MA: Would you play an arc like this?
By
Col_Blitzkrieger,
Posted on: 2009-03-10 10:07 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
I might include a recommendation of general character type (mostly personality) in the description, myself.
I think such arcs are going to pop up, certainly, but most will probably be designed towards the generic hero/villain (as in, anyone). I'd play ones like this too, though, but rather than rolling a new toon I'd probably just pick wichever toon of mine fits the description the best. If none are available, I'll probably run through it OOC anyway, if I'm interested in the general story.
Of course, if the arcs are shared between heroes and villains, it'd probably be important to designate whether the arc in question is aimed at heroes or villains.
Side note, [this arc is intended for 1-4 level 1 Japanese schoolboys/girls using any kind of weapons set] sounds like an arc based on Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Heh.
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Side note, [this arc is intended for 1-4 level 1 Japanese schoolboys/girls using any kind of weapons set] sounds like an arc based on Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Heh.
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I was thinking Magic Knight Rayearth or maybe even The Chronicles of Narnia, but OK. :P
"The Hamidon is a what what of what?" - Brian the mission guy.
I think those examples are bit to specific for general release, and would be more likely to be made for RP and keeped local.
There is the morality of the mission, which it could be useful to describe in more detail though: e.g. mercenary, antihero, truly evil etc.
There is also the possibility of designing "AT trials": arcs intended to be played solo by a specific AT. e.g. A stealth required assassination for stalkers, a bunch of weakish NPCs to be kept alive for defenders etc.
I really should do something about this signature.
would be interesting if you had the option to do a guildwars type thing, where you change into the main character of the story for whilst in the missions
(like those gwen/togo/turai/saul missions, if you know what i'm talking about)
but you could also have an arc where it's just "HERO: GO AND STOP THE FUN" where it can be for any character
I would 
sounds like a different way of doing it. Of course the problem then is that if you create an arc where you are part of a special forces (vanguard/longbow/arachnos/rularuu etc) , that 3 published arcs wont be nowhere near enough.
Good luck with it though, sounds like it has the potential to be very good.
@Damz Find me on the global channel Union Chat. One of the best "chat channels" ingame!
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There is the morality of the mission, which it could be useful to describe in more detail though: e.g. mercanary, antihero, truly evil etc.
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you sir, have just inspired me to create a villain group that fight for the highest bidder and have bright bright yellow uniforms. they are usually found in abandonded mineshafts and are very susceptible to gas 
but yes, the descriptions are way too rigid imho. I think a morality compass of sorts should be used.
pure evil naughty bit of A a bit of B nice Heroic
0 -2 3-4 5 6-8 9-10
then you rate your mission according to the type of goal being achieved.
A note for enjoyment would be a good idea , for example:
note: this Arc contains some missions in small areas and may not be suitable for Huge characters
or
note: this arc is nothing but cavemaps. no-one will enjoy this. Prepare to be lagged 'til your eyes bleed.
I was intending to put in a note about difficulty, e.g.
This arc is intended to be very challenging.
I really should do something about this signature.
Hm, to clarify the question...
OK, lets look at the Schoolgirl/boy scenario.
If any hero can play it, it looks a bit like this...
Author: Here is a contact. She is a schoolgirl.
Schoolgirl: My friend has been kidnapped! Please, go find her!
If the author dictates that the player's character is a schoolboy/girl
Author: You are a schoolboy/girl. Your friend has been kidnapped! You'd better find her!
The latter example strikes me as having more scope for personally involving the player's character in the story, because the player's character has something at stake. When a hero is working through a contact as in the former example, it's easy for them to end up a little aloof I think, because they barely know the contact or their friend.
For another example, think of a group similar to the Power Rangers/Sailor Senshi/Green Lantern Corps. If any hero can play it, then they can't have any ties to the Rangers/Senshi/GL themselves, they're just helping them out. If the author dictates character details, then the player actually IS a Ranger/Senshi/GL, and the story can go more in-depth.
P.S. I'm not planning on writing anything like this, at least not to start with. I have plenty of more vague ideas to go on for now. I just think it's an interesting possibility with the MA system. You could have entire arcs that don't even take place in Paragon at all.
"Your character is a Starship captain, go make one"
"Your character is a medieval European knight, go make one"
"Your character is a cell phone salesman living in Texas, go make one"
"Your character is a gang leader in the ruins of Los Angeles, 2145 AD, go make him/her"
"The Hamidon is a what what of what?" - Brian the mission guy.
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"Your character is a cell phone salesman living in Texas, go make one"
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Superpowered people in their day jobs!!!! 
Edit:
As soon as you enter the mish the text "You WILL meet your sale targets, even if you have to beat them up to get a sale!!!!"
@Damz Find me on the global channel Union Chat. One of the best "chat channels" ingame!
You know, we could very well expand the genre of the game thanks to the MA. Those who like the medieval fantasy setting can have a medieval fantasy arc (or series of arcs).
Heck, those who wish to can completely play outside of the supernatural genre entirely - an arc intended for people that have no more complex abilities than bonking someone upside the head with a bat.
Murder mystery arc series where the hero is a regular detective. Of course, this'd be more effective if we can somehow choose to make missions with very very few (if any) mobs in them, and more emphasis on exploration and Clues.
In essence, new games within the game. The potential is staggering, even if the MA ends up being limited at first. Simply the ability to write our own story and design our own NPCs tears down most barriers in the hands of creative authors.
As it's been hinted that the MA will continue to evolve and gain new functions over time after its initial release, who knows what we'll be able to do. NPCs with (branching) dialog options -within- missions? Scriptable events that occur when a certain amount of time passes, or a trigger is activated? Who knows. It'll be great, though.
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Murder mystery arc series where the hero is a regular detective. Of course, this'd be more effective if we can somehow choose to make missions with very very few (if any) mobs in them, and more emphasis on exploration and Clues.
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Something that sprang to mind for this is "non-glowing glowies". They would require a Clue drop elsewhere in the mission, but that clue would then offer a hint to finding a "no-glow-glowie" elsewhere in the mission, similar to that hidden items in the Midnighter Club.
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise 
; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
Technically, those are plaques, just in the shape of skulls/bookcases/jars/etc.
Even if we do get access to something like those, I'm going to instantly thumbs-down any arc that puts non-glowing glowies into an outdoor map, dangit.
You will have to be 5ft a blue to fit in to my story line :P
mmmm I wonder if I can change th size of the entance so only smurfs fit?
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P.S. I'm not planning on writing anything like this, at least not to start with. I have plenty of more vague ideas to go on for now. I just think it's an interesting possibility with the MA system. You could have entire arcs that don't even take place in Paragon at all.
"Your character is a Starship captain, go make one"
"Your character is a medieval European knight, go make one"
"Your character is a cell phone salesman living in Texas, go make one"
"Your character is a gang leader in the ruins of Los Angeles, 2145 AD, go make him/her"
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Well, as the MA is supposed to be VR, all of those would still fit in with the game world - and a trip to Icon could get you the right outfit for any of them,
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
VR or otherwise I think I'd keep my player interactions vague so that everyone can enjoy it without feeling they have to make a special effort in immersing themselves. I think the best written missions will be those which can involve a character without needing to resort to specifics.
I have a mission arc in mind, but I have absolutely no idea how or even IF I can pull off the final battle. It's a pretty ambitious idea, which I won't waste by posting here, but if it works it could offer a very unique story arc enjoyable by all.
Characters:
The Heroic Mary Grace (50)
The Mystical Thunderspark (50)
The Candy-loving Little Jenny (50)
Yeah, holodeck mission. Captin Picard is Dixon Hill, PI.
I really should do something about this signature.
QR
Would I play an arc that dictated who I was? Even in the context of the game world it's supposed to be entertainment, so yeah, I would.
And thanks for asking me personally!
"Idealism is such a wonderful thing. All you really need is someone rational to put it to proper use." - Kerr Avon
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Isn't the whole point of the MA that it's a virtual reality system? Kind of wouldn't matter if the person playing doesn't fit the intended type, such things are done for training and entertainment.
Chairman of the Charity of Pain; accepting donations of blood and guts.
Prophet of the Creamy Truth; "If it's empty, fill it with cream."
Personally I'm going to throw the "MA is virtual reality" thing out of the window and pretend it was never said. Any arcs I make will more than likely take place in the "real" world of the game.
I would play them, but I would play them with my characters and just run with the whole virtual reality thing. Basically, if the mission arc required me to play a nurse with a guilty past or whatever, I'd take in my regular characters and they would "roleplay" the personna set out by the story.
I'm up for pretty much anything provided that it's clearly defined. If a mission is trying to be "reality" in game, then it shouldn't tell me that my drunk of a brother is in town getting in trouble, but a mission that lets me put my character in the shoes of a pre-defined person who has a drunken brother could be just great.
I think one of the main reasons why they made the MA as VR was to make it as unrestrictive as possible when it came to creating scenarios.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
One problem with writing MA arcs is going to be that you won't KNOW who's going to play it. Is your player's character male, female or huge? Are they a blaster, scrapper or dominator? Classical hero, 90's anti-hero or spikey-haired anime character? Tailoring an arc to these kinds of options is going to be impossible...
Unless... what if an arc said before you started it,
[this arc is intended for a male Energy/Energy blaster dressed entirely in Enforcer gear]
or
[this arc is intended for 1-4 level 1 Japanese schoolboys/girls using any kind of weapons set]
or
[this arc is intended for an aging Golden age hero who is dismayed by the attitudes of modern heroes.]
Such arcs might be able to tell a more coherent story, because the player is playing a character the author has partially designed and knows something about. It would be a little more like a JRPG, where Cloud, Squall and Tidus are defined by the scenario writer and not the player.
Would you play an arc that dictated to you who your character is? Would you make a new character for the purpose of playing such an arc?
"The Hamidon is a what what of what?" - Brian the mission guy.