Devs, Give Us Branching Storylines...

roberticvs1 · May 2013

I will try to keep this short and rant-free.

I know this has made it on to the sticky "features" thread, but I cannot emphasize this enough; we need to be able to create branching storylines. I guarantee you it will change the way people play Neverwinter, and will make NW a stand-out game.

At present, players are in the habit of simply clicking through to set up the next objective. Why wouldn't they? Certainly some people enjoy the lore, and adding "Either/Or" logic to the system is not an attempt to make players read lore. Instead, it is a way to entice players to MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS about their characters. Making choices is what brings a character to life, especially in the imaginations of the players.

Here's some examples:

At present:

NPC: "Hello adventurer! We are in a state of dire emergency! We need you to go and get the...."
Player: *click*
NPC: "Time is running out! Make sure you deal with them and return to me to..."
Player *click*

Player: "Okay, I need to run around here and kill everyone who I can target, and click on everything that sparkles."

As it ought to be:
NPC: "Hello adventurer! Go and talk to Old Man Leary and find out what he knows about this situation. Be careful, he's a wily one!"
NPC Old Man Leary: "Hmph! I was told one of Sergeant Knox's lackies would show up. Well, I'm going to tell you the truth of this matter, adventurer! Not everything is as it seems around here...!"

Choice A: Do you trust him?
Choice B: Do you betray him? [attack]

Branching storylines will take the player out of the mindset of simply clicking through content, and help bring their character to life as they make decisions and PLAY the alignment of their characters. There will be consequences, but those consequences will be meaningful and make the quests something more than another kill/fetch task.

Two types of branching:

Either/Or: wherein the player is given a choice by an NPC

Flagging: where the player is identified by factions on the map based on a prior choice (ex: did you talk to Old Man Leary, or did you talk to the guild enforcer down at the tavern?)

Using this, a player could have an entire game experience based on whether they view themselves as lawful or chaotic, good or evil. They could play out as being completely loyal to a faction (like the king) or loyal to other factions (an evil opportunist supporting assassins, for example).

slaidz · May 2013

I would love to see a proper tool to branch storylines. It would make my life so much easier.

keylord02 · May 2013

I can't help you overall, but I can at least give you some assistance with that specific example.

Basically, at the end of my quest, the wizard asks you to give him the item. You can instead opt to say "No way" and keep it for yourself. The storyline objective is to speak with him, so any path that ends will finish the objective.(as long as you don't check the "fail objective" box.

If you choose to give him the item, a little more conversation happens and the dialogue ends, so you "finish the objective."
If you choose to not give him the item, he gets angry in the conversation and the dialogue ends, so you "finish the objective."

If the first option is chosen, the npc vanishes(leaves) and the player is free to collect their reward chest.

If the second option is chosen, the npc vanishes and an encounter appears instead, so you get drawn into a battle, and you can't interact with objects until the battle is completed, so they must complete the battle to get their reward.

morbic · May 2013

You can do some branching, but the bigger issue is faction flagging for the PCs and NPCs so you can have them interact in different ways.

chinspinner · May 2013

I would like options carried into the next map personally.

wuhsin · May 2013

My dungeon is two hours long, so most players will hate it, but it has several different NPC's with different endings depending on the choices you make. I'm going to make a shorter dungeon with 25 different ways to play next to appeal to players who don't like exploration but would rather fight and get their daily in a few minutes.

roberticvs1 · May 2013

It would be more work, potentially quite a lot more work, but the "quests" would then become adventures in themselves. It would be broader, and a deeper experience.

With the old Neverwinter Nights engines, we could set flagging on dialogue trees. I don't see what's stopping us here.

NPC: "Go see Mortimer Snerd down at the Dragon's Tail tavern. He's got information he's willing to sell."
NPC in alleyway: "Pssst! C'mere! I know why you're here. You're looking for information, right? Don't trust Snerd. He's setting you up for an ambush. He's working for the Woemakers."
[player may or may not remember Part 1 where he confronted the Woemakers]

A: Trust him, and ask what he knows [flagged against Woemakers]
B: Distrust him and tell him "I'll meet you at midnight near the bridge if you're telling the truth."
C: Brush him off and go talk to Snerdly [flagged against Goodguys]

I'm seeing SOME story elements already in the Foundry where attempts are made to incorporate players' skills. This is good and interesting too.

keylord02 · May 2013

As cool as it'd be, I don't suspect we'll ever see "flagging" and "factions" show up in this engine. It doesn't have anything that even hints at that being possible. As it is, when I make an ogre and his wolf pets and want to have them engage has two separate battles, I have to put an invisible wall in to protect the ogre from his own wolves until he's ready to join the battle.
(I know a lot of people get around this issue by having enemy waves spawn from nowhere, but I prefer the player to be able to see the existence of their enemies before they fight them!)

Anyway, I suggest posting this suggestion to the stickied thread for foundry features we'd like to see added. It seems like the best chance of getting read by Devs is in there!

Devs, Give Us Branching Storylines...

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