Regarding Transparency In and Out of Game.

Rhaelah

I hold very strict ideas about transparency regarding entertainment. Having recently watched the AMA, I was very pleased to hear Steven talk about keeping out-of-game information to a minimum as it ultimately reduces the level of fun a player has when they go to play the game. In today's day and age I understand the importance of releasing some information. I'm satisfied with the amount that has been given out, but if it were my decision I would put out less.

However, what I am here to discuss is the transparency of in-game information. Some of the most fun I have ever had in an MMO or really any game is a lack of in-game information. I have a few examples that I think explain what I mean thoroughly.

Example 1: Dark Souls
Besides the obvious difficulty of the game, Dark Souls has no map and hardly tells you where anything is or what anything does except the controls I think through a messaging system that you can skip. Some players, like myself, accidentally skipped this tutorial making the game harder, but also more fun to figure out. Dark Souls also had the advantage that Ashes doesn't have of releasing basically NO information about the game whatsoever besides a trailer I think, that I didn't even knew existed until after I played the game. You could argue that the difficulty in the game comes from the lack of in and out of game information. All of these combined are why I think Dark Souls was more than a complete success.

Example 2: EverQuest
I played the private server(Project 1999) of EQ for the first time back in 2015 and having played WoW for ~10 years, it immediately became my favorite MMO. Why? There was no tutorial, no map, spells didn't have any explanation besides a name, character creation didn't tell you anything about your race/class besides flavor text and maybe a little of its role(warriors are good at taking hits) but in a more flavorful way, items were a mystery as well. Quests weren't flaunted, you had to randomly decide to talk to NPCs to see what they had to say. The game was also very difficult and required groups as you leveled for most classes meaning community was huge. I got to stumble my way through everything. This combined with the most helpful and generous community I have EVER seen in my life has made this MMO my all time favorite. Mid-top level players would literally give you their old weapons/tons of money. People would help you learn. It was truly an amazing experience.

So, with these things stated, what do you think about in-game transparency? When you get a spell, should you know everything about it right away or do you want to figure it out yourself? When you get an item, should you know exactly who to give it to right away or do you want to figure out who to talk to? Should there be maps or maybe a map that is a little more vague than most MMO maps nowadays?

WMC51

Learning things in game and feeling good when my level 10 ran across continents to trade for an item really make you feel like you accomplished something back then.

Oh I need to head west to get there. Let's see how it goes.

Balrog21

@Rhaelah I agree, I dont want the security of knowing I can go to AOC website whatever and find the cheat..
I want to earn everything I have.
No participation trophies here please.

Rhaelah

@Balrog21 I agree with not having information documented online, thats a whole other discussion. Though it is related. How do you feel about in-game transparency? Like the example of spells in original EQ where all you got was the name of the spell and you had to learn what it did by using it?

Pravchenski

Honestly Pravchenski thinks that there are useful tips and then there is spoiling a game and ruining the experience for everyone, for this a balance needs to be struck so I applaud the fact they are trying to keep it a surprize for day one, but it should be stated they should not try to give absolutely nothing at the same time, a tidbit here and there would do nicely.

Balrog21

@Rhaelah I agree 100%. Let me research it, learn it by trial or other means. I also think you should pay for your abilities as well not just gifted to you because you reach a level.
It's like everyone has a little tinkerbell hovering by them and once they level they wave their wand and you know this brand new spell/ability to the utmost degree.

Rhaelah

@Pravchenski Agreed, too many people(including myself) have been burned by game developer's promises. I did briefly mention that some information is necessary and being burned is the reason for it.

I would like to know how you feel about in-game transparency as well though. Not just out-of-game. Like the example of spells in original EQ where all you got was the name of the spell and you had to learn what it did by using it.

Pravchenski

@Rhaelah there are a few ways we could do this, for magic casters or even scribes for example, there could be spells which have no information unless you are skilled enough to figure out what they do, basic spells could have information on them like in book stores and whatnot but the more rarer the spell, the more unknown it's effects are, that could be a solution?

Rhaelah

@Pravchenski Well, yeah I could see that being a solution for that one specific example. I'm just talking about in-game transparency as a whole concept for the game or games in general.

WMC51

No matter what the devs do people are going to compile the info and put it out there though.

Pravchenski

well it's all a balancing act. for example you may not always find the time to find quality booze and women for your oddly specific tavern, so in which case you need to...substitute and adapt to the situation, so if you see women in my bar have dwarb beards and wearing dresses, it's still a women if you drink hard enough. that was off topic, anyway it's a balance one needs to strike with elegance, so far the dev team is doing good compared to most devs if they were tasked with transparency issues, so long that it works in the end I dont mind.

Rhaelah

@Pravchenski I'll have to take your word for it, as I hold fast to my principle and have not done much gathering of information about the game. I only came here to express my concern of in-game transparency because of Steven's recent AMA where he stated the importance of discussion, feedback, and ideas.

Pravchenski

It is what it is is all I have to say. Anyway, Pravchenski get's tired to talking to a voice in this rock in the middle of this desert, perhaps I may have drunken a bit too much heh. Do you...know which direction you would go if lost in a desert?

Rhaelah

@WMC51 Thats true, but I think there are still some innovations that can be made in game development where the game fluctuates making it more difficult to document things online. I think MMOs are the best place to have these innovations as well.