Reading, Writing, and In-Game Literature

[Pantoufle]

mansa's post on using the text editor got my little gears ticking about using RW skills -- and by the bye, that .d command (which until now I never knew of) is absolutely fab!

I think the overall lack of in-game books for use by the literate is mainly because ... who is going to write an entire virtual book!  If I intend to write anything of that magnitute I'll use it for real life, not a game (no offense to the MUD, of course).  I guess it has to be assumed that any stories and documentaries will be condensed due to how long it would otherwise take an author to write OOCly.  And yet, I would love to see in-game libraries have actual coded books to explore (thereby giving the RW skills a purpose).

Has anyone ever played Baldur's Gate?  Ever encounter the books they have in game?  It's really not an entire book but rather a synopsis on what the book is about.  Some are rather long, though certainly not as long as a real novel.  Nevertheless, perhaps if some people used this method of writing "books" in-game, we'd see some libraries begin to stock up.  You know, something along the lines of...

>read tome
This book details the major trade routes between Tuluk and Allanak.  The first chapter discusses the North Road and its origin, which is rumored to have been erected in the 7th Age by the Belgoi Hordes, who at the time dominated a major portion of the Known World.  In the second chapter...

...and so on.

It would be especially interesting because with actual coded literature players can decide what knowledge they have and even what they don't have.  For example, if as a noble I know nothing of Red Storm beyond what I'm told through word-of-mouth, I can always investigate the family library and see what I can come up with.  It would also be interesting to know some libraries have different and more detailed information that others.  My library might give me rare info. on who the Sand Lord really is where yours might not, but then your library may reveal secrets on another House and mine may not.

The point is, using a writing style like the one mentioned above might make in-game books more popular.  Clearly few people want to write a "true" book from beginning to end.  I think the synopsis-style might work.

Just a thought.

[Hikertrash]

Interesting idea ... dunno how it meshes with the almost universal illiteracy among all but the highest of classes ... and the laws against learning to read/write. No novel is worth a trip to the arena ... rather listen to an oral story  :lol:

[Larrath]

I can see it working well.  Houses Sath and Fale would probably both like to direct some of their scribes into writing all sorts of stories, songs, jokes or whatever.  Sath maybe for a more scholarly reason (and more about history and biographies) and Fale for, well...joke books?

Not to mention that probably any House would like to have books about it, both to remind other nobles of the House's great deeds and splendor as well as just another way to praise the higher-up nobles.

It's a very nice idea, though I honestly can't see me writing a book anytime soon.  Sowwy.

[mansa]

If you want to write books, play one of the nobility, but...if you really want to write...

Hey.  I remember a post stating that someone wanted to fill the Library in Allanak with real books.  Why don't you write up something, and find that post, and send them in.

At least...I think I remember that post.

[flurry]

There's something in Current Projects about that.

http://www.zalanthas.org/ArmDocs/Community/current.html

[Twilight]

Written material used to slowly degrade over time, some sort of corruption or something.  So people could write stuff down, but some time later it would eventually be gone/gibberish due to this bug.  That is why there are no in-game libraries.

There was a note somewhere either here or in the update about this being fixed, what, like 3-5 months ago?

[Pantoufle]

Well, my point isn't to say let's all get together and write books, especially since, yes, most players are not literate.  I'm just saing rather than writing a book straight up from beginning to end (no thanks!) what about in a synopsis format.  It isn't actual written text since what is read is more like an OOC summary of the whole thing.  Anyway, it was just a suggestion for boosting in-game literature.  If someone actually does want to fill the Allanaki library I wish them luck if they're planning on writing each book as an actual book!  Using a synopsis/summary method it actually isn't quite as far fetched of a goal, really.

I would consider assisting in a book project the IMMs wanted help with if I could actually write a book in summary format rather than actually sit down and make a whole damn book from beginning to end.  You get what I'm saying?

Like I said, those books in Baldur's Gate are a perfect example of what I'm talking about.  Some of them are actually quite lengthy and go into detail about historical figures and events, it's just that you're not actually reading the book, per se.  You're reading the cliffnotes .  You pick up 'The History of the Drow' from a shelf and click on it, and it gives you the overall gist of what it says.

But anyway, I realize this doesn't affect most of the playerbase, whom are illiterate, but for what it's worth I thought I'd post anyway.

[Delirium]

I -love- that idea, and wish I'd thought of it when I was playing a literate character, and was trying to stock up one of the in-game libraries.

C'est la vie, perhaps I'll play a literate character again someday.

[sarahjc]

Funny you address that, I was thinking of something similar and was curious if there is some kind of back market for books. I think it would be awesome if a few of the characters that can read and write started to chronicle things, kept tombs and such. Something to leave behind for those that follow you. Maybe even start a few plots should one fall into the wrong hands.

[Akaramu]

... who is going to write an entire virtual book!

I actually wrote several virtual books on Achaea.

I'm pretty sure they still exist in my guild's library.

[grog]

And if sorcerers, free thinkers, and other horrible people started writing books, then we could have book burnings by the templars!!!

[Larrath]

*blinks slowly before he takes a breath of air*

IC INFO!!!!

*walks away briskly*

[Carnage]

I've had a book in game before. It was very well-done and thought out. I'm 99.9% sure that book is still in game, but will only ever be accessible to one certain PC, who has not been created nor exists yet.

[John]

IC INFO!!!!

I'm normally a IC-nazi, but I don't see anything in this thread not contained in the docs (and helpfiles).

I can't see entire novels being written. Paper and literacy is just too rare and important. Instead I can see documentaries, journals, papers being written. I can see SOME people writing fictitious things down, but I think these would mainly be documenting existing oral tales. It's possible some nobles might want to write an entire 100 page novel, but would it occur to them? I'm leaning towards no for most nobles, but with nobles there are plenty of exceptions and eccentrics

I personally love the idea of virtual books becoming coded

[Carnage]

I'm normally a IC-nazi, but I don't see anything in this thread not contained in the docs (and helpfiles).

That's because he's joking.

[Larrath]

Well, I never knew sorcerers could read and write.

[Sanvean]

They can't unless it's for some other reason. It's not an innate ability of the guild.

[Larrath]

Ah, thanks for clearing that up.

[Tlaloc]

I'm guy who's taking submissions for books. Though I'm familiar with the Baldurs Gate style of making books, its not really my ideal way of making them. I don't like it because it narrows down the vasts amounts of useless information that is often stuck in as 'filler', and cuts down on the feeling of the writing (in my opinion).

I'm a firm believer that a tome should be a tome. If a PC wants to research something, they should have to sift through the reading to get to it. However, I fully understand that it can take alot of writing to get to that point, and thats alot of hard work.

So with that in mind, here is what I'm looking for (in order of preference):

1) Flat out submissions for books. If you have something you want to write about, and know who its going to be written by, write it up and send it in. You don't actually have to be a noble to send something in - its basically like writing up an NPC. Take thought into writing it, and try to give the writer a personality that shows in how their style of writing.

2) Synopses or exerpts from longer works, which I can then build a longer book around. This can be an outline format, with quotes or paragraphs, and special notes as to what the 'feel' of the book should be.

3) Just simple ideas for subject matter. Be specific. Just telling me that I can write about "history" isn't any help, nor is telling me that I can write about "Tektolnes".

There you go.

[Angela Christine]

I used to keep an IC journal when I had a character that could read and write.  Of course I couldn't start until I got a pen, and no NPCs up north sold pens at the time, so I spent 3 RL months trying to get pens from a bunch of different PCs.  Arrgh!  Then I happily wrote away,  perserving my experiences for future generations.  Well, except that it was durring the time of the note bug, so things were detererating moment by moment (actually reboot by reboot).  Ah, sweet futility.


On to my question.  Is it still the case that all books are 20 pages, and that each page is no more than (I think) 1199 characters?  


AC

[mansa]

Some books have different ammount of pages.  Some have 10, some have 12.

For a page, it checks on the number of characters you write, not how many lines you do.

[EvilRoeSlade]

I have encountered synopsis-style books IG.

So I suppose they are used in situations where it's appropriate.

That's all.

[Bogre]

I have played a game where book-writing was very extensive. They had scribes to make them and all. Kingdoms and clans would write out their guidelines and stuff in them.

But the reason writing is limited in game is because the noble's don't want the commoners to know how.

It limits their thinking against the nobles.