Thursday
04Feb2010
Van Hemlock Episode 88
Jon Shute | Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 10:48PM 
This week is a topic show, and we're looking at storytelling in games with an eye towards Star Trek Online. How like Trek is it, and what more could they do to help tell the stories that make Star Trek what it is.
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Reader Comments (2)
Extremely good show! You just about nailed many of the problems with Story in an MMO. This last week I've been home from work and could have played EQ2 a lot. I did not. I played Dragonage instead. Even when the Mrs got home and wanted to play (EQ2 - what where you thinking) I played Dragonage.
Because it has Story. Lots of it. Perhaps it is just illusion that my choices affect the world, perhaps not. It FEELS like my choices are important. In EQ2 my choices have no importance, at all. Either I do the Quest, or I don't. Faction is the closest thing to Story.
I've realized that the Achiever type players are destroying my MMO. There, I said it. They destroy my game. You touched on the matte in the show: when in a group, no matter how much I want to, I skim or skip Quest text and dialog because of the ones that are impatient and want to accomplish something. Sometimes I want to read, but then there is always that little "hurry up" feeling present. Then there is also Guild/Group Voice chat that makes it hard to concentrate on the text. I'm not really blaming them, their my friends after all. It's more MY problem. I could mute and take my time, but being the well mannered and social guy that I am <cough>, I don't. I shudder at the thought of my more impatient friends having to read/listen through dialog like in Dragonage. You know the type: rapid clicking through text dialog not reading at all, then asking "OK, what next?". /sigh "You would know if you could read!"
So I've come to the conclusion that if I want a good gaming experience I need a solo player game. No MMO I know of lack that repetitiveness and always stay the same, whatever I do. I mean, ye Gods - how many times must I kill Grolwen Chiptooth before he stays down?
I'll stop rambling now. Again: GOOD SHOW. Thank you very much.
Just thinking about the podcast and "Day 1" stories. During the GW launch there were a lot of client updates, the most comical made the game crash if you moved more than 3 steps, you could stay online for as long as you wanted as long as you didn't move but as soon as you took a few steps the game just closed. Took them about 5 mins to realise something was wrong and rollback but it was highly comical.