The prospect of being able to one day in the short future see the Sixth World brought to life through my computer monitor in MMO fashion is one that began with me in 1997 when I first stepped foot in a little game called Ultima Online. I was firmly entrenched in SR 2nd edition and had played the 1993 SNES and 1994 Genesis editions of the console games. When I first looked around in Ultima on that fateful island of Moonglow I thought to myself that the only way this could possibly be cooler is if this was Shadowrun Online.
You can probably imagine the rollercoaster moment when in pulling up an MMO news site in the early 2000s and seeing the new break of an in development MMO and seeing the letter S-H-A-D-O-W in the title. That rollercoaster began a steep, violent descent with the next letters of B-A-N-E followed. The gaming gods had pulled a cruel one on me that day.
Fast forward 9 or so years later and I wake up to yet another headline beginning with those powerful letters. �Oh no, not again I thought. You tricked me once. Not a second time,� I thought. Braced to read on to see that Shadowbane was making a comeback under a new company with new financial backing, I was greatly surprised (shocked actually) to see that it was indeed Shadowrun Online this time.
�Sneaky, tricksy Game Gods!�
Now having had a night to sleep on the news my mind has spent the majority of the day wondering what the world will look like. How will the setting be represented artistically? Here�s what I hope.
I would like to see a grim, dark at night and muted during the day world. When we are in the low income areas of the world I want there to be trash on the streets and puddles of water that you wouldn�t want to step near much less step in. I�d like to see npcs representing all facets of life in the slums: BTL dealers, gangers from a variety of gangs, wag slaves on their way to and from work and all manner of folks just trying to survive anyway (and by anyway I mean past PG-13 and stopping short of NC-17) they can.
Shadowrunners know that today could be their last. I�d like to think that in the majority of cases that point of thought is not self-inflicted. It is, instead, a condition of the world in which they find themselves living. The case being as such, the world should carry that hostile visage and gleefully dole out doses of despair and heartache. It should be a constant reminder to Runners of why they are out there doing these jobs: to add just a little more light, a little more comfort, more understanding of their existence.
And a ton of creds wouldn�t hurt either.
A couple of other ways I think that could be used to set and maintain this kind of tone is to make use of in game news outlets. Have a �daily news feed� sent to the players outlining the violence that goes on in the city. Heck, some of those could even be used as mission starters for players. Also incorporate random events (as random as possible in subject matter, but more random in the place and time of occurrence) where players my experience two gangs fighting out in the street, or witness a robbery of a store. These could also be ways in which, if the players intervene on one side or another, they get an option to develop a new contact as well.
Now, this is not to say I don�t want the use of vibrant colors. If one thing this Seattle is known for are its neon signs at night. That said, when things are supposed to represent something dark, be it an aesthetic or an emotive, then have it truly be so.
Those are some of my initial thoughts on the world I want to inhabit. I�m curious to see what others have in mind.
