What Will Be Your Story In Guild Wars 2?

It seems Ree Soesbee would like you to stay a while and listen, because she is sharing with players and fans how Guild Wars 2 will have a storyline for every player and how this will take shape in the upcoming sequel.

Right from the get-go Soesbee talks about the one major flaw in MMO story telling, that “it loses a lot of the personal interaction that makes single-player RPGs so much fun.” but that doesn’t stop these games from from having a strong and deep lore within the game.

We believe that telling a story begins with creating a deep, realistic world. Player characters should be the focus as much as possible, and be offered choices and decisions that meaningfully impact the world around them. NPCs should have understandable motivations, real character flaws, and believable relationships with the player and with each other. Cities should feel like centers of activity. The world’s history should make sense. The original Guild Wars had already done a great deal of work in that direction – Tyria is an amazingly detailed fantasy setting, a rich and vibrant world. We wanted to live up to what we had done in the past, and carry it forward into our new game.

Guild Wars does have a fantastic fantasy setting in which players fine themselves, and even more impressive is ArenaNet’s plans for bringing the story from the first game into the second. The War in Kryta, part of Guild Wars Beyond, is a perfect example of this as players join the Shining Blade in the fight against the White Mantle to bring the rightful ruler to the Krytan throne and learn how future locations and major characters come to be.

Soesbee goes on to discuss what all will be happening within Guild Wars 2 and it sounds like there will be no shortage of things to do, even after you complete the main story arc.

There are several distinct, but intertwined, storylines in Guild Wars 2. One is the overall story of the world – the awakening of the Elder Dragons and their ravages and destruction across Tyria. Another is the rise and fall of the adventuring guild ‘Destiny’s Edge.’ We also have a personal storyline shaped for each character at creation. Choices a character makes in this storyline will affect their lives, their homes, and their interactions. Lastly, there are the ongoing stories of the world, with constantly changing events occurring throughout each region that allow the various factions, races, and individuals of the world to interact. Tyria is a busy place!

She also goes on to talk about a major complaint from players has always been that the world never changes because of the player’s actions. “Fighting an epic enemy only to see him respawn a moment later, or feeling as if the most important thing you did today was murdering ten rats, can cause a game to have a flat, repetitive feel.” Guild Wars 2 looks to remedy this. How? No clue. Will it work? I don’t know. Can it work? Why not?

Soesbee then continues on to talk about your character’s personal story and how it all starts on the character creation screen where you go through the usual process of selecting a race, class, and look for your character, but in Guild Wars 2, there’s to be an extra step. This step will “quiz” you on your character’s attitude and personality. This reminds me a little bit of another game I love to play every so often. Also, a player can choose to make multiple characters and choose completely different answers and have a completely different experience for that character. I just hope they give more than four slots to play with all the classes.

Soesbee goes on to talk about more on the personal story of player’s characters and more into the lore, so you should go read up on it all, because it’s a doozey. Oh, and a good read, especially if you’re a fan of the Guild Wars games and the land of Tyria.

Read the full article here.

Guild Wars 2 tells the tale of the rise of the Elder Dragons of Tyria, the last chance for all nations to come together to save their world – but most importantly, it is the story of YOU, the player within that world, and the heroic adventures and tales you experience in this amazingly expansive world. Our philosophy is that the player is the most important part of the game. ArenaNet is bringing to life a massive world of events, storylines, and characters – all we need is you. So now I just have to ask you one thing…

What is your story?