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Developing a Plot for the PvP Game
Background
From the very beginning, Fractured Unity was based on the idea of the world, once whole, being now divided between the peoples of six different elements. Each people has its own culture and a place to live. But suddenly, something forces them to reunite and fight alongside each other against a mutual enemy. During the combat, they realize how important was the unity they once had.
This idea resulted in developing a world map and the routes to Capital for each basic class:
The second map shows the story campaign routes (red) and zones that you need to complete in order to unlock the corresponding Tier-3 Class (green). Green zones weren't there from the start, they were added after solving the problem stated below
Problems
1. PvP is almost always more entertaining than PvE. If a player isn't allowed to participate in PvP matches for long enough, it can turn him off playing the game. If a player can play against other players before the campaign is finished, it should be explained according to the story (Why the people fighting against their mutual enemy will battle each other before defeating that enemy?)
2. The player will get to fight only the 1/6 of the foes designed for the game. This is not cost-effective
3. There's a need for the plot explaining the situation and the motivations of each of the six different nations
Result
Developed the storyline that solves the first and the third problem. Modified and expanded the game design to solve the first and the second problem as well as to give the players some additional PvE content and the motivation to keep on playing after the story campaign is finished.
Solution Details
1. The plot
A page describing the plot of the game
This item is here just for reference and as a proof that I've come up with a detailed plot. Please take a look at the items 2-6.
2. The tutorial and the PvP battles
The first two zones are necessary to unlock the PvP mode and other features, but they should serve as a tutorial. The first zone will be extremely easy and during it, the tutorial will explain all the main mechanics of the game. The easiness of this zone is explained by the plot for each basic class (see a). This will be a straightforward tutorial.
The second zone won't be very easy, but still, the player should not have problems with it. The player will be granted a bot teammate. There won't be any obvious explanations anymore as the main mechanics are already explained. The second zone will teach the player to act strategically according to the situation and the enemies he's facing. Using the dialogue system, the player's character along with his teammate will drop hints, discussing the enemy they're facing and the player should come up with the strategy and implement it. Of course, he should also consider his bot teammate, which should explain the player the basics of the teamplay.
After completing the second zone (this should not take too much time), the player unlocks the third, the Capital. There is the arena, where the player will be able to play against the real enemy and even queue for ranked matches. Its description should state something like: "There you can train against the comrades of different elements. But do not stay there for long, the revolt still needs you!". That said, the PvP modes are unlocked as soon as the tutorial is complete, so I guess that shouldn't irritate players too much. On the other hand, not only will the players get the basics of the game, but they'll also learn more about the lore and the circumstances.
The third zone should have normal difficulty and reward players with the ability to join clans when completed. Also, as this zone is complete, the Tier-2 class should be unlocked (see scheme). If the player wants something more than just ranked games and he's more into the RPG, he'll eventually complete zone 3, finishing the game's story campaign.
3. The dungeons
The dungeons are the places where you can fight powerful yet primitive mobs with your party to get some loot and money. In each zone there's is a dungeon, to be able to get into it, you should complete the zone first. This causes players to visit the zones they haven't visited during the story campaign, so the efforts gone into the development of the zones won't be wasted.
The access to the zones the player hasn't visited during the tutorial will be unlocked as the player completes the Capital. The enemies will be the same as the ones encountered by the corresponding class during its tutorial except there won't be any Cosmic Mages as they're already kicked out. The stats will be increased to match with the player's level, but the way the fight (AI) will remain the same.
There's a risk that either most of the dungeons will be neglected or they'll have a little difference between each other, so there's no need for each zone to have a dungeon. The solution consists of two approaches. The first is to make the loot the player obtains by completing the dungeon different for each and to rotate this loot every day. The second is to create an everyday quest for the players to collect some amount of different elemental shards, which can be found only in the dungeon of the corresponding zone.
Example quest pop-up/window
Example dungeon window
Of course, the player should be able to put the loot he obtained on the market.
4. Unlocking the Tier-3 class
There's also a question about when and how the player should unlock the Tier-3 class. The answer is: when he reaches level 70 he should unlock the three new zones, one for each Tier-3 class. Upon completing the zone that corresponds to his Tier-3 class, he unlocks it. All the 3 zones contain advanced dungeons that are unlocked once the zone is complete. So the player may want to complete the other two zones too. These zones are hard and are considered to be completed with friends, not alone.
map with highlighted advanced zones.
The Black Lake (unlocks the Mortum class) - the lake full of black water. It's always dark there, no matter what time is it. The lake is said to contain the pure evil of this world. It is also said that whoever visits its shores, never returns the same, but no one had enough bravery to visit it yet, so this statement is highly susceptible.
The Glowing Field (unlocks the Cosmic class) - the place, where Cosmic Mages landed more than 500 years ago. The enigmatic structures started to appear there recently. Neither the natural nor made by humans. It's said there's still plenty of cosmic power left.
The Dense Woods (unlocks the Natura class) - deep into the woods, there live the ancient druids that hold the wisdom of nature. Some went there to become their disciples, but all of them came back with nothing.
5. The lost pages
The ultimate goal of the game after the Cosmic Mages are defeated is to gather all the pages of the Book of Unity. The pages can drop after a battle with some chance. Each page contains some tips on how to fight effectively, combos for one of the classes or some parts of the lore. The pages can be traded on the market. Gathering all the pages grants the player a special achievement. You can track your progress or read the pages obtained in the Library.
6. The bosses
As some interesting PvE decisions cannot be implemented just in the story campaign, there's a need for some special challenges for the players to defeat a nasty enemy. The Bosses are the enemies with some interesting mechanics or complex AI that you can fight once you completed the Capital zone. Once you have defeated a boss, you unlock the next one, however, you cannot fight him until the day after.
A (very) basic example of the bosses window
There are the bosses you only allowed to fight solo and there are also the ones you should fight with your team. This provides a bonus PvE content for ones who are tired of the PvP combat.