The Choice: Dark Times

[Drakontis]

We are getting a quest system with Vor's Prize. But what is after Vor's prize? What next? Well... Due to some inspiration, I have an idea.

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You reach Rank (X). Your skills and experience are valued, respected and observed by all. The Grineer, Corpus, and Infected all recognize your feats. Lotus observes from afar, proud of your progress. A silent watcher has been observing as well. In your Inbox after the last Mastery Test, a message appears from an anonymous benefactor.

Tenno...

Your experience in the field is great. You fight well. You alter the balance and try to make things right. But who leads you? Who is the Lotus? You do not know, do you? Your origins are murky, your memory blank. Is it all a lie? You do not know the Lotus, and yet you trust her with your safety. You do not know the truths. Take this key and with it, discover the truths behind the Orokin and your long forgotten past, (username), and that of your brethren.

From here you take the key. It glows from inside, it is like no other key you have wielded before. A stark difference compared to everything else. The Corpus Void keys, the Tower Keys, the Derelict Keys. You channel it and find yourself in darkness. A light flickers and you follow. The benefactor speaks to you from afar, telling you of your past. But never the whole story. No one tells you the whole story. You finish the mission and another message appears in your Inbox. This time, the Lotus. <br />

Tenno

 

I noticed you went dark for a few hours. The void is a dangerous place to go alone, but I sense something troubling. You were not alone, were you? I sense a growing force in the shadows. Perhaps it is time you learned of your past so that you may better shape your future.

Again, another mission. The Lotus leads you through, telling you a similar story to the anonymous benefactor's. It is obvious that these are from differing points of view. But who do you believe?

The missions continue, each one trying to voice the events. Both trying to manipulate you. Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? You don't know the whole story. They may not know the whole story either. Suddenly, an alert message appears across the Origin System.

URGENT: TENNO, I am being attacked! I need your help right away! Come alone and well prepared.

You accept the mission promptly, finding yourself in an extravagant set of rooms and battles have begun. Corrupted soldiers are everywhere, trying to take down Lotus styled turrets and defense mechanisms. All are hostile towards you. You take them all out, both the Lotus and Anonymous talking to you, guiding you, manipulating you on your way through both forces. Eventually, you find yourself in a grand room. Monitors are everywhere. You can see missions being run against all factions. You notice two figures in the room, each wary of the other. To the right, you see the Lotus. She is armed and pointing weapons to the figure on your left. There lies a being like you have never seen before. Adorned in white and gold, armed as well, your benefactor. Both plead with you to side with them, that they are what's best for you and the Origin System. It is time to make a choice, Tenno. Who do you believe?

The battle is over. One lies at your feet, the other stands at your side

If you side with Lotus:

Good work, Tenno. You made the right decision siding with me. Your loyalty will be rewarded. Head back to extraction and your award will be waiting for you.

If you side with the Corrupted:

Tenno, I understand you made a difficult choice today. The Lotus has lead you through several missions. But trust that I shall lead you just as effectively, if not better. You shall be awarded for your valor in the face of doubt. Go to extraction in peace and be at peace yourself.

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This idea spawned from another thread about Lotus. The idea came up about what the price for betraying the Lotus would be. But what if, instead, it wasn't about a price, what if it was about the politics, the ideals, and the methods. Indeed it does often seem that Lotus sends us out against some questionable targets (Tyl Regor comes to mind. Attacking a doctor, even of the enemy, seems wrong.) We truly know nothing of our past. What if an anonymous source came to us with arms open, offering the "truth" behind our amnesia. Would it be the truth, or just manipulation? And what about the Lotus, would she offer the truth, or manipulation? What if they offer both?

One of the results to this would be that if you sided with the Corrupted, you would gain a different leader. A different persona leading you through your missions in the same way as Darvo. Other rewards are up for debate. An exclusive prime for each side depending on your choice?

As a whole I think this would be a fantastic way to open up some of the mystery behind The Void, The Lotus, The Orokin and the great Fall. It could also include some lore about The Stalker, the great mystery himself.

Edit: The final battle would not end in the actual death of the character. Instead, the end of the mission would simply be a cut scene where the wounded leader staggers away from the Tenno, wounded, issues a final line of dialogue, and then teleports away. This could mean that in the end, you can still receive notifications from the Lotus even if she is no longer your leader, for things such as important, Tenno-wide missions (Events, Alerts?) and likewise, the Lotus sided Tenno could receive similar messages from the opposite side, after they have played through the quest chain. 

Edited April 9, 2014 by Drakontis

[Un1337ninj4]

huh..... +1

[OniDax]

Well, apparently the Lotus is an AI, so what if it's the Lotus in a Lotus-esque warframe, and Stalker Prime or an evil Corrupted Lotus, or maybe Stalker standing by the Orokin benefactor's side?

[Drakontis]

Well, apparently the Lotus is an AI, so what if it's the Lotus in a Lotus-esque warframe, and Stalker Prime or an evil Corrupted Lotus, or maybe Stalker standing by the Orokin benefactor's side?

I'm still in development of all the ideas in regards to who the characters are exactly, especially on the Corrupted's side. The biggest idea here, however, is the fact that there is this IN GAME CHOICE that actually makes you think, who is manipulating you more? Who is telling the the greater truth? Who do you side with? 

[Erusa]

Coming Soon in 2017 or never

Pretty big lore implications and impact there, it's grandiose, it's good, it's interesting.

The question now if DE was planning on this kind of "Lore" (assuming they actually have plans for it).

[Drakontis]

Coming Soon in 2017 or never

Pretty big lore implications and impact there, it's grandiose, it's good, it's interesting.

The question now if DE was planning on this kind of "Lore" (assuming they actually have plans for it).

I really like the concept of choice in this game. The Gradivus Dilemma was awesome for that. But I think it would be cool to have something that was more on a player level. Something intimate with the player so to speak. Another moral gray area. 

[Erusa]

I really like the concept of choice in this game. The Gradivus Dilemma was awesome for that. But I think it would be cool to have something that was more on a player level. Something intimate with the player so to speak. Another moral gray area. 

Who doesn't? Choice is nice, it allows you to "personalize", to be you. Choices is what makes us unique to that guy beside you (such deep).

The problem here though is that DE may have plans for Lore that might clash with this.....So yeah, it's up to DE's discretion for this to go through...

Is there a general plot for Warframe or not

Note that the Gradivus is based on the "Present", this one implicates the "Past" which is so obscure right now that it might as well not exist. (cuz we forgot about it anyway ; -;) And it will also affect the "Future" (since it's a crossroad of no return)...So, erm, DE? D;

[Drunken_Child]

Hmm, interesting, but too controversial. Seems like better fanfic  than concept.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Drunken_Child

[ENDER357]

id kill both.....sorry for throwing a boulder at a problem, but i want to maximize my &amp;#&#33; kicking

[Eirochlan]

It would definitely be interesting to ditch the Lotus and fight against her. 

[DalaiLlama]

Very interesting picking the corrupted of all factions to side with.  Raises another question of:

1. Would you support the old ways of the orokin and learn the truth behind your past or

2. Embrace the amnesia, forgo the past, and continue following the Lotus, painting your own future?

 

More effort would have to be put into either incentivizing the corrupted and this anonymous benefactor though, since players have been around the Lotus for a greater period of time.  He'd need to be properly personified and humanized as well as given significantly more lines of dialogue/levels of interaction before the faction-splitting choice; he'd be less of a spectre of times long past and more of a loyalist crusader in support of the old ways, forgiving of the Tenno for their crime in wiping out the Orokin higher ranks.

Edited April 2, 2014 by DalaiLlama

[Drakontis]

Very interesting picking the corrupted of all factions to side with.  Raises another question of:

1. Would you support the old ways of the orokin and learn the truth behind your past or

2. Embrace the amnesia, forgo the past, and continue following the Lotus, painting your own future?

 

More effort would have to be put into either incentivizing the corrupted and this anonymous benefactor though, since players have been around the Lotus for a greater period of time.  He'd need to be properly personified and humanized as well as given significantly more lines of dialogue/levels of interaction before the faction-splitting choice; he'd be less of a spectre of times long past and more of a loyalist crusader in support of the old ways, forgiving of the Tenno for their crime in wiping out the Orokin higher ranks.

This is the goal behind the mission quests. They'd be set points of dialogue that are given to you as you fight through the mission. Both sides trying to sway you to their favor, all leading to the pivotal moment when you finally confront them both.

As for the Corrupted "boss" him/herself, I don't see them necessarily AS a corrupted, but as somebody who either discovered them or was taken by them and escaped, perhaps finding data. Or even a cryo-stored being who never got amnesia. Whatever the choice, they would be a stark difference in comparison to Lotus, in voice, character and in how they work. 

As for future events past that point, I think each character would likely give a slightly different twist to why you're doing what you're doing, even slightly different information feeds due to each one getting information from different sources. 

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Also, I remember that in one of the past live streams when Vor's Prize first came up, one of the DEvs said that they'd like to bring in choice to these missions. And while this idea may not be compatible immediately (like right after Vor's Prize), it could be something of a future goal. 

[Beasthunter98]

We are getting a quest system with Vor's Prize. But what is after Vor's prize? What next? Well... Due to some inspiration, I have an idea.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

You reach Rank (X). Your skills and experience are valued, respected and observed by all. The Grineer, Corpus, and Infected all recognize your feats. Lotus observes from afar, proud of your progress. A silent watcher has been observing as well. In your Inbox after the last Mastery Test, a message appears from an anonymous benefactor.

Tenno...

Your experience in the field is great. You fight well. You alter the balance and try to make things right. But who leads you? Who is the Lotus? You do not know, do you? Your origins are murky, your memory blank. Is it all a lie? You do not know the Lotus, and yet you trust her with your safety. You do not know the truths. Take this key and with it, discover the truths behind the Orokin and your long forgotten past, (username), and that of your brethren.

From here you take the key. It glows from inside, it is like no other key you have wielded before. A stark difference compared to everything else. The Corpus Void keys, the Tower Keys, the Derelict Keys. You channel it and find yourself in darkness. A light flickers and you follow. The benefactor speaks to you from afar, telling you of your past. But never the whole story. No one tells you the whole story. You finish the mission and another message appears in your Inbox. This time, the Lotus. <br />

Tenno

 

I noticed you went dark for a few hours. The void is a dangerous place to go alone, but I sense something troubling. You were not alone, were you? I sense a growing force in the shadows. Perhaps it is time you learned of your past so that you may better shape your future.

Again, another mission. The Lotus leads you through, telling you a similar story to the anonymous benefactor's. It is obvious that these are from differing points of view. But who do you believe?

The missions continue, each one trying to voice the events. Both trying to manipulate you. Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? You don't know the whole story. They may not know the whole story either. Suddenly, an alert message appears across the Origin System.

URGENT: TENNO, I am being attacked! I need your help right away! Come alone and well prepared.

You accept the mission promptly, finding yourself in an extravagant set of rooms and battles have begun. Corrupted soldiers are everywhere, trying to take down Lotus styled turrets and defense mechanisms. All are hostile towards you. You take them all out, both the Lotus and Anonymous talking to you, guiding you, manipulating you on your way through both forces. Eventually, you find yourself in a grand room. Monitors are everywhere. You can see missions being run against all factions. You notice two figures in the room, each wary of the other. To the right, you see the Lotus. She is armed and pointing weapons to the figure on your left. There lies a being like you have never seen before. Adorned in white and gold, armed as well, your benefactor. Both plead with you to side with them, that they are what's best for you and the Origin System. It is time to make a choice, Tenno. Who do you believe?

The battle is over. One lies at your feet, the other stands at your side

If you side with Lotus:

Good work, Tenno. You made the right decision siding with me. Your loyalty will be rewarded. Head back to extraction and your award will be waiting for you.

If you side with the Corrupted:

Tenno, I understand you made a difficult choice today. The Lotus has lead you through several missions. But trust that I shall lead you just as effectively, if not better. You shall be awarded for your valor in the face of doubt. Go to extraction in peace and be at peace yourself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This idea spawned from another thread about Lotus. The idea came up about what the price for betraying the Lotus would be. But what if, instead, it wasn't about a price, what if it was about the politics, the ideals, and the methods. Indeed it does often seem that Lotus sends us out against some questionable targets (Tyl Regor comes to mind. Attacking a doctor, even of the enemy, seems wrong.) We truly know nothing of our past. What if an anonymous source came to us with arms open, offering the "truth" behind our amnesia. Would it be the truth, or just manipulation? And what about the Lotus, would she offer the truth, or manipulation? What if they offer both?

One of the results to this would be that if you sided with the Corrupted, you would gain a different leader. A different persona leading you through your missions in the same way as Darvo. Other rewards are up for debate. An exclusive prime for each side depending on your choice?

As a whole I think this would be a fantastic way to open up some of the mystery behind The Void, The Lotus, The Orokin and the great Fall. It could also include some lore about The Stalker, the great mystery himself.

 QUESTION: Will the Grineer and Corpus still go after you? Because if you join the Corputed you are basically going against the Tennos, and also, wont Lotus send Tennos to Assassinate you? 

[Drakontis]

 QUESTION: Will the Grineer and Corpus still go after you? Because if you join the Corputed you are basically going against the Tennos, and also, wont Lotus send Tennos to Assassinate you? 

Ultimately, the goals of this new leader align similarly with the Lotus. The question here is a slight different in methodology and what information they give you, both in game and out of game. So while initially you rebel against the Lotus, you are still going against the Grineer, Corpus and Infested and you aren't fighting against your brethren. You're not necessarily joining the corrupted units in the Tower Void Keys, but somebody that is either using them to their own goals or is related to them in some way. 

[Drakontis]

Added an Edit: in regards to "Does the Lotus die? Does the new guy die?" Answer is, neither dies, cut scene at the end of the mission, both may wind up helping Tenno after the quest chain. Could offer some very unique experiences afterwards. Perhaps both coming in a later mission in game, similar to Darvo alerts and arguing with each other.