Frogboy Frogboy

Elemental Story design

▼

Elemental Story design

from JoeUser Forums

In our previous games, the story (or better yet, what little there was of it) was kind of crammed in after the fact. 

RockGolemThere is a lot of backstory to Galactic Civilizations but when it came time to put it into the game, it was the last thing.  For me, my priority in Galactic Civilizations was computer AI.  More accurately, Galactic Civilizations was mainly an AI project for me that we decided to let other people participate in playing though, truth be told, I enjoyed watching the AI play each other more than any other aspect of the game. 

By contrast, with Elemental, story is a big deal. AI won’t be taking a back seat by any means. It’s just that this time, we have a lot more resources to give the story the justice it deserves.

As a result, Elemental will still heavily focus on the “sandbox” mode (create your own world to play in) but its “Campaign mode” will let players really explore the world of Elemental and learn its various secrets and histories.

Our story so far…

Long ago, the world of Elemental was lush with magic. Men, dragons, beasts and even plants made free use of the abundance of magic to enhance their lives.

So much magic, however, attracted the attention of the immortal titans who lust to control magic. In time, they used their sacred shards to absorb all the magic they could hold. These titans intended to take their shards back to their own world.

To the horror of these immortal titans, once filled, the shards could not be moved. They were rooted to the world where they sat.

Greedy to control one another’s shards, the titans endlessly warred amongst themselves.  Eventually, some of these titans took men and used their power to twist them into creatures better suited for war and conquest – The Fallen.  The Fallen come in many shapes and sizes but are all, ultimately, derived from either men or dragons.

For centuries, the titans waged their wars. This war ended aburptly in a titantic battle that resulted in the cataclysm – the breaking of the world and the destruction of nearly all the life in the world.

Life is starting to return to Elemental now. The immortal titans seem to be gone. But the land has been ruined. With magic, the land can be restored to life. But only a select group of beings known as Channelers can still make use of magic.

Soon, these channelers will become great kings and emperors of the world as their abilty to restore life to the lands and make use of magic will attract the struggling peoples of the world to their growing civilizations.

What happens from there, however, is up to you.

The World of Elemental for us

There are literally hundreds of pages of backstory, histories, adventures, and lore that have been put together.  Elemental: War of Magic, will be the first game that makes use of it but the RPG we’re starting to work on will make use of it too and there are other games in the design process that will exist on it. 

It’s a world that we hope you enjoy being apart of and look forward to exploring it with you.

94,152 views 48 replies
Reply #26 from Elemental Forums Top

this is all good stuff.

Reply #27 from Elemental Forums Top

The Campaign mode for the RPG should *totally* have living empires (friendly and enemy) being run by AI  :grin:  

 

living in the sense that they can use the resources you provide them with rationally, but of course the empires in this game should be different than the olde game (their resources/land/ect is restricted by player choices ... somehow ... something like that)

Elemental: Reforged
Reply #28 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting RogueCaptain, reply 23
One request: please please please don't make The Fallen another generic stock fantasy species with generic fantasy modifiers like +1 fire resistance ect.  Please No!  Let's see more imagination.  An army of human cannibals that covert a conquored populace into ready food supply or slavers that retain a percentage of the conquored as slave labor population pool is just better than the D&D purple planar brimstone lol_whateverz orcs.

Hope you consider adding the Armageddon Clock from Civilization 4's Fall From Heaven 2 mod.  Evil civs pushed hard to advance it while Good civs constantly struggled to turn it back.  In the end it was a useful game mechanic to pace the ingame's major random events and allowed the player some limited influential control over when those events would occur. 

I just wish I as a player could seed those events myself.  For example, if my men found a dragon egg in the past then when the AC advances to 100 it would hatch ect.  Sort of seeding my opponents destruction in the past for harvest in the future.

Agreed about the Armageddon Clock, that was a very novel idea, and well implemented!

Reply #29 from Demigod Forums Top

If anything, anything was possible; and you wanted to make me a very happy man.

You would have now-mortal titans that are of the scope and size of the creatures from Shadow of the Colossus.

That can be either interacted with to fight for you (i.e. presented with some of the magic they always craved or become your deputy), or destroyed for some ultra mega mega loot..

They could even be still guarding their magic shards, after all this time?

Would be so epic. :)

Reply #30 from Elemental Forums Top

Well I'm too sure about your titans having, uh, titanic battles, but otherwise :). I do like a bit of backstory to lend colour to a game. I don't suppose you could get Leonard Nimoy to voice it?

Reply #31 from Elemental Forums Top

The relative lack of comments on this topic helped me formulate something that has been in the back of my mind for a while.  This backstory, while somewhat interesting, just doesn't really grab me.  I will quickly admit that I am not the typical gamer.  I am older, maybe interested in different things, maybe different in a lot of ways so my opinion here isn't really that important.  I realize that we need to start with a relatively barren world and it is probable that there is a lot more backstory to be revealed that might be more interesting.

Still, I don't find myself caring much about these races/gods/creatures that went before.  The story didn't pique my curiosity.

Reply #32 from Elemental Forums Top

perhaps the titans were a few dread lords that left the GalCiv galaxy long ago, far before the GalCiv "era" was properly created, and are just now arriving in the galaxy that houses elemental ... perhaps half way across the universe. I think we can assume there won't be space-ships anywhere in the game OR backstory even if this was the case though ... because either the ships would be locked high in orbit, near another distant planet, or that those land-fallen ships were destroyed by the cataclysm. It might be nice to have extra/bonus content where there is an epic ruin AKA the overgrown and long abandoned space-ship. Perhaps the final boss could be a long-dormant and weakened Dread Lord.

Reply #33 from Elemental Forums Top

perhaps the titans were a few dread lords that left the GalCiv galaxy long ago, far before the GalCiv "era" was properly created, and are just now arriving in the galaxy that houses elemental ... perhaps half way across the universe. I think we can assume there won't be space-ships anywhere in the game OR backstory even if this was the case though ... because either the ships would be locked high in orbit, near another distant planet, or that those land-fallen ships were destroyed by the cataclysm. It might be nice to have extra/bonus content where there is an epic ruin AKA the overgrown and long abandoned space-ship. Perhaps the final boss could be a long-dormant and weakened Dread Lord.
Me and Wintersong have been bashing each other over the head about this for months. I HIGHLY doubt that there is ANY connection between Elemental and GC2, becuase while the stores are similar, they also differ significantly. I think it's MUCH more likely that Brad simply reused ideas from one in the other...... although we've gotten no dev confimation either way.

Reply #34 from Elemental Forums Top

The relative lack of comments on this topic helped me formulate something that has been in the back of my mind for a while.  This backstory, while somewhat interesting, just doesn't really grab me.  I will quickly admit that I am not the typical gamer.  I am older, maybe interested in different things, maybe different in a lot of ways so my opinion here isn't really that important.  I realize that we need to start with a relatively barren world and it is probable that there is a lot more backstory to be revealed that might be more interesting.

Still, I don't find myself caring much about these races/gods/creatures that went before.  The story didn't pique my curiosity.

.

Somewhat the same. The back story about titans and shards explains how the world came to be the way it is. Nice. It explains the Fallen. ok, although I don't find it very convincing but it's just an outline. I mean, if the Fallen have been bred to be better killers than the humans, how come there are any humans left?

It does not explain anything about the channelers, who just "pop" in without explanation.

I understand that there must be more backstory somewhere and this is just a teaser, but this teaser is in fact insufficient to draw much attention or praise. Dominions' opening screens show more stuff. Fall from Heaven background is also much more detailed. So there may be an interesting story, but it just doesn't show here.

Reply #35 from Elemental Forums Top

I mean, if the Fallen have been bred to be better killers than the humans, how come there are any humans left?

There are more of them? They function as a community, whereas the Fallen are more about the individual.

Not to mention, cheetahs are better killers than zebras, but there are still zebras...

Reply #37 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting pigeonpigeon, reply 35

I mean, if the Fallen have been bred to be better killers than the humans, how come there are any humans left?
There are more of them? They function as a community, whereas the Fallen are more about the individual.

Why does anyone survive the cataclysm? We aren't talking about millions of years here, we are talking about a few decades (or so) ... do you really think the various Fallen and Humans, each trying to SURVIVE would be busy wiping each other out until they gain technology, honor, civilization, armies, and valid reasons to use all their newly aquired technologies to mutually destroy each other? and yes, humans get along with each other better, breed faster, ect. While the Fallen are more-or-less savage pack animals ... superior physically (and perhaps mentally) but lacking a desire for institutions and social structures.

Reply #38 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Tasunke, reply 37

Why does anyone survive the cataclysm? We aren't talking about millions of years here, we are talking about a few decades (or so) ... do you really think the various Fallen and Humans, each trying to SURVIVE would be busy wiping each other out until they gain technology, honor, civilization, armies, and valid reasons to use all their newly aquired technologies to mutually destroy each other? and yes, humans get along with each other better, breed faster, ect. While the Fallen are more-or-less savage pack animals ... superior physically (and perhaps mentally) but lacking a desire for institutions and social structures.

No, the point is before the cataclysm:

If Fallens are superior to humans and are used during war, how do humans survive? By hiding from the titans in remote places far from the shards, which would be uninteresting to the titans maybe?

I just say the backstory must answer that question.

Also how long did the titans rule/fight over the world? Long enough for fallen to be created and numerous enough, but is it years, decades or centuries?

Reply #39 from Elemental Forums Top

Have you ever tried to kill all the humans on the world? Its a difficult thing to do, let me tell you. I can't think of a single decent story were humans were completely wiped out simply because there were "better humans" around. Anything short of making the planet completely unlivable, like removing the atmosphere, will not be severe enough to "kill all humans"

Reply #40 from Elemental Forums Top

Have you ever tried to kill all the humans on the world? Its a difficult thing to do, let me tell you.

No I haven't. Have you tried? :D

I can't think of a single decent story were humans were completely wiped out simply because there were "better humans" around.

Here's one: Once upon a time, there were neanderthals. Then came a better suited race of men, homo sapiens sapiens, and they completely wiped out the neanderthals.

Sorry if it's not a story, it's just reality.

Reply #41 from Elemental Forums Top

Also how long did the titans rule/fight over the world? Long enough for fallen to be created and numerous enough, but is it years, decades or centuries?

relax man...I'm sure the necessary details will knit themselves together according to the needs of the game. Writing layers of world detail, while fantastic for simulating depth, can sap your resources if not kept in check.

Here's one: Once upon a time, there were neanderthals. Then came a better suited race of men, homo sapiens sapiens, and they completely wiped out the neanderthals.

Imagine how badass the radioactive ones that will replace us will be.

Reply #42 from Elemental Forums Top

oh yes ... the neanderthal story. A very interesting one. Takes place over millions of years. NEXT!

Reply #43 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting LDiCesare, reply 40

homo sapiens sapiens,

I vote that we all band together and rally the scientific community to change the name of our Genus/Species to "Superious Humanus". It just sounds so much better then "Homo" anything and it doesn't make us all gay. :P

Reply #44 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting LDiCesare, reply 40

Here's one: Once upon a time, there were neanderthals. Then came a better suited race of men, homo sapiens sapiens, and they completely wiped out the neanderthals.

Sorry if it's not a story, it's just reality.

You're wrong, it was the Cro-Magnon  that eradicated the neanderthal.

Reply #45 from Elemental Forums Top

I would find it rather strange indeed if all the humans had been wiped out ... unless this is your way of saying you want to play with only fallen involved ... to give a sort of Disgaea effect perhaps?

Reply #46 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Tasunke, reply 45
I would find it rather strange indeed if all the humans had been wiped out ... unless this is your way of saying you want to play with only fallen involved ... to give a sort of Disgaea effect perhaps?

I don't want all humans to have been wiped. Don't try to guess what I want, you're probably going to wrong most of the time. I'll say what I want again:

I just say the backstory must answer that question.

So how are humans not extinct despite the presence of stronger beings backed by awesome titans. Why didn't the titans convert ALL humans into Fallen in the first place? There's probably a reason, even as simple as they didn't need all of them, but there must be one. How did humans survive? By hiding in the woods? Maybe, but then it will have shaped their cultures. There are several kingdoms, each with bonuses of its own, probably they evolved into what they are, with these bonuses, because they had to compete in order to survive. So maybe one people hid into forests, another into the desert, another one dismissed all kind of magic in order to be ignored by the titans, etc.

 

 

Reply #47 from Elemental Forums Top

whatever. On to a more pressing matter. If fallen are essentially going to be super-mutants, perhaps their mounts should be appropriately stronger as well. If each race is a different morphology (based on their element) then perhaps each of their mounts would be similar creature ... or rather horses that were affected by the Titan's might based upon their element. These could look every bit as monstrous and foul as the various fallen, which would be cool, like a flaming rock-rhino, for instance ... or a Poisonous Toad-snake. Or otherwise, if same mount, I would suggest an over-all demonic "Nightmare" ... or even just something like a Rhinocerous or a DireBear.

Having a giant horse with scaly skin, sharp, poisonous mane bristles, and glowing green or yellow eyes ... would be enough for me :)

Reply #48 from Elemental Forums Top

but the RPG we’re starting to work on

:(O  

Do.. does... that... m-m-m-mean I can start sending Stardock things about the RPG???? Not Walls of Texts but Great Walls of China? It's never too soon to try to manip... err... influence developers for the greater good of the RPG genre.:-"

Elemental: War of Magic; Elemental: Clash of the Titans; Elemental Societies; Elemental Machine; Elemental Tactics...

Ok, to the point: I want to preorder the RPG. Now. Please?:pout: