Post by SongRune on 2023-06-29 15:44:34
Alright! Thank you for this design challenge, it gave me a cool thing to do for an afternoon, so here's the results of my hard work!
The Current Quest Box
Another team member will be along to explain all of the reasons why this is important or needed in specific ways so I'm going to stay focused on the bases and the purpose.
Players need an easily checkable way to see the current aim or disposition of another player by examining them without needing to talk to them. In FFXI there are actually two of these. The first is what is officially(?) referred to as the 'Bazaar Comment'. It is a 3-line block of text that appears when you /check someone to see their gear. It is used for multiple things. A short intro, a general idea of what that person is available for, etc. It is changeable whenever, but only people in physical proximity can generally check it.
The second is the Search Comment or '/seacom'. This is used when you want people who use the game's search functions (which allow you to find people's locations online or such) to see something, so for example you put your 'LFG' flag up, and in the /seacom you explain what you can do, what you're willing to do, how long you have to play, and what types of party you're interested in.
Or, since /seacom doesn't actually require you to put the flag up, you can specifically put the opposite, the equivalent of 'I know I'm the only tank in this level range online but I'm busy raising my chocobo don't blind invite or talk to me'. Anything you want, really.
Contrast with the Bio box
There's a great benefit to having a character background bio to give detail on what type of character your avatar is. There is an equally important benefit to giving detail on what you are into/trying to do right now or in the near future.
Integration With Quest Journal
The idea I have is that instead of having to write up their own (this should still be an option, I'll get back to this), players who have a quest to do XYZ should be able to just select that Quest and set it in this box, and then the game provide a short less-spoilery Quest Description (somewhat customized for this box, probably very similar to whatever the initial concept for the quest/quest stage was).
This way, players can check and see what you are up to immediately and therefore know if they want to engage with you, long before you even set out. Why this and not just talking/sociability? Because having to talk to people to even find out what mental state/goal flow they are in, isn't actually innately immersive RP. It's just shots in the dark, which can lead to unnecessary friction.
The Poor Man's Custom Quest System
The second function of this would be that if Intrepid uses the right 'kind' of Quest Descriptions for the ones that appear in this box, and still give players the option to write them up themselves, everyone who wants a 'custom quest system' can just use it for that. Make up your own quests, write them in your Current Quest Box, and now you've given people Roleplay Context for interacting with you. The more your own Custom Quest matches the general style of Ashes Quest descriptions, the more you will probably be known for writing 'good quests', even though those 'quests' have no real ingame direct support.
The Poor Man's RP Tag Too
Giving people this box also immediately acts somewhat like an RP tag. You can see the RP style, level of interest, or similar things, without ever explicitly talking to them. Most of the time, you should talk to them anyway, but 'mismatched' RP partners can drag out into a miserable experience for all. A person who has in their CQ Box - "Training In Carphin For Exp Gains" is a different type of RolePlayer (might absolutely still be one) than someone who has "On the behest of the Lady Tyrania of Windermere, I aim to delve the Depths of the Tower of Carphin in search of the Amulet of her beloved, who fell in the darkness while seeking the truth of the choice made by the $LoreCharacters of the past..." and definitely different from "Carphin Run. No RPers, no noobs."
As noted, another group member will explain why this helps people who are not innately strong RP-ers. Since I tend to be one of the 'RP Leaders' of my small group, I don't have as many personal 'contrasting/bad' experiences to draw from. Mine tend to work out as long as the game isn't actively crushing my immersion like BDO (she'll explain that too).
So that's my suggestion/feature idea. Games already have some of this, but in case you weren't already considering it.
As promised, I'm the least skilled RPer in our group. This type of "Custom Quest" box helps support RP and immersion in a lot of ways:
If I can't play for a few days, particularly if I'm busy or work is stressful, I can often forget what I was up to, or, more importantly, forget the details of the reason or context context that made it a personal experience rather than just a mechanical goal. This type of "custom quest" box gives me an easy way to remind myself and get back in the flow, rather than losing momentum, or having to waste time and immersion reminding myself.
I also feel that if there is a "current quests" HUD, this should be pinned to the top of it, for several reasons:
- It's literally what you chose as your primary current quest.
- It serves as an easy subtle nudge as to what you were doing, if you get distracted or diverted for some reason, and eventually get to a point where that's wrapped up but you've lost your flow. (Similar to above.)
- It reminds you to update or clear it (at which point it can disappear), if you don't have strong habits for using the feature. This lets it remain accurate, both for you, and for others who "/check" you.
Here's why that last one is important:
This type of tool provides a way to quickly gauge both what other players are up to, and what type of player they are/what type of experience interacting with them will be. Azherae got into that a bit, but I want to expand on it. With this feature, when looking at other players, you can:
- Avoid immersion breaking conversation types. You immediately know someone's a hardcore grinder/raider, a light RPer, all in, whatever. You learn both who will have a similar style of experience to you (and therefore who you can likely share a good experience with), and who is likely to be jarring to interact with.
- Prime your expectations for when you interact with them. You already know what you're going into and how to approach it. This is good for everyone.
- Prime people's expectations for when they interact with you. Same thing. People know how to approach you, and are more likely to have similar interests or compatible play styles if they do so.
Neither side needs that encounter and conversation where all you find out is that your playstyles are incompatible and neither of you were interested in interacting with the other, but now you've been jolted out of your flow, immersion, or RP . Knowing what general type of person someone is before engaging with them improves the experience for both sides.
You can get a lot of information from what someone writes about their current 'quest' or activity and the style they write it in. What's more, now you already have a basis for engaging with each other. This creates opportunities for interacting with someone that didn't exist before. Here's an example from another game (bleh, BDO), which honestly almost deserves its own entire post:
In BDO, if I'm crafting. Woodworking, Alchemy, whatever, I'm probably standing at a Storage Manager, staring into space. Nobody can engage with me about crafting, or as a crafter, because the game never allows me to create any context where I am actually doing that. Even in a poor quality environment like this one, having this type of box would let someone who inspects me see that "what I'm up to right now" is Woodworking, Pottery, whatnot, even if I'm running around town gathering supplies. Now they can engage with me about that, because they know it's a thing. I've just gained an entire facet of identity and presence that I didn't have before.
Obviously this can be done better with better environmental factors. FFXI is a good example of this. Unlike BDO where 'crafting' is handled either by standing in front of a storage manager, or else 'forced to be in your instanced house, hidden from players' (yes really), FFXI has a clear public animation when you're crafting and local message about what you produce. I know if someone's leveling Alchemy, trying to HQ a particular gear piece, making some food, etc right away. I can go "Hey, can you help me make this item?" and hire them. As a high-level Woodworker, can go "Oh, you're making X? Do you need a bunch of Y?". Hell, I can predict what materials from my craft might be in demand on the marketplace just by walking around.
Just having a context for what others are doing opens up entire full interactions and opportunities to engage and interact with each other as part of a community that didn't exist before. Even if our current action isn't the type that's announced by the game. Even if we're setting up to do something rather than actively doing it that very instant. That's a powerful tool for both RP and community engagement.
Even beyond all of this potential for both more and higher quality interpersonal engagement, this gives you the opportunity to be inspired . Whether you interact with someone or not, even if they're not your style, you can see what they were up to, and think about what impacts it has on the world, or even be reminded of something similar you were interested in at some point but hadn't had time for. Whether you involve them or not, that person has created a richer world and experience for you. And in the exact same manner, it provides you an opportunity to inspire like-minded individuals, yourself.
This codification and display of personal identity and current focus is helpful in another way as well. Many groups have one or more "RP leaders". People who integrate their players experiences, generate storyline for the group as a whole, and help guide and support the experience in general. Whether these people are skilled or not, this type of "Current Personal Quest" box can be a useful tool.
For stronger RP leaders, it can show them what their group is up to or interested in, and give them something to integrate into the current narrative or build it out of/around. It can provide a way for other players in their group to catch up, or get small updates on the status of things without having to pester everyone in chat when they logged in late due to the latest work emergency. They just have to find the people in the first place. By looking at the "Current Quests" of their group members, any given player can figure out what everyone's role is, and piece together the status of the storyline, even if they missed some evolutions.
For weaker RP leaders, it can give them something to work with in a different way. By helping the members of their group develop, sustain, (and show) a cohesive personal identity, this tool makes it easier for them to understand "who they're working with", both over time, and in the current moment. It's always better when your party isn't wishy-washy, particularly if you don't have the skill to create the entire structure yourself. Not to mention it helps to be able to see the difference between "SongRune is out relaxing and gathering wood for future projects." and "SongRune has been hired to build NiKr a new bed." when you see me splitting some logs in town.
Overall, this sort of thing can improve group dynamics, smooth personal interactions, inspire new story or pursuits, and create opportunities for new friendships (or rivalries!) that wouldn't have existed on their own.