Any chance of an AoC novel before the game comes out?

ArchivedUser

If there's one thing that sells me on an MMO, it's the IP. Whether it's a well known IP like Warcraft, a spiritual successor like Shroud of The Avatar or a new IP built just for an MMO like Guild Wars, I love learning the lore behind what makes the game's universe tick.

What really keeps me invested in a game during it's development is reading stories set in the game's universe and in all three games I mentioned above, the novels are what really got me hyped before the games came out and part of the reason why I still play them now. Is there any chance that Ashes could release similar treatment?

For example, WoW had the war of the ancients trilogy to help set the scene for the post sundering WoW continent, wouldn't it be awesome to have a book or series of books written to explain how the world of Ashes got to the way it is? Something detailing what lead to the mass exodus and eventual return of all the world's denizens would really get me excited for the game's universe! Heck, you could even make it a kickstarter stretch goal!

Thoughts, anyone?

ArchivedUser

If there's one thing you will learn from being around here, or may have already learned, this game's lore is player-based. That being said, I'm working on a project in this forum that's lore-esque outlying what makes magic possible linguistically. I think, however, I could probably see if I can't work on something like this. I mean it wouldn't be any official work, published and sold. It would be more specific to this community.

ArchivedUser

That sounds cool! I totally dig the idea of the community forming the lore, does that mean we can also contribute to the world's backstory? Generally whenever I hear about games where players are part of the story I take that to mean they define the story that moves forward, as opposed to the story that came before.

I don't know a lot about the AoC universe, but the little I do know is that this is a world that people used to inhabit, but some sort of catastrophe caused a mass exodus, but the game's setting is based in a timeline where the people of the world are migrating back though a series of portals. What I'd like to see is some sort of explanation on why people left to begin with, and where they went in the interim as well as what compelled them to go back. Is this something that the players will define for themselves?

ArchivedUser

I think a larger question is how is the game going to support this sort of path? I love the premise and the wide-open aspects of it though. The other thought was how to integrate that into the game or keep it in a story telling method or lore books?

Good thread….


Ox

ArchivedUser

You could take a look at my post. It's called a Linguist's Guide to Magic. It's under the lore section. I exercise a little bit of why people left in the first place in it. Ultimately I attributed this world as being a "New Earth". Might be of interest to you.

ArchivedUser

A novel before the game is out would be hard imo.
But I'd love for someone to sit down and write some novels about the game after it came out.

We will have different experiences. We will have our own stories and each server may be unique.
But doesn't that create a perfect chance for some novels to be written?

Imagine a book series about a young mages first step into our world, and the journey she endured to become the queen of a castle?
I'd gobble it up!

ArchivedUser

[quote quote=19262]A novel before the game is out would be hard imo.
But I’d love for someone to sit down and write some novels about the game after it came out.

We will have different experiences. We will have our own stories and each server may be unique.
But doesn’t that create a perfect chance for some novels to be written?

Imagine a book series about a young mages first step into our world, and the journey she endured to become the queen of a castle?
I’d gobble it up!

[/quote]

Again I like that, but as I said earlier in the thread, I like the idea of players forming the lore after the game's release, but I feel like something like that is less suited to the book format because players are there making history as it goes along. A book that takes place say centuries before us players set foot (back) in the world would be a great way to make the world feel grounded in its lore and backstory as well as providing a basis for roleplay when the game comes out! I cited WoW as an example in my opening post.

Their war of the ancients trilogy was set a good 10,000 years before the events of the MMO took place and it helped to explain why the world was divided into the (then) two continents Kalimdor and Eastern kingdoms for instance. Wouldn't it be cool to learn about what made the world so corrupt that the original inhabitants had to leave?

ArchivedUser

I don't think it would be difficult to write fan fiction or a book set in the game world.

Once we have a map of the regions and nodes we can then populate this with our own cities and towns in the fan fiction due to the way the node mechanics work.

Or just use our imaginations and make places up as when and where we need them. Over time places fade away or are captured and renamed anyway and probably most of the stories we see before the game is released could be set over a vast time period.

Problem comes when players get their hands on naming cities and then you have to put in names like "Titty City" or "Slapding". (I am trying to keep it clean). But I think you know what I mean.