Journal Entries

[Badmojo]

One thing that I have some trouble with in RPG's is keeping up with all the important NPC's and how they are connected with each other. I will meet some interesting NPC's and have everything organized in my brain, then I will wonder off and do some other quests and/or forget the game for a while and come back later, just to forget who and what had happened. I will be like, wait, was this person a good or bad guy, were they friends or enemies with this or that person..etc. Its pretty minor, but it would be cool to have some detailed description of each NPC, monster, and relationship. There was an (admittedly adult) visual novel Kara no Shoujo that had a pretty cool journal/detective system. Would be cool to see it in something like it. Here are some of the things.

 

 

Simple, nice and clean interface, shows all the important NPC's, gives you basic info that UPDATES as you learn more about them. In PE, you could have other info, race, gender, religion..etc, I also like there is a portrait/picture next to the info. A lot journals just show the name with the info, which is great if you remember them, sometimes you don't. I think a portrait/picture improves the quality and makes it easier to place names to characters. (I am horrible with names myself, I have to read up on how someone acts to place them in a book).

 

On a related note, might have a section on the right for monsters and another for locations.

 

 

 

 

Ok, this is the evidence list (it is a detective game), although we might call it the quest list in PE (though, wasn't one of the NPC's a detective? if you can become a detective, perhaps you can use evidence list...*shrug*), as you learn more about the quests, you gain more info. This is pretty standard RPG here, although some devs for some reason keep the journal entries together, so you will have several quests piled on top of each other. Keeping them separate and nicely organized is a must in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, this is the one that I really like, a simple diagram using portraits that show how NPC/s are connected to each other and the character (perhaps include factions as well). Like everything else, it updates and changes when more information comes in and/or the character makes a choice.

 

 

 

I do not know if the devs have even started on a journal or not, nor if this is feasible or help in any way. Just thought it was cool and wanted to share.

[JFSOCC]

Looks ambitious, but I'd think it would be cool if the game expected a bit more from the player, so in that sense I like what I am seeing

[mstark]

Interesting ideas!

 

I'm all for a journal in the style of the IE games, which basically acts, and is written, as a diary. The main character writes notes about any encounter, quest, or story related event in diary form. Entries include detailed impressions, character names, and what was discussed / what events took place. The notes usually make it clear what motifs different characters involved in the plot has, but it never makes assumptions about what action I might want to take ("Go to location X and find cave Y" vs. "I have marked the location on my map and may investigate it in the future"). It also lists what choices You made as a player character, and what the result was.

 

The problem, in BG2 at least, is that there is no way to separate out journal entries relating to each other, so if you go and pick up several quests, you end up with several pages of journal entries to scan through in-between entries that actually relate to each other.

 

An immersive, diary style journal would probably fit a game in the style of PE, and while I wouldn't like to see it highlighting objectives in red, it'd be good to have some modern sorting features & view options available!

Edited December 5, 2012 by mstark

[wanderon]

BG:EE added user options for the journal - I like the concept but suspect many gamers are going to be too focused on playing to stop and make detailed journal entries - I've logged a lot of hours in the game already and haven't used the journal at all yet - but then I am already very familiar with the game and pretty much all it's nuances.

 

I guess the point I am trying to make is while I definately think a journal (and maps) should have user options for them - I think the auto journal entries should still be very robust and if the player has options as to how they want the information in them displayed all the better.

[jezz555]

Journals are for nerds

[rjshae]

I also like there is a portrait/picture next to the info. A lot journals just show the name with the info, which is great if you remember them, sometimes you don't. I think a portrait/picture improves the quality and makes it easier to place names to characters. (I am horrible with names myself, I have to read up on how someone acts to place them in a book).

I like this one. If not a portrait, then perhaps a small screen shot of the surroundings. I have a similar issue with names; my brain is mathematical in nature and works better with symbols or images.

[JFSOCC]

Journals are for nerds

So I guess they have to be in then

[wanderon]

Journals are for nerds

 

And thats a good reason to include them and make them good!

[jivex5k]

Journals are tricky.

They can easily become cluttered and overloaded with information.

I wish I could say more than that, but honestly I've yet to experience a journal system that seemed elegant.

[Badmojo]

I also like there is a portrait/picture next to the info. A lot journals just show the name with the info, which is great if you remember them, sometimes you don't. I think a portrait/picture improves the quality and makes it easier to place names to characters. (I am horrible with names myself, I have to read up on how someone acts to place them in a book).

I like this one. If not a portrait, then perhaps a small screen shot of the surroundings. I have a similar issue with names; my brain is mathematical in nature and works better with symbols or images.

 

Yea, a screenshot would work also. Although, isn't there going to be portraits used for each character? Or was that just for PC characters? If its for every (important) NPC, then it could probably just use those. It would make things a lot easier. It bugs me when I read a journal entry about a character you met previously, but can't place. I will be like "Who the hell was that again?".

 

 

Like I said, I just really liked the journal setup in the visual novel and it just seems such an improvement over most other in game journals, which seem a clunky mess in most cases.

 

Edit: Oh, and most RPG games, all NPC's seem to carry journal/diaries for some reason that characters can pick up from corpses or find hidden in a room or on the character. So it fits that the PC would have one as well.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Badmojo

[Sacred_Path]

I think for fantasy games, simple journals work best. Modern/ sci-fi games may have logs that are organized like a file folder and have pictures etc. in it, but for high fantasy, it's already a stretch when you character is a barbarian and still meticulously keeps his diary.

[mstark]

but for high fantasy, it's already a stretch when you character is a barbarian and still meticulously keeps his diary.

Lol, never thought of it in that way .

[Cluas]

The quest system is very important!

 

 

There should be a way to sort the quests by chapter, location, or chronologicly or ... Hope you get my point - In the IE games it would have worked, if only there was a better way to sort.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Cluas

[rjshae]

It would be kind of cool if the journal actually looked something like Henry Jones' diary...

 

[jivex5k]

What if your journal look was specific to your class?

Rangers could use leaves and bark, Barbarians could use big slabs of rock, Mages could use scrolls, and Necromancers could use human skin parchments.

Bards could simply sing their journals to you as they play a beautiful tale of your journey, Ciphers could use their mind to visualize a journal, Paladins could use gilded pages, I can't remember the other classes.

[Hormalakh]

I think for fantasy games, simple journals work best. Modern/ sci-fi games may have logs that are organized like a file folder and have pictures etc. in it, but for high fantasy, it's already a stretch when you character is a barbarian and still meticulously keeps his diary.

 

Grok crosh menny head toodey. Grok put pees of brain in jernol to remembuh gloreeus dai.

 

 

What if your journal look was specific to your class?

Rangers could use leaves and bark, Barbarians could use big slabs of rock, Mages could use scrolls, and Necromancers could use human skin parchments.

Bards could simply sing their journals to you as they play a beautiful tale of your journey, Ciphers could use their mind to visualize a journal, Paladins could use gilded pages, I can't remember the other classes.

 

I'd rather it be specific to intelligence.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Hormalakh

[JFSOCC]

What if your journal look was specific to your class?

Rangers could use leaves and bark, Barbarians could use big slabs of rock, Mages could use scrolls, and Necromancers could use human skin parchments.

Bards could simply sing their journals to you as they play a beautiful tale of your journey, Ciphers could use their mind to visualize a journal, Paladins could use gilded pages, I can't remember the other classes.

I'd rather it be specific to intelligence.

I like both ideas