Eternal Fantasy

[Swift]

So I figured I'd start off with a bang. The project I'm working on, my baby if you will, is a comic book series titled Eternal Fantasy. Now, I'm considering moving towards a novel instead as I am currently without an artist, but I'd like to find one to partner with to work on this as an online comic or to submit for publication.

As the name suggests, it's obviously a fantasy theme and inspired by various sources ranging from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Forgotten Realm to MMOs in general.

I'll get more detailed in the future with races and histories (since I don't have my notebook with me and I'm on break at work *innocent*).

Essentially, the first story arc I imagine to be about 12-24 issues (at standard 20 something pages each) and deals with a standard fantasy story. The main characters come together, dealing a bit with their background stories, and eventually undertake a mission to find an ancient relic for a mage who accompanies them. The overall feel would be high fantasy, some humor, nothing too heavy or deep. Generally a fun read. The end of the first arc would be the revelation that the entire story has taken place in an MMO and concludes with the mage they were working for being revealed to be a middle aged Japanese game developer who, oddly, is seen holding the relic in his very modern house after they acquired it in the game.

The second arc would deal with how that conclusion is possible. Our developer antagonist has discovered magic in the real world; fascinating after years of developing a magic-centric game world. He begins to understand that magic is essentially an extension of the human will, dating back to the philosophical belief that all that exists does so simply because we perceive it. If 90% of humans believed the sky was green, it WOULD be green and the 10% that say otherwise are wrong.

Looking back through the first arc, there would be small references and imagery to clue the reader to the world being a game. The antagonist has taken screenshots (displayed through a 3D holographic type...thing) that he can then use magic to solidify and bring into being. Again, the willpower of the magic user bends this non-physical object into being one. His toying with this fantasy into reality magic catches our protagonists in some of his screen shots, altering them in the real world as well. We essentially begin to see a fusing of game world and real world on a rather small scale.

But the antagonist should be empathized with because the core of his character is "Why are MMOs so popular?" He believes it's because they offer a better life in a better world, where good and evil are clear cut and the best leaders are those who are smartest and strongest, not those who lie the best. His intention is to eventually alter the world, to magically remove that which causes evil and build one on the fantasy concepts of good and evil.

Our protagonists will try to stop him, of course, though some will question if they should (more on characters later). There will be a lot of mixing fantasy with modern world; how would elves manage at tasks in this world such as theft? How can magic allow for crime. There's likely going to be some stand offs between our "heroes" and the police and/or military.

The end of the second arc is defeat. The villain wins and I envision it being devestating, hopefully painful to read. Think the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or the Tsunami just a year or two ago on a worldwide scale. Millions are killed or just disappear, cities destroyed, magical and fantasy creatures are suddenly real and running amok, causing havoc and chaos. The fantasy world is largely the real world now, with pockets of what we consider a modern world still existing.

I imagine a third arc would take place in the adjustment to this new world. How has humanity adapted? Are the new races adjusting or feel out of place? Does humanity accept them?

That's pretty weak for an intro, but I only had 15 minutes. There are pages and pages of script, character, and race information developed. It'll be up eventually.
Ah well...break's over. Gotta go!

[The Timeless One]

I'm REALLY liking this idea. Unfortunately, I suck at drawing. When you do get this started though, tell me about it! I'd enjoy reading it!

[theredbaron]

Jan 14, 2009 15:37:42 GMT -5 The Timeless One said:

I'm REALLY liking this idea. Unfortunately, I suck at drawing. When you do get this started though, tell me about it! I'd enjoy reading it!

This

[Swift]

I figure the first step is to create a believable fantasy world as that's the first step in an enjoyable MMO. In essence, Eternal Fantasy is a dual-layered project in that
A) I'm developing this story that takes place in a game world and then has a broader picture
B) I'm developing what I envision as the ideal MMO.

Since we, as writers, tend to get our heads in the clouds sometimes, I see Eternal Fantasy, were it successful, capable of a number of spin offs set entirely in the game world or set in the real world after the events of the main trilogy. Developing a full in-depth fantasy world is the more fun aspect of the project.

I'll start later with posts about the races I envision in this game world.

And a tidbit: Eternal Fantasy is not only the name of the comic, but also of the game itself. The inspiration came from EverQuest, where the name implies you will ever be questing, or "eternally" questing, and Final Fantasy. The first MMO I played mixed with the first RPG series I played. I'm not above giving tongue-in-cheek nods to games and novels I like, so don't be surprised if a paladin named Cecil and his wife Rosa were to show up for a cameo.

[The Timeless One]

This is really interesting. First that little history thing you posted, now this.

/Drall's stamp of approval

Oh, and another cookie.

[Slayer]

Omg, i would totally read this... I can draw decently, but not in a cartoon style, i can only draw things in the real world, whilst im looking at them =(

I could probably draw something if you told me what to draw, but it would never be on the professional level. It would probably just be something that you could show a publisher and say, "Hey, go get me a pro cartoonist to draw this out, this is the rough draft...

[Swift]

I've been getting pulled into my latest Warcraft story "The War of the North" and haven't been given Eternal Fantasy the love and attention it deserves. But I had a few minutes and thought I'd drop the race list:

Humans
Elves (Divided into wood elves, high elves, and dark elves, more info later)
Dwarves
Halflings
Kitsu
Trolls
Orcs

There's likely to be a few more races, but without my notes and having not done racial work in a while, I'm blanking. I'll edit to add more if I've forgotten any, or if any new races are "added in future game expansions."

[The Timeless One]

What's a Kitsu?

[Swift]

I'll get more detailed information up later, but since you asked...

It's basically a human looking character with the Japanese anime influence fox ears and a tail. They have somewhat unusual eyes as well. Believe it or not, anime didn't have much influence on my design and development for this race. Rather, I was very into the White Wolf World of Darkness books and was delving into kitsune mythology from Japan.

In Eternal Fantasy, the Kitsu are essentially loved and despised, depending on where you go (more despised) as a result of their involvement in the Elf Wars millenia ago. The Kitsu clans supported all three factions of elves, some clans playing both sides for benefit or just for fun.

Their ties to the dark elves, along with other details, have many cities distrustful or outright aggressive to Kitsu.

From a game perspective, they're the rarest playable race and the MMO randomly selects a player to be allowed to create a Kitsu, keeping their population restricted.

One of the main characters, of course, got this unlocked and plays a Kitsu. When the first arc ends, revealing it to be a game and magic blends reality with fantasy, this player winds up with the ears and tail in the real world. Cool, right?

No.

A driving point of the second arc is fear and staying hidden. If you had ears that let you hear as sharp as a fox, it's going to be painful when that train blares its horn. It's going to be maddening getting used to hearing a mouse down the street. And it's going to be terrifying to know what would happen if a scientist got a hold of you. You just lost access to a lot of what we take for granted. You can't get medical help (particularly bad if you're fighting in a war against unknown creatures), or even go out in public without hiding yourself somehow.

But there's more to the Kitsu race that wasn't revealed in game that the antagonist knows, having designed them. Offering help or a better understanding of the abilities this Kitsu character suddenly has is sort of used to try and draw the character onto the villain's side. It's rather enticing since the character has a disdain for much of the world's current situations and the Kitsu race naturally has a dislike for the destruction of nature.

Anyway, a quick break down. I'll get more detail on all the races soon. Perhaps this weekend. As well as the start of my latest WoW story.

[The Timeless One]

Thanks a lot!

[Swift]

Quick update

I'm working on my submission to the Blizzard Creative Writing Contest, so Eternal Fantasy has taken a back seat for the moment. I'm also working on The War of the North for WoW and we just started raiding in Wrath again.

On top of that, I'm working on scripting the first episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return" which my friends and I are intending to film as a fan dedication film. Construction of Tom and Crow should begin in the next couple of weeks.

And yet on top of THAT, I'm not starting to seriously consider going for a Masters of Science for Game Design at Full Sail University next year. IF I understand the thesis project correctly, then I'm already thinking about a six level game titled Eternal Fantasy: Origins that introduces how the six main characters of my story came together in-game.

Origins was intended to be six stand alone short story comic books that I could self publish with an artist and use to try and get some attention from publishers to pick up the series. While I may still try that, having a video game version would be awesome too.

Once the contest submission is in and the bots are built, I'll refocus my attention between War of the North and getting some more Eternal Fantasy previews up.

[theredbaron]

Sweetness. Good luck with all of that, then.

[Swift]

Alright, since my story submission to Blizzard is done, I'm turning my attention back to my ongoing War of the North WoW story and continuing to make some work with Eternal Fantasy. I figured I'd give you guys more racial information bit by bit.

Bear with me, this is still in preliminary stages and there's full chance things will change in the future. These racial entries are intended to be brief, like something you'd find (surprise surprise) in a video game manual.

Humans
Humans are the youngest race of Alovarth, but are the most widespread and populous. Amongst the many continents, there are only a handful of cities known throughout the world, and all are controlled by humans.

Most humans stand between five and six feet tall, but can vary further. Men standing over sevent feet, and women easily close behind, are usually members of the northern tribes of barbarians. Their skin, eye, and hair color varies and some even use dyes to alter it further. They are certainly the most varied race, often viewed as spontaneous or fickle by other races.

None are sure where humans first came from, though the various religions have different claims. The early human tribes were nomadic, a tradition still followed by the barbarians. Others, however, settled into stable areas, forming the first human towns that grew into cities and sometimes kingdoms. But with claims of ownership to land came battles over its control, which often escalated into war.

It was one such war that caused the other races to first distance themselves from the humans, deciding to leave the young race to destroy itself, though none took their eyes fully off them. For almost fifty years, humans were left alone to wage war until one man managed to gain control of his kingdom.

Uther Galen managed to bring peace to the kingdom of Aegyn and unified the people of the land under his banner. Slowly, Uther began to open channels to contact the dwarves and elves, renewing trade and forging new, if shaky, alliances. After another twenty five years, the unified races were strongly allied and engaged in open commerce when their king passed away. In honor of the peace and prosperity he had brought them, the kingdom was renamed Galen, as was its capital city.

The human spirit was not held idle, however, and the ambitious race again embarked on a journey of exploration, pushing eastward. With the aid of their allies, the first stretch of the trip was smooth and without incident. As the land grew more wild, tensions grew, and the explorers often splintered.

Though the complete history has been lost, a city was built on the eastern coast of the continent. While the location was thought to mirror Galen's, the people of the city intended it to be a sister city to their kingdom, eventually bridging the divide of land to form one unified nation, but they never managed to establish a firm relationship with their home so far away and with such danger between them.

As the years passed, the city of Eirini became the capital of the kingdom, named Agon. The kingdom flourished, but through the passing of time, it began to face turmoil from within.

It is now that humans face the latest age of history. The kingdom of Galen and the kingdom of Agon flourish, one in peace, the other in turmoil. Ties with the other races remain strong in Galen but are still developing for Agon. Town do exist between the two, scattered across the land and throughout the world beyond the shores. Elves roam the woodlands, barbarians stalk the north, and dwarves hold secrets to the depths of the world. However, ownership of land once again finds itself inciting violence in the east, and the other races again have a close eye on this still fledgeling race.

[Swift]

Dwarves

Dwarves are hardy, strong folk known for their loyalty and kinship as well as their love for smithing, mining, and brewing. Most dwarves stand around three and a half to four and a half feet tall. Both males and females often wear their hair braided and some clans include their beards in the tradition where the beard is considered synonymous with good health and good luck.

Dwarves have existed for thousands of years, living beneath the earth and stone of the world. By some beliefs, they were carved from rock and made of dirt and clay, living millenia before becoming flesh. Much dwarven history, however, is lost, buried in dwarven kingdoms long forgotten. Part of this is becasue the sturdy folk are a pragmatic people that are always forging ahead rather than looking back. Despite this, however, it takes a great deal for a dwarf to forget where he's been, and what's been done to him.

When humans were first building shelters, dwarves were mining, creating weapons, armor, and art of amazing craftsmanship. Three dwarven kingdoms have stood strong through the centuries; the kingdom of Stonewatch, ruled by Ian Boulderfist, lies in the south of Nacah Pass; the kingdom of Trueforge, ruled by the Grandhammer clan in the northern reaches of the Skyclaw Mountains; and the kingdom of Frostbeard, ruled by clan Frostbeard to the north. Trueforge and Stonewatch have long had a standing friendly rivalry, culminating every seven years in a festival where the two kingdoms meet to compare creations of all kinds. Frostbeard, due to its distance, has less interaction and holds different views than the other clans.

The dwarves were the first of the elder races to make contact with humans. Meetings were tenuous at first, but the dwarves eventually taught the humans blacksmithing, jewel cutting, as well as other various skills. The dwarves maintained the closest ties with the humans, even somewhat into the wars tha tled to the dwarven withdrawl.

At first, the dwarves supplied weapons and even soldiers to their allies' aid in the war, but once it became apparent that the humans would not back down from one another without total victory, the dwarves backed out. After sealing the entrances to their mines known by the human factions, they left the young race to their own devices. Many humans still hold a grudge, even after ties were renewed.

Now, the kingdom of Trueforge has opened trade with the humans again, though they rarely accept visitors in their mountain halls. Stonewatch has opened trade as well, but its distance allows it more of its enjoyed privacy. Frostbeard, however, still keeps no ties with the outside races.

[Swift]

Elves

Elves are the oldest of the mortal races, having protected the lands for years. They are generally tall with lithe forms and varying complexions. High elves tend to have fair complexions with blonde, white, or even silver hair. Wood elves generally have brown or black hair, though many have varying shades of color matching the tree leaves of autumn as well, and tend to stand a bit shorter than the high elves. Finally, the dark elves are darker in complexion with inky black skin and white or dark hair. All generally have angular features and sharp eyes.

All the elves once lived on the surface, working together to protect the forests and nature in general. As centuries passed, the wood elves became the main protectors of the woods, renowned for their archers and hunters. Their cities were built in the trees to keep them attuned to wilds of nature and they are often known to follow travelers in their realms, just to keep an eye on them. The wood elves have a long standing rivalry with the kitsu, though if it is genuine or friendly is uncertain.

When the wood elves and high elves began to split their tasks, the high elves focused their attentions on the collection and protection of magical artifacts. During the passing of time, they began to build cities and temples of stone, though still hidden away in the great forests of the world.

Over a thousand years ago, when the high elves had begun to acquire ancient items of magical power, a separate faction of elves, both high elf and wood elf, began to question if the high elven sorcerors were sincere in sealing away the artifacts or were intent on using the power for themselves. The conflict led to civil war, driving the renegade faction from the elven homelands.

The renegades continued to clash with high elves over artifacts, spiraling into obsession with stealing them from the high elves, or getting to them first. This obsession eventually became focused on utterly destroying the high elves. During the centuries of conflict, the renegades turned to darker magics and dark gods, eventually becoming twisted versions of their former selves.

The elves warred, both sides going so far as to enlist kitsu clans as mercenary spies and assassins. Eventually, the renegades, now dark elves, fled underground and to the darker places of the world where the elves and their dwarven allies, pushed them further away. It took many more years before the dark elves' major cities were pinpointed, but by then they were well fortified.

The wood elves and high elves had never had close ties with the dwarves, despite their alliances in war, and when the bearded folk befriended the humans, the elves kept their distance. They watched the wars, the dwarves withdrawing their support, and the founding of a new kingdom. After Galen was renamed and the explorers set out, the elves began to make contact, though their alliance has always been somehwat tenuous with the younger race.

Now, the wood elves still protect their forests, the high elves still practice magic while gathering powerful artifacts, and the dark elves live in the dark places of the world, waiting...and preparing.

((The dark elves in my world are intended to be seen as truly evil, but I want time to give a tilt to them, as if the player would learn while playing, that they may have indeed been right in the beginning. This would mean perhaps the high elves are up to no good and now you have high elves and dark elves corrupted by evil to deal with. However, Eternal Fantasy, as a game concept, would promote that the races are clear cut good and evil with players being the shades of gray. So you could become a good dark elf or a bad high elf based on your choices. Hopefully the story will help convey that eventually as well))