Cutscene

From Neverend

In FFXI, there are three types of cutscenes:

1. The area around you is seen normally, including all players in the area. You can see yourself. 2. You can't see any players in the area, except those in your party. You can see yourself. 3. You can't see any players. You can see yourself.

Now during a cutscene, the camera is scripted to move in certain locations to give a cinematic feel. NPCs have scripted actions and dialogue that ONLY YOU CAN SEE. This means a character can be talking to you and making gestures or holding the player's hand, and to you it looks like the NPC is talking to you personally. Another player who's looking at you will only see you standing in front of an NPC who isn't doing anything (or, you become invisible and no one can see you there). Thus multiple players can use an NPC without it having to wait or be "tied up" as other players wait their turn.

This allows a unique story feel to the game that isn't present in other MMORPGs I've seen. It also allows dramatic events to unfold to the client only once he's activated or completed a quest, such as watching NPCs fight a battle. It isn't actually happening in the game, it's just a scripted scene the player watches, and it may include the player within the scene.

Now I'd like to suggest some way to show story in the game so that NPCs aren't bland and mindless. They can have scripted dialogue and actions that interact with the player, for example:

A player meets a bartender and has a conversation, then gets into a fistfight over an arguement and some pickpocketing. Players around him see all of this. This is a public event.

A player goes in to a girl's house and they talk, then a scripted scene shows both of you eating dinner and going to bed together. No one else sees this interaction, and both of you are invisible to the outside world. This is a private event.

Do you think all events should be public, or should there be a mix of public and private? The benefit of private story is that players can experience some plot without being interrupted or bothered by other players. Say you're enjoying a conversation with an NPC at a fountain, and a bunch of players run and jump around, distracting you. Private scenes would be more for one on one interaction, usually indoors or in an enclosed place.

[edit] Scripted events

WoW uses scripted combat events. I haven't played it yet, but one person described an enemy that would fight on a pier and get to half health, taunt the player, then walk back to a weapon rack and pick up two axes or call two helpers to fight off the player. Huge bosses use similar scripted combat by flying around, making threats, and performing special moves based on certain conditions such as low health. It's certainly a step up from standing and auto-attacking.

Scripted actions: Monsters will use scripted actions during battle, before battle, and after battle. While the standard attacks go on during battle, a high intelligence monster may go to a nearby dropped weapon, pick it up, and attack with it. If the player is defeated, the monster may laugh and stand next to the body, taunting any nearby players. These cinematics are only done when an estimated amount of time deems it safe to do so. Multiple enemies in a battlefield will not do cinematics, because it places them at risk. A powerful lone minotaur would do this when faced with a few lesser players.

Adventure interface: The ability to look, feel, and listen are implemented seamlessly with the action command and cursor. A short description window pops up that describes anything pointed at. Feeling an object may uncover secrets with a high lore or search skill. Seeing an object may do the same. Hearing may place monsters on the map with a ranger character.

Combat: Combat is injury based. There is no HP. Characters take injuries that hinder their effectiveness in movement and combat. Successful players will be skilled in some form of healing to keep their group healthy. Characters can improve their ability to resist injury, naturally heal faster, dodge more, or other skills that help avoid injury. Player status goes from healthy to injured to severely injured to unconscious. Once unconscious, the player gradually self heals until regaining consciousness. The player has the option of waiting to be healed, using a magic item to warp away, or using spirit contact to aid other players. A player can also turn into an undead class if desired, and under certain circumstances. Players are considered heroes, and can fight many enemies easily. Only their continued injuries and growing tiredness prevent them from fighting forever. Heroes must sleep, sit down, and eat food in order to prevent weariness. Players can gain natural resistance to weariness through excercise and staying awake for long hours, or sleepng for long hours.

(Death is achieved by an intentional killing blow. Normal combat usually leave players unconscious. Killing blows are performed by villanous characters or players, not average monsters)

Monsters naturally adapt to the average strength of surrounding territories, so that a high number of players in one group will naturaly cause monsters to group together to meet any percieved threat. Monsters always have a perception of surrounding areas, so that groups of players will have a generally balanced threat. This adaptable balance is what allows players to have fair fights with monsters a majority of the time.

When the average balance pf surrounding players is too diverse, special monsters will appear, who are often very powerful and drop rare loot. When players tend to have lower average strength, then monsters will typically be "newbie" level so that these players are not all wiped out.

NPCs will also adapt to surroundings, so that a peaceful flower girl will learn to stay away from dangerous areas, and stay within safe areas. This creates communities of peaceful NPCs within town, and NPCs who are more willing to adventure outside of town or guard its perimeter. Those who train and get equipment will do so, while those who are weak or primarily tradespeople will avoid danger at any cost.

[edit] Action events

While monsters roam the land, they will not always attack on site. Some will, within aggro range, start an "action event." These are scripted events based on current surroundings and challenge level. Less intelligent creatures such as wolves will snarl at a player, especially if near cubs. A bear will threaten a player to leave its area.

Intelligent creatures will actually have non-combat threats. This can include a giant demanding gold or face the consequences, or a werewolf asking for food, or a goblin asking for an item of value.

Sometimes these scenes can be resolved with dialogue. If the creature can use dialogue, the player can respond with several responses, each with a positive or negative chance of succeeding, influenced by social skills such as Charisma. Thus you can convince an ogre not to attack, or bandits to not bother you.

Action events have a dramatic quality, especially in lairs and caves. Dragons and undead who inhabit caves will have dialoge that tests and teases the player, much like Smaug in the Hobbit. Converse with the dragon in an attempt to gain its favor, and it may let you go unharmed. Piss it off through language or by stealing its treasure in plain sight will result in a very angry dragon.

Some action events have moral choices, such as sacrifice between physical reward or a captured NPC, showing mercy to a weak enemy or showing justice by slaying the enemy, and suffering ridicule from one group while appeasing another.

Action events happen outdoors as well as in cities.