If they think a cash shop is an idea belonging to a rpg,then i want to become the cash shop manager,everyone give me your money.Wait,what's the problem,i can't be the manager,why not,oh yeah it really doesn't belong in the game,we just want to make money and have to do it this way because our game wouldn't fly any other way.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Why people keep saying sandbox and story don't mix? While there could be no themepark narrative there could be drops that start quests (Everquest). And in a line of quest story can be told. Why the hell not? There are actually other options, just get into it and think out of the box.
I think people think of story like how it has been done lately, being led through a story, watching it unfold. It use to be the mmos had strong lore and when you delved into that lore, you experienced a story, and could even make your own story. That is how I felt in EQ and daoc anyway.
Everquest considered themepark game by many, but that is... so unfair to a huge world it was.
Exactly what I meant. Not to mention sandbox gives much more room for personal story. I remember starting SWG with an idea of making smuggler (Jedi were not an option at start and whom you'd choose if Jedi unavailiable? right), but I logged in... and found myself two months later playing a rifle-specialized outdorsman. Game offered so much exploration I cared not for my previous intentions at all. Also it is fun to make choices your character would make.
Another thing is people. A lot of personal story comes from community and especially people you meet. You make connections, you make story, you experience game to the fullest.
Kind of along the lines of the post from @Vynt - A story can be told in a sandbox game, but it likely wouldn't be linear. It would be pieces of lore (as some mentioned) that you would have to sew together and make sense of by finding other pieces. A story broken like a puzzle, sprinkled over a sandbox world. Some would find all the pieces, some wouldn't care and fight, craft, farm, or play in the market or auction hall. Some might get a glimpse of it as they hunt down the best loot. I don't think it's unheard of to do.
This is also good way to do it. Actually searching for lore is fun in itself, especially if developers kind enough to provide you with hints and pieces. And it would be perfect if some kind of reward connected to it.
In themepark you are on rails, in terms of rewards as well. Sandbox is different. I do not even suggest questlines, just some maps and information that can guide player to a place or an item. It is game in itself and can be easily implemented to sandbox. Vynt is right - people tend to expect movie-like flow of the story. I was like that back in the day and I thougt that story leading from one zone to the next is perfect and everything else ain't. But truth is it was narrowmindness imposed on me by single-player games of that time. Searching game world for lore or even fighting for it is much more fun. *nod*nod*
Wouldnt that be racial appropriation nowadays? Stupid political correctness probably won't allow you to pick a real world race unless you can prove you are a member of the tribe irl.
Never Alone (Kisima Innitchuna) from Upper One Games is perhaps the biggest example of developers working with actual tribes to implement their cultures into their game however this game is not central to one culture and perhaps how far it spans is not central to one tribe.
In my mind (which of course does not have the expertise or the budget) I would like to think if anyone could place actual Native American stories in its games it could be Amazon. If it is too consuming of time, money or even concept to assign a full race for Native America perhaps their could be a New World Karma type system working on the land so crops grow better if you give to local tribes or the earth OR to weave or fish we must visit local tribes to get their blessings. Learning from Elders about plants would be amazing etc.
Doing nothing to include Native American seems more damaging than not attempting to in a very honorable way that includes them offline also. Imagine if Amazon took this opportunity to assist schooling on reservations like Pine Ridge or one local to them or in the area of the game itself, perhaps even computer programming /gaming development scholarships? That would be the best kind of marketing imo and just good will for a time in history that began the almost annihilation an entire nation.
Anything is possible, it's just a matter of who will lead the way in an MMO at a time when people are becoming more culturally sensitive which is long overdue.
Comments
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Exactly what I meant. Not to mention sandbox gives much more room for personal story. I remember starting SWG with an idea of making smuggler (Jedi were not an option at start and whom you'd choose if Jedi unavailiable? right), but I logged in... and found myself two months later playing a rifle-specialized outdorsman. Game offered so much exploration I cared not for my previous intentions at all. Also it is fun to make choices your character would make.
Another thing is people. A lot of personal story comes from community and especially people you meet. You make connections, you make story, you experience game to the fullest.
In themepark you are on rails, in terms of rewards as well. Sandbox is different. I do not even suggest questlines, just some maps and information that can guide player to a place or an item. It is game in itself and can be easily implemented to sandbox. Vynt is right - people tend to expect movie-like flow of the story. I was like that back in the day and I thougt that story leading from one zone to the next is perfect and everything else ain't. But truth is it was narrowmindness imposed on me by single-player games of that time. Searching game world for lore or even fighting for it is much more fun. *nod*nod*
:-D
Never Alone (Kisima Innitchuna) from Upper One Games is perhaps the biggest example of developers working with actual tribes to implement their cultures into their game however this game is not central to one culture and perhaps how far it spans is not central to one tribe.
In my mind (which of course does not have the expertise or the budget) I would like to think if anyone could place actual Native American stories in its games it could be Amazon. If it is too consuming of time, money or even concept to assign a full race for Native America perhaps their could be a New World Karma type system working on the land so crops grow better if you give to local tribes or the earth OR to weave or fish we must visit local tribes to get their blessings. Learning from Elders about plants would be amazing etc.
Doing nothing to include Native American seems more damaging than not attempting to in a very honorable way that includes them offline also. Imagine if Amazon took this opportunity to assist schooling on reservations like Pine Ridge or one local to them or in the area of the game itself, perhaps even computer programming /gaming development scholarships? That would be the best kind of marketing imo and just good will for a time in history that began the almost annihilation an entire nation.
Anything is possible, it's just a matter of who will lead the way in an MMO at a time when people are becoming more culturally sensitive which is long overdue.