No RP until players can affect the story

[______________Spezza]

**In Real LIfe**

Question: When folks are uninvolved (or unable to be involved/uninterrested in being involved) in their environment, what do they do?

Answer: They focus on their own needs (making more money, acquiring more toys/things.)

**In AO**

Question: Since players are unable to affect the story, make changes in their environment, change the course of Rubi Ka, what do they do?

Answer: They lvl, hunt for better items, amass money to buy more things. In essence...they ignore the story and Role Playing.

See the comparison? If you want people to be involved, you need to enable them to be involved...beyond just PvP killing in 25% areas or discussing events in public areas.

[LTK]

Question: If a storyline is happening around you in a setting under which you have little control over the exact progression of that story, but you hear about characters that DO have effects on it, and you wish to be involved, what do you do?

Answer: Look for ways to get involved.

Question: If you are in an RPG setting with a storyline progressing around you, and you wish to interact in that environment under the guise of your own character whom you've put so much time in to, what do you do?

Answer: You roleplay.

[____________Founding]

Question : If the story is poorly communicated, happens at haphazard times with little rhyme or reason but merely when a bored GM feels like it, if it caters to favourtism and is mismanaged to an extreame - are the bulk of the people going to want to participate.

Aanswer : No

[LTK]

Sounds like somebody who plays the game doesn't actually want to play the game.

Not much sense in that.

I've never been a part of a major event. The only one I ever witnessed was one that I couldn't get involved in no matter how hard I tried.

Does it phase me? Nope. I can always go RP somewhere else. I don't have to have my character's face plastered across some news bulletin to enjoy the game.

I pay my 13 a month to be included in the grand scheme of the game, which I thankfully am. I don't pay it thinking I'll have immediate press over the thousands of others who pay it, nor do I expect GMs to drop from the sky and obey my every beck and call over what I envision the game SHOULD be.

I play it. I get immersed in it. I RP like crazy. I have fun.

[XtroXtreme]

I still thinks they should add a penalty system in the game so we feel that our choices have some effect from the world.

[_________Gil-the-Arm]

I made the tir 'river' clean again.. well, they haven't taken out the skeletons and 'toxic' signs, but that still was a change in the environment. If more people just took the effort to do something, possibly encouraged by fc, then they would do something, yes. but it certainly is possible, people just need encouragement.

[-Zagadka-]

Yea, doing the Tir River cleaning wasn't hard. I'm sure FC was leaping happy mad that someone finally did something in this game... it didn't take much.

That event was something of a test of FC's role playing guidelines, and it seems to have worked fairly well. Nothing that affected the main storyline, used the main characters, etc - but things that we could do to change the environment. Taking from that, I have several new ideas for events, one of which is in planning now and will hopefully execute within a week.

Mwuhahahaha.

[Inocybe]

Originally posted by Falcon
Question : If the story is poorly communicated, happens at haphazard times with little rhyme or reason but merely when a bored GM feels like it, if it caters to favourtism and is mismanaged to an extreame - are the bulk of the people going to want to participate.

Aanswer : No

I absolutely agree with Falcon.

If 'events' continue to be conducted in the manner they are, RP participation is only heading towards an even narrower path.

It is crying shame because this MMORPG has so much potential to rise above a "kill kill kill" mentality. As it stands, those who shoot and kill first hog the limelight. Anyone else who comes a few minutes late or has other means of possibly affecting the storyline or sub-plot in an interesting manner - has a pitiful chance of succeeding.

[-Zagadka-]

How often do world scale events happen to you in day to day life, waltzing down the street?

Yea, right.

I've been attacked by terrorists a lot more in AO than I have been IRL. Y'all want to be the hero guy who saves the world... there are tens of thousands of players who do. Not many will be able to make such an effect. Keep your own bloody scale in mind before whining that you aren't god and everything doesn't happen to you.

[LTK]

Originally posted by Inocybe
I absolutely agree with Falcon.

If 'events' continue to be conducted in the manner they are, RP participation is only heading towards an even narrower path.

It is crying shame because this MMORPG has so much potential to rise above a "kill kill kill" mentality. As it stands, those who shoot and kill first hog the limelight. Anyone else who comes a few minutes late or has other means of possibly affecting the storyline or sub-plot in an interesting manner - has a pitiful chance of succeeding.

I'm trying desperately to figure out where you're getting this from.

First of all, you're operating under the assumption that an MMORPG must unconditionally fall into one of two categories: A) Hack-n-Slash with no RP'ing, or B) I'm a part of every event! This is so misleading. You're saying that it's impossible to enjoy the game unless you're either killing something or being interviewed by a GM. If that's the case, you're not going to have a very good time playing AO. Ever.

Funcom knows full well that it's impossible to please people who think along these lines, and you won't find a single MMORPG out there that does.

FACT OF LIFE:

Your chances of being in the "limelight" are nil, and if you hack-n-slash without doing anything else you're gonna get bored. BOTH of these points are UNIVERSAL truths in ANY game ANYWHERE.

I'm sorry to break such news to you.

Oh yeah, one more thing: Since when do speed-levellers steal the limelight? I've been reading the news, and most of the "noticed" characters are under level 50, some even under level 20.

[Inocybe]

Wrong assumptions on your part, Tarryk. Both your A) and B) and pretty much your entire post actually. I think nothing of the kind.

* I am speaking from in-game experience, I know what I witnessed. I recognised the side-references hence agreed with Falcon's post.

* I did say "anyone" not "everyone" ... so all your assumptions/accusations go out the window.

Why are you so defensive? Care to state what guild you're from, if any? Don't understand the arrogant and condescending tone of your post. You must have plenty of time to come here to nitpick other people's post and conduct personal attacks and haughty lectures. Hmm, not that I care really, as you've lost all credibility as far as I'm concerned particularly as you have displayed such arrogance and insensitivity.

[______________Wahoo.]

Everyday i play this game a new story unfoldes before me. Littletotem on rk2 in my enforcer(clan). He has been very kind to all people he has met.

I have never charged for buffs.
All ways stopped and helped those in need.
Carried gimped plays for several levels.
Given people money or equipment when i know it's truly needed.

Bottem line .. I truly like this game and most of the players in it!! However, after a recent loan to one person i thought was a friend ("3.5 million").I feel a new story is about to unfold.


Will i:

1.Pull my group into GUILDWAR and patrol mayham zones waiting to kill any of his members.

2.Pull my guildmates to join omni just so i can attack members of this group in a PZ or mayham.

This i have yet decided.

However, this game is getting boring anyway so!! I have to do something!
So YES there will be a conflict!
Yes, i will make those people in question emotional.

They can petition , they can fight or they can run ..
Either way. I don't care..

FYI: I have my beta cd in the mail. You guess where i'm going after this WAR!

[LTK]

Originally posted by Inocybe
Wrong assumptions on your part, Tarryk. Both your A) and B) and pretty much your entire post actually. I think nothing of the kind.

* I am speaking from in-game experience, I know what I witnessed. I recognised the side-references hence agreed with Falcon's post.

* I did say "anyone" not "everyone" ... so all your assumptions/accusations go out the window.

Why are you so defensive? Care to state what guild you're from, if any? Don't understand the arrogant and condescending tone of your post. You must have plenty of time to come here to nitpick other people's post and conduct personal attacks and haughty lectures. Hmm, not that I care really, as you've lost all credibility as far as I'm concerned particularly as you have displayed such arrogance and insensitivity.

What you see as arrogance and insensitivity I see as simply defensive. It's humorous that you'd think I'm actually getting personal when all I'm doing is defending the game from YOUR nitpicks. I really don't mind if you think I'm insensitive, but I should note that I was not intending to come off that way.

Fact of the matter is that I see in AO a game that is finally worth the money that I put into it. When I come to a BBS section that is supposed to be dedicated to "Envisioning" the future of the game, and 50% of what I read is people bashing the game for silly reasons, I tend to get a little edgy.

You said that people who "kill-kill-kill" tend to steal the limelight, when in fact it is the complete opposite. People who strive to make themselves known steal the limelight, and again (as I've said), a vast majority of these people are under level 50. I know, I've clicked on the bio-links to players discussed in news bulletins. People who do nothing but spend all their time levelling never get noticed. Not surprising in the least.

Ironically enough, it's those same people that usually end up on the BBS complaining that they don't have any direct influence on the story.

I'm just trying to get my (very valid) point across that it doesn't matter what changes FC makes in the game, you aren't going to have a fighting chance to get your face in the news, or to become a significant part of a major event, simply for the sheer number of people who are currently playing. Your odds are, quite literally, worse than 1 in 1000 of ever having a major role in a storyline event, and there is absolutely no way that any company with all the resources in the world could do to change that.

So how do you get around this? Have fun in other activities. Start a rally. Stage a murder. Start a black market. Help noobs. ROLEPLAY.

Oh yeah, you asked what guild I was in: I'm not in a guild (as it's kinda-sorta hinted at in my signature).

On a personally defensive note: Defending AO like I do is not arrogance. Attacking it and thinking that it owes you international fame over thousands of other players, IS.

[Inocybe]

It did even occur to you that other people have had in-game experiences that you have not. You are commenting/lecturing on things you know nothing about, lol.

Already told you ... ALL your assumptions about my post are wrong. You made them all up and now insist on continuing on the same haughty judgemental line, how pathetic. Go pick another target to impress with your empty rhetoric. Try the playground, the kiddies might fall for your high-and-mighty pedestal attention-seeking stance.

[____________Founding]

Its kinda clear Tarryk hasn't actually had much experience in the game, maybe after a few months he might actually know what he is talking about.

I also suggest you experience how the storyline has been implemented, as the former member of the command structure and eventual leader of Division 9 I had more than just a few experiences with how the game story and events (both player and GM) have been run and implemented.

Then again I must have missed your involvement with the various alliances, treaties, leaders meetings, staged events etc.

[Inocybe]

Falcon,
I'm not on the leader's channel. So if my guild leader isn't on and any incident happens, any info I get is second-hand late info from anyone (I know) and who happened to notice that I'm online if he/she wasn't terribly busy already.

Also, chances of missing out on staged events/incidents are high for me. Reason: Asia-Pacific time zone. Example - The lastest thing I had to give a miss was the RP Conference (which occured in the wee hours of the morning where I am). The only few times I could attend events or get involved in exciting incidents were those I had prior info and I had the morning/afternoon free for AO.

[LTK]

Originally posted by Inocybe
It did even occur to you that other people have had in-game experiences that you have not. You are commenting/lecturing on things you know nothing about, lol.

A little FYI for both Falcon and Inocybe (again, defending myself, dunno why)...I've been playing AO since the day it hit shelves, and I've been playing it every day.

You two obviously aren't even taking my posts seriously, because all you're doing is saying "Oh no you're wrong" without explaining why. I at least have been explaining my reasons for my arguements. If you think I'm wrong, explain it. Insulting me only makes YOU look worse.

Secondly, Falcon, I'm sure you've had many experiences, but that doesn't make it any more valid to say that I've had none. Both of you haven't given me a shred of proof that my statements are wrong. You're just nana-boo-booing now, and it's getting pathetic. I really don't want this to reduce itself to a flaming match, I just want to know why you two are so hell-bent on insisting that FC owes you something more in terms of storyline progression.

No, I'm not on some all-mighty leader's channel (after the mention of that, I can't BELIEVE that I'M the one being fingered as haughty), nor am I a part of any major guild (click 2 on previous point), nor do I have any direct influence on the storyline. I (unlike you, apparently) simply play the game for the sheer enjoyment of it. I set up my own storylines and get other players involved in them.

Insofar as game experiences, perhaps I'm not the one who should be delving for more. I'm satisfied with the experiences I create. Remember, it's YOU who are the one(s) complaining here.

[____________Founding]

Inocybe - since I'm in Australia I Feel your pain regarding timing to.

Unfortunely the leaders channel is the main way Funcom has chosen to passs information on about events etc. This means if your leader isn't on regularly you may miss events.

A number of guilds have now taken the path to share the leadership role around amoungst their command groups so that at any one time somebody is on.

As the current leader logs off they pass the leadership onto somebody else in the command group who is currently online.

Though this also raises the biggest problem with the Leaders channel, about 50% of it is full of complete and utter idiots. The sheer amount of drival one experiences on the leaders channel is astounding. A lot of people use it like some form of l33t OOC chat channel and from all reports the Omni one is about twice as good as the poor Clan one.

Another tip I'll give to those that seek involvement in the storyline is to cc addbuddy the names of the major characters.

Like :
Derva
Radiman
Portman (no longer needed)
etc etc

This at least gives you a heads up that something is going down.

Often we have been able to scramble players to various zones when we have noticed that something has been going on (specially if its on the Clan side) and have thereby been in a position to be involved.

Also a number of guilds have setup operatives in the othersides Leaders channel to keep an eye on them.

All these merely serve to help notify your guild of events, after that its simply a matter of turning up.

Biggest problem has been the way the actual event is run, amateur springs to mind, somehow after a while you get the feeling of a bunch of people gathered round a few stations, beers in hand, going "hey lets have an event", "Cool can I play the slayerdriod this time, last time I was a wimpy level 10 NPC", "Hey lets spawn an attack of Mob's on them halfway through a meeting." "Cool and we'll hold the meeting in a 25% afterall, what could go wrong?"

Second biggest problem is that few players understand the storyline, this I feel is a problem Funcom has to work to overcome. Obviously communication is key, however you also get the feeling that most players just don't want to understand the story. Broken GM's/Dev's and Broken Players, two things that when combined = Broken event.

[Inocybe]

Ahhh, addbuddy major characters. Thanks Falcon, that's a wonderful tip. I'll be sure to do that.

Yes, pity about the drivel and l33t 'tude on leaders channel, I've heard about those too. Maintaining operatives across boundaries sounds a good set-up, might be a bit of a stretch for some guilds with limited resources though.

And as for your assessment on storyline comprehension - I couldn't agree more. Far too many are stuck on the Clan scum vs Omni scum perspective and using it like a crutch for RP (and excuse for atrocious behaviour too, I might add). It is probably the simplest path to go on - which is unfortunate as there's potential for multi-party, multi-alignment conflict and counter-subterfuge and all sorts of imaginative sub-plots.

Hmm, events. Letting loose a few high-level Masked Commandos who do nothing but gun down citizens on the streets - only adds to the hapless/helpless feeling felt by low-levels - that they have no part in the major storyline that seems to cater to high-levels. The only player interaction that was allowed? Gang up to beat and shoot the terrorist. No possibility of interrogation, no possibility of tailing the Masked Commando to uncover a secret base, etc. Such severe limitations for major storyline participation, what a pity.

However, a few recent moves by some guilds have brightened up the picture. I hope it is a sign of a trend to come. For the major storyline to widen its scope and events to allow for more interactive participation ... can only lead to a richer RP setting.

[_______________Archu]

You want to change things? Can you do that IRL?

Do you want to be the main character of the story? Guess how many other people want to be that too.

Sometimes it amazes me how people fail to realize that not every Joe can be "the" guy.