[IDEA] Not All That Glitters... or On the Usage of Gold

from Demigod Forums

One of the things that has bothered me about the story aspect of the game is the usage of “gold” to purchase things.  Gold is obviously a standard in any fantasy environment as a means of purchase, but it doesn’t really seem to fit here.  Given the layout and appearance of the level, a gold mine just sitting in the back seems to be a bit of a non sequitur, as does the idea of the Rook stomping tiny little archer men into the dust, only to snatch a shiny gold piece off of the ground.  In my estimation, something a bit more ethereal might fit into the realm better.  An acceptable concept might be something like Souls, or even Wild Souls.  For example, the rotating device in the back might be called a “Wild Soul Harvester” and it accumulates souls just like the gold mine (because there are always people dying somewhere, or something like that) and when you kill mobs, you get their souls, and when you kill a Demigod, which are really powerful beings, so you get a lot of souls.  (I think someone already suggested the scaling payout rate like that; I’m just applying the Souls idea.)  Also, the process of just up and buying legendary artifacts is a bit odd, like one would go to Wal-Mart for the All Father’s Ring.  Instead, maybe the shops are called something like “Spirit Forges” and you essentially forge these souls into magical items.  The gameplay would be the same, (as in, there wouldn’t be a “forge minigame” or anything) but it might make the aesthetics a bit more fantastical.

demigod
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Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Who cares what the currency is called...

Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from Demigod Forums Top

The explanation is that the gods are betting on you, and if you make them win they'll pay you off, and there is nothing awesomer than the idea of all the gods sitting up on Mt. Olympus idly betting on the contest. It's fantastically atmospheric in this lore. The mines, not so much, but gold is good. Gods like gold, it's shiny. :grin: Plus, it's even less logical for souls to be stuck in the ground than gold. I think that it'd be better if some points were there supposedly just there, but the gods think they're key to winning their bets if you held them so they'll pay you if you do. Makes just as much sense.

Reply #4 from Demigod Forums Top

Virgin sacrifices.

 

The better you do, the more virgins your devote followers sacrifice in your honor.

Reply #5 from Demigod Forums Top

The better you do, the more virgins your devote followers sacrifice in your honor.
End of quote

love it. :grin: The only problem is that you're only a demigod, so you'll probably only be able to attract cultists, and their sacrificial techniques leave a demigod feeling skeezy inside.

Reply #6 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting xthetenth, reply 3
...and there is nothing awesomer than the idea of all the gods sitting up on Mt. Olympus idly betting on the contest...
End of xthetenth's quote

And the only thing awesomer than that would be the gods on Mt. Olympus betting not gold, but the essenses of other beings. ^^ 

What use do the gods have for gold, though?  Don't get me wrong; I would be thrilled if Zeus stopped by my store to buy some Bawls, but if they're as über-powerful as the demigods want to be, doesn't the usage of a physical currency seem pointless?

Quoting xthetenth, reply 3
Plus, it's even less logical for souls to be stuck in the ground than gold.
End of xthetenth's quote

Yes, you would be correct there. :P I was suggesting that it's not a soul mine, but rather a device that pulls the souls of the departed out of the air/Æther, becuase there is a constant death rate all over the planet, which means a constant supply of souls.

 

Quoting xthetenth, reply 3
...but the gods think they're key to winning their bets if you held them so they'll pay you if you do.
End of xthetenth's quote

They pay you gold out of their pockets to hold a gold mine?  :fuzzy: I'm sorry, I don't think I quite understand...

And virgin sacrifices would rock...not to mention get an "M" rating... ^^;

Reply #7 from Demigod Forums Top

And virgin sacrifices would rock...not to mention get an "M" rating... ^^;
End of quote

devs don't want that, sorry. :annoyed:

They pay you gold out of their pockets to hold a gold mine? I'm sorry, I don't think I quite understand...
End of quote

No gold mine. They pay you to win, and they think you're such a drool dispenser that you need to be told where to go... so they pay you to do it. Doesn't make that much sense, but it's not that bad by video game resourcing standards.

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

:sigh: Yes, I realize that they don't want an M rated game.  Hence the ^^; emoticon (sweatdrop), indicating something along the lines of sheepish sarcasm.

Quoting xthetenth, reply 3
Makes just as much sense.
End of xthetenth's quote

Quoting xthetenth, reply 7
Doesn't make that much sense...
End of xthetenth's quote

I see what you did there. So now my idea doesn't make sense, eh? ;)

But that's really my point.  It shouldn't have to be "not that bad."  It should be freaking awesome!  A player shouldn't have to sit down at the game with a bunch of awesome features and story and look at this one elemenet and go, "Well, I guess that kind of makes sense."  They should be saying, "Hey! That's an awesome element as well!"  Especially when it involves something like this, which would only involve label changes, not major visual overhauls.  As well, it might be a bit easier to explain or have be self-evident.  I obvioulsly had no idea about the wagering gods, and while it's entirely possible they have a story explaination idea in the works for that, why nto consider this as a viable alternative if they don't?

Reply #9 from Demigod Forums Top

Harvesting souls is kind of... baroque for gods fighting on the side of good, and I think they will explain the wagering gods bit in later betas when they aren't busy fixing bugs or explaining the bare minimum of story needed to get back to fixing bugs.

Reply #10 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting LondonVonWolfgram, reply 6
What use do the gods have for gold, though?  Don't get me wrong; I would be thrilled if Zeus stopped by my store to buy some Bawls, but if they're as über-powerful as the demigods want to be, doesn't the usage of a physical currency seem pointless?
End of LondonVonWolfgram's quote

lol yes, i imagine zeus would be more likely to just shout "give me your bawls, mortal!" then light you up with a thunderbolt :)

Reply #11 from Demigod Forums Top

Actually, I rather like the soul-harvesting idea. It certainly fits with the theme overall a lot more than wagers (none of which would actually flow to you on the battlefield, pointedly, since the bets would be between the Gods elsewhere watching). The harvest of a perfectly reasonable local resource doesn't actually fit with gold.

Pointedly, most of the maps appear to be occuring on constructed arenas, anyway. Why'd there be gold to mine in there? And who's working in them? And where is it being smelted and/or conveyed to exchange as a currency? The more you think of it as a physical resource, the more it actually falls apart, which is a fate an ethereal resource doesn't have. 

Hmmm, "Spirit" might be a better term than "Souls," in fact. More powerful entities release more spirit when you vanquish them. The gold mines become Spirit Engines, which harvest the ambient spirit energy of the area and channel it to whoever has established control over them. Spirit energy can be converted to physical objects (and back!) at the various Spirit Forges/Shops. Since it's an immaterial resource by definition, there's no reason to ponder overmuch where you carry huge heaping sacks of gold you pick up off that fallen archer.

As an interesting aside, this means you could come up with a mechanic orthagonal to mana in which the more Spirit you're charged with, the more you glow / coruscate / visually effect, and certain Skills might make use of that persistent charge, as an aura effect or somesuch, but only so long as you did not reify your Spirit. So, you get to strategically decide whether or not to go for items / artefacts or for Spirit Skills, introducing another strategic and customizable decision fork.

Reply #12 from Demigod Forums Top

The Spirit Engines have been IGNITED!  Yessss.....

 

I like it

Reply #13 from Demigod Forums Top

"The Spirit Engines have been ignited" is a fantastic opening line.  Something bellowed out to start the battle. Sweet.

I do like "Spirit" better than "Soul," and that idea of having the Spirit charge you up as long as you don't spend it is a great strategic pathway.  Maybe if you accumulate enough, you can spend it all to empower yourself and buy a level, or up a skill by one, or something like that.

 

And I think I would FTFO if Zeus shouted at me "Give me your Bawls!" Better than a lightning bolt up the ying-yang, I suppose. ^^

Reply #14 from Demigod Forums Top

This is an interesting thread. I like these ideas.

The Spirit Engines have been IGNITED!
End of quote
That would be awesome to hear.

 

:fox:

Reply #15 from Demigod Forums Top

You want awesome?  Check this out:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/1862836027b281be/

 

Reply #16 from Demigod Forums Top

Blarg, sorry...there it is with an actual link...I can't seem to edit my post; "edit" doesn't work...

 

Behold!