Season Story + Expansion format suggestion

[DreamyAbaddon.3265]

I think the best format going forward would be:

Season 5 Story introduces a new antagonist.Expansion 3 Story finishes the story with that antagonistSeason 6 Story introduces a new antagonist.Expansion 4 Story finishes the story with that antagonist.(Repeat cycle)

There should also be ONE main antagonist in every story arc so we are not all over the place like we were on Season 3, PoF and Season 4.We need to keep the focus on one main antagonist and one main objective.Most importantly, the Player character needs to have some sort of flaws and overcome certain challenges to grow and overcome those flaws and change as the story progresses so we can appreciate our characters more.

This way we get a consistent story format that has a beginning, middle, end with our character growing on each major arc.Thoughts?

[Tanner Blackfeather.6509]

Any one concrete structure becomes formulaic to the point of boredom if it's never changed.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

I don't see the advantage of imposing this structure (plus, it assumes that ANet already has plans to release two expansions, when we aren't sure that they have plans for even one).

This way we get a consistent story format that has a beginning, middle, end with our character growing on each major arc.We have has a beginning, middle, and end. The PC does some growing, about as much as can be managed in an MMO.

[AlexxxDelta.1806]

@DreamyAbaddon.3265 said:I think the best format going forward would be:

Season 5 Story introduces a new antagonist.Expansion 3 Story finishes the story with that antagonistSeason 6 Story introduces a new antagonist.Expansion 4 Story finishes the story with that antagonist.(Repeat cycle)

There should also be ONE main antagonist in every story arc so we are not all over the place like we were on Season 3, PoF and Season 4.We need to keep the focus on one main antagonist and one main objective.Most importantly, the Player character needs to have some sort of flaws and overcome certain challenges to grow and overcome those flaws and change as the story progresses so we can appreciate our characters more.

This way we get a consistent story format that has a beginning, middle, end with our character growing on each major arc.Thoughts?

And how would this format would work without the two expansions you put there? Because right now Anet is going forward with LS structure and no expansions on the horizon.

[Samnang.1879]

i want a story where neither good or evil wins... just a beautifully written story that touches the strings of my heart or scares the living hell out of me

[DreamyAbaddon.3265]

@AlexxxDelta.1806 said:

@DreamyAbaddon.3265 said:I think the best format going forward would be:

Season 5 Story introduces a new antagonist.Expansion 3 Story finishes the story with that antagonistSeason 6 Story introduces a new antagonist.Expansion 4 Story finishes the story with that antagonist.(Repeat cycle)

There should also be ONE main antagonist in every story arc so we are not all over the place like we were on Season 3, PoF and Season 4.We need to keep the focus on one main antagonist and one main objective.Most importantly, the Player character needs to have some sort of flaws and overcome certain challenges to grow and overcome those flaws and change as the story progresses so we can appreciate our characters more.

This way we get a consistent story format that has a beginning, middle, end with our character growing on each major arc.Thoughts?

And how would this format work without the two expansions you put there? Because right now Anet is going forward with LS structure and no expansions on the horizon.

This format makes story and content consistent and guarantees expansion and LS season contents to come.With Season 4 wrapping everything so far, we can start fresh with Season 5.

Season 5 would introduce a new arc and the expansion story would finish that arc with a bang going forward.

Season -> Expansion -> Season -> Expansion

This format going forward starting with Season 5 would give more time for character development.

My other idea is Season stories should add new content on existing maps while expansion packs should expand on new maps.This way Seasons can come at a faster rate since map creation takes a lot of time.I don't think Season stories should change existing maps though because that would create more continuity error.

For example Personal Story Lions Arch looks different from today's Lions Arch because of the events of Season 1 which created a continuity error.We should avoid that when adding new content in existing maps for season stories.

[DreamyAbaddon.3265]

@Samnang.1879 said:i want a story where neither good or evil wins... just a beautifully written story that touches the strings of my heart or scares the living hell out of me

I would also love a villain who isn't necessarily evil.I watch a lot of Anime like Naruto and FairyTail and I love how they make the villains likable and in the end, they aren't all bad, they are people like us too and have their own motives for doing what they think is right. Something like that where we can relate to the villains and feel bad for them and want to save them while stopping them at the same time or something. I like something like that. Life isn't all black and white. It would also be refreshing if we were on the bad and someone in the story had to stop us from almost destorying Tyria and we learn from our own mistake and the villain is actually the hero and we join that hero or something. These are just ideas I'm sharing.

[Samnang.1879]

@DreamyAbaddon.3265 said:

@Samnang.1879 said:i want a story where neither good or evil wins... just a beautifully written story that touches the strings of my heart or scares the living hell out of me

I would also love a villain who isn't necessarily evil.I watch a lot of Anime like Naruto and FairyTail and I love how they make the villains likable and in the end, they aren't all bad, they are people like us too and have their own motives for doing what they think is right. Something like that where we can relate to the villains and feel bad for them and want to save them while stopping them at the same time or something. I like something like that. Life isn't all black and white. It would also be refreshing if we were on the bad and someone in the story had to stop us from almost destorying Tyria and we learn from our own mistake and the villain is actually the hero and we join that hero or something. These are just ideas I'm sharing.

i agree sis, am tired of the goody2shoes commander. he neeeds to make a huge mistake (and i dont mean dying to balthazar n then coming back as a zombie :rip: )

[Urud.4925]

I'm happy with the format they're currently using (if there is even a format atm). I've read people complaining because the fight with Kralk was taking too many episodes, but following what the OP suggested, we would have had an entire expansion to really deal with him, while the whole LS4 had to be just an introduction. Idk, it seems quite boring.ArenaNet proved to be able to provide good content (imo) and QoL improvements even during LW (LW3 was good, with new side stories, and also LW4 was cool, new mounts etc). I don't really care if we play them as living story or expansion, as long as it's a good content (and so far it was, for me). I like to be surprised, so I don't like much a fixed format. Also, it would be more costly for new players.

But I agree on the stories about "good"/interesting evil guys. We don't have to necessarily kill a mean antagonist/dragon. Joko's chapter was also pleasant because he had a point. Actually what he said during his last fight, was true. We might have been the bad guy after all. I'd like to see other similar foes, raising questions and doubts.

[Evil.1580]

I want a story where I can choose If I am good or evil.

[hugo.4705]

We should have access to choices, it doesn't necessary require a lot of works, can be just one step that change or a dialog. For PoF we had the choice between amnoon independent, for joko or for sunspear, and it had an incidence after when joko arrive in amnoon with the plague: "wow, thanks you for welcoming me commander" something like that, after you also got the court to defend gorrik which was great with the differents options. It's great with possibilities: see the inquest transport facillity we were able to do it stealthy or murdering everyone. I really think that the personnality system should be reintroduced, we still have dialogs in recent stories with the heart, the crown and the fist icons. Can be very basic things: (will take nightmare court for once) if the character is wearing one of the twilight arbor armor piece, they don't have to fight the nightmare tormentor during the story but do the other step as they should do. We can have a main road, but 2-3 additionnal short storyline involving your choices. I mean, I did the whole bug in the system story without killing any inquest, doesn't it mean I'm evil? I even picked joko for amnoon. I took all the bad paths, killing tonn etc and still I'm the nice commander?

[Teratus.2859]

We'll no doubt have a new antagonist in the next season.

I expect the story going forward will deal with the destruction and fallout from Kralkatoricks rampage in the mists.Menzies could be a candidate for the next antagonist if his Shadow Army manages to gain any foothold in Tyria or other mist realms.

Ritualists are keenly attuned to the mists as well, more so than Revenants imo so our journey could lead us over to Cantha seeking their aid in the mist issues.Lot of people been wanting to go back there for many years.

[DreamyAbaddon.3265]

@"Urud.4925" said:I'm happy with the format they're currently using (if there is even a format atm). I've read people complaining because the fight with Kralk was taking too many episodes, but following what the OP suggested, we would have had an entire expansion to really deal with him, while the whole LS4 had to be just an introduction. Idk, it seems quite boring.ArenaNet proved to be able to provide good content (imo) and QoL improvements even during LW (LW3 was good, with new side stories, and also LW4 was cool, new mounts etc). I don't really care if we play them as living story or expansion, as long as it's a good content (and so far it was, for me). I like to be surprised, so I don't like much a fixed format. Also, it would be more costly for new players.

But I agree on the stories about "good"/interesting evil guys. We don't have to necessarily kill a mean antagonist/dragon. Joko's chapter was also pleasant because he had a point. Actually what he said during his last fight, was true. We might have been the bad guy after all. I'd like to see other similar foes, raising questions and doubts.

The format itself wouldn't be boring. It would make the story structure consistent and allow writers and content creators to have a way to construct interesting stories that we can expect would start (Seasons introducing the new major arc) to finish with a BANG through an Expansion Pack.

Besides, I never said how many episodes each season would have going forward since that would be difficult to predict.And just because you know a Season will start a new arc and the expansion will end it, doesn't mean you know how the story ends or where the story will go.

New seasons can hype people for the next arc.New expansions can hype people for how that arc will end.etc etc.

Gives us more to look forward to.

Idk who the next villain will be, or where the story will go but Season 5 is the best place to start fresh with a good, consistent format/structure where they can creatively make stories that have a direction going forward.

I have experience in writing so I find this valuable and good opportunity for the writers at ArenaNet to take advantage of.

[Knighthonor.4061]

@DreamyAbaddon.3265 said:I think the best format going forward would be:

Season 5 Story introduces a new antagonist.Expansion 3 Story finishes the story with that antagonistSeason 6 Story introduces a new antagonist.Expansion 4 Story finishes the story with that antagonist.(Repeat cycle)

There should also be ONE main antagonist in every story arc so we are not all over the place like we were on Season 3, PoF and Season 4.We need to keep the focus on one main antagonist and one main objective.Most importantly, the Player character needs to have some sort of flaws and overcome certain challenges to grow and overcome those flaws and change as the story progresses so we can appreciate our characters more.

This way we get a consistent story format that has a beginning, middle, end with our character growing on each major arc.Thoughts?

I like this idea

[Zoid.2568]

@"bOTEB.1573" said:I want a story where I can choose If I am good or evil.

Play SWTOR..