What is content?

[Dankus]

The other day I was thinking about how much "content" I want in a game. I told a friend how bummed I was in the lack of content SWG had. Actually, I was wrong. When I think about it SWG had tons of content. Crafting was way better than the point and click method in DAoC and other games and everything you crafted was useful. If one wanted, he or she could play the entire game and never leave the city. People made livings off dancing and did nothing else...and it worked. People played the entire game and just designed homes or fixed people's hair and facial look. So, really there was content.

That got me thinking. So why was I so bummed in SWG? Besides the biggest complaint of the leveling being too easy and fast, there was not "content" in the area I wanted...exploration and combat. Now don't get me wrong, SWG had tons of "area" to explore. I roamed a continent for 2 hours and only got through 1/4 of it, but there was not a whole lot to see...at all. Combat in and of it self looked cool; the styles and effects were nice, but I felt like I was fighting the same type of respawning mobs that I did in DAoC. The quest system in SWG was pretty weak too.

So my question is what does content really mean to you and what are the most important areas Mythica, or any other game, should have "content" in?

[Scout]

From my prospective, there's user-created content, and there's developer-created content.... Often I prefer developer-created content, because the scope of their designs are beyond that of user-created content. For example, you won't be seeing Private Realm quests crafted by users anytime soon...

... plus, user-created content also depends on the time you play at. For example, someone who play at 2am the morning will experience the game in a way that's different from, say, if the game was played at 6pm.

Anyway... Content... I want the designers to give me these:

Exploration
I want to be thoroughly immersed in the world, and that my attempts to explore the world is rewarded with something, be it a quest, special item, or just additional lore about the world. I want not only be able to run around and say, "hey, look at that pretty building/ruin over there!", but be able to run up to the building or ruin(s) in the area, and be able to find out more about them. Wouldn't it be great if you stumbled into a huge stone engraved with runes in the middle of a field, to find that it was a monument to tell the story of a battle fought on the grounds; how some hero triumphed over his enemies, only to be betrayed by one of his own kin in a coup.

Combat... or was it more immersion...
First, story is everything. I want to know why a certain beast is attacking me, but at the same time I don't want to know that they all want to kill me because they're aligned with the forces of evil (I mean, how bland is that?) I want the mob to have a history of their own. Perhaps they were folk that were once good, but had to cut a deal with 'bad folk" because they were in a desperate situation and it was the only logical choice at the time. Kinda like the Orc story arc in WarCraft I, II, and III. Maybe there's a chance of redeeming some of the "baddies" through your deeds, compassion, and heroism?

Someone once said what makes monsters real is not because they have an eternal grudge against you, but they attack because they are required too. I want to be able to run into an enemy mob's village, and while a mob of them come and attack me, in the background you could hear civilian villagers of their species scream "Run! Run for cover! The humans/dwarves/elves are attacking us! Hide your children! They're going to massacre us all!"

I also want monsters to have different types of weapons for each class. I want them to have buffed weapons, just like us. I want them to have buffed armor, just like us. But I also want those weapons and armors to loot when I kill them :)

I want them to have special tactics, so that bandits could ambush you, or a group of monsters wouldn't just all head toward you, but some would walk around the area, sneak up, and attack from the rear. I want them to be able to setup traps to lure you into their ambush.

Lastly, I want to hear about people's heroics in the Private Realms. For example, NPCs in a tavern could be programmed so that when you talk to them, they'll say something like, "Sooo, you're the warrior that rid us of (insert boss monster here). Thank you! It'll make my travels through that region much easier. Have a mead, on me!"

[Dankus]

Wouldn't it be great if you stumbled into a huge stone engraved with runes in the middle of a field, to find that it was a monument to tell the story of a battle fought on the grounds; how some hero triumphed over his enemies, only to be betrayed by one of his own kin in a coup

Yes it would be great!

want them to have special tactics, so that bandits could ambush you, or a group of monsters wouldn't just all head toward you, but some would walk around the area, sneak up, and attack from the rear. I want them to be able to setup traps to lure you into their ambush.

I love these ideas. Don't even get me started on monster interaction. This is one of my biggest excitments/concerns with Mythica...or any future MMO for that matter. I won't go into it because I think I already posted on it...even though I'd love to talk about it again.

For example, NPCs in a tavern could be programmed so that when you talk to them, they'll say something like, "Sooo, you're the warrior that rid us of (insert boss monster here). Thank you! It'll make my travels through that region much easier. Have a mead, on me!"

Free mead?! Now that is content!! If he/she actually then went to the bar tender and bought you a mug of ale; now that would be cool. NPC interaction is another huge excitement/concern for me too. Perhaps one of my top 3 concerns.