This was inspired by a thread made by Spartanwolf223. I was originally going to respond to that thread but after thinking on it my idea became large enough and different enough to warrant a separate thread.
So I know lots of people actively dislike the idea of Minecraft getting lore or a backstory. I'm one of them, I prefer the history of Minecraft to be vague so I can craft my own story. But I also see why some people would like there to be lore because they want a deeper history of the world. So I came up with something that technically gives the game lore, but those who dislike the idea of a backstory can breathe easily because the lore is randomized and meaningless.
I'm sure many people are familiar with Mad Libs but for those who aren't I'll explain. Mad Libs is a game where the skeleton of a story is in place, but you make the story your own by choosing words for it based on the criteria given. Here is an example:
went to the store to buy some <object, plural="">. But on the way he a . This caused the to come and take him to </object,>
By filling in the blanks you can make a mundane story:
John went to the store to buy some shoes. But on the way he ran into a wall. This caused the paramedics to come to take him to the hospital.
Or a silly story:
Bob went to the store to buy some space ships. But on the way he jumped into a tornado. This caused the aliens to come to take him to the Great Space Hamster's Sky-Cage.
The same idea applies, but on a wide scale. There would be lists within the game files of different groups of words. Some would be simple in game items like blocks, structures, and mobs. Others would be a bit more out there like names, feelings, titles, or sayings. Then the game would generate lore based on those lists, chosen randomly based on the type of list needed. Some would be little stories that don't need to remain the same within the same world and others might be consistent across multiple items to feed into a backstory for that world without it being set in stone for the entire game. The items would be chosen based on seed so two players on the same seed will see the same lore but changing to a new seed modifies the RNG for the lore.
Some examples are below:
Iron Sword (can be found in loot chest, from an enemy mob, or through a trade)
With Placeholder Lists
With Randomized Text
Book with Story
With Placeholder Lists
With Randomized Text
That is the basic gist of the idea. This could be tied into Resource packs so people could make their own lore packs or they can remove portions they dislike, even removing it entirely (if a lore item doesn't have the appropriate lists to choose from it generates without lore). It would be a lightweight system that can be useful for map makers and it is infinitely scaleable. And because it is random each world, none of it is actually true so it doesn't spoil Minecraft's distinct lack of lore.
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Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
Reported for reposting the same suggestion as another within 30 days. You ought to know better, mod.
This actual seems kind of cool, and fits in pretty well for Minecraft. I thought Mojang was going to do something like this for weapons when they added the loot table system, but they never got around to it.
My only concern I have is that there wouldn't be enough variety, but perhaps that could be solved by enlisting the community to write stories like these.
This sword could break obsidian clean in half in its heyday.
This was pulled from a moss stone boulder.
A tool that $@?#%+£ once used on... expeditions.
"Sharpen a stick real well 'n it'll do ya more good."
"Oh, THAT button means throw!"
"I'll just store this away while I investigate those strange, dim tunnels I've seen lately..."
Really great way to satisfy everyone. Support!
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Console Battle is two games rolled into one: gambling (whether or not you get one of the OP weapons) and betting (which teammate won't turn on you, since teaming is pretty much a requirement to kill off another team)! Of course, it's not all chance; at its core, Battle is about triumphing and defeating other players... by kicking them out if they win to make yourself feel better.
Sounds like a great idea! Goes great with the falling sand spawning on ceilings and floating islands. I can just imagine finding a book that tells a story about an asthmatic creeper. XD That'd be funny...
I enjoy randomly generated semantic content but this one has two quite serious issues:
Sooner or later the player will memorize the basic mechanics and no longer be surprised by its result; also, you can't really put together meaningful and interesting text with this method. Things like Cards Against Humanity work better because instead of <object>, <adjective> and so on it picks whole phrases.
It's basically impossible to localize because of different grammar conventions. With English it's easier because it's more of a modular and straightforward language compared to others, such as Italian or Japanese and their complicated rules; for example, in Italian you can't just say <verb>+<object> because the verb form changes depending on the subject and the object often needs an article that changes form depending on the number and gender of the subject.
The idea is clever, but I feel like it could get very weird (which could be funny) and could seem strange. The other thing is that I like to think that all players start from the same "world" (though the terrain is different) and they build it up from there. Then again, having this would be really interesting and funny. But ultimately I'm going to not support this, because I'm not too sure this would be worth it.
It seems kind of awkward to judge a moderator's post, though...:P
This is a legitimately clever way to implement some kind of lore
Lore? No, not really. Lore is meaningful, canonical even, and often reveals the direction the developers are meaning to go when extending the game. Mojang just doesn't do this with Minecraft, however, or at least doesn't feel a need to share with us until snapshots start dropping. This keeps the developers free to add literally anything they wish, even if it's been ruled against in the past.
It's a great idea for fleshing out the artistic side of Minecraft, though. There's hardly anything in the world from an artistic standpoint (stories, statues, paintings, etc), which is fairly strange all on its own given that clearly Steve/Alex is not alone in the world (villagers, illagers, monsters, etc).
Personally, i'm not a fan. For starters, this isn't really lore. Last I checked, lore was basically back story for a game world, however, this is just a wishlist of blurb. Not to be rude or anything, but how is a sheep living in a stronghold lore? Second thing, for actual lore it seems like it could end up being contradictory or even straight up hypocritical. For example, I could be out exploring and find a dungeon, and in one chest I may find a book that says "in the beginning, there was only void" but then in the next chest there could be one that says "in the beginning, there was only stone". Which is definitely a bit of an issue. Then as wedhro established, translation would be near impossible with this system.
Personally, if Minecraft did get lore, I feel the best option would be to take a page out of Studio Wildcard's book for lore. Make it so that you find fragments of lore scattered around the world for you to piece together yourself. And let doesn't have to be limited to books, structures like the jungle temple could serve this purpose. Imagine things like a fountain that gives regenerating while bathing in it's waters. Or an obsidian fortress inhabited by hordes of the undead with a complex laser puzzle. These kinds of things make you ask questions, who built these? Why where they built? Questions that make you more immersed in the world.
Do like the blurb on weapons though, possibly even give them traits such as bonus HP or speed some of the time
PARTIAL SUPPORT
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Anyone know how to change my user name?
"And just when you thought you where the sexiest one here, i show up" -Fernando
I'm on the fence. It would add lore which would be nice and all, but the examples given were too light-hearted, even for a game like Minecraft. I personally think sticking to lore along the lines of the sword would be best.
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Watch out for the crabocalypse. Some say the day will never come. But it will.
Feel free to drop by for a chat whenever.
If you'd like to talk with me about other games, here are a few I play.
Team Fortress 2
Borderlands series (Borderlands 2 is my favorite game, ever. TPS combat is a lot of fun and makes up for the lower-quality story, in my opinion)
Elder Scrolls series
Warframe (IGN is something like That_One_Flesh_Atronach)
Pokémon series (HGSS forever)
Rocket League
Fallout series
Left 4 Dead 2 (Boomer files always corrupt though)
SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I've played in years!)
Dead Rising series (Dead Rising 2 is one of my favorite games, and the 3rd was a lot of fun. 1st has poor survivor AI and the 4th is bad)
Just Cause series
Come to think of it, I mainly play fighting-based games.
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I think this idea would add a bit of humor to the game while also not really giving a backstory about the player and how they got here. I support this unique idea.
I'm on the fence for one reason. Languages. Stuff like Japanese, Chinese, etc, has some pretty complicated rules when it comes to verbs and objects, hich would be tedious for a mad libs format.
I guess I support, but I'd hate to be the guy making it for complex languages.
I'm on the fence for one reason. Languages. Stuff like Japanese, Chinese, etc, has some pretty complicated rules when it comes to verbs and objects, hich would be tedious for a mad libs format.
I guess I support, but I'd hate to be the guy making it for complex languages.
I think what language it would be written in would be determined by what language you have selected in the languages section of the main menu. I think that would make things a bit easier in a way, but I don't really know much about coding to begin with.
This was inspired by a thread made by Spartanwolf223. I was originally going to respond to that thread but after thinking on it my idea became large enough and different enough to warrant a separate thread.
So I know lots of people actively dislike the idea of Minecraft getting lore or a backstory. I'm one of them, I prefer the history of Minecraft to be vague so I can craft my own story. But I also see why some people would like there to be lore because they want a deeper history of the world. So I came up with something that technically gives the game lore, but those who dislike the idea of a backstory can breathe easily because the lore is randomized and meaningless.
I'm sure many people are familiar with Mad Libs but for those who aren't I'll explain. Mad Libs is a game where the skeleton of a story is in place, but you make the story your own by choosing words for it based on the criteria given. Here is an example:
went to the store to buy some <object, plural="">. But on the way he a . This caused the to come and take him to </object,>
By filling in the blanks you can make a mundane story:
John went to the store to buy some shoes. But on the way he ran into a wall. This caused the paramedics to come to take him to the hospital.
Or a silly story:
Bob went to the store to buy some space ships. But on the way he jumped into a tornado. This caused the aliens to come to take him to the Great Space Hamster's Sky-Cage.
The same idea applies, but on a wide scale. There would be lists within the game files of different groups of words. Some would be simple in game items like blocks, structures, and mobs. Others would be a bit more out there like names, feelings, titles, or sayings. Then the game would generate lore based on those lists, chosen randomly based on the type of list needed. Some would be little stories that don't need to remain the same within the same world and others might be consistent across multiple items to feed into a backstory for that world without it being set in stone for the entire game. The items would be chosen based on seed so two players on the same seed will see the same lore but changing to a new seed modifies the RNG for the lore.
Some examples are below:
Iron Sword (can be found in loot chest, from an enemy mob, or through a trade)
With Placeholder Lists
With Randomized Text
Book with Story
With Placeholder Lists
With Randomized Text
That is the basic gist of the idea. This could be tied into Resource packs so people could make their own lore packs or they can remove portions they dislike, even removing it entirely (if a lore item doesn't have the appropriate lists to choose from it generates without lore). It would be a lightweight system that can be useful for map makers and it is infinitely scaleable. And because it is random each world, none of it is actually true so it doesn't spoil Minecraft's distinct lack of lore.
Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/suggestions/2775557-guidelines-for-the-suggestions-forum
Reported for reposting the same suggestion as another within 30 days. You ought to know better, mod.This actual seems kind of cool, and fits in pretty well for Minecraft. I thought Mojang was going to do something like this for weapons when they added the loot table system, but they never got around to it.
My only concern I have is that there wouldn't be enough variety, but perhaps that could be solved by enlisting the community to write stories like these.
Regardless, I Support.
Want to see my suggestions? Here they are!
I am also known as GameWyrm or GameWyrm97. You can also find me at snapshotmc.com
Here are some more for the sword:
This sword could break obsidian clean in half in its heyday.
This was pulled from a moss stone boulder.
A tool that $@?#%+£ once used on... expeditions.
"Sharpen a stick real well 'n it'll do ya more good."
"Oh, THAT button means throw!"
"I'll just store this away while I investigate those strange, dim tunnels I've seen lately..."
Really great way to satisfy everyone. Support!
Console Battle is two games rolled into one: gambling (whether or not you get one of the OP weapons) and betting (which teammate won't turn on you, since teaming is pretty much a requirement to kill off another team)! Of course, it's not all chance; at its core, Battle is about triumphing and defeating other players... by kicking them out if they win to make yourself feel better.
Some
not sucky suggestion threads I made: Console Minigame: Ram Attack! - New Arrows!(quality)I really like this idea! I usually don't like lore in Minecraft, but this doesn't seem too forced and has the potential for some funny scenarios!
Maybe the random lord generator could be expanded to include villages. A sign near the well or church could say:
[Village Name]
Est.[Random 3/4 digit number]
Example:
Oakville
est. 1203
Support
Sounds like a great idea! Goes great with the falling sand spawning on ceilings and floating islands. I can just imagine finding a book that tells a story about an asthmatic creeper. XD That'd be funny...
#FOXESFORMINECRAFT Foxes for Minecraft forum.
I enjoy randomly generated semantic content but this one has two quite serious issues:
I agree with Mastermined.
The idea is clever, but I feel like it could get very weird (which could be funny) and could seem strange. The other thing is that I like to think that all players start from the same "world" (though the terrain is different) and they build it up from there. Then again, having this would be really interesting and funny. But ultimately I'm going to not support this, because I'm not too sure this would be worth it.
It seems kind of awkward to judge a moderator's post, though...:P
Check out my suggestions! Here is one of them:
The possibilities for text seem very funny! I'd like it if there was more variation, like different "storylines" in the books, though.
Mostly support
I'm a Whovian squid who likes drawing.
I'm also quite nerdy with an interest in game developing and the concept of a fourth spatial dimension.
All hail chickens.
Lore? No, not really. Lore is meaningful, canonical even, and often reveals the direction the developers are meaning to go when extending the game. Mojang just doesn't do this with Minecraft, however, or at least doesn't feel a need to share with us until snapshots start dropping. This keeps the developers free to add literally anything they wish, even if it's been ruled against in the past.
It's a great idea for fleshing out the artistic side of Minecraft, though. There's hardly anything in the world from an artistic standpoint (stories, statues, paintings, etc), which is fairly strange all on its own given that clearly Steve/Alex is not alone in the world (villagers, illagers, monsters, etc).
Personally, i'm not a fan. For starters, this isn't really lore. Last I checked, lore was basically back story for a game world, however, this is just a wishlist of blurb. Not to be rude or anything, but how is a sheep living in a stronghold lore? Second thing, for actual lore it seems like it could end up being contradictory or even straight up hypocritical. For example, I could be out exploring and find a dungeon, and in one chest I may find a book that says "in the beginning, there was only void" but then in the next chest there could be one that says "in the beginning, there was only stone". Which is definitely a bit of an issue. Then as wedhro established, translation would be near impossible with this system.
Personally, if Minecraft did get lore, I feel the best option would be to take a page out of Studio Wildcard's book for lore. Make it so that you find fragments of lore scattered around the world for you to piece together yourself. And let doesn't have to be limited to books, structures like the jungle temple could serve this purpose. Imagine things like a fountain that gives regenerating while bathing in it's waters. Or an obsidian fortress inhabited by hordes of the undead with a complex laser puzzle. These kinds of things make you ask questions, who built these? Why where they built? Questions that make you more immersed in the world.
Do like the blurb on weapons though, possibly even give them traits such as bonus HP or speed some of the time
PARTIAL SUPPORT
Anyone know how to change my user name?
"And just when you thought you where the sexiest one here, i show up" -Fernando
check out my suggestion for Yggdrasil, the great world tree
FOR THE HOLY LOVE OF ARCEUS AND HELIX COMBINED PALADINS IS NOT AN OVERWATCH CLONE. tf2's the true king anyways
-Let's make some noise
I'm on the fence. It would add lore which would be nice and all, but the examples given were too light-hearted, even for a game like Minecraft. I personally think sticking to lore along the lines of the sword would be best.
Watch out for the crabocalypse. Some say the day will never come. But it will.
Feel free to drop by for a chat whenever.
If you'd like to talk with me about other games, here are a few I play.
Team Fortress 2
Borderlands series (Borderlands 2 is my favorite game, ever. TPS combat is a lot of fun and makes up for the lower-quality story, in my opinion)
Elder Scrolls series
Warframe (IGN is something like That_One_Flesh_Atronach)
Pokémon series (HGSS forever)
Rocket League
Fallout series
Left 4 Dead 2 (Boomer files always corrupt though)
SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I've played in years!)
Dead Rising series (Dead Rising 2 is one of my favorite games, and the 3rd was a lot of fun. 1st has poor survivor AI and the 4th is bad)
Just Cause series
Come to think of it, I mainly play fighting-based games.
I think this idea would add a bit of humor to the game while also not really giving a backstory about the player and how they got here. I support this unique idea.
I'm on the fence for one reason. Languages. Stuff like Japanese, Chinese, etc, has some pretty complicated rules when it comes to verbs and objects, hich would be tedious for a mad libs format.
I guess I support, but I'd hate to be the guy making it for complex languages.
I think what language it would be written in would be determined by what language you have selected in the languages section of the main menu. I think that would make things a bit easier in a way, but I don't really know much about coding to begin with.