MMORPG.com's Column on Story in Neverwinter

sominator · February 2013

What are your thoughts on story in Neverwinter? Head over to MMORPG.com for their impressions: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/634/feature/7156/Neverwinter-Our-Story-or-My-Story.html

kyllroy2 · February 2013

sominator wrote: »

What are your thoughts on story in Neverwinter? Head over to MMORPG.com for their impressions: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/634/feature/7156/Neverwinter-Our-Story-or-My-Story.html

While I like the slant given to individual biographies, There, IMO, has to be the news that the town crier publishes and motivates people to join the militia and defend the city. Alongside motivating action for a general cause, is the cult of culture that each skilled class learns through schools of learned veterans of fighters, mages and rogues. I would hope for more along these lines.

ryger5 · February 2013

It was a very reasonable, logical editorial, with a deep understanding of D&D and the nature of RPGs since their inception.

Alas, it will descend into vitriol and nerd rage in this forum very shortly, I'm sure.

But to my tiny brain, the author is right. D&D is premised on finding your own way and very much encourages you to cater/modify your experience in the game to your own taste. It really is about individual development of character and plot, rather than having a story indoctrinated into you.

Sure, D&D modules came with plots, but then again, most of us, played our own campaigns. Sure we're all stuck in Faerun, but there's a hundred story lines you can weave within that and in my experience custom FR campaigns, were always the best anyway.

Sure they'll be some high-level narrative embedded in the game, but as the editorial states, it won't be over bearing, it likely won't set up simplistic faction choices (WOW) and probably won't alter the entire galaxy either (SW:TOR).

The Foundry is your primary source for interesting narrative. The real beauty of this is that you can shop all kinds of different stories and adopt and canonize the ones that suit your tastes. It's a particularly democratic way to RP and to my mind, very much in the spirit of D&D since its inception.

chthonicmythos · February 2013

sominator wrote: »

What are your thoughts on story in Neverwinter? Head over to MMORPG.com for their impressions: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/634/feature/7156/Neverwinter-Our-Story-or-My-Story.html

There should be some over-arching story. With Neverwitner it's kind of weird because you have to answer a bunch of questions the campaign setting gives you. Will Lord Neverember back a True Heir if one arises or will he have them assassinated or discredited? How far will the various factions get?

It's weird with the foundry because I could make plot central decision in my missions "Quest: Assassinate The Lord Pretender!" that have no bearing on the rest of the game.

Personally I would like to see story driven by player actions like they are trying to do in Firefall. Have an even like "If this instance is completed so many times the orcs will be driven back" and have the game update to reflect that, or open up a new zone for people above a certain level. Otherwise nothing really "happens" in the game. It's just all instances for that one person or group and nothing changes outside of it. The blacklake district will always be a warzone between loyalists and the Lord Pretender's hired thugs, and Captain Harrag will always be holding his bar fight tournament in the Beached Leviathan (<- shameless self plug).

ulfghuld · February 2013

I am just in shock that my post was quoted and the base topic for the article. So flattered!

quorforged · February 2013

I generally agree with the article. Mere story telling is, to me, a rather pointless waste of the medium, when books, movies, and TV shows are so much better at it.

But on the flip side, tabletop RPGs are so much better than video games at story creation, which is what the article advocates for. I think too much of what passes for story creation in video games is just glorified "choose-your-own-adventure" stuff. Stories should originate from the core gameplay, not from a sideshow. That's hard to do, of course, and frankly, I don't mind if Neverwinter doesn't manage that. I'm here for what looks like a fun combat system, not for stories.

chili1179 · February 2013

ryger5 wrote: »

It was a very reasonable, logical editorial, with a deep understanding of D&D and the nature of RPGs since their inception.

Alas, it will descend into vitriol and nerd rage in this forum very shortly, I'm sure.

But to my tiny brain, the author is right. D&D is premised on finding your own way and very much encourages you to cater/modify your experience in the game to your own taste. It really is about individual development of character and plot, rather than having a story indoctrinated into you.

Sure, D&D modules came with plots, but then again, most of us, played our own campaigns. Sure we're all stuck in Faerun, but there's a hundred story lines you can weave within that and in my experience custom FR campaigns, were always the best anyway.

Sure they'll be some high-level narrative embedded in the game, but as the editorial states, it won't be over bearing, it likely won't set up simplistic faction choices (WOW) and probably won't alter the entire galaxy either (SW:TOR).

The Foundry is your primary source for interesting narrative. The real beauty of this is that you can shop all kinds of different stories and adopt and canonize the ones that suit your tastes. It's a particularly democratic way to RP and to my mind, very much in the spirit of D&D since its inception.

This pretty much covers my thoughts on it. +1

tinbender02 · February 2013

"It’s less about our story than it is about my story. When the story belongs to only one, the collective story about all of us becomes less important. Within our own stories, however, we will make choices that will define who our characters become and the way they interact with others and with the residents of Neverwinter."

The above is from the article.
And here is where Cryptic missed the boat. Choices to define who our characters become and how they interact with the world.
Glad to see you agree with my Ryger5

amazing isn't tow people can read the same article and come away with opposite opinions.

batch143 · October 2013

Briefly assuming her pre-lich appearance, the Lich Queen Valindra attacks the soldiers of New Neverwinter, as new grounds are being built outside of the original city, which is being repaired. Valindra's actions spark the Battle of the Bridge, in which Barrabus the Gray (formerly known as Artemis Entreri) and Drizzt Do'Urden are rumored to be present by gossipers at a pub in the shattered town of Luskan. Each soldier tells his own story of the battle until one soldier reveals that Valindra's attack was going badly until the blue dragon, a leader in the country of Thay, helped her escape. The soldier finishes by asking the people where they will be and what they will be doing when the dragon attacks again.

While Thay makes its own advances, the Netherese, under leadership of the necromancer Idris, take the lost artifact Deathknell and use it to forge an alliance with the barrow lords of Ebon Downs, thus providing them with the power to raise an army of dead to raze the Sword Coast. The Netherese have already destroyed the village of Grimhollow, prompting Lord Dagult Neverember, Protector of Neverwinter and Open Lord of Waterdeep, to recover the shards of the Deathknell and defeat the Netherese.
Elsewhere, Traeven Blackdagger, famed privateer and plunderer of the Sword Coast along Neverwinter thought dead after the explosion at Mount Hotenow, has returned through resurrection and has once again begun plundering. The Harpers have decided to oppose Blackdagger, sending their agents to Blackdagger Keep at morning tide to take down the threat of the ghost pirate.

lewstelamon01 · October 2013

Where's my turn undead spell?

MMORPG.com's Column on Story in Neverwinter

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