Recreate Unseen side events with NPCs?

[Gehn, lord of ages]

BUT! I have an idea, which will help us to see "recorded"events while not REALLY being in them.Though I'm not sure you will like it, many people didn't like the serenian amulet thing. You see, along the ages, players would find some little "shiny blue stones", like 2 in an age. Very little stones. Now, these stones will work just like serenia memory amulet: once a player touches them, he will see something which happened there. In public places, he may see a bit of the last "live event" which happened. In kadish tolesa vault, he will see kadish going mad, in the cleft he will see young yeesha (before she entered d'ni), in teledahn he will see the first arrival of sharper/a d'ni man in the age, and in jalak dador the player will see a d'ni game. The reason why I think it's important is because something important in a game is that you feel you are seeing the story, you are there. It was missing in uru: once 1000 people do the same journey, it gets strange. So, there are many ways to do that, and one is that. Of course, the stones will be small and there will not be many in an age, so people who don't want that won't mind, I think.

I don't think size (to a degree) matters. Unless you make them so small that people can't find them (thus ruining the ability for people to find them when exploring and therefore making people have to read up just to find them), most Myst fans will click on them. It's just in our nature .

That's why I think a bahro stone object (like a waist high round column topped with a circular symbol that you can click on) would work. These would pop up in various Ages and places where various events happened, mostly for past live events or described events. They'd probably cycle on and off, just so people don't get annoyed with these pillars being everywhere. When you clicked on one, you'd be able to see what had happened there as a reenactment which you could partially interact with (walk around the people, perhaps do certain tasks).
Reason for existence: Easy, some bahro group or Yeesha wants all these new and old explorers to get a picture of what happened before. They frame it as a journey for explorers, with maybe even an in-journey plot (numbers show up somewhere? You have to do certain things?) that culminates in reward.

[realXCV]

which you could partially interact with (walk around the people, perhaps do certain tasks).

If the events happened in the past, the only thing you should be able to do is to walk around.

[Gehn, lord of ages]

I don't mean interacting to change the past events. It's more like you're in a sort of half in the past Age - people can't see you or interact with you, etc. However, there might be a glowing symbol that would appear or something in this Age (but not in the actual event that had happened) that you could walk over and click on to go back (and mark that past event as already completed or something). Or maybe in some there would be something you could do as a sort of tribute to the event. In a discussion on dropping Ercana pellets, you might have to drop one in for the glowing symbol that lets you back out to appear (of course, you can always link out with Relto book? Then go back as many times as you want?)

So basically, not interacting with the past. Just interacting with the nonpast parts of your environment (that sounds complicated, but it really isn't).

[The stranger]

You know what, maybe this past events things isn't needed. But I think I know why people want it: because they need things to feel more personal, like something really happend. So, in addition of the last 3 suggestions, here's a new one: make things more real, make the feeling that something happend there. That would impress me a lot more than seeing the events. Add papers and notes written by kadish in his ahnonay office. Add more houses of d'ni around ae'gura. More DRC notes in DRC gahreesen meeting rooms and such things. That's how it was done in games like riven. I assume it would be harder to do in myst iv since the events there happened like 5 minutes before you arrive. But I'm sure it could be done in uru. Just making places feel like something happened there.

[realXCV]

I assume it would be harder to do in myst iv since the events there happened like 5 minutes before you arrive.

Not always 5 minutes. Sometimes, it's more like 20 years.

However, there might be a glowing symbol that would appear or something in this Age (but not in the actual event that had happened) that you could walk over and click on to go back (and mark that past event as already completed or something).

A big rewind symbol ?

[The stranger]

Not always 5 minutes. Sometimes, it's more like 20 years.

Ah, yes, that...

Well, I just think that memories and all this is catherine's thing, not our's. Myst IV was different, it had serenia, which was all about memories. Since we have no connection to serenia, the bahro have no connection to serenia, the only one which has a memory necklace (if she still got it) is yeesha, and catherine is long dead... if we can make places to seem "alive" enough (make places look like something happend in them), we will cost the unrealistic explenation.

As for new players... if we can make the live events more interesting and more... around, people may have more fun with them.

[Gehn, lord of ages]

You know what, maybe this past events things isn't needed. But I think I know why people want it: because they need things to feel more personal, like something really happend. So, in addition of the last 3 suggestions, here's a new one: make things more real, make the feeling that something happend there. That would impress me a lot more than seeing the events. Add papers and notes written by kadish in his ahnonay office. Add more houses of d'ni around ae'gura. More DRC notes in DRC gahreesen meeting rooms and such things. That's how it was done in games like riven. I assume it would be harder to do in myst iv since the events there happened like 5 minutes before you arrive. But I'm sure it could be done in uru. Just making places feel like something happened there.

(what were the last 3 suggestions you're referring to, anyway?) I agree. The best way to introduce the past events to people is just by making them change things - Ages, events, storyline. Notes, journals, videos, all useful in this. However, if a "going back in time to see the events" is needed, I think it should be in an in-game journey as mentioned above.

A big rewind symbol ?

Um, no. Let me give an example.
You are walking along in the cavern when you see a waist-high pillar with a weird symbol on it. People have been reporting these as popping up all around the cavern and the Ages. Anyway, you click on the symbol and get linked to a sort of shadow instance of the cavern. People are walking around as they did in some kind of past event, and they can't see you or anything. You notice a glowing symbol (the same as on the pillar?) on an opposite wall and, once the talking and actions are all done and everyone walks away (you can't follow outside of a small area) you click on it - adding that event to your tally (maybe you get rewards? Or just you see more things light up each time?) and linking you back to the cavern.
Some events would require you to perform some action before the symbol would work (for example, in a discussion on pellets, you may have to drop one in the shadow instance lake). You could always link to Relto and come back if you missed the hints on what to do.

Again, this is only if replaying past live events is really necessary.

the only one which a memory necklace (if she still got it) is yeesha

You know, I wonder if she does still have it?

[The stranger]

1. An in-game video, available from the options manu, which shows you narrated "news" of what happened last month in uru.

2. More events. More, more, more. If there will be a way to just make more events around in a day, people what get all annoyed when they miss one.

3. Several more NPCs. A random one for each player, arriving at a random time. In some ages. He could be updated to tell you of things which happened lately, and maybe give you "missions" to do (like, an NPC in teledahn will tell you that he thinks the office in the great mushroom is interesting, but he can't find a way to get there. So you will have some more things to think about). After a "speech", the NPC goes away, and returns when he has something else to say. Each player may have 5 different rendom (a different look for each player) NPCs arriving from time to time. Yes, it's not live events, but it makes thing more personal and interesting. It may keep players going around the age, even if they are dome with the age and it's updates, until the next update arrives.

These are my suggestions.

I just noticed the "the only one which a memory..." typo. Fixed.

Here'san idea: maybe a certain "interactive cutscene" will appear to the player in some form of a dream. It will show an unseen past event, and after a while the "dream" ends. However, it won't happen to everyone. It will happen only to, say, 1 player in 3 months. So it would be very special.

[Lehm]

Here'san idea: maybe a certain "interactive cutscene" will appear to the player in some form of a dream. It will show an unseen past event, and after a while the "dream" ends. However, it won't happen to everyone. It will happen only to, say, 1 player in 3 months. So it would be very special.

So you saying a developer should spend the time to create a cutscene that will be seen by a grand total of 1 persons every 3 months? Uh...no. We're trying to go the other way here. Events seen by more people not less.

[JWPlatt]

This is turning into a popular discussion. That's a good thing. And you know what that means... JW brings out his project speech.

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