Backstory and Variable Vision Code

[GaioMacareg]

I was thinking about the post where we learned that it's easy to make objects appear different to different PCs. I was wondering if anyone had some ideas on how to use that code to spread out the backstory of the world without overwhelming people. Putting up clues and details about the world's deities and religions only visible to the clerics and other pious players. Elves see something different when looking at a city than the humans do, some of those details include references to the myths, and stories underlying the world. If you put that stuff everywhere for everyone, it would be too much (both for them to read, and work for the designer). But slipping a little in here, and a little in there, gives people an interesting shift in the experience of the world. A player wandering around as a priest will experience a lot of the world differently than an elven fighter. The very descriptions will read slightly different. There has to be more interesting ways to make use of this tool than just room description alterations. Anyone else have ideas? What would be the drawbacks of letting players input character descriptions that varied based on the atributes of the person viewing them?

Granted I'm making this look like overuse of the code (in terms of volume of work involved), but I'm still at the point of looking for possibilities before being practical and deciding what's doable and what isn't.

[SamW]

Originally posted by GaioMacareg:
There has to be more interesting ways to make use of this tool than just room description alterations. Anyone else have ideas? What would be the drawbacks of letting players input character descriptions that varied based on the atributes of the person viewing them?


Because so many things in a game can alter perception, there are a lot of applications of the POV. In Horizon Station for example, some of the more . . . unstable . . . inhabitants go through periods where they are unable to distinguish friend from foe. Everyone they see will appear hostile in some fashion.

Likewise, the use of a variety of recreational impulses will cause those under the influence to see everyone else as prettier and happier than they might actually be.

Expert mechanics will recognize a plasmatic recombinator for what it is, while everyone else will see "a big grody machine with lots of fiddly bits."

This, more than just about anything else, is one of the things that I really like about the Skotos system. I'm particularly intrigued by the ability to craft realities that are different for each participant, and am probably going to invest some serious time in a side project at some point to create a completely perception-based stage.

Sam

[KathyN]

Different viewpoints, different perceptions.. hmmm. You've implemented it already in the Castle right? How else to explain that last night Judith saw a servant look for something, Arikon saw a servant look disturbed and Charmian saw a servant look puzzled. (Same servant same timing NOT different servants or different time)! At least I am pretty sure that's what happened.
Keeping my eyes open for more,
Kathy N

[murf]

I'm not sure I'd tie it to race, but I'm not entirely sure what sort of game you're making. (If you have a more detailed description in these forums somewhere, please point me to it. I'd love to see what you're thinking about doing.) Assuming you plan on using skills, I'd tie little descriptions to those. For instance, if a character with a skill in ancient history found an amulet crafted in the style of the old Hymaniml Empire, you might tell him so. Learning exactly what the amulet is or does might require asking a sage or consulting a tome, but at least the player now knows which sage or tomes. (This allows you to avoid pages of lengthy exposition at inopportune times.) Of course, if you are wedded to the idea of racial and class knowledge, there's no reason why the players couldn't consult an elven elder or master swordsman to learn the more detailed points of your world's history.

Brian