A game of survival, trade and exploration in the universe of Fallen London
Connecting islands in to larger world narratives
MrChapeau
Posts: 31
7/12/2014
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To the Developers of Sunless Sea,
Your game is phenomenally intriguing, and I just wanted to briefly discuss what makes a similar game, Star Control 2, so successful. It's possible this is already part of your vision, or that your vision is incompatible with this, but nevertheless...
As you fill your world with locations and quests, consider putting particular focus on the actions of the player as they can affect inter-island relations, larger world events, etc.
If each quest location is isolated from other islands and their own goings on then there is limited larger plot potential. But with interconnectivity a player can seek out ways to solve a puzzle/quest connected to a certain island by finding a way to perform the right actions on other islands.
Your game can in this way allow for induction in its puzzles and quests.
The ultimate example is Star Control 2, now released for free under the name 'The Ur-quan Masters.' Take a day or two and play that game -- it has a whole lot in common with Sunless Sea, particularly in the requirement that the player go out and FIND THE QUESTIONS that he then has to find the answers to.
SC2 is one of the best regarded games of all time, and its similarity to Sunless Sea cannot be ignored.
But what that game did is connect the different goings on amongst the different alien races. There was no quest log, rather the player went out and found out what to do to affect the status of the different races. Each race was connected to the others in ways that were not entirely obvious.
In the end the player ended up playing diplomatic and political games behind the scenes, manipulating galactic events in ways that the different alien races were not entirely aware of.
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tl;dr -- just as you write quests and events that affect the player as a ping pong ball in a machine, also consider writing quests that allow the player to change the world. Perhaps write quests that are larger in scope and allow the player to seek out solutions that involve multi-island interaction and tie the larger world together.
And maybe write quests that never go in a log book, but rather require the player to figure out that there is a quest to be pursued.
PRACTICAL MEANING
It would mean islands with different atmosphere, content, available quests, stories, and responses to the player depending on the actions he has theretofore taken. It would also mean quests and content that carries a lot of prerequisites and reveals itself in many stages.
It would also mean some implicit quests rather than only explicit ones.
edited by MrChapeau on 7/12/2014
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Zee-Bat
Posts: 140
7/12/2014
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That does happen you on some scale, and if it will be like Fallen London then we'll see a lot of that. But at the same time I don't think letting the player decide the fate of the 'racess' as it were would fit the narrative that much. I always liked the fact that you're placed in a position that while you can affect many things you're still just a pawn in a much larger game, no 'chosen one' mechanic at all. Still i'ts just my opinion and I could very well be wrong.
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It's rather like eating a trout, if the trout had tried to kill you a few hours ago. Take that ersatz trout.
I didn't do it, wouldn't know how to do it, and I was in Paris at the time it happened Officer.
Shiro Kuroba is a Person of Some Importance and many bats.
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+1
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Alexis Kennedy
Posts: 1374
7/13/2014
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We do have some of this planned and some even implemented; we won't, I'm afraid, be taking it as far as SC2 for many of the reasons that folk in this thread have suggested.
You might, for instance, wish to look closely at what happens to the Hunter's Keep island graphic after certain dramatic events...
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+1
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