Living World

To achieve the most immersive experience possible we need to look at our expectations.
For many of us, whenever we go into an MMO currently on the market, one of the first things that catches our attention is that most of the content is static.

This static content ranges from the world you see around you, to the places, dungeons, and NPCs which you come across and interact with.

NPCs will mostly be in the same location, often just standing around and will always act in a predetermined manner. The dungeon you went to yesterday will be the same tomorrow or a year from now.

The land around you never changes. Resources can be found in the same locations and after harvesting them, all you have to do is to wait for it to respawn.

Open world sandbox games make this a little less apparent, but these too never change. It takes more effort to find your way around and to look for your next quest giver.

Our most important goal is to try and veer away from this common world often seen in today’s MMO’s. Antreya is a dynamic and living world. Although there is static content, the majority of it is not. Areas can undergo changes following events or player actions.

Other players may find themselves forced to look for new hunting grounds since most of the forest was cut down by lumberjacks, and someone forgot the need to replant, or simply because the wildlife migrated to a new fresh green field on the other side of the mountains. The world is one of give and take, just like in real life; it will take the cooperation of the multitudes to ensure a prosperous settlement.

Sure individuals or nomads could survive on their own, but power and safety comes when players work together.

The environment plays a large role in Antreya. Weather conditions and more will affect if one will be successful. Antreya’s environment can be very hostile at times.

The karma system and weather system both interact with how a region will evolve. Players disregarding the rules of nature and over-harvesting an area, may find themselves faced with shortages as the land cannot recuperate anymore. This could result in an area having no resources until enough time has passed for the land to recuperate.

The karma of a settlement will affect the overall look and feel of a region, making it more vibrant or dark.

Did you ever wonder why NPCs always react in the same way? They often stand in the same location and more. The NPCs in Antreya are different. They have a purpose, a job, and a personality. They will react to different situations in different ways. A player asking an NPC for a marriage would probably be frowned upon, just like in real life if the two do not have a relationship.

The goal of Antreya chronicles is to bring to life a new generation of interaction between players and NPC characters. The Live DM Teams will also play a part in this in varying ways.

To achieve the most immersive experience possible we need to look at our expectations.
For many of us, whenever we go into a MMO currently on the market, one of the first things that catch our attention is that most of the content is static.

This static content ranges from the world you see around you, to the places, dungeons and NPC which you come across and interact with.

NPC’s will mostly be in the same location, often just stand around and will always act in a predetermined manner. The dungeon you went to yesterday will be the same tomorrow or a year from now.

The land around you never changes. Resources can be found in the same locations and after harvesting them, all you have to do is to wait for it to respawn.

Open world sandbox games make this a little less apparent, but these too never change. It takes more effort to find your way around and to look for your next quest giver.

Our most important goal is to try and veer away from this common world often seen in today’s MMO’s. Antreya is a dynamic and living world. Although there is static content, the majority is not. Areas can undergo changes following events or player actions.

Other players may find themselves forced to look for new hunting grounds since most of the forest was cut down by lumberjacks, and someone forgot the need to replant, or simply because the wildlife migrated to a new fresh green field on the other side of the mountains. The world is one of give and take and just like in real life; it will take the cooperation of the multitudes to ensure a prosperous settlement.

Sure individuals or nomads could survive on their own, but power and safety comes when players work together.

The environment plays a large role in Antreya. Weather conditions and more will affect if one will be successful. Antreya’s environment can be very hostile at times.

The karma system and weather system both interact with how a region will evolve. Players disregarding the rules of nature and over-harvesting an area, may find themselves faced with shortages as the land cannot recuperate anymore. This could result in an area having no resources until enough time has passed for the land to recuperate.

The karma of a settlement will affect the overall look and feel of a region, making it more vibrant or dark.

Did you ever wonder why NPC’s always react in the same way? They often stand in the same location and more. The NPC’s in Antreya are different. They have a purpose, a job, and a personality. They will react to different situations in different ways. A player asking an NPC for a marriage would probably be frowned upon, just like in real life if the two do not have a relationship.

The goal of Antreya chronicles is to bring to life a new generation of interaction between players and NPC characters. The Live DM Teams will also play a part in this in varying ways.

Live DM teams

Most MMO’s offer quests and storylines which are mostly linear in nature. This often becomes very repetitive and we feel it’s one of the most important aspects which make a game fun in the long run or boring. In ACO we want to change this as much as we can. One part of the answer is using more dynamic quests and adding the ability for players to offer their own quests and rewards.

The main storyline quests would be more linear, even though there might be differences in the order of the quests, depending on choices and the karma system.

The other part is the introduction of something we call the Live DM teams. Live DM is comparable to the dungeon masters of tabletop roleplaying games. Dungeon Master narrated a story and guided players through the story and ensuing battles. They were both storytellers and referees.

ACO will employ live DM teams on subscription-based servers to add to the immersive feel of ACO and to provide completely random quests and events in the world of ACO. They will also work together with players when it comes to lore and the development of the ACO world. This means that world servers could develop very differently from each other.

The live DM teams will be actively involved in the main storyline quests, both on an individual player’s level, settlement level as well as world level. Indeed, the main storyline is not just a story for an individual, but part of much larger events.

Live DM teams will also be used in custom content events and quests which are bought by a player.

Live DM teams

Most MMO’s offer quests and storylines which are mostly linear in nature. This often becomes very repetitive and we feel it’s one of the most important aspects which make a game fun in the long run or boring. In ACO we want to change this as much as we can. One part of the answer is using more dynamic quests and adding the ability for players to offer their own quests and rewards.

The main storyline quests would be more linear, even though there might be differences in the order of the quests, depending on choices and the karma system.

The other part is the introduction of something we call the Live DM teams. Live DM is comparable to the dungeon masters of tabletop roleplaying games. Dungeon Master narrated a story and guided players through the story and ensuing battles. They were both storytellers and referees.

ACO will employ live DM teams on subscription-based servers to add to the immersive feel of ACO and to provide completely random quests and events in the world of ACO. They will also work together with players when it comes to lore and the development of the ACO world. This means that world servers could develop very differently from each other.

The live DM teams will be actively involved in the main storyline quests, both on an individual player’s level, settlement level as well as world level. Indeed, the main storyline is not just a story for an individual, but part of much larger events.

Live DM teams will also be used in custom content events and quest which are bought by a player.

Summary

ACO will use Live DM teams to further increase the unique experience for the players. Live DM teams work together with players and player communities to bring custom content in the world. They also play a major part in the evolution of the game world.

• Customized content through player actions on a small and grand level.

• The game World evolves over time, creating opportunities for new stories and new history.

• The major storylines are driven by real people and thus will never be identical.

• World servers can and will develop their own versions of history through live DM team and player actions.

• Players and Storytellers work together to create history.

• In later ages, archeology will play a part in uncovering much of ACO’s history, legends, and myths.

• ACO is a dynamic and naturally evolving world which is influenced through player and non-player actions alike.

• Since there is no static content as such in ACO, every object in the world can be interacted with. Cutting down a tree will remove it from the world.

• The game world changes naturally over time, following nature’s evolution.

• Changes also take place through the actions of players, non-players and the live DM teams.

• The Karma system interacts with major content systems in the game, ranging from individual characters to the overall look and feel of whole regions.

• Live DM teams add content to the game in response to player actions and other events.

• The NPC’s (or offline player characters) will act in the world according to their NPC AI personality and job settings. Children will be playing outside, while other NPC’s will be going about their daily business.