Bunny ears and whoopi cushions
In the more light hearted moments during the task of creating items for this game has there been a moment to create fun items that serve no other purpose but for whimsical play? Fireworks or funny hats.
Or even items that have a non standard quality?
A pair of level 2 boots that add +1 to strength but squeaky when walking in them? A staff that adds burn to targets but also makes a stupid sound when used?
How about a squirrel that insults passerbys on a path outside of town? A perception ping leads to a story about a wizard that charmed the squirrel as a way to get back at a neighbor they hated, and inadvertently made the squirrel immortal?
Please take this post seriously I have no patience for sillyness.
I love fluffy items in MMOs as long as they dont break the theme of the game. IMO this is not just fun but needed. Its one of the things I love about ESO, is the large number of toys you get. WoW was really great at this as well. I would love to see many ways to get toys. Crafting, questing, acheavements, boss drops.
I support lots of humor in the game, in many forms.
Yes, it should not be so overbearing that it breaks immersion. But despite rumors to the contrary, humor CAN be subtle!
Also, for the record, I knew instantly who made this post just from seeing the subject on the forum index page :)
I would like some, but with restraint. It's the kind of thing that not only isn't special, but becomes annoying, if it's over-used.
I love a bit of silliness now and then. Emphasis is on the "bit" and "now and then" though ;)
Also, please, please be careful with veiled pop-culture.
For instance, it would be *very* difficult to crowbar in a "MacDonalds Farm" that sells beef patties in bread rolls and thickened cocoa milk drinks without the eyeroll factor being painful...
Oddities with intent to cause mirth should "fit" into the world and the environment. A step too far would clearly be a MOB boss Ronald McDonald that flings beef patties at you while you use you +1 Swiffer mop of dusting. I'm leaning more towards the Skar towns folks having a pet bear that will aggressively charge towards new visitors only to a stop short and roll over to receive belly rubs and the Skar handler embarrassed by the animals clear lack of properly intimidating the travelers. If you pet the bear you pay a higher price for goods from the Skar vendors at the stall.
oh, for FFS no on any of this. Sillyness, at least blatantly obvious sillyness, isn't something I'd want to see. Subtle though, where after thinking about it for a bit you then see the humor? Sure. Hidden in plain sight, so to speak. But funny hats and squeeky shoes? #%!@ no.
Vandraad said:oh, for FFS no on any of this. Sillyness, at least blatantly obvious sillyness, isn't something I'd want to see. Subtle though, where after thinking about it for a bit you then see the humor? Sure. Hidden in plain sight, so to speak. But funny hats and squeeky shoes? #%!@ no.
Slapstick humor goes back deep into our history. Court Jesters would make a fool of themselves with funny sounding footwear as well. I’m sure fart jokes go back many, many, centres before the woopy cushion. I do agree it needs to be a flavor not a theme though,
Scenario: A dark dungeon, danger is close. We tentatively move as a group with cautious care not to pull unwanted MOBs . We are low on provisions after engaging multiple enemies over the past hour and desire only to exit to lick wounds and divide our hard earned treasure. StoneFish has aquired a new pair of boots and equiped them because they are green and compliments his eyes. We have almost made it to the exit when a louder than is prudent squeak emits from the footfalls of StoneFish, the boots squeak upon the polished stone. Alerted to the sound a rush of sentries charge forth into the room. "RUN!!!!"
This is unexpected and memorable.
I also support meals causing loud flatulence later in the timeline, but I suspect those that know me to just assume that is so.
I'm a big proponent of whimsical and silly elements (though I really dislike fart jokes for some reason). The way to do this right is to make it lore appropriate and logical within the game world. A couple of races (like Haflings) could be naturally quite silly so players who want this will gravitate towards it and most others will not be bothered by it because it's part of that race's culture.
Also, there could be a Mad Wizard character who created many absurd items and spells. There could even be a Mad Wizard quest line where we try to track down what happened to him. One part of the quest could see players getting hit with random absurd curses. The quest could culminate in finding out the Mad Wizard turned himself into a granite fish statue.
Either as part of the above quest or as a standalone, there should be one out of the way area where everything is a pun. Character names, shop signs, everything. Even visual puns (like a set of double-doors with "Albus" painted on them, an elemental magic shop named "Girth, Wind, & Fire" run by an obese NPC). Part of the fun would just be trying to find all the puns. This should not be a place with anything players want, so no one is forced to go there. It could feature one very curmudgeonly npc who hates all the puns and yells at all the other NPCs.
I love humor when it is injected in an appropriate manner and not overused. I am not a huge fan of weapons, spells, armor, or frequently used combat items making funny noises as this gets old real fast for me.
That being said I love seeing NPCs inject humor into their quests, and I think it would be cool if some of these quests provided cosmetic items that had the same humor. I would also be ok with seeing rewards have flavor text as a joking nod to the NPC where it came from. Like maybe there is a squeaky boot reward, but the boots don't make sounds. Instead, those boots have a flavor text and maybe a negative modifier to personal stealth ability or an increase in aggro radius when worn.
Im a fan of fireworks. IIRC Counterfletch had an idea for Flare's that I think might be better replaced with fireworks and serve the same purpose in game, in dungeons and in open land and the various tactical strategies associated thereof such as distraction and emergency location or call for aid (the torches are lit! Gondor calls for aid!)
My rules for fireworks: Craftable. Single cast instant clickies, stackable up to 2 only.
Craftable rules: (this will need a HUGE DLL if I my programming knowledge is correct) twig/stick determines rocket outcome, cord/string determines firecracker/bomb outcome. RNG on use of string: delay from 1 to 10 seconds you dont know until its crafted. Stick is outside or "open area" only. (so some cheesing allowable on dungeons that are cities, like how you could bind only in cities in EQ, and Kaesora was a city! so you could bind there, but it was a dungeon, one of the only ones- Im talking the draconian and cool old skool FV server. So a city would tecnhically be an "open" area and rockets useable even tough it is a dungeon or closed area per-se allowing for sandbox mechanics like shooting a bottle-rocket down a hall! omgosh!)
Gunpowder or the Terminus equivalent is necessary and paper.
2 other ingredients needed. This is where the DLL's come in. So, yeah, um, anything but it has to be dry. Like naturally occurring in terminus dry or from merchants dry. VR has to figure everything else out and the creative team has to- like Amazon allowing you to buy Samuel L Jackson or other stars voices to respond on Alexa- come up with seperate rocket and firecracker effects based on combinations of - the - all the various combinations of ALL those 2 existing dry ingredients in the world of Terminus.
Yeah
And the creative team will also, like the alexa analogy above- have to come up with descriptions of what they will do for lore so- as the player is making them? they never know what they will get until they make it :) or what it will do! There will be so many combos any off-line sites wil be hard pressed to catch up so any combinations will be a suprise to pyromaniacs- I mean firework enthusiasts. I am hoping from a programming perspective they can just "set it, and forget it" as the slow-cooker informercials say.
So, like Stonefish might stumble upon a recipe that creates a firecracker that explodes in something anus/sphincter related.
Fine with comedy / fun / outlandish cosmetic items if they are RARE and hard to get.
Being known as the top raid guider whom spent all thier DKP on the 'Squeeky Clown Shoes of clarty' YES
If everyone looks like a floating unicorn wearing a party hat shooting fireworks from thier orifice whilst 'pranking' passers with whoopie cussions - NO!
This topic has been promoted for my CM content, please continue the discussion and have fun! :)
"Hot Topic - Bunny Ears And Whoopi Cushions - A serious post about silliness from one of our community members, what are your thoughts about adding lore-friendly "silly" things lightly scattered around Terminus? https://seforums.pantheonmmo.com/content/forums/topic/13723/bunny-ears-and-whoopi-cushions #MMORPG #CommunityMatters"
To add to this waverley unhinged side issue I wish to clearly state that any humor in such a setting should be minimal.
Squeaky boots? Only one pair on the server. Silly hat? It is a charmed item that spring forth bunny ears only when the moons aline. There are easy controls to keep things in check.
Insulting squirrel? Permanent and unnervingly accurate at identifying personal self-conscious insecurities. Long live insulting squirrel.
Noone wants to see anything oversaturated. The concern is that it would be like wow or some other even worse mobile type mmo look-a-like.
The unexpected injection of whimsical moments are enjoyable by many many peeps, but the obnoxious is to be guarded against.
As far as lore goes, I'm a Halfling, you Skar types can live your own lives and ignore us little folks, we are not affecting your lives at all, have your dull dole gritty existence and die with spite and bile in your hearts, I'll be laughing all the way down.
A roman emperor back in 200CE used whoopie cushions to prank dignitaries. 200CE, people. Silly humor like that is ingrained into our history and humanity. There are "your momma" and fart/poop jokes immortalized in the ruins of Pompei as graffiti. People have been amusing themselves with toilet humor, slapstick, etc for as long as there have been people. There's nothing more period appropriate than base/raunchy humor, lol.
Now... do I want to see everyone and their alt throwing down dance parties, whoopi cushions, and bunny ears? Not exactly, but it's the same thing as when I'm walking on the sidewalk and a car comes past playing music I don't like. It happens, and then it goes away, and I've forgotten it within moments. There will always be weirdos, why would that be any different in a world with magic and fantasy? Does the magic in the air suddenly give everyone a case of the grimdarks?
As always when it comes to cosmetics, if things aren't flashy and intrusive, then I don't mind. If they are, then just give me a toggle. (For a pvp server or RP server that becomes a more complicated issue). Entire bunny suits anime-style? Or fur-suit style? Magical girl transformations, ninjas, and blue unicorns that fart rainbows as they sprint? No thank you a thousand times. But bunny ears? Sure why not, my knickers aren't gonna get twisted over something like that. I trust the team to keep things lore appropriate. Bunnies mate a lot, like a lot. They always be doing it. Makes sense they'd be a symbol of fertility and representative of the changing of seasons, and it makes sense that someone would wear bunny ears for a spring holiday thing. And there will always be those people who keep their Christmas lights on (or bunny ears) well into July. That's just life, and it's fine.
Plus, like, Halflings, my dudes. Halflings. How are we not gonna have pranks and silly jokes in a world with Halflings?
Shoulder pads that stab you in the head when you lift your arms are silly.
Bows with pointy pieces that slow down the unloading of the force you've applied are silly.
Wearing plate armor while out adventuring and not in a large battle is silly.
Never going to the bathroom is silly.
What is not silly? Allowing people options that indivualize, personalize, entertain, and differentiate themselves, even if some "purist" thinks they are silly.
I totally want bunny ears now.
Peeing in the woods is optional.
Some MOBs will flee when they are loosing an engagement, how hard would it be to program a 1% chance that when they turn to flee they run into a tree branch and knock themselves out? Or trip and fall off a cliff? Imagine being a low level at the bottom of some dungeon and a giant slams down in front of you from above crushing the two rats you were battling.
Lunch break over. Hugs an kisses.
Reiver said:I totally want bunny ears now.
Bunny ears and all other manner of animal pelt / horns could be a harvestable resource that a tanner could make into headdresses. That would be interesting and allow for fun customization, assuming there are a lot of different animals we can do this with.
I don't see this method as being silly, though. It's not silly Louise-from-Bob's-Burgers bunny ears so much as it is primitive lets-kill-stuff-and-wear-it.
Counterfleche said:Bunny ears and all other manner of animal pelt / horns could be a harvestable resource that a tanner could make into headdresses. That would be interesting and allow for fun customization, assuming there are a lot of different animals we can do this with.
I don't see this method as being silly, though. It's not silly Louise-from-Bob's-Burgers bunny ears so much as it is primitive lets-kill-stuff-and-wear-it.
I really like this idea. it would be really fun, and a bit gross, if outstanding body parts of animals could be used to adorn your armor, such as the bunny ears or tail.
BeaverBiscuit said:Counterfleche said:Bunny ears and all other manner of animal pelt / horns could be a harvestable resource that a tanner could make into headdresses. That would be interesting and allow for fun customization, assuming there are a lot of different animals we can do this with.
I don't see this method as being silly, though. It's not silly Louise-from-Bob's-Burgers bunny ears so much as it is primitive lets-kill-stuff-and-wear-it.
I really like this idea. it would be really fun, and a bit gross, if outstanding body parts of animals could be used to adorn your armor, such as the bunny ears or tail.
in keeping with the single item per server idea: different rabbits from different areas have different ears, both up, one cocked(like Peter rabbit), both down, both droopy, both swept back (like a hare) and maybe one more subset of color: white, black and russet. Nice ears! to heck with the ears- nice Narwal horn!- hey! are those utricating hairs on your wrists?!
