Question about Guild Wars 2 novel

[Slabba]

Will the novel be non gamer friendly? By that i mean if you've never played Guild Wars will the novel make any sense or is it elaborate enough so that even someone who knows nothing about the game would understand it. I recently seen a Assassin creed novel but didn't get it due to the fact that i never played the game and didn't know if it would be understandable to me

[Thalador Doomspeaker]

If you mean gameplay, then you don't have to worry.

Originally Posted by Ghosts of Ascalon

What kind of game mechanics, if any, will be in the Ghosts of Ascalon? For example, will we see Resurrection Signets and Skills?

We believe the rule of thumb for good game fiction is: "Never let the reader hear the dice rolling." You may recognize a skill or weapon by the way it is described in Ghosts of Ascalon, but game terms or mechanics will not be overt.

If you mean the lore and history of Guild Wars, then I think you should read something about it. Here, this can serve as an "appetizer" for Guild Wars lore:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Lore
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Movement_of_the_World
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ecology_of_the_Charr

If you want to know more, feel free to visit the lore forums of both Guild Wars (1) Guru and Guild Wars 2 Guru.

[Slabba]

Yes i did mean lore and I'm familiar with it, i played until factions was released then picked it back up about a year ago. I was just asking for random people walking through a store or searching for a good read, if it would be understandable to them if they haven't played the game.

[Thalador Doomspeaker]

Oh, I'm terribly sorry.

I think the people who have never played Guild Wars would still enjoy it (if they like fantasy), and understand many things but not all of them. Maybe it would encourage them to know more about Guild Wars 1 - maybe even to buy and play it - and then read more about Guild Wars 2 and buy it as well. But I'm not certain.

[Sabre Wolf]

Considering the principle writer of the book was not an ANET employee or a GW player, I think that anyone who picks the book up will find connecting lore within the book from those links above and be able to follow it. If not, then that's a /fail on the writer's part.

[Arghore]

I think it is safe to say that since GW2 is viewed as somewhat of a new start, that the novel will read in a similar way... some flashbacks may occur but those will be focussed on the years between GW1 and GW2 and thus mostlikely will not be based on old lore and treated/written as real flashbacks (thus giving ins and outs on an event in the past, used to explain motive in the present) ... you might know more ins and out, and understand things better if you have played GW1 and are familiar with previous event, but like stated by SW, if the story of the book cant be understood and enjoyed without that, then thats a /fail on the writer's part...

[Regina Buenaobra]

One of the goals of the book is to be first and foremost a story that is accessible to those who have not been exposed to the deep history of Tyria and the Guild Wars game. We want this book to be both a rewarding experience to those long-time fans (who will recognize names and places) and people who don’t know what an Asura is.

So the answer is: yes. We hope to make it easily understandable to people who are not currently immersed in Guild Wars lore.

[Corpsesarefun]

Originally Posted by Regina Buenaobra

One of the goals of the book is to be first and foremost a story that is accessible to those who have not been exposed to the deep history of Tyria and the Guild Wars game. We want this book to be both a rewarding experience to those long-time fans (who will recognize names and places) and people who don’t know what an Asura is.

So the answer is: yes. We hope to make it easily understandable to people who are not currently immersed in Guild Wars lore.

But Regina there is one thing we must know, will the book involve woodland creatures and/or dressing up as woodland creatures for the purposes of espionage?

[Shaft Ed]

I would personally prefer it if there was a large amount of hiding in boxes, rather than dressing up as woodland creatures.

[Regina Buenaobra]

Originally Posted by Shaft Ed

I would personally prefer it if there was a large amount of hiding in boxes, rather than dressing up as woodland creatures.

I like how you think!