The EverQuest franchise has a long history of very deep and meaningful lore in its games. This is one of the major draws of EverQuest. One of the unique things about it that has helped them keep both games running side by side so long is that they are very similar, but are not the same. Dave Georgeson, Director of the EverQuest franchise, has explained that each game takes places in their own parallel universe, and at some points, they are connected.
I want to focus on EQN here, but I will point out that the very light lore they intend for Landmark apparently includes traveling through these dimensional boundaries which is why you will find Sci-Fi, Steampunk, and Fantasy all side by side in Landmark. And this is actually the first example of what I'm writing about. The story and the mechanics are intended to work together in EQN.
Several eBooks have been released since last year which contain almost all of the lore for EQN that we have been given so far. These books are rather short, but are packed full of wonderful information and despite players clamoring for 'more lore' few of those players have actually read the books. I highly encourage you to do so. Even if you aren't a player who is into the lore there are some interesting details to be found.
After hearing Dave hint a few times that the books are more than just lore I finally got it when one of the authors let slip that many of the mechanics are presented in the books. So I started wondering what mechanics they might be sharing with us. I'm only about half way through the books, and they just put out another one, but I'd like to share a few things I've noticed so far that we should expect to see in the game.
Meaningful Relationships
While they've talked about this before in Storybricks discussions there is a huge emphasis on meaningful relationships in the stories. I know literature is typically quite heavy on interpersonal interactions, but this takes it to a whole new level. Even the most twisted of backstabbers relies upon others and their current relationships with them. No one wantonly kills others for a small slight (even if they might think about it) because it would destroy their relationships, and relationships are an important resource that takes time and work to cultivate. They must be harvested at just the right time. The only time we see such wanton slaughter is from a character who's very purpose in existence is to bring death to the world, expect that to matter.
This goes right in line with what many have taken from the dev's statements. Who you kill will matter. There are consequences for everything you do, who sees it, and who learns of it. These won't just be simple 'faction' ratings either, these work on every level from kingdom, faction, down to groups and individuals.
Mentoring
Every story I've read so far has highly experienced and inexperienced characters working side by side, the experienced characters typically teach and guide the inexperienced ones in how to do their trade or skills more efficiently. Whether it be a thief teaching a mage about lockpicking, a pair of seasoned warriors teaching their young charge, a lore keeper passing his people's history to the next generation, or an arch mage becoming outclassed by his own apprentice, most of the stories start and end with these relationships being a major focal point. In literature this means 'you should pay attention to this element.'
Many games have tried Mentoring systems before, including EQII, but with the artificial number deflation/inflation it just feels wrong. In EQN the 5 Tiers are supposed to represent player skill rather than the levels of character power in most MMOs. Tier 1 content will not be a cakewalk for Tier 5 characters because they are not just 'weaker versions' of what the T5 takes on all the time. The T5 will have a relatively easy time simply because they have the skills and abilities to deal with it more efficiently. While playing with a T1, the T5 can teach the T1 player better skills on how to player the game so they can increase in Tier and gain access to more options for how to play. I expect that T5's will regularly take their T2 & T3 friends into T4 zones to teach them what it takes to earn their T4 rank.
If you see someone who is higher Tier then watch them, see what they are doing, ask them how they do what they do. That's how you learn. If you see someone who is lower Tier, then watch them, see what they are doing, give them advice, that's how you teach. Together, these moments form lasting friendships and bonds that hold a gaming community together.
I also expect that some players will be stuck at one rank or another for along time and some of them will whine and complain about not having a 'normal leveling system' or that 'it's too hard to get T5.' It comes down to learning the skill as a player for how to use your character, and for each class that will be very different. Some people don't want to do that, and for those who don't want to learn and prove they deserve higher, they should still be able to have fun staying at T3 or wherever they want to stop.
Personal Perspective
Reading The Fall of Bastion and Last Stand of the Tier'Dal shows very strikingly that the same events can be viewed very differently depending on which character you are seeing them through. Given the personal nature of the Emergent AI I expect this to be very true for players as well. We might be going through the same encounter or dungeon or whatever, but we will each have our very own experience with it. This could be anything from having to go different places in the same encounter, having different tasks and conversations, to things as small as each player 'sensing' different aspects of the dungeon. In Landmark we already see a little of this with the personalized settings for detecting claim boundaries and seeing other people's tools in use as well as with the Gem Seeker's Broach and personalized loot. We don't all see the world the same way.
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles had a wonderful mechanic with this on the Game Cube. While each player was playing on one screen if they were using GameBoy Advance's as their controllers then they could look down at their own little screen for a personalized map and each player was set to detect something different so the players would have to work as a team to find everything. I believe EQN will take such concepts to a whole new level.
Magic
I don't just mean 'there is magic in the books, so expect magic in the game'. No, I mean the system of magic is being presented. In 'The Fall of Bastion' we see several details about the magic system the Arch Mage and his apprentice use. Aside from the various categories of magic specifically named (Illusion, Pain, Coercion, and Death) there is also quite a bit of 'drawing on local energy.' The Archmage and his apprentice apparently do not store most of their energy for magic within themselves, rather they pull in what is around, focusing it within their body before releasing it as a spell. Sustained magic is a constant drain on a 'spell flinger' both in terms of magic energy and physical stamina and limits their tactical options.
Unfortunately, something I have not yet seen that would be quite telling is the interplay of different elements of magic working together to do something quite different. This tells me that the developers probably do not see the mixing of elements as an important world mechanic. Whether this means will won't see such at all remains to be seen, but I won't be expecting it to play nearly the role I had hoped.
Races
EverQuest has always have quite a myriad of races available for players to choose from. So far we know that EQN will be starting upon the Combine's return, and according to the books the Combine consists of Elves, Dwarves, Ogres, Humans, Kerrans, and Gnomes. I would expect that all of these races will be available to play from the start. Whether or not any of the traditionally 'evil' races will be playable is not yet indicated in the text, though I believe Dark Elves (Teir'Dal) were officially announced as playable.
Good Vs Evil
In the past, EQ has used a stark contrast between Good and Evil but the have allowed us to play on either side. EQN we are already told does not hold to such a limited view. They said very clearly during the Dark Elf Workshop that there will be no such thing as an 'Evil Race.' This is also evidenced in the books. Elves are seen as All Evil by their Oger and Dwarven slaves but are proven otherwise. The Elvin Arch Mage Corelon is by no means Hard Core Evil like Ithiosor, but he is quite selfish in almost all respects and utilized Coercion magic with extreme skill. The Elvin Prince Keramor is unarguably a Good Guy figure but also holds his own views which many would consider to be more on the 'evil' side. Dragons are diverse in opinion and method even as they rally to destroy the mortal races. Rather than an arbitrary distinction, how our character is perceived in EQN will come down to personal action and inaction.
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