion , believability , virtual world feel , etc   - don't care about some NPC talking to me for 5 minutes to go gather 10 boar meat.

 

On the other hand Rift while very decent game in many fields (mainly how good Rift treat their players and amount of content it pushes out) lore-wise it was awful , totally generic crap.

 

Anyway I consider both Swtor and Rift preety weak games.

 

 

Good game Lore wise?   Ultima Online & DAoC for example. Lotro as well albeit made by diffrent means.

Thaonnor

I care about lore... but only when they make me want to care about the lore. My first MMO is a bad example (SWG) because I cared about the lore to some extent before I even played the game.

 

Games like WoW draw you in, attach you to the game, and at first you may only care about the main lore (who is warchief, etc) but I have found as time goes on, as I see more and more content, I have more time to enjoy the lore. There is a good solid game that is really fun to play and it makes me interested in the lore behind it all. In some of the newer games, the actual gameplay has been so bad that I cannot grow to love the game, the universe that I'm playing in, and without being able to get into the game itself, its hard to care about the lore.

 

Take for example Warhammer Online. Who honestly cares about the lore of Warhammer? Not many people - mostly because the game didn't have the staying power to draw players in and make me care enough about the game to want to know more about the universe behind it.

 

TL;DR version: If the game is good, I begin to care more about the lore. The bad games that I can't play for more than a couple months max, there just isn't enough time to grow interested enough in the backstory.

Deron_Barak

 I think every game world should have some reason for existing, there should always be lore present and event events happening in "real time" once the game launches.  A persons character should never be the main proponent though in my opinion because it doesn't fit an MMO world.  It's like the unspoken rule of roleplaying, you share an MMO world with thousands of other people so not everyone can make the killing blow on the enemy of the world.  Of course this can get muddied by future boss encounters but I think characters should be part of the world, not the focus of it.

 

 OP it's great you are putting a lot of consideration in this.  My suggestion is to make lore that goes back to a point and leaves room to grow going forward.  As far as reading it, no not if there are 10 other quests I'm doing.  If there is a main story quest that spans to the end I will get my lore there and from environmental clues.

 

 I would highly suggest limiting quests so they mean a little more.  I'm not saying don't have something you need or want to do.  Tasks that "kill x, collect y" would be fine in quest chains but if I just received 10 quests I honestly wont bother reading the text on all of them.  If I had two or three quest chains that would be more manageable and would feel like I'm on an actual quest.

 

tl;dr

Lore is integral but needs to be seperate from PCs.  Quest text for 10 hub quests, too much, wont read.  Quest text for two or three "chain quests" great as they feel like real quests.  Main quest chain that puts you "along side" the main lore at certain points might also be a plus.

 

/rant off lol.  Good for you btw! I hope it turns out great.

Bladestrom

Originally posted by fenistil

Originally posted by Zylaxx

 

People who only play because of lore are the reasons why games like SWTOR are allowed to thrive.  If SWTOR was not based on Star Wars but instead on something made up on a whim from some 2-bit employee (looking at you Rift) then it wouldnt have 90% of the playerbase it has now.

Not realy.

 

I care about lore alot ,but I don't care about Swtor as I found it boring.

 +1  Lets face it SWTOR Lore is Star Wars story yet again.

Lore does NOT equal quests and voice overs. Don't confuse Lore with story. They might overlap a bit but they don't equal each other.

 +1 Althought telling a Story can enrich Lore and vice versa where subtle and  not cynical time fillers.

I care about lore , cohesion , believability , virtual world feel , etc   - don't care about some NPC talking to me for 5 minutes to go gather 10 boar meat.

 +99  This is what makes a game engrossing imo, when you engage with your character not your xp per hour rate.  Wow for example engaged because you felt part of a solid living world (early years at least)

Good game Lore wise?   Ultima Online & DAoC for example. Lotro as well albeit made by diffrent means.

GW1, the storyline was really really cheesy, but really really engaging!, felt like the old school RPG's.   It worked because it was not attached to a fast-track to gear grind path. 

 

Eronakis

What is a good example of interesting lore? I feel like some of mine is interesting and some of it is bland.

 

Would anyone be willing to read a snippet from what I would consider good lore from my world map?  I guess good lore is in the eye of the beholder right?

Fangrim

I love lore and always read quests on my first toon that does the quest.EQ2 has a good way of giving you lore in book quests where you first find the book and can only read page one then you have to kill certain mobs and you get to read another page until at the end you get the completed book which you can then place in your house for all to read.

Unfortunatly most of the people I played with in EQ2 didn't even bother doing those quests let alone reading them.I would guess that at least 60% of current MMO players run to npc and click accept without reading anything,look at thier stupid little compass and follow the glowing arrow,kill whatever and run back rinse and repeat.

I wonder why developers even bother with lore nowadays....... hmmmm I think in some MMO's they don't anyway lol

uohaloran

Inconsitency is a real big problem I have with lore, narratives, and story telling but it doesn't have to be a work of genius as long as it's believable and not a detractor from the game.

So I guess I do care for lore to the extent that it helps to be that adhesive that holds a believable world together.  That's the minimum I really ask for if you're going to have lore at all.

Good or great lore can really be the best flavor you can add to a game, I think.  It really helps draw a player in even if they're not aware that it is.

Bladestrom

Originally posted by Eronakis

What is a good example of interesting lore? I feel like some of mine is interesting and some of it is bland.

 

Would anyone be willing to read a snippet from what I would consider good lore from my world map?  I guess good lore is in the eye of the beholder right?

I think good lore is simply Lore that engages you.

BartDaCat

Originally posted by Eronakis

What is a good example of interesting lore? I feel like some of mine is interesting and some of it is bland.

I'm not a fan of Richard A. Knaak's writing, but his collaboration with Chris Metzen on the Warcraft: War of the Ancients trilogy, was, in my mind, an example of good lore.

It introduces and explains the appearance of some of the main characters, races, and zones in the games, and gives a clearer picture of their historical context.

It touches on the origins of some of the major antagonists, and adds significance to some of the major zones that you discover.

 

 

Ice-Queen

Originally posted by Vidir

I never care about lore other than when games have personal quest's/story's for each character.

I never care about lore either. I just like a good massive pvp battle. That's all I need in a game. Hopefully, Guild Wars 2 and Planetside 2 can provide that. I know Planetside 1 did.

XReigns

I feel with any game lore is important, without it you cant have dungeons, towns, or creatures that fit the world.  Without lore, there is a major lack of immersion and purpose to a game.

Lore is something that keeps you driving forward, keeps you interested and exploring, and keeps your mindset on the game.

Rednecksith

The only thing I really care about lore-wise is that it's consistent, and that the writers stick to it. For example, WoW retcons so much of their lore that they put most comic book companies to shame, which really pisses me off. If you're going to write it, stick to it, don't be lazy and change it whenever you feel like just because you were stupid enough to write yourself 'into a corner', so to speak. Get creative and find a way out without going back and saying, "Oh, err, well... that never happened! What REALLY happened was...". Very unprofessional, uncreative and lazy.

Your lore can be incredibly generic (most of Rift's, for example), but as long as you stick to it I'll at least have some respect for you.

Emrendil

Yep, I love a good lore.