Different Start Locations

[Osvir]

My last playthrough of Baldur's Gate (pretty recently) I kind of flirted with the thought of "What if I would start somewhere else, and proceed with the same quest from there. What if I was an adventurer in Nashkel, and tackling the mines instantly. Or what if I were an evil character, being a part of the early stages of the Mines corruption?". What if I wasn't Gorions ward at all, but my objective is still the same as the ward's, I just start my journey at a completely different point on the world map?

 

I think this would be very interesting, it doesn't necessarily have to be different stories. The difficulty would be to tie these tales together, and still attain a certain "uniqueness" throughout the entire game.

 

Will quest succession play a big part in P:E? If I do quest A before quest B, will it be different if I do quest B before quest A? This is all about quest synergy too, and connection points between quests. How much will me choosing Quest A, effect Quest B (even if they aren't connected).. bringing up the "Time" idea again (time flows, so you might miss an opportunity in Quest B if you do Quest A first and vice versa... e.g., a character/hero/villain might be in Quest B if you do it first, but won't be there if you do Quest A first then B).

 

Will requirements on Quests change depending on how I play the game and when I do quests?

 

Pro

* Lots of replayability

 

Con

* Resource management and time

 

So, an idea not really a suggestion. How can it be most effective in a "quality > quantity"-way?

[Dianjabla]

If you hadn't been Gorion's ward, so very very much of the story would have to change - up to & including lots of Throne of Bhaal - that it would practically involve creating a different game.

 

If you mean different origins that all lead you to witness the same event that is the premise of the game, then that would be interesting. I enjoyed that a lot in DAO. Given the number of race/class/culture combos we've got, it could be more effort than it's worth for your origin to be that involved. TOEE had different opening vignettes based on your party's alignment, but given that it's just you to start with and no alignment system, that could be out too.

 

As for quest inter-dependency... A few linked like that might be ok, but I'm pretty sure that at least one of the developers is against timed quests. Unforeseen consequences of methods used to complete quests on the other hand...

[cdx]

Just put that in a similart thread about races.. The beginning of the game should be very well crafted and tie with the plot of the story (e.g. you start in the mortuary as Nameless One, or being in Irenicus' prison cage). If there is one beginning it can be greatly fine tuned and lay out the foundations of the game.

 

In my opinion different starting points could add a lot of replayability but would probably reduce overall game quality.

 

As for results from quests affecting each other - it should be doable as long as quests are tied in that way in groups of up to 2 or 3 and there are not too many of these groups. This way it shouldn't consume too many development time but it would allow for some very interesting outcomes.

[LaSombra]

I really liked that idea. I think that's a lot of potential in this, though I guess it might make the confluence a little bit strange in terms of storytelling.

[TheFrozenRaven]

I think it might be hard to make it worth the effort.

 

But it's still a very nice idea. One way I could see it work would be to make different background stories that doesn't depend on class or even race necessarily. That way you simply choose the one that fits best to your character. But for it to make a difference it should have an impact on the game any or all of:

• Small bonuses. such as skills, starting money or reputation.
  
• Certain extra options. For example, if you started as a sailor instead of choosing between saving the your drowning friend or stopping the evil sea creature that stole from you, you can do both.
  

[Dronios]

I don't think it is too difficult to implement. For example in the Sacred , different characters start the game in different locations.