A Concern

[Maergoth]

<p>As stated in a previous post and boiling in many heads I'm sure.. there is a concern about who's hands we are in now Lore-wise.. and what does that mean for the development of the game?</p><p>I'm sure people have been wondering it and may have been scared to see the answers, but fingers crossed.. please give us some.</p><p>Who's currently in charge of the lore?</p><p>Are you guys planning on picking up some new people for the lore team?</p><p>How much of the game is already planned out?</p><p>Will we be seeing the frayed ends of some of the older lore tied up?</p><p>A lot of shadowed men stuff has been recently touched up on, but there's still so much unknown and the people with the answers seem to have disappeared..</p><p>I'm a raider and take it fairly seriously, but even I can't be kept happy with nothing but number crunching. There's so much more to this game and I think everyone wants to know if it's going to stay that way.</p>

[Arianah]

<p>Aye, certainly something I'm concerned about. I've seen what happens to a game when it loses its lore developers.</p><p>Even if the rest of the game is planned out you need someone who can work their magic on it and make it enjoyable to read, make it a part of Norrath.</p><p>EQ1's lore has just been lacking in that area for a while now (one of the reasons I quit). They technically had the lore, but it was not enjoyable to read, it wasn't a story, it wasn't even in words that made it seem like it was a part of the world. It was more like history notes, lists of facts in short paragraph forms.... bleh <em>(not sure if I'm explaining it well enough, can't find the right words to describe it)</em></p><p>I'm worried that we're going to see that happen here too <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" /> I loved missdoomcookie's Shadow Odyssey story, and I was really looking forward to seeing more of that.</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p>The entire team has shared its contributions to the overall lore of this game. Vhalen mainly wrote the general story ideas, and when given the opportunity, fleshed out specifics. The other designers filled in the gaps in thier own way.</p><p>It was mainly Vhalen, and later Missdoomcookie, who shared the lore with the community at large, but they've both said on a few occasions that all the designers pitch in.</p><p>As far as the future goes for stories... Well.. TSO has us fighting against an entity that has the power to destroy Norrath as a celestial body itself, so whatever storylines they think of for the next expansion will have to be more localized. You would have to think that things can't get any worse than they are now. I bet some players would be disappointed to scale the threat-level down and all that. Once you fight off an entire dimension that can destroy the world, there's nowhere to go but down.. or so you would think.</p><p>I, for one, would welcome a more localized storyline with whatever expansions they come out with next.</p>

[Mary the Prophetess]

<p>We've lost four in the last year I believe:  Owlchick, Msdoomcookie, Jindrack, and Vhalen, (hope I'm not leaving anyone out).  That's a lot.</p>

[Maergoth]

<p>If concerns are going to fall on deaf ears, then I'm more concerned than before. They're simple answers to some heavy questions and it would make everyone feel a lot better with some reassurance right about now.</p>

[Zabjade]

<p><span style="color: #00cc00;">So who's that leave in charge or even in lore-customer relations?</span></p>

[troodon]

<p>Who cares, the game is ruined anyways.  [arrow] you SOE</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p><cite>troodon wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Who cares, the game is ruined anyways.  [arrow] you SOE</p></blockquote><p>Nobody is forcing you to stay and keep playing this game... and if someone is, then they're breaking the law by using your credit card.</p>

[Mary the Prophetess]

<p>For a long while now I have seen subtle indications that things were slowing down in EQ2.  The posts on the forums are still regular, but are not occuring with the frequency they were a year ago.  The same seems to be true on guild forms.</p><p>The broker is pretty much static on the servers I play on, and it is harder to find groups, (especially in off-peak hours) than it used to be.</p><p>The amount of open roleplay in game has also dwindled to virtually nothing.  Most zones, other than those in the Moors, have less than 10 players in them (if that).  Even in Qeynos, unless there is a raid forming up, it is dead, dead, dead.  The same holds true in the crafting instances.  Guide activities seem to have diminished, and now there is the loss of virtually the entire lore team.</p><p>Perhaps I just have the 'Chicken Little Jitters' but things are not at all as active as they used to be.  Many is the time I feel I am playing a solo console game.</p><p>I sense there are clouds on the horizon; I hope I am just over-reacting.  It would be nice to get a little developer feedback.</p>

[Maergoth]

<p><cite>Mary the Prophetess wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I sense there are clouds on the horizon; I hope I am just over-reacting.  It would be nice to get a little developer feedback.</p></blockquote><p>QFE.</p><p>A lot of us are just asking for devs to touch base with more than just fighter nerfs. We shouldn't have to just sit here and cross our fingers hoping for an anonymous improvement that may not occur.</p><p>I'm all for hoping, but I've been hoping for quite some time.</p>

[Gninja]

<p>I assure you the Lore of this game is constantly being worked on. Not just by whoever may be the "loremaster" at the time but by the entire team. Typically the entire team puts input into the lore plan and it is delivered by one person to the community through forum happenings as well as in game events. I assure you we have no plans of letting the lore of this awesome game slide.</p>

[Zabjade]

<p><span style="color: #00cc00;">Still some visable leadership, even if just a sockpuppet  to act the part.  I don't know why SOE won't give you guys a decent advertising budget so at least the SALESPEOPLE know what you are talking about ;p </span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00;">I know you can't do anything about it. O_o so I'm not complaining to you</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00;"><em>(hmm I wonder if I can apply to be a sockpuppet, I need a job anyway) </em></span></p>

[Ishkur]

<p><cite>Zabjade wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #00cc00;">Still some visable leadership, even if just a sockpuppet  to act the part.  I don't know why SOE won't give you guys a decent advertising budget so at least the SALESPEOPLE know what you are talking about ;p </span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00;">I know you can't do anything about it. O_o so I'm not complaining to you</span></p><p><span style="color: #00cc00;"><em>(hmm I wonder if I can apply to be a sockpuppet, I need a job anyway) </em></span></p></blockquote><p>lol, you think EQ2 needs and advertising budget? Go try Vanguard for a while. The amount of work and attention EQ2 gets vs. any other Sony game in tremendous. Sure, they could all use a little more, but EQ2 is the least of those in need.</p>

[Zabjade]

<p><span style="color: #00cc00;">My sister tried vanguard for a bit, but she could not move at all in the game so she deleted the game.</span></p>

[Mary the Prophetess]

Thank you for the response and the reasurances. /bows The in-game lore of Norrath is very deep and very complex. It is the single most defining difference that separates Norrath from other MMOs in my opinion. However, it is also a minefield of potential mis-statements and conflicting stories for someone not absolutely conversant with Norrathian lore. So much more so because there are such a varied number of sources for that lore. Wearing two hats may be a corporate necessity, but it is not the best solution for keeping Norrath from becoming mired down in a morass of conflicting histories. Just my own cautionary tale. Again, thank you for the courtesy of responding. I feel a bit better now.

[Domino]

<p>Many of us have played EQ since the original EQ days (myself since Kunark, but there are others on the team who've played even longer, or even since EQ beta).  Fear not, there are many of us who love the lore of Norrath and are looking forward to bring more of it to light!  <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[troodon]

<p><cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>troodon wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Who cares, the game is ruined anyways.  [arrow] you SOE</p></blockquote><p>Nobody is forcing you to stay and keep playing this game... and if someone is, then they're breaking the law by using your credit card.</p></blockquote><p>I don't play the game anymore, actually, haven't since the abortion of station cash was instituted (speaking of which, [arrow] you Smed and, again, [arrow] you SOE).  The only reason my accounts are active is my mother still plays and so I pay for them for her sake because she likes to log in every once in a while and let me mentor her around some dungeon.  She's getting more into City of Heroes now though so maybe I'll be able to cancel my Sony accounts totally fairly soon.  **crosses fingers** </p><p>Thanks for your concern though, Cusa.  Can I PM you about any actual legal concerns I may have in the future?</p><p>Mary, the threads on the front page of this particular forum are almost the exact same ones that were there several months ago when I quit playing the game.  That is a drastic reduction in activity from just last summer.  This forum is virtually dead and I think that's likely a symptom of the game's overall health. </p>

[Bhagpuss]

<p><cite>DominoDev wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Many of us have played EQ since the original EQ days (myself since Kunark, but there are others on the team who've played even longer, or even since EQ beta).  Fear not, there are many of us who love the lore of Norrath and are looking forward to bring more of it to light!  <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /></p></blockquote><p>I've been playing since before EQ1 Kunark and the lore in both EQs has always been just a burble in the background. Confused, incoherent, contradictory, full of rumors and wishful-thinking.</p><p>Just like history in real life , in fact.</p><p>The more fractured and inconsistent the lore becomes, the more it represents the background noise of a living, breathing world. Tighten it up, nail it down, remove the inconsistencies and it becomes just another marketing spiel.</p>

[Eugam]

<p><cite>Bhagpuss wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>The more fractured and inconsistent the lore becomes, the more it represents the background noise of a living, breathing world. Tighten it up, nail it down, remove the inconsistencies and it becomes just another marketing spiel.</p></blockquote><p>But when inconsistency turns into logic it could become a real game element. I am aware this requires a high level of development. But if you ever played Myst (1) you would see the potential for a mmo. Where logic and observation unlocks a completely new progression.</p><p>Although its hard to progress, i enjoy the ethernauts atm. I wished there was more to explore then the quests. In a different world this could be a gaming element like combat or crafting...</p>

[Rijacki]

<p><cite>Bhagpuss wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>DominoDev wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Many of us have played EQ since the original EQ days (myself since Kunark, but there are others on the team who've played even longer, or even since EQ beta).  Fear not, there are many of us who love the lore of Norrath and are looking forward to bring more of it to light!  <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /></p></blockquote><p>I've been playing since before EQ1 Kunark and the lore in both EQs has always been just a burble in the background. Confused, incoherent, contradictory, full of rumors and wishful-thinking.</p><p>Just like history in real life , in fact.</p><p>The more fractured and inconsistent the lore becomes, the more it represents the background noise of a living, breathing world. Tighten it up, nail it down, remove the inconsistencies and it becomes just another marketing spiel.</p></blockquote><p>I agree! After all, history in the real world is, as they say, 'written by the victors' and is constantantly being re-written. History is also a means to a political agenda. It's a propaganda tool. Just ask any Soviet citizen in the height of the USSR what was the nationality of the writer of Romeo and Juliet *smirk* (they really truly did try to propagandise it as a Russian, that's part of the spoof humor of the Klingons in which ever Star Trek movie is was that Kirk got sent to that ice prison).</p><p>But truly, History, like all truth, is entirely perception. One 'witness' will see it from one side and another will see it from another side. It doesn't necessarily mean that one view is wrong while the other is right, just that they're different perspectives of the same event.</p>

[Mary the Prophetess]

<p>Not to put too fine a point on it, but there are historical facts and historical interpretations. </p><p>A historical fact would be that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor at 8:00 in the morning, on December 7th, 1941.  A historical fact would be that the battleships, Arizona, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia were all sunk during the attack.</p><p>Historical interpretations howerver are another matter.  Were the Japanese pushed into attacking due to the steel embargo?  Did Roosevelt know about the impending attack and allow it to happen?  Was Kimmel made a scapegoat?  Etc. etc. etc.</p><p>In Norrath too, we have facts and interpretations.  Fact:  Lucan D'Lere is the Overlord and ruler of Freeport.  Fact: Mithaniel Marr is the brother of Erollisi Marr.  Interpretation:  Erollisi Marr cursed the Hills of Shade. to avenge the murder of the first Half-Elf by her father.  Interpretation:  Cristianos Thex is directly related through blood to the first Elder Elf king and queen.</p><p>In Norrath, it is the developers through their in-game lore, and forum posts that establish historical facts.  We, the players, then interpret those facts and try to fill in missing pieces.  We may, or may not do so accurately.</p>

[Saroc_Luclin]

And even t hen the Dev's can still put their own spin on interpretation as well; they are not limited to just publishing 'facts' in game. As soon as you go from witnessing an event to just hearing an event (even if it is from a witness), the interpretation cycle starts up. Details may be lost or altered in the telling. And the Dev's can do this as well (via giving us lore tidbits in books and NPC dialogues and so forth), and throuhg that can add their own inconsistencies (either intentional or unintentional)

[Zin`Car]

<p><cite>Zabjade wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #00cc00;">I don't know why SOE won't give you guys a decent advertising budget </span></p></blockquote><p>you've obviously never seen what SOE's done with an advertising budget or you've forgotten...</p><p>Allow me to either elighten you or refresh your memory -->  <strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-CHG_To7Ag" target="_blank"><span style="color: #ff0000;">IT'S TIME TO SLAY THE DRAGON!</span></a></strong></p><p>awful.</p>