Justin Week 7 (Again): The Next Step

I didn't want to post one right after the other (double post), but my forgetfulness seems to have necessitated it. I suppose it'll work out, because I'm just building off of my last post.

MAG is a good example of what true interactive story is capable of, but it isn't the whole idea. While it does have a light overarching goal, that goal never changes, and advancement ceases to be truly significant after a while with no future or end in sight. So what needs to be done?

Firstly, you'd need more than just hierarchical advancement. That's a strong start (which is somewhat original for multiplayer first-person shooters), but actual world progression, beyond the incredibly large scale maps already present in the game, would add to the depth. For example, NOBY NOBY BOY--without explaining what that game is all about--takes the combined stretch-length of all the players around the world and uses that as the determining factor for which new worlds are accessed. The players originally started out on the Earth, but with their combined stretching, they were able to reach the moon in actual miles. It's a great distance in real miles, so the combined effort was a task that artificially unified a player-base, as no one could play those worlds until everyone pooled their efforts. Currently the standing is at Jupiter, and eventually the rest of the Solar System will be reached.

The problem with NOBY NOBY BOY is that direct interaction between players is nonexistent, and aside from seeking new worlds, there's nothing to drive a player onward. Should one combine the element of unlockable or attainable lands, bases, or worlds to the already highly social interactive MAG, it would allow for some much needed progression to give the free-forming story more flow and course.

Of course it's entirely possible that this world will run out of expansion, and that's why after-market content is so important. Games like Team Fortress 2 keep the experience fresh by consistently updating the game with new content like maps and player weapons, which all expand upon the in-game story elements and the player story elements as well. Again, combine this with the inter-workings of MAG, and the story remains fresh and alive with growing changes that reflect real-world counterparts, and can even start up new story threads of their own, depending on the content, which allows definite ends and definite beginnings.

The problem with after-market content is that it is rather costly, and the question of whether to charge for it and deprive some of the player-base or to make it free and lose money is a difficult one and an often turned one. In a situation like MAG, where the world is already strongly established and the player-base has firmly planted their story paths, minimalism may play the best role in all of this. A gameplay tweak here, a weapon added here, a new set of armor there, and maybe a new map every now and then, can keep the cost down for everyone and still allow the game to have enough breath and breadth in it to keep the interactive story fresh and alive, by providing suprising new abilities and obstacles. Surprise is and has always been an important part of interactive entertainment.

So, overall, we'd have a situation where one group (PMC, in the case of MAG) can fight through everything and make their way to the top of everyone: That's one story. Another, is then the overthrow of that group by those who wish to maintain balance. Another still, is the rise of the underdog group to power who changes things drastically for everyone. And of course, yet another story would have to be the return of the original to power, and it continues on with a strong sense of an over-arching goal, and the change of the feel of the community with their own perspectives and the occasional introduction of new elements that change the fight for everyone.

The dread here is that with this living, breathing game, it comes dangerously close to the medium of Theater, which now is the ultimate living, breathing medium. Does this mean that it excludes itself from the runnings of media if it isn't set in stone? Does this mean it could replace theater as the ultimate form of creativity in media?

Either way, simply having the questions to ask is a wonderfully progressive step.