Making the world more interesting or what I try to remember when creating a new quest

In my last article, I was reproached with the fact that I did not disclose the implementation of the topic raised by me about improving the plot. The comment was sensible, so I'll try to correct it. And if some thoughts seem trivial to you, then this is not from evil, but a better disclosure of the topic for.

So, what am I doing, what would my story was more interesting. The article may be of interest to anyone who enjoys igrostroem regardless of the genre of games developed.

Step one. I create and maintain the atmosphere.
It makes no sense to talk about the importance of the atmosphere in the game. The praise from the series: “The game turned out well, very atmospheric”, it's nice to hear any developer, whether it's desktop or computer games. However, how to achieve such praise? One example is shown in the picture above. I, being no designer, used the following methods: weather (both in the quest and on the street), music, preferential time of development of events, preferential place of development of events, general mood of the NPC inhabiting the territory of the place, mood of events at the scene, place problematics, analogy images, use of typical adversaries, use of printed stylized materials, and so on and so forth. Once I, deliberately, spent the game on a winter plot in a room with a temperature of +5 degrees. I learned very, very not bad. Computer games developers, of course, cannot afford to lower the temperature of the playing rooms, but they have other methods of creating the right atmosphere, such as design, graphic resources, unique music, etc. There are a lot of methods, they are diverse and depend on the imagination and possibilities of the game master.
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Step two. Constantly I watch that in the world there would be events independent of players.
Earlier, I already wrote that one way or another the world should be independent of the players. He must live on his own. Raw materials must be mined, transported and processed. Products must be grown, delivered and eaten. Trade groups must be enriched and ruined. Politicians have to speak, and people celebrate. The church must be preaching or being persecuted by another church. The world should be able to live without players (unless the whole world consists of these very players, of course). Simplified, this is achieved through the implementation of estates - slaves, peasants, townspeople, merchants, scholars / magicians, aristocracy, clergy and nobility. Some classes may not be, or their role may be minimal, it does not matter. What is important is that the master clearly understands who does what and what role he plays in his world and / or plot. It is especially important to understand by whom and how power is exercised. However, how to submit it? Do you really need to force players to study the economic or political picture of the world? Of course, you can do it this way, however, a very specific game is needed for this. And in computer games, this will only cause disappointment. Therefore, it is better to implement all this through events. For example:

At the entrance to the city, local guards regularly rob players, arguing that Duke N. had just had a daughter, so everyone should pay a double fee.
or
The goods from the local representative of the trade guild "Zhele Zo" are updated once a month, because it is at this time that the manufactories are imported. And if the players want to get the best equipment, it would be better to come early, because everyone will buy it. And in five days there will be an importation of ammunition made of iron from the “Far mines”. It will be a little bit, it will be expensive, but worth it.

Everything, without too much effort, we give the player to understand that the world around him is alive, it can be explored and explored. Yes, by the way, the living world should also have methods of protection from the player. As my friend said, “the problem of many games is that there is a separate category of players, that they just have fun killing all aki the plague only out of boredom or their whims”. An interesting way to protect was presented in the game Morrowind, when for violating the law a player went to prison to lose parameters. Of course, it is not perfect and everyone avoided it - but the attempt itself and the original solution are already valuable. Do not forget about it.

Step three. Work with NPC.
All NPC must have their own character, it is clear to everyone. About my way of creating characters - here . But how to implement it without long and very few people need texts? The answer is simple and described in the second step - through events. Let's look at examples:

“Merchant Shtuen Bach. Extravert, feeling, money, oriental type. Prices are 3 to 4 times higher than those of its neighbors. But if you can bargain well with him, you can take it even cheaper than anywhere else. ”

“Bartender Kuri La. An extrovert, thinking, to create trouble for the rest, a petty mouse. He is happy to talk about trade in stolen goods, but with no less pleasure he informs the authorities about who was interested in this stolen goods. By the way, in a couple of months they will kill him.

I always remind myself that NPCs can be generous, evil, psychos, liars, deceivers, drunkards, boors and thieves or / and patrons. Employers can give more than promised, and can run away without giving even a part of the reward. Conductors may protect the party with their breasts, and may lead to a trap. An occasional interlocutor in the tavern may turn out to be a fanatic of the black mass and try to cut off the ears of a drunk hero when he falls asleep, or maybe guard the night, because of his paranoia. NPC must be worked out, different, and their characters should be reflected in their actions. Another important point is the plasticity of the characters of the NPC - they grow up, age, become disillusioned, catch star disease or become enlightened. Of course, it would hardly make sense to apply this to non-core NPCs, but the characters of the main NPCs should be logically changed.

Step Four. Give players an alternative.
Alternativeness, albeit conditional, is always good. Even if we are talking about a corridor shooter - the ability to leave the boss alive, who will betray (or send an SMS with an apology for being late) to you in the final fight, this is already nice. Well, if you do not have a corridor shooter, so God himself commanded.
For myself, I divide alternativeness into two types - alternativeness of ways, and alternativeness of results. In the first case, I mean that the plot consists of fixed checkpoints, which can be reached in different ways. For example, players are required to catch the undead who has unleashed and deliver it to the local priest. The result will always be the same - the undead delivered. But there may be several ways. Or go yourself and get it, or take away from a weaker colleague, or even call on the outskirts of the church, and then sedately take it to the destination. The second option implies that players can find the cause of unrest among the undead, take it under control and arrange a short walking dead tour of local attractions. Each master chooses the volume of alternatives. The main thing is to remember that alternativeness is good and sometimes (although rarely) it is achieved by small efforts.

Step five. Work on the emotions.
If the game does not cause emotions, you can safely throw it in the trash. When I prepare a line or a separate quest, I always try to create situations that would cause a response from the players.
It is easiest for players to have excitement and selfish emotions, such as a desire to assert themselves, personal offense, etc. But the emotions of pity, compassion and sympathy cause more difficult, they require prior immersion in the game. Perhaps this is due to the predominantly male players, but I will not judge. By the way, an attempt to cause complex emotions immediately at the beginning of the game often fails or requires more effort than later. Emotions are caused by events and situations. For example, the feeling of excitement causes an increase in the chance of a drop, the feeling of resentment - not the issuance of the promise. However, you should beware of the fact that players are in the habit of projecting their negative emotions onto masters or developers, especially if they did not get what they were promised. Fearing is also worth the edge of the cliché that rejects the player from what is happening.

Step Six. Information, trivia and easter eggs.
Are there any significant personalities in your world? Famous commanders? Great magicians? Is there any folklore in your world? If all this is, then why no one ever remembers about him? Why children do not play in the Grozny Oswald winner Hucheria? Why are seasoned movers not sending a curious onlooker to the Ice teeth? Why do the peasants do not complain that the poll is too high this year? Why the local priest does not call Black Slippers on the heads of the heretic ant? It's all about the details. They create the impression of the finished work. I always try to remember that the world is complex, and my task is to hint about this to the players. Hint, not drown it in sheets of information. He thinks out the rest himself. And of course Easter eggs. All players are very pleased to feel smart and knowledgeable (especially if it is). Use it. Earn a dozen Easter eggs and see how grateful the players are when discussing this after the game.

Here, in general, and all. Something is missing, something is controversial. But if at least one game master finds my thoughts useful, then these 1352 words are not written in vain.

With all due respect,