As an older player, when I first started playing this game, I was drawn to the card playing challenge as well as the cultural and aesthetic diversity in the game. Much can be said about the uniqueness of the playing style and the interesting choice to have worlds based on different geographical locations and points in history, not to mention animals of those regions. It’s one of the reasons I’ve kept playing - that and my obsessive devotion to decorating.
That said, I’ve found - and many players I’ve spoken to have found - that the plot is severely lacking. While I realize w101 was always more about the card-playing aspect, the game does have a storyline, which so far as seemed pretty thin.
For instance, I’m at the end of Azteca currently and bored silly with Morganthe. I have no idea what the plot has been since Celestia besides fight these mobs, fight this boss, get this item. Also, Morganthe is trying to make the world in her image for some reason? World domination? None of this is fresh, original, or memorable. We’re never really made to feel invested in the people we’re defending. Besides characters who were pretty much direct translations of famous counterparts (think Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur, Merlin) or the villains, I can’t honestly tell you one character that’s left an impression on me. I can’t even explain to you significant differences in the personality of Sherlock Bones, King Artorious, or Merlin - they’re all blandly “good.”
Why w101 should care: a good story is a good asset to have - it makes a game all the more compulsive to play and replay. Many of us replay the game to experience different playing styles; I doubt most of us replay to re-experience the story again. I think by complicating and nuancing the story with richer (and by extension fewer) characters (and less repetitive elements like endless mob-fighting), w101 could increase membership. I get that this game is geared for kids (older kids mind you, 10 and up), but kids can understand much deeper stories than one-dimensional good vs. evil.
Rough Suggestions for Improvement: pair down some on the fights and characters in the upcoming worlds. Spend more time with less characters and give them nuances. Imagine how different the game would feel if Merlin had deep-seated regrets, or Artorious passionately loved harp music, or if Malistaire had genuinely liked the player and admired his/her tenacity and courage. Those details feel specific and create a relationship between the player and the characters. Again, I get this is primarily a card-playing game, but if people just want the card-playing aspect, that’s what PvP is for. If you’re going to have a plot, have a good plot with nuanced characters and interesting motivations.
This is by no means the end-all be-all of my thoughts on this, but I thought I’d put this out and see if there was a concurrence of opinion here.
I actually really enjoyed the storyline, and one of the main reasons I still play is because I'm interested in how the story will progress later on.
I absolutely loved the Morganthe story arc, and I found it extremely engaging and dark. A lot of Morganthe's memories and feelings are later expressed in Khrysalis, but in Azteca, she's attempting to complete a line of the prophecy.
Also, one of the main reasons I level up another character to max, is so I can re-experience the story and see if I missed/misunderstood anything the first time. The story gets quite good when you begin to understand the layers and complexity of it.
As for the suggestions you listed, Kingsisle already used many of them in Polaris.
I agree that the story is a crucial component to the overall scheme of the game, (and I just love learning cool facts and histories about the Spiral from quests). That being said there are a number of sidequests that provide albeit short interesting backstories about minor characters and in some cases major characters. For instance, if you have not already take a look at the Five B.O.X.E.S. event, it provides a fun backstory for a number of Ravenwood Faculty.
I do agree that Morganthe's story is a bit convoluted at times, but I thought it was still pretty good. Even if it was sometimes more difficult to follow.
In other news, you only have Khrysalis left to have to worry about Morganthe. There are some fun "experiences" that explain some of the backstory too.
Also, I believe you might find Polaris a bit more to your liking. Please see the Producer's Letter from December 2015 for more detailed information or maybe it's the press release for Polaris, I can't remember which but I've included links for both. Hopefully you will find it more to your liking!
