A few weeks ago I was messing around on an old MUD. The MUD didn't have the typical means of communication that I've become accustomed to in MMOs, like 1. General, 2. Trade, party chat, guild chat, etc. There were magical items called talkers that provided a means to communicate with other players, like a magic book you could speak into that only communicates with Wizards that also have that particular book. Another interesting talker was a bracelet that you could speak into that let you chat with the 'world'. It was a simple means of communication that was creative and I found myself really immersed!
It lead to me daydreaming about weird ideas and asking the question, "Would RP in Pantheon benefit from immersive, RP specific communication devices?"
If you're in RP mode, or on a RP server, instead of having a chat window at all times, the player would have to obtain a talker to communicate. It might be obtained through a quest, or purchased at the city hall. The talker could be a holy symbol for a cleric, or an enchanted gem for a wizard, but they would have the same basic function. As you explore and progress the talker might unlock special frequencies or channels that allow you to communicate with others that have similar achievements.
Instead of completely removing the chat window talkers might also be used to augment your chat with special channels only available if you find special talkers hidden, or lost in time. Obviously, there are forseeable issues with removing the chat window, but I really enjoyed engaging the talker when I felt like being social, or putting it into my backpack and ignoring it while I searched the gutters for old socks to sell or wear.
Wow, that is a fascinating idea. Yes, you can just set up channels these days and, yes, you'd want to be able to ignore it just like those, but it would be a lovely immersive RP thing, yeah, and tons of gameplay potential.
I can imagine having some fun talking to others Talkers then stuffing it in my backpack and ignoring it, like you say... then noticing whilst searching for something else that it has been pulsing an eerie red colour...
Could be just a new Talker or could be a demon that has infiltrated the system to tempt beings of power... (world event quest starter!).
Hehe lots of great potential, there. Patent the idea, then notify VR immediately!
I was just brainstorming and here's some of the ideas I had:
Cleric: You and your party just cleared an old corrupted temple. While diveying up the treasure they find a tome and give it to you to decipher. The tome isn't what you expected, it's full of dark and occult rituals for a Pantheon you have never heard of. It's riddled with clues that leave with your mind full of questions. Eventually, another copy is found by another group elsewhere and you and the other cleric begin using the talker to discuss and theorycraft the clues left behind in the tome. Eventually there are dozens of clerics trying to find the answers to the riddle left by the tome.
Dire Lord: Your indomitable spirit is enriched by the oozing fear which lingers on the corpse of your prey. You are able to momentarily focus and connect with the remaining strong spiritual anguish to glean clues from the fearful whispers of the recently slain. Eventually you are able to trap the soul within the hyoid bone (the bone which is situated at the root of the tongue) of your prey and find that you can focus on it to share in pleasant conversations with those Dire Lords that have shared in your revelry of dismay.
Druid: Whether born with it, or through careful observation you have come to intimately understand the flora and fauna that surrounds you. Druids, ancient and long passed, that have reached your level of enlightenment, have left messages throughout nature that might be learned through careful coaxing, or perhaps a simple favor. An old tree, who thirsts for the waters of a river which ran dry centuries ago, promises knowledge of a gate which leads to a wealth of information, and maybe treasure, in exchange for the water which now flows underground.
Enchanter: Through the arduous process of enchantment you have learned to communicate with other enchanters using a particular hive mind creature. You are momentarily able to connect with the creature and scry through it's eyes and talk through it's mouth with other enchanters. One morning an inhuman voice emits a language you, nor your fellow enchanters, can understand. Yet, it's familiar.
Monk: You have attained enlightmenment and are able to transcend your mortal mind and connect with the cosmos. Through sheer will you are able to communicate with other enlightened beings that may, or may not be benevolent.
Paladin: Unlike the cleric order you deal in absolutes. Instead of gathering information from old books your spoken word is enough. You are able to invoke a command to the holy spirits of the land to speak to and gather information from them.
Ranger: The fauna of the land are much more intelligent than given credit. A ranger may form a special bond with an animal to speak with it, or send it to speak with other rangers. One evening, as you unwind near the warm fire, your animal companion returns with information on a rampaging apex predator which threatens your beloved hunting grounds.
Rogue: Talk is cheap, but every good rogue knows the benefit of eyes where they're not supposed to be, or a rumor which might lead to the next big pay day. Upon joining the Rogue Guild you are given a two-sided golden coin. One side has a mouth, the other has a eye. Flipping the coin over to the mouth side let's the rogue speak to other rogues. Flashing the eye side of the rogue's talker coin to an informant (as well as a few coins) might loosen their tongues to share info on hidden caches, or targets ripe for the picking.
Shaman: Through compassion and sheer willpower an ancient shamanistic ritual allows the shaman's head to be shrunken and used to communicate through the ages. With a sacrifice a shaman might speak to the ancients, or share their knowledge with other shamans using the head as a conduit.
Summoner: Using their own brand of magic a summoner is able to perform a ritual to summon a demon which they can ask questions. Demons, however, are known to be tricksters and manipulators, so the summoner may find themselves in trouble if they don't read between the lines.
Warrior: Through strength of will a warrior is able to shout so mightily that they may speak with other warriors using their immense voices, although, anyone close enough might find their ears ringing uncomfortably.
Wizard: Using magics passed down through the ages a wizard may enchant an item of their choosing as a talker. Only one item may be enchanted at a time, unless of course you find one of the lost talkers. Which might have questions, answers, and lore lost or forgotten through time.
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"Hot Topic - RP friendly communication devices, does this type of thing appeal to you or do you prefer general chat options in MMORPG's? Check out the full community member post here: https://seforums.pantheonmmo.com/content/forums/topic/12907/rp-friendly-communication-devices #MMORPG #CommunityMatters"
I think having a device is a terrific idea for both RP/immersion, but more importantly it can be used as a way to curtail farmer-spam (if those items required a small quest/task or received from a certain NPC at a specified level.) Until receiving the item, players could only communicate in /say. This wouldn't account for stolen accounts, but it could certainly be used to prevent spammers from creating mass level 1 characters to annoy the population.
A very creative approach that could make each class playthrough that much more unique. The bulletin boards of Norrath immediately come to mind, though talkers would be a big improvement over those. One obvious concern would be adding onto the development workload. Still, it's fun to consider if nothing else and could be included at a later date or expansion. To build off of Helwithe's own ideas, linked below are other possible ways in which each could be expressed or manifested differently.
Bard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_box
https://kk.org/thetechnium/scenius-or-comm/
Druid (Verdanfire Tree)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhizal_network
Enchanter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_unconscious
Monk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-of-body_experience
Paladin
Unified Selves
Through the use of Glorified Self, paladins send forth shining images of themselves that ascend into the sky before dissipating, the rays of light reaching out and resonating with paladins all across Terminus.
Through the use of Glorified Self, paladins send forth shining images of themselves into the nearest campfire, purifying the flames with righteous fervor and opening a channel through which they can speak to each other.
https://youtu.be/amArH3ucEYU
Rogue
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanted_poster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledger
Shaman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hourglass
https://theosophy.wiki/en/Dweller_on_the_Threshold
Talkers could even be applied to crafting.
https://youtu.be/BJ80SWdUd-8
Using chat channels to be an RP device makes perfect sense and could even have NPC channels for faction propaganda and the like. I really want to see the orcish propaganda channel. Used to clearly announce events local to that faction's goals.
If the game world referred to chat channels as a form of magical correspondence via the special skill book we all use that seems to track everything else as well. Attuning a few of the pages to show you various group correspondences. The class trainer tells newly trained PCs they can seek and eventually offer advice to others with similar skill sets using this method.
Jobeson said:Using chat channels to be an RP device makes perfect sense and could even have NPC channels for faction propaganda and the like. I really want to see the orcish propaganda channel. Used to clearly announce events local to that faction's goals.
If the game world referred to chat channels as a form of magical correspondence via the special skill book we all use that seems to track everything else as well. Attuning a few of the pages to show you various group correspondences. The class trainer tells newly trained PCs they can seek and eventually offer advice to others with similar skill sets using this method.
Lol yes I would love to get in on the orcish propaganda channel!
I can imagine some fantastic local/world events kicking off that way and even GM event 'notified' through that kind of media would feel very immersive and fun.
A magical 'pager' even, that just glows (like the bat signal, dare I say?) to let you know you're 'needed' or something is wrong with someone or an organisation you know.
Love it.
Helwithe said:A few weeks ago I was messing around on an old MUD. The MUD didn't have the typical means of communication that I've become accustomed to in MMOs, like 1. General, 2. Trade, party chat, guild chat, etc. There were magical items called talkers that provided a means to communicate with other players, like a magic book you could speak into that only communicates with Wizards that also have that particular book. Another interesting talker was a bracelet that you could speak into that let you chat with the 'world'. It was a simple means of communication that was creative and I found myself really immersed!
It lead to me daydreaming about weird ideas and asking the question, "Would RP in Pantheon benefit from immersive, RP specific communication devices?"
IF Pantheon were much further along in development, with a far far larger team I could support something like this. But given we're just over 7 years into development with this 'Alpha One' at least a year out because of the miniscule sized, and underfunded, team making it. Adding yet another deliverable into this already bloated scope of work would only serve to delay the eventual release even more. Would this be good for an expansion where some lore is fabricated to retcon the need for this into the game? Sure, why not. But definitely not right now.
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Nice!
Leevolen said:To build off of Helwithe's own ideas, linked below are other possible ways in which each could be expressed or manifested differently.
I really liked what you put together! Especially your take on the Paladin, did you come up with that?
disposalist said:Jobeson said:Using chat channels to be an RP device makes perfect sense and could even have NPC channels for faction propaganda and the like. I really want to see the orcish propaganda channel. Used to clearly announce events local to that faction's goals.
If the game world referred to chat channels as a form of magical correspondence via the special skill book we all use that seems to track everything else as well. Attuning a few of the pages to show you various group correspondences. The class trainer tells newly trained PCs they can seek and eventually offer advice to others with similar skill sets using this method.
Lol yes I would love to get in on the orcish propaganda channel!
I can imagine some fantastic local/world events kicking off that way and even GM event 'notified' through that kind of media would feel very immersive and fun.
A magical 'pager' even, that just glows (like the bat signal, dare I say?) to let you know you're 'needed' or something is wrong with someone or an organisation you know.
Love it.
I'd really enjoy seeing the creative writing done for an orcish propaganda channel. I'd also really love to see a casual orcish NPC chat channel, maybe reminiscent of barrens chat? Obviously not as offensive, haha.
This post has stuck with me for how I hope it turns out. The most common mechanic in games has never really fit in the game world. They are there purely for players.
The magical tome could attune to various types of written correspondences, being almost every chat channel. It would turn virtually everything except /say, /shout, and /ooc into a written format we could communicate with. (those verbal communications it would just log for convenience) Giving the PC the communications of the player opens the door for NPCs to also use it.
The magic chat format could be used to deliver news/propaganda. This opens the door to events of various levels if being spread easily to allied factions. Some times trying to pit them against rival cities potentially. The human city has placed a bounty on the ____ Smugglers. Only later do we find out those smugglers are funded by the Skar. It could be one way communication only to recieve current news/propaganda. These events would be a way to further build your faction with the big cities. Some may be multiple cities wanting the same resource. Which faction do you want to befriend the most or will you help them both a little bit?
Some chat channels are invite only like class channels, raid chat, group chat, or the guild chat. VR may want to turn some of the NPC faction channels into invite only where you need a minimum faction to see them.
If it is common to NPCs then some of the quests could even be updated remotely. This would allow "unexpected" events while questing such as a quest giver asks you to go kill the local gang leader who took the mans son due to lack of payment. The gang leader is believed to be on the other side of the bridge in one of the caves to the west. As you travel NW hoping to run into it eventually, (because you are not afraid of crossing a little river on your own...) you get a frantic message explaining how the gang is currently outside of his business shaking down his neighbor and he knows he will be next! This adds new objectives to the quest (Race back to stop the gang for a bonus while looking heroic? | Ambush the gang after they take everyone's gold keeping it all for yourself?)
The magic tome communication format could be used to explain any type of LFG, who, friends, or guild window.
The magic tome could influence the UI. If you open the LFG window to flag yourself and fill out a form. It would look like a page in the tome in a similar way as your skills do.
I think another thing that would really sell it for me, if something like this was ever implemented, would be the UI.
A cool example might be Tom Riddle's diary from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The UI could be a finely crafted book whose pages are filled with beautifully hand written script. The book might have some basic content when you find it, but if you write certain words or phrases the pages might fill with ancient secrets, or reveal information that leads to even more clues. With certain passwords you could create pages, between pages, where you and your guild could keep track of lore regarding an ancient treasure filled ark lost at sea. If they were so inclined VR could even include voice chat in the talkers for if people are feeling social, but don't want to join ANOTHER discord channel, haha.
If, say, you found one of the lost talkers - maybe it's an old enchanted dwarven runestick puzzle device - which has a total of nine interchangeable runes, which you can twist individually to create short, interchangeable phrases. I'd like to be able to twist the runes and experiment with different combinations to maybe find old dwarven chat channels (information channels, archived records, etc.), or find them hidden in dungeons or old forgotten keeps, or maybe even rewarded to me by doing a favor. It could be a really fun and interesting way to find out secrets about the specific persons, places, or things you're interested in. If another player found a similar runestick and found themselves in the same channel as you, there might be a chat log/history on the interface that lets you chat and discuss lore together while you're reading or contemplating.
Helwithe said:I really liked what you put together! Especially your take on the Paladin, did you come up with that?
Jobeson said:This post has stuck with me for how I hope it turns out. The most common mechanic in games has never really fit in the game world. They are there purely for players. ...
It would be fantastic (literally!) if chat channels were somehow inkeeping with the fantasy theme.
You're right that in-game chat has become more and more of a 'thing' in its own right and not feeling part of the game. The ubiquity of online chat in all aspects of life has only made this feel more mundane and real-world in games over the years.
It would be great if it could be both more immersive and more game-related/themed instead of just being yet another social media channel for people to spam with memes and disses.
(I know I'm concentrating on the negatives there - social media has some great aspects too, but Pantheon could really benefit from a different approach)