Hey, everybody!
After the “Inside Look” post from last week, we figured we’d continue this series with a peek into the TLOPO Storyline Team. I suppose I should introduce myself. I’m Dent, the Lead Storyline Developer at TLOPO. My job is to oversee all of our day-to-day storyline operations and give a helping hand wherever it’s needed!
So what is the Storyline Team exactly? Well, in a nutshell, we’re Pirates Online nerds. We know everything there is to know about the game and its story… and we love writing about it! A few other staff members have even dubbed us “walking encyclopedias”.
In regards to what we do for TLOPO, I’ll detail that below...
News Posts
Writing news posts is pretty self-explanatory, so I’ll try to shy away from talking about the actual process of writing one in favor of a broader scope. I know you mostly wanna read about the new original content we’re working on anyway. And I will have (some) details on that below!
I’m really proud of the news posts we’ve been able to whip up so far. I think that the team has really been able to capture the distinct “voice” that Pirates Online had throughout its original run. For us, it’s always been important to carry the torch and make sure what we write feels like home, a return to the way things used to be.
We’ve gotten quite a few questions about a certain Savvy Swashbucklers contest that was announced back in February. And don’t worry! We haven’t forgotten about it. This has been a busy year for TLOPO, and it got pushed to the wayside a little bit. It is our goal to have the results out before the end of the year! Ideally, it’d be sooner, but we have some more big things coming up soon.
Also, as we announced previously, Beta Key holders will be receiving a special reward when Open Beta launches. Now, don’t get excited, this isn’t the place for an announcement about what that will be, but I will say this… There may be a Beta Key or two hidden in one of our news posts. We left it there really subtly, and nobody has found it yet! Hopefully this is enough of a hint.
Since TLOPO launched, we have published 110 articles, but that’s not all! In addition to official news posts, we’ve written 190 documents, comprised of a grand total of 412 pages and 101,329 words! And we can’t wait to do even more! Our Tavern Tales series has been a real favorite of ours. It has allowed us to explore characters in a rich intimate setting, and we’re really happy with the community response to those stories. We’ll definitely be doing more of those soon, alongside the usual posts!
A Starting Point
Before we began planning out TLOPO’s new stories, one thing became clear to us. Our work had to be true to the game. We all really love Pirates Online, and we want to do right by the community with stories that are engaging, fun, and have the game’s spirit. Now, that’s not to say we won’t be changing things. We know how tedious and boring The Black Pearl Story Quest is, and we want to change that going forward. That is why all future quests will be written in the Raven’s Cove dialogue system.
In case you aren’t familiar with this system, the Raven’s Cove Story Quest was handled very differently from other questlines in the game. It allowed players to choose different dialogue options when talking to NPCs, allowing them to fully immerse themselves into the pirate experience and play their own way. In addition, it offered more dynamic and engaging tasks to complete. Our goal is to emulate this style and even improve upon it.
And while we’re on the topic of Raven’s Cove, I suppose you’ll want some info on the quest itself. Well, I can’t offer too much at this time, other than this. The Raven’s Cove Story Quest will STILL unlock at level 30. You will not have to complete The Black Pearl Quest. I repeat, you will NOT have to complete The Black Pearl Quest! We heard your feedback loud and clear on this. No more headache. You can get those Cursed Blades without having to grind through a tedious questline. Although I still recommend you finish The Black Pearl storyline for other reasons… more on that at a later date.
New Storylines
Now comes the fun part. The new quests and storylines! Now, a lot of this stuff is in early development, so I’m going to try my best to tell you stuff without actually telling you stuff, savvy? Don’t worry! Juicy details will come out in due time.
When it came to plotting out where TLOPO’s story will go, we had a lot of possible starting points. Disney left a lot of different loose ends from different stages in the game’s development. It took awhile, but I’m confident that the story we have crafted will finish the incomplete Pirates Online “tapestry” in a way that makes sense, while still allowing us to blaze a new trail with our own stories.
Take Isla Escondida for example. The idea of the island is wholly original. There were no unfinished plans for a bounty hunter headquarters. However, we’re still setting it within the continuity of the game. The story quest for Isla Escondida will pick up where Raven’s Cove left off and will have plot threads tying back to previous adventures while still stepping forward into the future.
Before we move on, there’s one thing I would like to stress. Isla Escondida is in very early development. The previews you’ve seen on our Developer Streams have shown you the amazing work our talented Content Development Team has been doing designing the island, but there is still so much more left to be done. Buildings, caves, and NPCs all need to be added to make the island complete. In addition, we need to write the quest! It’s outlined in detail right now, but our focus has been on something else as of late, which brings me to…
New content. Coming this year. Seriously. The Content Dev and Storyline teams have been working really hard on an entirely separate piece of original content since the start of this year. Now, I can’t say too much, but you will be hearing details about this very soon. It isn’t a big island or an epic new chapter in the game’s storyline, but it is still very much worth getting excited over. It’s a big step forward. I will leave you with this little tidbit. That impromptu ghost GM event we had was not hinting at Raven’s Cove, it was hinting at this.
The Future
Well, there you have it! Your inside look at the TLOPO Storyline Team. As Open Beta nears, and the remaining features are added back to the game, we’re getting closer and closer to a new phase focused exclusively on original content. Be sure to post any ideas you have on the forums! We want you to shape the future of the Caribbean too! We’re so excited to embark on this adventure, and we hope you’ll join us!
Fair winds,
Dent @ The Legend of Pirates Online