[In an effort to get more student developers thinking about game narrative, the Writers' Summit at GDC Online supported an annual contest in association with the IGDA Writers SIG. The board has challenged students to produce in-depth analyses of the narrative elements of their favorite video games.
The goal is twofold: to encourage students to look at game narrative and writing with the intensity and depth that they do other aspects of game development, and to reward the students who excel at game narrative analysis.
GameCareerGuide is once again happy to present the student entries which have been awarded poster sessions at the event this year.]
Platform: PC
Genre: MMORPG
Release Date: April 28, 2005
Developer: ArenaNet
Publisher: NCsoft
Overview
Guild Wars: Prophecies employs a quest and mission based system for disseminating story elements. The primary plot is told through missions and cut scenes, while quests impart greater detail into various facets of the story. This is an effective structure for the game, as it allows for more game play time, moves the main plot at a decent pace, and still allows players to explore more detail if they so desire.
The story itself is broken into three acts, with a prologue section for the tutorial. The prologue covers only part of a day. It gives an introduction to several characters that are featured heavily later, as well as allowing the player to get comfortable with the world. This area is incredibly well done, having many subtle elements that contribute greatly to its impact on players. The first act covers the events transpiring two years after the prologue, involving the human kingdom of Ascalon. This portion has the players follow the prince of Ascalon, and further bolsters the lore of the kingdom. It builds up a relationship with the prince, giving the player characters incentive to follow him when he chooses to leave the kingdom.
The second act is the longest, starting with following the people of Ascalon as they leave their kingdom, and concluding with the player characters achieving an event called Ascension, enabling them to become much more powerful. This is also the act in which the goals of the player characters change from saving the people of Ascalon, to saving the human kingdom to which they fled. The third act sees the goal expand again to cover saving the entire world. An interesting element is the way that the game changes from act to act by increasing the maximum size of a player party by two each time, further signifying a new level of initiation.
Characters
1. The Player Characters -- As an MMORPG, Guild Wars supports a vast amount of character customization. This covers appearance, sex, and name. Additionally, some players create their own stories for their characters. In the context of the game's plot, the player characters tend to follow various group leaders, starting with Prince Rurik and ending with Vizier Khilbron.
2. Prince Rurik -- Prince Rurik is a symbol of the hope of Ascalon. He has his people and their safety as his focus, and as such is a savior to them. The players follow Rurik throughout the first act, and into the beginning of the second act. He leads them over the mountains, and heroically sacrifices himself for their safety, thus ensuring the survival of those who chose to follow him. This symbol of self sacrifice is a powerful one. It shows that Ascalon no longer needs hope; their hopes have been fulfilled by the efforts of their prince.
However, the story of Rurik does not end here. He has one final task to complete before he has earned his rest. The Lich Lord reanimates him and forces him to fight the player characters at the end of the game. They defeat him, allowing him to enter the rest he so richly deserves. Before passing away a second time, however, he is able to impart to the players the Lich Lord's weakness. This final act of service allows him to fully save his people.
3. Vizier Khilbron -- Secretly the Lich Lord, Vizier Khilbron is a powerful sorcerer and necromancer. He aids the player characters according to the Flameseeker Prophecies, which foretells his ascension to power.
4. Supporting Cast -- There are a number of important characters that show up throughout the story, but they do not bear a significant enough presence to require a full discussion. The most important of these are Markis, a member of the White Mantle who has infiltrated the Shining Blade and betrays them, Evennia, the leader of the Shining Blade who trusts in Vizier Khilbron to bring the Shining Blade victory over the White Mantle, King Adelbern, father of Prince Rurik, who cares more for his lands than for his people, and Glint, an ancient dragon and the prophetess who spoke the Flameseeker Prophecies.
