Mysteries, like the Children of Goldshire

Comments

• Dullahan Member EpicPosts: 4,536

  June 2017 edited June 2017

  This was actually a topic covered to some degree in the update yesterday. They explained how they are fleshing out the lore and story by applying it to the npcs and the things they do in game. I expect we'll see very similar things in Pantheon.
  
  Another thing you may remember from the stream last December. Well, I might as well just link to the part of the stream so you can watch.
  
  
  Go to 2:37:09
  

  Post edited by Dullahan on June 2017

  

  
  
• delete5230 Member EpicPosts: 7,081

  June 2017

  This would be great if you can seek out optional behind stories like this. 
  
  Know what else would be cool ?... If they can do side things that would be impossible to research certain stuff on the internet somehow.  Like a Giant that could appear anyplace in the world and cause random havoc
  
  
  
• Scumm Member UncommonPosts: 78

  June 2017

  This is the first I've heard about the 'creepy children', but it reminds me of a lecture Brian Moriarty gave on adding a level of randomness that could potentially be perceived as depth:  http://ludix.com/moriarty/paul.html 
  
  

  If you want your artificial characters to exhibit a wide spectrum of intelligent-looking behaviors, don’t try to program them all yourself, one case statement at a time.

  You’ve written enough bugs already.

  Instead, try what Peter Blake did on the Sgt. Pepper cover.

  Throw in some useless particulars.

  Take a couple of those robot tanks, pick a random direction and send them rolling off across the playing field, for absolutely no reason at all.

  Sometimes it’ll look like an attack, or a feint, or even a suicide.

  Whatever happens, it’s bound to be more interesting than having them just sit there, circling.

  And who knows? Maybe some reviewer will rave about your brilliant AI.

  If you want your virtual worlds to appear deep and rich, don’t try to define everything explicitly.

  
  It may be frustrating to accept that there really is NO meaning behind the movements of the Children of Goldshire, but it definitely seems to get people talking. 
  
  

  Select a random game event, something harmless, like a distant sound effect, and make it occur according to a regular pattern, also chosen randomly; and watch your players assign their own dramatic significance and tie at all together.

  
  I'm all for it!
• waynejr2 Member EpicPosts: 7,769

  June 2017

  Amathe said:

  I love in game mysteries. They don't have to be quests. They don't have to provide loot. They just need to be present and have enough substance to generate player discussion.
  
  An example of what I mean would be the Children of Goldshire. You can read more here, http://wowwiki.wikia.com/wiki/Children_of_Goldshire, but basically it is a group of spooky children who do inexplicable things that point to any number of possible reasons why- all scary. 
  
  I can also remember endless speculation about supposed undiscovered things in the Tower of Frozen Shadow in EQ.
  
  And there is the famous/infamous speculation and attempts to figure out the path to Jedi in original SWG.  
  
  Things like this make exploration fun. They make observation fun. And they stimulate a lot of conversation, which is something you want in a game that emphasizes community. 
  
  I hope to see some things like this in Pantheon. 

  
  Kind of like second stories in the game.  You don't have to do anything and may not even notice them.   This is fun additions for those players like us who want them.
  

  http://www.youhaventlived.com/qblog/2010/QBlog190810A.html  
  
  Epic Music:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
  
  https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
  
  Kyleran:  "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
  
  John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
  
  FreddyNoNose:  "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
  
  LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
  
  
  
  
  
• Mendel Member LegendaryPosts: 5,609

  June 2017

  EQ1 had a couple.  Yiz Pon spawning was attributed to any number of myths.  Kill all spiders in West Karana.  Kill all the ogres in West Karana.  Kill female lions.  All myths.  It was a simple month long spawn timer.  Randomness was frequently confused with some kind of hidden mechanism. 
  
  A cautionary word to future Pantheon players -- don't give the developers entirely too much credit.  They aren't several magnitudes more clever than you are.
  

  Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
• BazgrimTV Member UncommonPosts: 39

  June 2017 edited June 2017

  Mysteries are key to fulfilling their goal of creating a truly immersive world, that keeps you interested for years. The devs have said they are huge fans of mystery. And I'm not surprised, looking at the games some of them have worked on in the past. But of course if they told us what mysteries of Terminus are, that would ruin the fun. But have you read the lore on the website? It's full of mystery. There's not a single doubt that Pantheon will have those captivating experiences.