What makes for a compelling storyline?

I have always been the type to skip all dialogue in games that I play. I have rarely found a game where I actually pay attention to the characters. I finished FFXIV and really only paid attention to characters that were interesting (Y'shtola) but that's mostly because of the really great voice acting. I'm wonder how AOC plans to make their dialogue interesting.

What games have been great for you and what's your ideal storyline style?

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Ludullu

AoC will have the best dialogue. The one in the chat between players.

Azherae

What makes for a compelling storyline?

In an MMO, players, and balance.

What games have been great for you (assuming this refers to storyline)?

Elite Dangerous recently, for reasons, see above.

What's your ideal storyline style?
Interactive. If I can't get this, I'll take 'freeform based on worldbuild, as interpreted by top players'.

Nerror

Believable characters, well told or acted stories, and unpredictable twists and turns, if we are talking NPC/Lore stuff. Hopefully we get some in the game of that, but only if you don't just skip every dialogue. The most important storylines for Ashes will be the stories the players create on the server.

I hope down the line, if Ashes is successful, we get the Warhammer treatment with tons of books and perhaps even a movie or two to really flesh out the story. I think those mediums are much better for telling that type of storyline.

mcstackerson

The game i payed the most attention to the story in is swtor. I think this mostly had to do with the voice acting, cutscenes, and how the dialog was delivered.

As far as compelling stories go, in an MMO, i don't like stories that focus on you being part of the story. Best example is games where you get told you are a hero and the first thing you see when you get out of the dialog is 10 other people being told the same thing. It completely kills the immersion for me.

Dygz

I don't care as much about dialogue' as I do the story of the quest.

As a Druid in WoW, I loved Healing the burning of Mt. Hyjal.
And, I was truly horrified when I had to immolate 50 Goblins who leapt over a cliff to their deaths as they screamed in pain while they burned. Same when I later had to steamroll over 50 screaming Goblins...even backing over them again to make sure they were completely squashed.

I don't remember the dialogue at all. But, I do remember my emotions upon completng those quests.

Ferryman

Yeah the hero, champion, chosen one, bullshit should be avoided in MMOs imo as well. The story should not be so complex and cosmic that it is hard to understand. Additionally, the story should be found from ingame and not outside from books for example. All this happens in WoW nowadays and they have gone weird direction with the stories in general. Anyway...

Here are a few elements of good story:

- Interesting story includes well designed characters, fresh elements and twists.

- Storytelling is also important to get right, pacing events and opening the storyline piece by piece without massive info dumbing.

- Long dialogs will cause players to skip them and therefore, keeping dialogs relatively short might be better solution.

- The story needs to be epic enough and still something less used.

- Good story goes well hand by hand with the game designing and gameplay.

- Story can also be told via art and level design and does not always need a lot of dialog.

- Good voice acting takes the dialogs to another level but bad ones decreases the value.

CROW3

There are a number of stories in games that I connected with and found memorable.

Here are three:
1. The orphaning of Spark in Ultima VII. Spark is this young kid whose father, the Trinsic blacksmith, was brutally murdered by two Fellowship agents. That game was completely text-based, but great characters and writing.
2. Dijkstra's betrayal. I loved the interaction between Geralt and Dijkstra, I liked his machiavellian political manueverings and his fondness toward Geralt despite his shadowy, yet pragmatic approach to power. Which is why I was pissed - PISSED - when I had to kill him.
3. Khloe's clay friends in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. This is an example of beautiful, heart-breaking writing meeting good voice acting, and it was a trivial side-quest. As a dad, this made me cry.

Bonus: The rebirth of Ysera in WoW - I played through this just after my mother passed away, so I was a heap of tears and snot. Well done, Blizzard.

I don't think there is an exact science to creating memorable stories in a game. That connection can be accomplished in simple plain text, and totally fumbled with 7-figure motion captured cut-scenes voiced by A-listed RSC vets. My hope is that intrepid is so totally invested in breathing life into whatever story is stuck in Steven's head in a way that can stick in ours too.

Okeydoke

Less a focus on typical fantasy mmo cliches and tropes, more originality, grittiness, believable characters.

Dygz

Ferryman wrote: »

Yeah the hero, champion, chosen one, bullshit should be avoided in MMOS imo as well.

Hero/Champion is an integral part of RPG progression - esecially Fantasy RPGs - reflecting The Hero's Journey.

ClintHardwood

As someone who writes books, a compelling story has four main aspects: Characters that grow and evolve, a gripping plot with a start, escalation, climax, and finish, immersive worldbuilding, and most importantly, conflict. Lots and lots of conflict.

Ferryman

Dygz wrote: »

Ferryman wrote: »

Yeah the hero, champion, chosen one, bullshit should be avoided in MMOS imo as well.

Hero/Champion is an integral part of RPG progression - esecially Fantasy RPGs - reflecting The Hero's Journey.

Yeah that is true and suits well for single player games, however, can be problematic approach in MMOs where is thousands and tens of thousands these chosen heroes. Thus, the storytelling should take into consideration is the game a single or multiplayer game. Additionally, the player characters does not need to have a central role with the mainstoryline, player can also have minor role and watch the story from a side, for example.

Anyway, valid point because character progression is and should be part of RPGs. However, perhaps the player character does not need to be the one and only saviour and like in worst cases from the day number one. 😅

Ferryman

ClintHardwood wrote: »

As someone who writes books, a compelling story has four main aspects: Characters that grow and evolve, a gripping plot with a start, escalation, climax, and finish, immersive worldbuilding, and most importantly, conflict. Lots and lots of conflict.

Good points. I would like to add epilogue after the finish, "return of the hero", and we have full dramatic structure.

Amist

Good writing, worldbuilding and complex characters makes a great story!

Some of the story/quest-lines I find myself thinking about the most, are the ones with darker undertones from WoW. I love it when despite a game looking colorful and pretty, it has some grit to it. In a similar vain characters on all ends of the good to evil spectrum with motives that are both relatable and can come off as absolutely insane.

I don't like the 'chosen one' archetype to be played out by the players themselves but they are very welcome with us as helping hands, as they can make for good stories

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