By Chaz Hamilton
ID 22349
Take a picture of something.
What story does it tell?
Each of our heroes is a flat, motionless image until something happens to it. They can look great, but they don't come to life until you string a series of images together and a the story of their actions come into play. That is what storytelling is all about.
In Heroes Rising, there are options to growing your character beyond the Power Cards, the Gear, and the Skill Points that are gained over time. The best part of this is that if you take the time to write down these developments and post them in the Fiction Forum, you are rewarded for it.
And the world the game is played in is a growing, dynamic environment, led in many ways by one man.
#5: The Stories that are Shared (Part one)
First, I have to give thanks and recognition to Dan Peyton for his ongoing lore for the Heroes Rising Game world. He has created a super-heroic storyline that incorporates a bit of something for everyone. There are the typical tropes of all super-hero stories (An eyepatch-wearing bad-ass leader of a acronymed organization , a bit of comic relief, bigger than life challenges, etc...) but there are other elements that I think might be overlooked by some. He has also introduced several powerful characters to the story in the Mythics, for one. His twist of having the Vexillians come to the Earth as refugees and worm their way into the mythic beings of our own cultures is a well-balanced effort to create a easily identifiable cast for heroes to interact with.
By creating easily identifiable, well known characters into his story, he has made his characters accessible to the young and old readers. You can start the game at any point and understand who EB or Santa are in the grand scheme of theme, and the make sense. They are both powerful alien beings AND ingrained into the everyday world in meaningful ways. Plus, these Mythics do a great job of highlighting the holidays in which they become more popular, adding fun to the events that we engage in while playing during certain times of the year.
The stories he tells have recently been heralds of events to come in-game. Announcing a Raid, Hunt, League War or other event to players giving them time to prepare.
It takes a lot of time and effort to write multiple chapter stories for the game every couple of months, and to be honest, as it is background for many players, he doesn't get as much recognition as he could get. Try writing a 15,000-story in multiple chapters and share it with the world. I guarantee it isn't as easy as it seems.
Add to that, he takes time and effort to include player characters into his stories. I'm certain he would have no trouble filling the pages of Heroes Rising lore with solely his own creations, but he actively tries to bring other peoples creations into the history of the game world. His efforts to draw in characters, that other people have created and have an affinity for, is his way of recognizing players and their efforts in the game.
I've enjoyed his stories and the characters he brings to life. Gar has become a well-recognized figure in the game. Players felt sad when he 'died' at Jinn's hand and rejoiced when he was brought back to life. That is good storytelling, when you can evoke an emotional response from the reader.
Above all else, he works hard to keep his stories fun. He doesn't get bound down in trying to make a point or dictate what is right or wrong. He keeps it light-hearted and fun with a comedic bent. The tales are meant to be for every player, not only the hard-core die-hards or the casual.
Please, feel free to read some of his lore if you haven't yet and if you have, make a comment or leave a remark. Having dabbled in writing myself, I understand how silence seems to indicate that something isn't liked. It is hard to put yourself onto paper and share it with others only to hear crickets. Again, this is only my opinion, but I feel I've tried to put on the writer's apron enough to empathize with some of its pitfalls.
Feel free to comment and share your thoughts, if you would like. Are there aspects of Heroes Rising that I haven't touched on yet that you would like to see recognized? I'd love to hear and share them.
See you for part 2 tomorrow.
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