Even if I am playing solo I still want a highly populated world so that it feels alive And there are passive ways to play together.
Kind of like Pokémon Go back in 2016 People weren't really playing together and the game wasn't very good, but everyone out in parks and downtown areas for a summer all playing the same game was pretty cool
I understand this.
What I find limitlessly hilarious is that I will see players be like "I wish a game had XYZ features"
and I'll be like.. "I'm playing a game with those features"
and they will all be like "OMG No not that game! I hate that game!"
In this case, GW2, has social dynamics, where anyone that engages in the content, will get rewards, and players can help and assist each other in the game world.
More often than not, I'll be doing some random shit in game, and there will be people around me doing things, sometimes the same thing I am trying to do, and I will help them, and they will help me.
No need for formal grouping, or asking "Can I join your group please sir" or any other bullshit, we just all there together and help each other achieve a goal/event. Very Organic and I must say, the way MMO's should be played.
But, what if I don't want to have people leeching off of my achievements, or watering down my glorious attempt to overcome the Floozle by myself.
What if I want to deny them the opportunity to advance by hoarding the best camps, or locking them out of dungeons, or spoiling their fights by training a bunch of high level mobs into their fight?
How can I be elite and Lord it over everyone in a game with such stupid designs as GW2 seems to have?
I mean, downwards level scaling, seriously? NPC's in lower level zones should actually fear me, running away in terror at my appearance, should I deign them to live.
It's like you have no understanding how MMORPGs work apparently.
/s
Joking aside, GW2 is a soloers dream, that's why I avoid it and Ungood is an Architect so that fits in. Sounds to me like Kyleran has a split MMO personality disorder. But my Bard-Gladiator was a bit off piste too.
Even if I am playing solo I still want a highly populated world so that it feels alive And there are passive ways to play together.
Kind of like Pokémon Go back in 2016 People weren't really playing together and the game wasn't very good, but everyone out in parks and downtown areas for a summer all playing the same game was pretty cool
I understand this.
What I find limitlessly hilarious is that I will see players be like "I wish a game had XYZ features"
and I'll be like.. "I'm playing a game with those features"
and they will all be like "OMG No not that game! I hate that game!"
In this case, GW2, has social dynamics, where anyone that engages in the content, will get rewards, and players can help and assist each other in the game world.
More often than not, I'll be doing some random shit in game, and there will be people around me doing things, sometimes the same thing I am trying to do, and I will help them, and they will help me.
No need for formal grouping, or asking "Can I join your group please sir" or any other bullshit, we just all there together and help each other achieve a goal/event. Very Organic and I must say, the way MMO's should be played.
But, what if I don't want to have people leeching off of my achievements, or watering down my glorious attempt to overcome the Floozle by myself.
What if I want to deny them the opportunity to advance by hoarding the best camps, or locking them out of dungeons, or spoiling their fights by training a bunch of high level mobs into their fight?
How can I be elite and Lord it over everyone in a game with such stupid designs as GW2 seems to have?
I mean, downwards level scaling, seriously? NPC's in lower level zones should actually fear me, running away in terror at my appearance, should I deign them to live.
It's like you have no understanding how MMORPGs work apparently.
/s
Joking aside, GW2 is a soloers dream, that's why I avoid it and Ungood is an Architect so that fits in. Sounds to me like Kyleran has a split MMO personality disorder. But my Bard-Gladiator was a bit off piste too.
I would not call it a soloer's dream, and it chock full of huge massive world events that I love doing.
I just don't like dealing with the formal group drama, politics and bullshit.
That is not the same not enjoying playing with other people.
Might want to give GW2 a try. Might be a game you never knew you needed to play.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Even if I am playing solo I still want a highly populated world so that it feels alive And there are passive ways to play together.
Kind of like Pokémon Go back in 2016 People weren't really playing together and the game wasn't very good, but everyone out in parks and downtown areas for a summer all playing the same game was pretty cool
I understand this.
What I find limitlessly hilarious is that I will see players be like "I wish a game had XYZ features"
and I'll be like.. "I'm playing a game with those features"
and they will all be like "OMG No not that game! I hate that game!"
In this case, GW2, has social dynamics, where anyone that engages in the content, will get rewards, and players can help and assist each other in the game world.
More often than not, I'll be doing some random shit in game, and there will be people around me doing things, sometimes the same thing I am trying to do, and I will help them, and they will help me.
No need for formal grouping, or asking "Can I join your group please sir" or any other bullshit, we just all there together and help each other achieve a goal/event. Very Organic and I must say, the way MMO's should be played.
But, what if I don't want to have people leeching off of my achievements, or watering down my glorious attempt to overcome the Floozle by myself.
What if I want to deny them the opportunity to advance by hoarding the best camps, or locking them out of dungeons, or spoiling their fights by training a bunch of high level mobs into their fight?
How can I be elite and Lord it over everyone in a game with such stupid designs as GW2 seems to have?
I mean, downwards level scaling, seriously? NPC's in lower level zones should actually fear me, running away in terror at my appearance, should I deign them to live.
It's like you have no understanding how MMORPGs work apparently.
/s
Joking aside, GW2 is a soloers dream, that's why I avoid it and Ungood is an Architect so that fits in. Sounds to me like Kyleran has a split MMO personality disorder. But my Bard-Gladiator was a bit off piste too.
Yeah, I'm a very lazy Architect, hence the Skirmisher secondary.
I prefer to research, copy or modify the work others do before me, so that I can get busy with the mindless killing.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
One thing I find interesting in this survey. Is even though I have a 76% in Fantasy it still only puts me into the bottom 14 percentile for Immersion compared to other survey takers.
Alot more people like story than I thought, or people online taking this test represent a larger portion of the population.
Almost all the people I play with all say they hate story, so this seems odd to me.
Even if I am playing solo I still want a highly populated world so that it feels alive And there are passive ways to play together.
Kind of like Pokémon Go back in 2016 People weren't really playing together and the game wasn't very good, but everyone out in parks and downtown areas for a summer all playing the same game was pretty cool
I understand this.
What I find limitlessly hilarious is that I will see players be like "I wish a game had XYZ features"
and I'll be like.. "I'm playing a game with those features"
and they will all be like "OMG No not that game! I hate that game!"
In this case, GW2, has social dynamics, where anyone that engages in the content, will get rewards, and players can help and assist each other in the game world.
More often than not, I'll be doing some random shit in game, and there will be people around me doing things, sometimes the same thing I am trying to do, and I will help them, and they will help me.
No need for formal grouping, or asking "Can I join your group please sir" or any other bullshit, we just all there together and help each other achieve a goal/event. Very Organic and I must say, the way MMO's should be played.
But, what if I don't want to have people leeching off of my achievements, or watering down my glorious attempt to overcome the Floozle by myself.
What if I want to deny them the opportunity to advance by hoarding the best camps, or locking them out of dungeons, or spoiling their fights by training a bunch of high level mobs into their fight?
How can I be elite and Lord it over everyone in a game with such stupid designs as GW2 seems to have?
I mean, downwards level scaling, seriously? NPC's in lower level zones should actually fear me, running away in terror at my appearance, should I deign them to live.
It's like you have no understanding how MMORPGs work apparently.
/s
I snort laughed at this by the way.. Fucking Hilarious!
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Yeah, I'm a very lazy Architect, hence the Skirmisher secondary.
I prefer to research, copy or modify the work others do before me, so that I can get busy with the mindless killing.
I was reading your personality again, and it was like as if EVE was designed for that exact kind of player
You Plan your routes, ship type, Loss/Gain metrics (Architect), mixed with the occasional high octane random PvP fights that might happen (Skirmisher)
Like, that was the ideal perfect EVE player, or perhaps that EVE was the perfect game for that kind of player. Either way, it seems to blend well, which might be why you still love it, and want to play it, and nothing else comes close.
This has me thinking, maybe it's not so much the Mechanic itself, but the player that gets into those exact mechanics, and thus gets sucked into those games with that ideal mix.
Using myself, Architect. DDO is a very planning game, like players would spend all the time they were running one life to plan their next, which would take anywhere from a week (hardcore) to a month (Not Hardcore), with gear, utilities, items, weapons, classes, traits, builds, classes, abilities, and the like, as well as collecting the needed things for next life during the current life.
On top of that, the Dungeons can be run solo, if you know your shit and plan it out. It's like an Architects wet dream, where we strive to solo dungeons that are not designed to be soloed, by planning and prepping the fuck out of it.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Even if I am playing solo I still want a highly populated world so that it feels alive And there are passive ways to play together.
Kind of like Pokémon Go back in 2016 People weren't really playing together and the game wasn't very good, but everyone out in parks and downtown areas for a summer all playing the same game was pretty cool
I understand this.
What I find limitlessly hilarious is that I will see players be like "I wish a game had XYZ features"
and I'll be like.. "I'm playing a game with those features"
and they will all be like "OMG No not that game! I hate that game!"
In this case, GW2, has social dynamics, where anyone that engages in the content, will get rewards, and players can help and assist each other in the game world.
More often than not, I'll be doing some random shit in game, and there will be people around me doing things, sometimes the same thing I am trying to do, and I will help them, and they will help me.
No need for formal grouping, or asking "Can I join your group please sir" or any other bullshit, we just all there together and help each other achieve a goal/event. Very Organic and I must say, the way MMO's should be played.
But, what if I don't want to have people leeching off of my achievements, or watering down my glorious attempt to overcome the Floozle by myself.
What if I want to deny them the opportunity to advance by hoarding the best camps, or locking them out of dungeons, or spoiling their fights by training a bunch of high level mobs into their fight?
How can I be elite and Lord it over everyone in a game with such stupid designs as GW2 seems to have?
I mean, downwards level scaling, seriously? NPC's in lower level zones should actually fear me, running away in terror at my appearance, should I deign them to live.
It's like you have no understanding how MMORPGs work apparently.
/s
Joking aside, GW2 is a soloers dream, that's why I avoid it and Ungood is an Architect so that fits in. Sounds to me like Kyleran has a split MMO personality disorder. But my Bard-Gladiator was a bit off piste too.
I would not call it a soloer's dream, and it chock full of huge massive world events that I love doing.
I just don't like dealing with the formal group drama, politics and bullshit.
That is not the same not enjoying playing with other people.
Might want to give GW2 a try. Might be a game you never knew you needed to play.
Played it, when I saw that you did not have to even look at quest text that was bad enough. When I then had difficulty finding the NPC's that would allow me to actually read about the quest and get some background, that was unforgivable. I would not have minded an arrow pointing to the NPC, but clearly the lore was irrelevant as far as the designers were concerned.
I think the concept behind these live quests in Guildwars 2 was for things to unfold naturally. It is quite unnatural in a setting to find when things are chaotic and events unfolding that some NPC is standing about waiting to explain things to you. These events are self explanatory in most cases. Like a huge giant attacking a town and having to bring it down or a horde of goblins attacking a camp. You can figure them out yourself. The main quests have text but these events were not meant for that.
If you read Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko you will notice a lot of times things happen naturally there too and no one explains to the adventurers who are playing until much later when things have settled down and they get to the meatier quests. Most quests only update later and they don't have any idea what steps they have to take to advance the quest objectives. That made a lot of sense to me and would have been a great game to play except for the whole hooked to an IV and feeding tube thing.
I think the concept behind these live quests in Guildwars 2 was for things to unfold naturally. It is quite unnatural in a setting to find when things are chaotic and events unfolding that some NPC is standing about waiting to explain things to you. These events are self explanatory in most cases. Like a huge giant attacking a town and having to bring it down or a horde of goblins attacking a camp. You can figure them out yourself. The main quests have text but these events were not meant for that.
If you read Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko you will notice a lot of times things happen naturally there too and no one explains to the adventurers who are playing until much later when things have settled down and they get to the meatier quests. Most quests only update later and they don't have any idea what steps they have to take to advance the quest objectives. That made a lot of sense to me and would have been a great game to play except for the whole hooked to an IV and feeding tube thing.
I didn't care exactly where the npc was placed in relation to the quest, they were never miles away in fact, just that because you did not know where there were it could take some time to find them. I felt as if I was being penalised for wanting to know more about the lore. Which for me is why "self explanatory" is not enough, sure I realised why I need to do a quest, but that's not the issue, I wanted to understand the background.
Might want to give GW2 a try. Might be a game you never knew you needed to play.
Played it, when I saw that you did not have to even look at quest text that was bad enough. When I then had difficulty finding the NPC's that would allow me to actually read about the quest and get some background, that was unforgivable. I would not have minded an arrow pointing to the NPC, but clearly the lore was irrelevant as far as the designers were concerned.
Are you sure we talking about the same game?
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Only the live quests are more fluid but most have the quests have text and you will be speaking to people. There is quite a bit of text as some are very long the personal quest where no one can join you can be lengthy. I'm not sure where you came across this in GW2 @Scot. Is it the very first part? If so I think that part is quite cryptic and no real explanation given until later when your personal quest starts.
Only the live quests are more fluid but most have the quests have text and you will be speaking to people. There is quite a bit of text as some are very long the personal quest where no one can join you can be lengthy. I'm not sure where you came across this in GW2 @Scot. Is it the very first part? If so I think that part is quite cryptic and no real explanation given until later when your personal quest starts.
You are running around, anywhere in GW2. A pop up gives you TLDR quest details. I am not saying this was for all quests, just having that mechanic made it unforgivable to me.
Looking at GW2 in the round, it was a decent MMORPG, but as someone who started his gaming with text adventures this was just a step too far. I first saw it in WHO and would have dropped that game had I not been in my main guild. Since than of course I have become more lenient about this attitude of mine, because we have no choice. Once again we have to put up with something grievous in MMOs because there is no choice.
One thing I find interesting in this survey. Is even though I have a 76% in Fantasy it still only puts me into the bottom 14 percentile for Immersion compared to other survey takers.
Alot more people like story than I thought, or people online taking this test represent a larger portion of the population.
Almost all the people I play with all say they hate story, so this seems odd to me.
I think a lot of people love story. I find story implementation in mmorpg’s to be clunky.
I remember the first time in Lord of the Rings Online when I met with Aragorn and there were a host of players around him. Felt odd for as I saw it he’d want to be more secretive. I had to make up a reason why people were flocking to him.
I can separate the single player story part from the mmorpg part but it always takes some forethought and never feels truly natural to the game.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
One thing I find interesting in this survey. Is even though I have a 76% in Fantasy it still only puts me into the bottom 14 percentile for Immersion compared to other survey takers.
Alot more people like story than I thought, or people online taking this test represent a larger portion of the population.
Almost all the people I play with all say they hate story, so this seems odd to me.
I think a lot of people love story. I find story implementation in mmorpg’s to be clunky.
I remember the first time in Lord of the Rings Online when I met with Aragorn and there were a host of players around him. Felt odd for as I saw it he’d want to be more secretive. I had to make up a reason why people were flocking to him.
I can separate the single player story part from the mmorpg part but it always takes some forethought and never feels truly natural to the game.
The usual story telling methods don't work in a multiplayer game I don't think.
Instead MMOs could do what I call macro storytelling (for lack of a better word, maybe there is an actual term for it I am unaware of)
Basically instead of focusing on any individuals you focus on larger events and groups. Much like how you learn about historical events. Then you can plug the player into those stories without them being the chosen one or prime mover of the story, rather just a participant in a larger group context.
So instead of paling around with Aragorn directly You talk to people working with Aragorn to recruit adventurers or whatever, So you are always near the important events but never the most important person.
Otherwise you end up with a situation where every player just Forest Gumps their way through Middle Earth.
Only the live quests are more fluid but most have the quests have text and you will be speaking to people. There is quite a bit of text as some are very long the personal quest where no one can join you can be lengthy. I'm not sure where you came across this in GW2 @Scot. Is it the very first part? If so I think that part is quite cryptic and no real explanation given until later when your personal quest starts.
You are running around, anywhere in GW2. A pop up gives you TLDR quest details. I am not saying this was for all quests, just having that mechanic made it unforgivable to me.
Looking at GW2 in the round, it was a decent MMORPG, but as someone who started his gaming with text adventures this was just a step too far. I first saw it in WHO and would have dropped that game had I not been in my main guild. Since than of course I have become more lenient about this attitude of mine, because we have no choice. Once again we have to put up with something grievous in MMOs because there is no choice.
Oh, that sounds like DE's or Hearts.
There is no deep lore there, what you see going down, is what is going down.
Giant kicking the shit out of a town, that's pretty much the sum of that whole thing, that giant felt like kicking the shit out of that down, that's what giants do. Deal or Don't, nothing deep going on.
Some farmer needs help with feeding their wurm's and beetles eating their shit, well that's as deep as it goes, they need a hand with feeding the wurm's and killing the beetles, nothing more to the story, you can help for some minor reward, or tell them to F-off.
they might send you a nice e-mail, or Heart, saying thank you, they might not do jack shit, because they need to get back to their mundane NPC life, because this shit was Tuesday to them, and you know, here's some reward, thanks for the help stranger.
Now, when you get to the Lore and Story of the game, that's different, good hell, the NPC, never fucking shut up!
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
One thing I find interesting in this survey. Is even though I have a 76% in Fantasy it still only puts me into the bottom 14 percentile for Immersion compared to other survey takers.
Alot more people like story than I thought, or people online taking this test represent a larger portion of the population.
Almost all the people I play with all say they hate story, so this seems odd to me.
I think a lot of people love story. I find story implementation in mmorpg’s to be clunky.
I remember the first time in Lord of the Rings Online when I met with Aragorn and there were a host of players around him. Felt odd for as I saw it he’d want to be more secretive. I had to make up a reason why people were flocking to him.
I can separate the single player story part from the mmorpg part but it always takes some forethought and never feels truly natural to the game.
The usual story telling methods don't work in a multiplayer game I don't think.
Instead MMOs could do what I call macro storytelling (for lack of a better word, maybe there is an actual term for it I am unaware of)
Basically instead of focusing on any individuals you focus on larger events and groups. Much like how you learn about historical events. Then you can plug the player into those stories without them being the chosen one or prime mover of the story, rather just a participant in a larger group context.
So instead of paling around with Aragorn directly You talk to people working with Aragorn to recruit adventurers or whatever, So you are always near the important events but never the most important person.
Otherwise you end up with a situation where every player just Forest Gumps their way through Middle Earth.
I’ve had the exact same idea! Dealing with large world events and their fallout.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
One thing I find interesting in this survey. Is even though I have a 76% in Fantasy it still only puts me into the bottom 14 percentile for Immersion compared to other survey takers.
Alot more people like story than I thought, or people online taking this test represent a larger portion of the population.
Almost all the people I play with all say they hate story, so this seems odd to me.
I think a lot of people love story. I find story implementation in mmorpg’s to be clunky.
I remember the first time in Lord of the Rings Online when I met with Aragorn and there were a host of players around him. Felt odd for as I saw it he’d want to be more secretive. I had to make up a reason why people were flocking to him.
I can separate the single player story part from the mmorpg part but it always takes some forethought and never feels truly natural to the game.
The usual story telling methods don't work in a multiplayer game I don't think.
Instead MMOs could do what I call macro storytelling (for lack of a better word, maybe there is an actual term for it I am unaware of)
Basically instead of focusing on any individuals you focus on larger events and groups. Much like how you learn about historical events. Then you can plug the player into those stories without them being the chosen one or prime mover of the story, rather just a participant in a larger group context.
So instead of paling around with Aragorn directly You talk to people working with Aragorn to recruit adventurers or whatever, So you are always near the important events but never the most important person.
Otherwise you end up with a situation where every player just Forest Gumps their way through Middle Earth.
DDO was a lot like this, you were always "One of many" you were never the Direct Chosen One.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Comments
I just don't like dealing with the formal group drama, politics and bullshit.
That is not the same not enjoying playing with other people.
Might want to give GW2 a try. Might be a game you never knew you needed to play.
I prefer to research, copy or modify the work others do before me, so that I can get busy with the mindless killing.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Destruction (8%)/ Excitement (93%)
Alot more people like story than I thought, or people online taking this test represent a larger portion of the population.
Almost all the people I play with all say they hate story, so this seems odd to me.
You Plan your routes, ship type, Loss/Gain metrics (Architect), mixed with the occasional high octane random PvP fights that might happen (Skirmisher)
Like, that was the ideal perfect EVE player, or perhaps that EVE was the perfect game for that kind of player. Either way, it seems to blend well, which might be why you still love it, and want to play it, and nothing else comes close.
This has me thinking, maybe it's not so much the Mechanic itself, but the player that gets into those exact mechanics, and thus gets sucked into those games with that ideal mix.
Using myself, Architect. DDO is a very planning game, like players would spend all the time they were running one life to plan their next, which would take anywhere from a week (hardcore) to a month (Not Hardcore), with gear, utilities, items, weapons, classes, traits, builds, classes, abilities, and the like, as well as collecting the needed things for next life during the current life.
On top of that, the Dungeons can be run solo, if you know your shit and plan it out. It's like an Architects wet dream, where we strive to solo dungeons that are not designed to be soloed, by planning and prepping the fuck out of it.
If you read Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko you will notice a lot of times things happen naturally there too and no one explains to the adventurers who are playing until much later when things have settled down and they get to the meatier quests. Most quests only update later and they don't have any idea what steps they have to take to advance the quest objectives. That made a lot of sense to me and would have been a great game to play except for the whole hooked to an IV and feeding tube thing.
I think this was a nice and funny vid on GW 2.
Looking at GW2 in the round, it was a decent MMORPG, but as someone who started his gaming with text adventures this was just a step too far. I first saw it in WHO and would have dropped that game had I not been in my main guild. Since than of course I have become more lenient about this attitude of mine, because we have no choice. Once again we have to put up with something grievous in MMOs because there is no choice.
I remember the first time in Lord of the Rings Online when I met with Aragorn and there were a host of players around him. Felt odd for as I saw it he’d want to be more secretive. I had to make up a reason why people were flocking to him.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Instead MMOs could do what I call macro storytelling (for lack of a better word, maybe there is an actual term for it I am unaware of)
Basically instead of focusing on any individuals you focus on larger events and groups.
Much like how you learn about historical events.
Then you can plug the player into those stories without them being the chosen one or prime mover of the story, rather just a participant in a larger group context.
So instead of paling around with Aragorn directly
You talk to people working with Aragorn to recruit adventurers or whatever,
So you are always near the important events but never the most important person.
Otherwise you end up with a situation where every player just Forest Gumps their way through Middle Earth.
There is no deep lore there, what you see going down, is what is going down.
Giant kicking the shit out of a town, that's pretty much the sum of that whole thing, that giant felt like kicking the shit out of that down, that's what giants do. Deal or Don't, nothing deep going on.
Some farmer needs help with feeding their wurm's and beetles eating their shit, well that's as deep as it goes, they need a hand with feeding the wurm's and killing the beetles, nothing more to the story, you can help for some minor reward, or tell them to F-off.
they might send you a nice e-mail, or Heart, saying thank you, they might not do jack shit, because they need to get back to their mundane NPC life, because this shit was Tuesday to them, and you know, here's some reward, thanks for the help stranger.
Now, when you get to the Lore and Story of the game, that's different, good hell, the NPC, never fucking shut up!
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo