🚀 go-pugleaf

Hey, when you ask the Usenet for suggestions, we give
SUGGESTIONS...
 
(I incidentally disagree with Allen Petersen (I think) about Origin
adopting suggestions here.  Ultima 9 will be out over a year from
now even if the schedule holds; some of the ideas here are
obvious anyway; and none would foreshadow future events even if
you noticed.  I'll buy a drink for anyone who really and truly
while playing U9 thinks "Hey, I know what's coming, I read this
last year on c.s.i.p.rpg!")
 
For readability fans or latecomers, the updated whole list
follows in the next post.  (Brian, are you sorry you asked yet?)
 
Inspired by posts since my earlier one (note 16,17,19 are due to
others), here are 
 
More Plot Suggestions
 
16.  A positive ultimate goal.
     The unique charm of U4 and U5 was the goal: not merely to
destroy an enemy but to accomplish something good.  U9 should do
the same.  Perhaps one seeks to heal a cataclysm-wracked land? 
To revitalize the Way of the Avatar?  (To do the first, and
discover this requires doing the second?)  Of course, the
Guardian et al should stand squarely in the way of this goal...
 
17.  A hidden ultimate goal.
     Games that hide my final goal until late are much more
effective than ones that announce "You must kill Foozle the Bad"
during the intro.  I'm not talking about "This Widget lets you
win the game" [Serpent Isle, U8], but about a fundamental new
direction -- not to destroy a people but to save it, not to find
a temple but to build it oneself, not to cure a plague but to
lead a migration.  U6 and Wasteland come to mind.
 
18.  Do trick me.  But make it serious and fair.
     Raise your hand if you really thought the Fellowship was
nice in U7....  Surprises like Ultima 6's are great, U9's
technology could make them extremely potent, and guilt is a
terrific motivation.  But don't expect me to fall for the
obvious, and don't expect me to feel guilt over something
required to win the game.  (U8:  "Stellos, if you have a problem
you can take it up with Lord British.  They're his game flags,
not mine.")  It won't affect me unless I realize I had a way to
find out the truth and avoid it.  Don't _force_ me to be a
dupe... just make it very attractive, and the result ghastly.  :)
"Lord Draxinusom, here is the last piece of the Portal of
Powerful Popsicles."  "My thanks, Avatar.  Now..."  "Lord
Draxinusom -- your face, it's -- oh my..."
 
19.  A BIG world.
      Pagan's most serious content problem was that there wasn't
enough content.  U9 should be as big as U5, in both population
and geography.
 
20.  Remake Britannia with magic.
      I don't want to see the same old Britannia; I do want to
see some form of Britannia; I don't want to see technology and
the Industrial Revolution.  Instead, let the writers come up with
some nifty ideas for a Magical Revolution.  Is there a flying
carpet taxi service?  Do the rich have roofs that vanish during
sunshine but reappear in the rain?  Do debutantes apply
costume-enhancement potions before going to the ball?  (Just
don't put in a blatant environmentalist message -- moral
questions should be subtle.)
 
21.  Lots of toys.
      One of the best parts of an RPG is playing with an
environment -- that's what distinguishes it from a straight
adventure in the first place.  We want flying carpets, floating
glow-bulbs, self-guided butterfly nets, magic tape recorders,
anything and everything.  (Just as long as they're cheap to
program.)  Cool weapons are especially appreciated.  And I second
the posters who wanted to see Smith the talking horse and the
moon-based moongates again.
 
22.  Make quests implicit, not explicit.
      Whenever someone says "Avatar, you must fetch X", I think
"Oh, boy, another hoop to jump through.  What fun."  Instead, let
me deduce from peoples' conversation and from books that
_someone_ must fetch X, and then decide to do it for myself.  If
I don't know what to do next, I can always ask my adviser
companion (see #14) for a nudge.
 
23.  Make quests meaningful to the player.  (Down with Widgets!)
      Avoid "Fetch the Wondrous Widget of Subplot Solving".  The
"Doohickey of Doom" means nothing to me.  While problems should
be epic (war, plague, eruptions, demons, curses) they should have
practical ramifications and solutions.  E.g., go find a healer /
negotiate peace / delve into the volcano / close the demon-portal
/ appease the witch.  These engage my imagination and make the
world more real to me; widgets don't.  And if you have to make up
a whole song and dance to explain the seriousness of the
situation, skip it.  ("Oh, Avatar, the Bannner of Boondock has
been in our family for centuries and I simply can't run the
ceremony without it and...") 
 
24.  Make required quests attractive to the player.
      I and everyone else were absolutely eager to destroy the
Shadowlords in Ultima 5, because the Shadowlords were such a pain
to the Avatar.  In a long game, just advancing the plot can be a
very unrewarding reward; I'll enjoy each subplot much more if I
can expect a practical result to show for it.   (E.g.: the dragon
no longer swoops down to torch me every 3-6 cities.  The Sword of
Seven Seals is a great weapon.  The smiths of Moria, with their
mithril weapons, are now reopened for business.  The Sodenburg
militia can now join the war effort, pushing the enemy back and
making the Silver Tower accessible to me.) 
 
25.  Make side quests diverting.
     Make sure the script is sufficient to make the player want
to take time out to do the side quest.  Beware of quests that are
pathetic in context:  "Oh, Avatar, I know the world will end in
three days, but could you please rescue my baby in the far-off
Dungeon of Doom?"  Really, non-dramatic side quests are best --
romance, comedy, or a nifty treasure.  There's already plenty of
drama on the Avatar's plate.
 
26.  Script the enemies' actions, not the player's.
     Exploration is half the fun of an RPG, and the sequence of
the player's quests should be the player's decision.  At all
costs avoid Serpent Isle's convenient shipwrecks, kangaroo courts
of unresistable mages, and blatant travel restrictions.  Let me
do the subplots in any order I want -- do you really, really need
to force a particular order?  Why?  Let independent enemy actions
raise tension (see "Genuine time pressure", #11).  Make the
obstacles to "improper" success practical instead of arbitrary. 
In Ultima 5, descending into Doom without the Crown or Scepter
would get you fried by fireballs and forcefields long before you
got to Lord British.  This is good:  I am the hero, I get to make
the decisions, stupid or not!
 
27.  No unjustified formulaic quest patterns.
      No nine map pieces.  No "each town has its own unique,
self-contained problem to solve".  No prescripted wild goose
chases.  These reek of artificiality.  In real life problems
sometimes come two to a city or zero to a city and more often
than not involve more than one city.  If the player has enough
work to do and if every place affects the main plot somehow,
that's sufficient.  (The exception is where the division is
natural -- a quest assigned by each of eight shrines, say.)
 
28.  End with the player enacting a lingering, meaningful ritual.
      This is Ultima!  This is the last great adventure of the
Avatar!  We don't need a final battle.  We need a closing of the
circle with U4; let the player enact a ritual of significant
length, with meaning for the series as well as U9.  Perhaps with
a final scene in a dark, abandoned temple... where a hollow voice
utters, "Wilt thou lie?"  "Nay."  "Wherefore?"  "Honesty."  "Wilt
thou give aid?"  "Aye."  "Wherefore?"  "Compassion." ... and as
he spoke the runes on the seal of the temple floor began to glow,
one by one... ...and... [roll triumphant endgame animation] 
[roll credits]

-- 
Daniel Starr           |  Graphics CPU demand will peak in 1995;
starr-...@yale.edu  |  AI is the processor hog of the future.
                       | --------------------------------------------------    
"Scuppers. Hosepipe."  |  PC with 10^10 neurons: 40-80 years. (Moore's law)