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Hexie Kazumi
Jul Member 2012

Hexie Kazumi

Posts: 3,023 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
~*~Introduction~*~
For some time now, I have been more than slightly concerned about the high stakes, grandiose lore lately. Now, as an avid lore hound, I truly love these amazing tales of Dragonkin, Gods, and MahJarrat. But I feel like that so much content is being forgotten in the pursuit of "momentum." A while back, Mod Osborne mentioned the idea of Story Momentum- once a ball is rolling, finish it while the hype is strong, and the lore is fresh. but the thing is, a complete switch was made to this, leaving some stories completely in the dust.

I appreciate and understand the notion of striking whilst the iron is hot, so to speak. But when we're talking high-tier, high-stakes, world shaking lore that goes over half a dozen quests, if you focus only on those grand arcs, a lot is forgotten, ignored, or underappreciated.

The 5th Age ended 3 years ago in our time. And since the end of the 5th Age, only two series of old were finished, now three with Myreque. But here's the thing, some 5th Age stories haven't gotten anything for half a decade. Namely the Desert quests, gnomes, and the others mentioned in the pole recently. These stories have long been left by the wayside. And compared to the stories of today, how do they hold up? They're all several steps behind current stories in terms of scale. And then the fact that the fate of these quests is being solely determined by the population is cruddy, at best.

Reason being- who is going to vote for the desert, when the desert has seen no attention for many years? Lore hounds, maybe, and that's it. Then some lorehounds like other stories more. So the lorehound vote gets split between several old storylines, or stories that were promised but not delivered.

I am making this thread to propose that Jagex spend next year finishing off some old stories, before they get buried and forgotten to all but lorehounds, in the 6th age.

01-Jun-2016 07:53:28 - Last edited on 01-Jun-2016 08:00:11 by Hexie Kazumi

Hexie Kazumi
Jul Member 2012

Hexie Kazumi

Posts: 3,023 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
***On Timeline~*~
The reason for my concern is due to the fact that we live in a world of God Wars, "endgames," and Elder Gods. I, and many others love these stories, but want to see old ones finally finished- and to not be at the mercy of others who aren't even aware of some of the stories that are unresolved. The living memory of the player base only goes so far back, and the stories that sorely need to be caught up to the 6th age are the stories most likely to be ignored and forgotten.

The issue of timeline is the first reason we need to slow down. There is so much potential for the 5th Age lines to contribute to the story today. But what does that matter, if we're already 10 years and a God Wars ahead of the events of these quests? By the time these quests are all completed, they will be buried so far in the past, that it's irrelevant. Ignoring these storylines for any longer is akin to turning them all into different variations of "Making History." Past. History. Irrelevant, just nuggets.

What does the conclusion of the desert mean if the consequences will have already occurred? And so on.

01-Jun-2016 07:53:42 - Last edited on 01-Jun-2016 07:59:43 by Hexie Kazumi

Hexie Kazumi
Jul Member 2012

Hexie Kazumi

Posts: 3,023 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
***On Scale~*~
The second issue is one of scale. The stakes of the 5th Age quests mean nothing compared to God Wars and Elder Gods. We are becoming so jaded with world-shaking quests, there is a real risk of being disappointed with anything short of the Apocalypse. We need to take a breather, step back, and dial it down. We need more personal stories, and more personal stakes. We need small regional conflicts, and political struggles. And we need to handle these things so that they don't become utterly dwarfed by giants.

How can a small story hold any light to the end of the world? Being impressed and stunned when we've seen what we have, is harder with every new Endgame-tier quest.

In addition to the impact on small stories, if we have too many large stories in a row, there is also the fact of increasing scale. Just how large can the conflicts get before we become detached from the world of Gielinor? What happens after the God Wars? The Elder Gods, one might say, but what happens after that? The Elderer Elder Gods, as one Mod joked? (quote forgotten). If we keep going bigger and bigger, we become desensitized to scale, and detached from more down-to-earth stories.

This is like a bad shoune* anime, which after blowing up the Universe, couldn't go any further, so they blow up another Universe. Maybe we can go to other continents, and then other planes. But how far out can we go? We need to slow down, so that the story progresses onward in a way that preserves awe and keeps us invested.

01-Jun-2016 07:53:47 - Last edited on 01-Jun-2016 08:06:30 by Hexie Kazumi

Hexie Kazumi
Jul Member 2012

Hexie Kazumi

Posts: 3,023 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
*** On Player Memory~*~
RuneScape gains and loses players all the time, and many stories that lore hounds know, love, and want to see end, are completely forgotten to many, and unknown to many. I respect that JaGex wants to give players what they want, but good stories, long left alone and uncontinued, won't be voted on by players. Nobody will vote the desert if the last desert quest was years ago. New players might not even know of the existence of older stories. We need a break from "momentum" to set balls rolling that should have finished rolling long ago.

Indeed, it is actually healthy to stagger the hype. rather than 5 Elder God quests in a row, do two, then turn to another story, finish it, and do the other two, and such. This occurred to some extent with the Myreque finale, being healthily split, with Sliske's quests in the middle. I think more of this would be prudent, but with a lot more emphasis on finishing old stories. The 5th Age should probably be finished sooner rather than later. And Jagex needs to take that initiative.

Due to player memory, and the fact many don't even know about some old stories, it is somewhat up to JaGex to give us some old stories. The players don't always know what's best. They won't vote to finish stories that deserve finishing, because the last quest in a story was buried under years of 6th Age content.

01-Jun-2016 07:53:51 - Last edited on 01-Jun-2016 08:14:09 by Hexie Kazumi

Hexie Kazumi
Jul Member 2012

Hexie Kazumi

Posts: 3,023 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
*** On the Tone and Feel of the Game~*~

Talk of the Gower quest also points out another problem with the tone, pacing, and feel of quests these days. As much as I love big stories of Gods and Monsters, I do miss classical RuneScape charm. There should be breaks among all of the big stories to have a breather, tell a few jokes, and just enjoy some classic RuneScape questing. These high-stakes, epic quests feel the same as other games, even if the story is unique. We could use some classic RuneScape charm amidst all of the world-shaking quests.

01-Jun-2016 07:53:56 - Last edited on 04-Jun-2016 01:14:01 by Hexie Kazumi

Zulkir

Zulkir

Posts: 7,343 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I think what they've done this year is perfectly fine, and I hope it's continued through the years.

One big year focused narrative while filling in bits and pieces in between.

Most of the older stories have only one or two quests left, why should the 6th age not take priority while having the odd couple of Master/GM in the year to resolve 5th age ones?

The way I see it, we're not getting any younger. If each year focuses on wrapping up one pillar of the 6th age while having the odd 5th age finale quest inbetween, everything can be resolved before we have to find you a nursing home.
Zarosian Lorehound

Master Questcape Owner

Inconsistent Completionist

01-Jun-2016 14:57:35

Hexie Kazumi
Jul Member 2012

Hexie Kazumi

Posts: 3,023 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
But, what do 5th Age storylines matter once we have Elder Gods walking about? Once they're so far in the past, the mean nothing to the modern game?

And some old storylines have 3-4, left, and there's a lot of them. Way I see it, there's what, maybe a dozen quests before we reach some kind of Elder God Wars? Tops? And how many old storylines are left- way more than that. The reason I want focus to be shifted for just a bit, having maybe one or two BIG 6th age quests a year until we finish what was started before. is because 5th age lines are disturbingly far behind, not having been updated in nearly half a decade for some of them.

01-Jun-2016 16:15:13 - Last edited on 01-Jun-2016 16:16:00 by Hexie Kazumi

Ancient Drew

Ancient Drew

Posts: 5,732 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Some bits were indeed rushed, such as Salt in the Wound. It should have waited until more information on Xau-Tak would be released. But there's still a chance it can be fitted into the whole affair, along with the pirate quest series.

My theory is that both Kennith and Rabid Jack have slugs inside them that are the key to bringing Xau-Tak to the frame. Xau-Tak might have evaded the Edicts of Guthix by reducing itself in a spore-like form (the slugs), and that the main parts are Mallum and the slug prince. But it would have a backup plan in place. Kennith has one of these slugs which can be considered a new prince or princess. This would explain rapid growth and magical powers (according to the story it's still 169 of the Fifth Age yet he's grown up), and the disturbing turn he had when he tried to kill Kimberly and crush the village, along with the chilling message "The Queen is coming for you*****;Player Name>."

Then we have Rabid Jack. Stagnant water (possibly a theme for Xau-Tak) and sluglings are used to make what is known as Braindeath 'rum'. The 'rum' apparently has some mind-controlling effects, which may come from the slugs. And since the zombie pirates are partial to this substance, it can be assumed that the other slug prince/princess is inside Jack and is controlling them through the 'rum'. This slug could also have saved Jack when he 'drowned himself' by jumping off ship with the chest.

Then there's my prediction for a finale to this scenario. The zombie pirates led by Rabid Jack himself at the fore, invade Witchaven. Kennith is chosen alongside the player to infiltrate the ship and sabotage their operations. However, the slug within Kennith stirs inside him when they meet Jack. The slugs, Kennith's, Jack's and all that survived, all jump out into the ocean to swim to the weakened Xau-Tak in the Underwater City, ready for it to return. The City rises, tendrils pour out and the air is ripe with the sounds of horrified whimpers. Prepare for hell on RuneScape in Naval Cataclysm!

Pokemon battle? Friend Code: 4614-0426-2439

01-Jun-2016 16:25:39

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