I believe that player side creations are not always consistent with settings. Often, names of guilds frequently violate the naming rules dictated for characters. Usually that is hammered out through the players the Gms and the guilds. An alarming number of people Xillix encounters in day to day activities at the temple have not even read the history, let alone the players guide. I would not be exaggerating if i said 95% of the new players I encounter have not read anything at all related to Planeshift. The forums tend to be adopted as part of the gaming experience only after a long time generally as well.
All of these issues of misinformation need to be addressed because it is difficult to get new players to understand the world of Yliakum. Perhaps recent efforts at videos will one day create a handsome 3d trailer for the game to compensate for those who cannot or will not read to understand the world. I have been very impatient with those who would come to me for help but would not read the Planeshift literature. Some people have even lied to me about it just to get their next quest without the “pain” of reading. I have literally heard, “oh do I have to read ALL THAT!?” I am not defending the illiterate cyber-monkeys, but attempting to cope with the reality of the presence of this type of player in suggesting multimedia presentations to aid player understanding. Some kind of minimum knowledge of the settings is probably a decent requirement for creating a guild.
I think there is genuine yearning on the part of the player base for more information and history, but that the needs of the alpha come in here as well. The history of Yliakum may well intend to be brief and somewhat cryptic on specifics, a great deal is yet undecided, and there is a great likelihood that those now playing and loving Planeshift will continue to do so through later releases. The history being somewhat shady on the specifics leaves an opportunity for interpretation on the players’ part that is invaluable to the settings team. As we have seen in many areas of the games development the player base is generative. A player adds to the "setting." Very much in the same manner as in 2d and 3d fan art, some of what is written by players may eventually be codified, to that end we each have an obligation to read and interpret the given settings.
Instance:
The Book of Names is written in an ancient tongue, Xillix does not know it, no one does, but she is learning seeking answers (begging for both guidelines and latitude) trying to translate it, to revive the faith from its current state (Sharven and Menlil), to bring about a new era . . . The robes that the Vespers wear that correspond to the names of their ranks, the duties, even the silly mask and fool’s garb Lady Xillix wears were all circumstantial or interpretational leaps; but in conceiving the church I did not want to be directly emulative of any organized faith I had ready familiarity with, I wanted alien or exotic, yet genuinely religious. Reading the settings closely and often, answering questions on the margin of what the settings explicitly state, knowing the readable literature in game, speaking with npcs, are all taken into consideration in making these determinations. We know from what we do have of our history that Laanx is powerful, likes chaotic magic, has issues with Talad, and enjoys being worshipped by as many people as possible. We know he/she (or is it she/he?
) wears a mask and has exhibited potential as a shape changer, or gender changer at least.
Instance:
The Black Flame we know next to nothing about it. I might interpret it as having a similarly "darker" leaning given the ease with which it replaced Laanx worship in Kadaikos.
I think if too much of the history is codified in this early stage of development it might hinder the players’ chances to contribute to the process, but a little more to go on here or there might settle some disputes.
