SUGGESTION: (LONG AND IN-DEPTH!) Backstory,Immersion, and World building

[petward 6]

Disclaimer: Keep in mind that these are simply suggestions meant to encourage intellectual discussion regarding said suggestion. Also keep in mind that these do not necessarily have to strictly apply to the ArmA 2/3 engine. However, I do invite you to utterly rip apart, berate, and effectively challenge the features I have proposed... if you dare. Now, on with the show!

Introduction:

I had a bit of a backstory suggestion before in my Skills Suggestion thread, but I felt like I needed to expand on it. I've learned a little from making that suggestion. Some of those things include:

1. Some people on the forums are idiots.

2. Rambling makes things a lot less clear.

3. And that I should cite my intentions before going into detail to avoid confusion and to appease people from point 1.

Now, this suggestion revolves around the backstory, world building, and immersion in DayZ (Obviously.). This is a very simple idea and there are other's like this on the forums, but I wanted to make one that had essentially all of it in one, organized thread. So without further ado I will move on with this.

Intentions:

If you read anything in this thread, read this!

1. Build upon subtle immersion by using backstory elements.

2. Create an increased attachment to your character by adding a VERY GENERAL reason for appearing on the coast.

3. DO NOT CREATE A STORY LINE. Only a backstory.

4. Keep the players in the dark until they find things in the world that hint at the backstory.

5. Atmosphere must be maintained.

The main goal of this is to increase immersion, enhance the atmosphere, and further cement the world. With these thing in mind I will continue on into more detail.

Character Backstory:

I felt like I needed more of a reason to cut my wrist every time some douchebag shot me as I tried to rob the hospital. In layman's I want to become even more attached to my loot character. To solve this I suggest making a sort of "character creation" intro. Revolutionary, I know. As simple as this would be to implement it would increase the immersion aspect as I realize that is Prime Directive 1. The first way is to have a very general backstory that only tells how you managed to wash up upon the beach.

Example:After a storm capsizes your boat you were trying to escape on you find yourself washed ashore with nothing but a flashlight, bandages, and a few painkillers. With your hope for escape from the devastated Chernarus on the bottom of the ocean and your lack of companionship the familliar land of Chernarus calls to you, challenging you to survive...

Yes I know it's terribly written. It's 4 am here, fuck off. Something like that would give players a very general identity to how they washed ashore in thier general location. Note the word general. The tactic behind this type of intro is to give the player as little info as possible so that they can craft their own adventure (Prime Directive 1.5, maybe 1) to the fullest and feel like they aren't playing a game about survival, but actually becoming the character.

The biggest question I had when I thought of this would be how to get this information to the player?

Not through a fucking pop-up message, a-la fallout style, that's for sure.

No, what I had in mind is a journal-like menu system...

Journal System:

After arriving on the beach a player experimentally hits "X" and it causes his character to pull out a tattered, old composition book out from his pack (Maybe a pen/pencil as well.) The explanation from above shows up, scribbled onto the page (Possibly have character write it into journal when it opens.). A very simple addition that isn't an immersion breaking UI.

There are many, many functions for a journal system. A lot of them have already been posted on the forums. For the most part these suggestions revolve around the general act of being able to write (Freely!) in a journal and if you happen to die your killer/random survivor would be able to pick it up and read of your adventures.

Thread 1

Thread 2

A picture of what it may look like... except with words of course...

But there is also another function for the journal I would like to suggest... Which leads to my next point...

World Building:

This, like the character backstory, is very finicky in terms of what does work and what won't work. I have written quite a lot in my short time on this planet (That doesn't make me a writer, but I understand basic writing skills and have analysed enough entertainment to know what is good and what is bad.) and I believe this is one of the few areas I feel confident in when talking about game development.

Writing a story is a balancing act, depending on the style of story you are writing....

Actually let me re-phrase that.

Storytelling is a balancing act, depending on the style of story you are telling. This is simply saying that how much you show the reader general sways from genre to genre and is paramount in keeping a good flow that entertains the target audience. The ENTIRETY of the story/world should be built and structured, but how much is reveled to the reader should be limited depending on the genre/type of story you are weaving.

For instance, romance. The world/setting/characters/plot should be structured to the fullest. However, the reader/viewers should only be viewing the plot and characters. That is not to say that the setting and world shouldn't be hinted at, it's pretty inevitable that it will at some point. It simply means that the plot/characters should be fleshed out the most leaving the world/setting to sit in the background.

If we can agree on anything it is that DayZ is a post-apocalyptic setting. The world has gone to shit which has then hit the fan. Themes involving horror, survival, betrayal, trust, companionship, fear, and loneliness prevalent. For most post-apocalyptic literature the most fleshed out part of it is generally the character/over-arching plot. The reasons why the world went to shit and what the current state is is obviously hinted at, but, like a romance story, the stay predominantly in the background, giving the characters/plot a solid base to work off of.

So why this the general way post-apocalyptic literature plays out? While you have some stories like "Alas, Bablyon" where the world/setting is rather in your face, that is really only because the plot itself plays around the central apocalyptic event depicting how it was before, during, and after. However, most are not like that. Most present the story many years after the event, depicting only the aftermath and it's effects. So, again, why is this the general way it plays out? Well that is because of the themes that are generally inside post-apocalyptic stories.

I will not repeat the themes as I have already listed them, but when you look at them you don't immediately attach them to an action movie that involves kicking the zombles back to hell or whatnot. The themes attach themselves to stories revolving around small groups or even only two characters. Take for instance "The Road". A Boy and his father trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world (Sounds similar doesn't it?). While the story has to give hints about the world/setting to give a good foundation, the characters and their development are what drives the story. How they adapt to survive and whether or not they commit acts of murder or stick to their morals. This is the basis for the DayZ experience. Creating your own post-apocalyptic story revolving around a small group or even one player. The catchphrase "This is your story." proves that. Now FINALLY onto my suggestion.

Subtlety... Subtlety. Subtlety! SUBTLETY!!!

This is what makes a post-apocalyptic experience amazing. The subtle hints at what once was always hits hard and puts the situation into perspective. I will give a detailed example of this in another game.

Fallout 3. The player can find audio logs left behind from the recent or distant past. The most interesting ones were the ones that depicted life before the bombs dropped or what happened during them. The one that sticks out in my mind is the keller family holotapes. To make a long story short a military guy got a code to get into a bunker and gave one to each of his family members so that they all had to show up to get in. For each family member there was a holotape recording the their number and showcasing why you find them dead in front of the bunker's doors.

While there was a nice weapon as a reward the way it was implemented was subtle and very intriguing. More so than some of the main quests. Not only was it entertaining to follow, but it immersing, further expanding the horrors of what happened when the bombs dropped and painting a clearer picture of the bombed world.

What I feel DayZ needs to match this type of immersion is essentially the same thing. Scattered notes,audio logs, and other memorabilia of a time before or during the events that started the infection. These can easily be showed in the journal when obtained or simply used as an item itself. These would be a nice sort of... collectible that could be implemented. However, more than that they would help with immersion and help make the world more realistic.

With my intentions from before still in mind these pieces of lore/story MUST be subtle,incomplete,and not take away from the story you're creating yourself. It should only serve to add to the game.

So completely forgot this example when writing this, so here it is:

http://soundcloud.co...dio-logs/tracks

This is an amazing example of what you could possibly find. Though I don't like how close it is to the players present time, but that's just me.

I made the actual suggestion itself short and concise... because... it didn't take much to explain. If you've stuck with it this long then well done! However, I felt that the explanation of the DayZ themes and stuff was needed to make sure we understood what DayZ was and is generally trying to accomplish. I hope this has helped the developers in any way possible and that they are good ideas/suggestions. God forbid that I give you a bad idea that you for some reason implement and it ruins the mod... As for you other forum lurkers feel free to rip this shit apart until I go cry in a corner. And to Rocket thank you for creating such a wonderful mod. I speak for everyone when I say that you have created something that has given me many memorable experiences in gaming.

Edited July 16, 2012 by Petward

[thmsrox 14]

I'm not completely against the idea and I could actually see it work, I might even see it improve my gaming experience, but I feel it's one of the last things the game needs / should implement at this point in time. Things like the journals from the threads you linked to are magnificent ideas for later on, right now I'd just like to see enhancements on things that are already in the game, but just not working properly. The other day I killed my friend with a tent...

I would review this in whatever amount of months from now. I enjoy reading your suggestion topics though and it's fun to see community members trying to make a difference / have this dedication. Thank you.

Edited July 16, 2012 by thmsrox

[0only1 4]

Hi,

Nice story. I think that the game it self allows you to create your own imaginary story, I mean you don't have to stick to the details of Rpg style game, cause dayz is more like mmo. Every time I get killed I restart with more friends and with an improved idea of how to play the game and yes I do survive more and the game gets more exciting and thrilling. I never die from zombies or players anymore cause we got our way to face the dangers as good as it is possible with what we got everytime and we set our goals to increase the range of our abilities, it's just imagination , don't worry it's alpha cheaters and pvpers run around and ruin the game, when the game is done you will notice it's way better to play your imaginary story and the small or solo bandid groups won't stop you, there is great depth already just wait to see the complete game.

Tho any possible objectives and goals would be nice cause increase the challenge. Αfter all the idea is to be the boss in a chaos world

[petward 6]

I'm not completely against the idea and I could actually see it work, I might even see it improve my gaming experience, but I feel it's one of the last things the game needs / should implement at this point in time. Things like the journals from the threads you linked to are magnificent ideas for later on, right now I'd just like to see enhancements on things that are already in the game, but just not working properly. The other day I killed my friend with a tent...

I would review this in whatever amount of months from now. I enjoy reading your suggestion topics though and it's fun to see community members trying to make a difference / have this dedication. Thank you.

Yeah, not one of my more significant suggestions, but I felt it needed to be thrown out there , as Rocket himself has said this is the "experimenting phase". Obviously there are more prevalent things to worry about, but most of them just involve too much conjecture and "what if"'s that it is almost beyond being constructive. they do give ideas to developers, which is always a plus.

Actually, one of the things I intend on suggesting is a way to implement the Underground City system. It has been talked about a lot, but I've never seen someone REALLY expand on it like I've done here.

Anyways, thank you for your feedback :).

[petward 6]

Hi,

Nice story. I think that the game it self allows you to create your own imaginary story, I mean you don't have to stick to the details of Rpg style game, cause dayz is more like mmo. Every time I get killed I restart with more friends and with an improved idea of how to play the game and yes I do survive more and the game gets more exciting and thrilling. I never die from zombies or players anymore cause we got our way to face the dangers as good as it is possible with what we got everytime and we set our goals to increase the range of our abilities, it's just imagination , don't worry it's alpha cheaters and pvpers run around and ruin the game, when the game is done you will notice it's way better to play your imaginary story and the small or solo bandid groups won't stop you, there is great depth already just wait to see the complete game.

Tho any possible objectives and goals would be nice cause increase the challenge. After all the idea is to be the boss in a chaos world

... Not to be rude, but did you even read the whole post?

This is the basis for the DayZ experience. Creating your own post-apocalyptic story revolving around a small group or even one player. The catchphrase "This is your story." proves that.

And if you're regarding the character backstory then I have to say that is something I would be okay with them not implementing, but I believe if they went about it in a VERY GENERAL way as I explained then it wouldn't hurt the "create your own story" gameplay.

Tho any possible objectives and goals would be nice cause increase the challenge.

I'm sorry, but that completely contradicts what you just said... Plus I'm totally against any type of laid-out goals/objectives. There should only be the ones you set yourself.

[0only1 4]

Your thread your rules. Most probably I wouldn't open The journal more than a few times cause it's not an RPG and I don't need the backstory info. You may read them and write in the book. But I would prefer to loot your beans than your book.

Gl with your suggestion tho.

[petward 6]

Your thread your rules. Most probably I wouldn't open The journal more than a few times cause it's not an RPG and I don't need the backstory info. You may read them and write in the book. But I would prefer to loot your beans than your book.

Gl with your suggestion tho.

I don't remember enforcing "rules" to my thread... Sorry if it came across that way, that was not my intention. I merely wanted to clarify your post because, going to be blunt here, didn;t make much sense to me.

[SumoS 168]

Subtlety... Subtlety. Subtlety! SUBTLETY!!!

This is what makes a post-apocalyptic experience amazing. The subtle hints at what once was always hits hard and puts the situation into perspective. I will give a detailed example of this in another game.

Fallout 3. The player can find audio logs left behind from the recent or distant past. The most interesting ones were the ones that depicted life before the bombs dropped or what happened during them. The one that sticks out in my mind is the keller family holotapes. To make a long story short a military guy got a code to get into a bunker and gave one to each of his family members so that they all had to show up to get in. For each family member there was a holotape recording the their number and showcasing why you find them dead in front of the bunker's doors.

While there was a nice weapon as a reward the way it was implemented was subtle and very intriguing. More so than some of the main quests. Not only was it entertaining to follow, but it immersing, further expanding the horrors of what happened when the bombs dropped and painting a clearer picture of the bombed world.

What I feel DayZ needs to match this type of immersion is essentially the same thing. Scattered notes,audio logs, and other memorabilia of a time before or during the events that started the infection. These can easily be showed in the journal when obtained or simply used as an item itself. These would be a nice sort of... collectible that could be implemented. However, more than that they would help with immersion and help make the world more realistic.

Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 had all the notes in the safe rooms and the graffiti. It was always interesting reading them and trying to piece together what happened and how it escalated.

Edited July 16, 2012 by SumoS

[0only1 4]

Everything is ok. Nice idea defo you got sth good for the game in your mind and as I said before gl with your suggestion, hope more people will answer to your suggestion, so as to get more feedback.

[petward 6]

Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 had all the notes in the safe rooms and the graffiti. It was always interesting reading them and trying to piece together what happened and how it escalated.

Exactly! That's the kind of stuff that helps make the world believable and interesting without shoving the story down the player's throat.

[starwarsfan@gmx.de 450]

I actually like the idea but am not sure wether it would really work in this kind of multiplayer setting. I feel that for this to really work the survival time would have to go waaay up. I just feel that it would just be seen as a sort of easter egg by most people. Besides everything would be on the wiki in less then a day, completly defeating the purpose of the whole thing.

[petward 6]

I actually like the idea but am not sure wether it would really work in this kind of multiplayer setting. I feel that for this to really work the survival time would have to go waaay up. I just feel that it would just be seen as a sort of easter egg by most people. Besides everything would be on the wiki in less then a day, completly defeating the purpose of the whole thing.

True, but again, it obviously isn't the focus of the mod. Easter egg territory is perfect for this. As far as wiki goes that is going to happen with any and all entertainment in the modern age. this would not defeat the purpose at all. Simply make it more applicable online. It would still be interesting finding it in game.

Not to mention I don;t know many people that would go out of their way to spoil secrets like that for themselves...

Edited July 16, 2012 by Petward