Age of Decadence Interview
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No Continues: What's your take on storytelling in videogames? How much care was put into the story of Age of Decadence, and making the player feel less like a pawn of the designer and more like an actual character within the context of the story?
Vince D. Weller: Storytelling in games leaves much to be desired. The focus on action is to blame. I mean, if a game revolves around killing monsters, storytelling shouldn't get in the way and be as brief as possible. (Are you bad enough dude to kill 20 orcs? kthxbye!) Playing Bloodlines was a very refreshing experience. You are a pawn in someone else's game and you may fail to understand what's going on until the very last moment (surprise!). Some endings are absolutely brilliant:
[spoiler] Ming Xiao (leader of the Kuei-jin) offers to make you her champion if you side with her and help her kill LaCroix. When you do your part, she ties you to the sarcophagus and dumps you into the ocean. Thanks a lot for helping, here is your reward. Don't forget to write. [/spoiler]
How great is that?
The biggest issue in storytelling is that in most cases you are told the truth and nothing but the truth. Nobody's fucking with you.
Take The Usual Suspect, for example. It's a great movie and the storyline is interesting, but what makes it truly brilliant is [spoiler] your realization at the end that the guy lied about everything and that everything you know about the story and characters you learned from him, which means that you have no idea what really happened there, how, and why. [/spoiler] We need that in RPGs.
Anyway, we put a lot of thoughts into the story. The most interesting features are:
- Motivations: there are different, faction-related reasons to do the main quest. You are seeking an ancient temple that main factions are interested in for different reasons. One hopes to find divine weapons and ancient engines of war. Another faction wants to seal or destroy the temple to prevent said weapons from falling into the wrong hands. The last faction's reasons are purely religious. They want you to help them bring back a deity and they believe that the solution could be found at that temple.
- Perspectives: you are never told the truth, only different perspectives and beliefs. What you'll choose to believe in is up to you. Different playthroughs would most likely create very different beliefs and perspectives (unless you'll play similar characters). Your understanding of the past will affect your perception of the present and your actions once you reach the temple.
- Multiple paths and quest solutions: you can expect 3-6 completely different solutions for every quest and situation.
- Choices & Consequences: the story is flexible enough to support choices and offer consequences for your actions, thus customizing the story for you.
