Dev Log #3: The Price of Immortality – How We Plan to Let You "Break" the World
Hello again, adventurers!
In our previous posts, we talked about our vision for an AI Game Master in your pocket and the concept of a "Living World" where player actions ripple out to affect others.
Today, we want to tackle the hardest design challenge we’ve faced so far *. It’s a problem that has plagued MMOs and shared-world RPGs for decades:
How do we let you change the world without ruining it for everyone else?
We are currently deep in the conceptual phase for a feature we call Legendary Events. It is a system that allows for massive, permanent world changes, but it comes with a steep price.
The Paradox of Shared Narratives
Here is the dilemma:
In Living Echoes, players run through Scenarios—structured adventures with defined locations and NPCs3.
If Player A burns down the only tavern in the village, Player B (who logs in 10 minutes later) has nowhere to start their quest. That breaks the game.
But if Player A burns down the tavern and the game simply "resets" it for Player B, Player A feels like their actions didn't matter. That breaks the immersion.
We solve this with a tiered system of consequences: Epic Events vs. Legendary Events.
Tier 1: Epic Events (Soft Impact)
Most big achievements fall here. Let's say you slay a massive dragon that has been terrorizing the region.
The Consequence: You don't wipe the dragon from the database for everyone else. Instead, you generate Echoes.
The Ripple: Other players in that region might hear rumors in the tavern: "Did you hear? Someone finally killed the beast in the North." A local troupe of actors might be performing a play about your victory.
The Result: Your glory is acknowledged, adding flavor to the world, but the "Scenario" remains intact for others to experience.
Tier 2: Legendary Events (Hard Impact)
This is where we are experimenting with something radical. These are singular, world-defining moments defined by the world's Creator. There might be only a handful of these available in a game world at any given time.
The Example: The King Must Die
Imagine you are playing a mercenary. You’ve played through a long, grueling campaign. You’ve bribed guards, gathered powerful allies, and fought through the castle. You are now standing in the Royal Chambers. The King is alone, unguarded.
Killing him is easy. You have won.
But before you strike the final blow, the AI pauses. You receive a system notification:
"You are approaching a Legendary Event. Proceeding will permanently alter this World."
If you choose to proceed, you don't just finish the quest. You rewrite the server’s history.
Global Update: The King is dead. Official game lore updates. The "Macro Context" shifts from Monarchy to Interregnum or Tyranny.
Visual Changes: Future players entering the capital see riots. Portraits in government buildings change.
The Price of Power: This is the catch. To cement this change, you must retire your character.
The "Retirement" Mechanic
To become a Legend, you must surrender control. If you usurp the throne, your character is no longer an adventurer you can play. They become an NPC—a fixture of the world itself.
Before you let them go, the App will ask you to define their reign:
What is their ruling policy?
What are their flaws and paranoia?
How do they treat the common folk?
Your character is now the "Final Boss" or the "Quest Giver" for thousands of other players. You might log in a month later to find that another player has started a rebellion against the very tyrant you created.
Why do it this way?
Technically, this allows us to maintain the integrity of individual sessions (which are their own instances) while having a "Master World Document" that evolves.
We also dream of a future where we collaborate with famous fantasy and sci-fi authors. Imagine playing in a world built by your favorite writer. They define the initial Legendary Events. Once a player triggers one (e.g., assassinating the King), the Author (or their moderators) steps in to write the next chapter of history based on what you did.
We need your feedback
This is a high-concept feature and very much a Work In Progress.
Does "retiring" your character to change the world feel like a fair trade?
Does the idea of your character becoming a villain for other players sound exciting?
We are building this engine, but you are the ones who will drive it. Let us know your thoughts!
* I wrote this article some time ago, in the meantime we started working on rules with progression, those are a pure headache and much more problematic.
