I think there's a lot more 'fly by the seat of your pants' story-line related policies that are made and implemented behind the scenes that we largely aren't privy to. I suppose though that goes without saying.
We also have to consider how much of the planning for a main set's basic story is decided in broadstrokes well before the story team figures out the details involved.
Story spotlights have always been general, but they also always seemed to at least reflect the basic idea of what's happening in a story through basic plot points.
In Kaldheim though we seem to be missing entire chapters such as the protagonists' adventures in Skemfar, or Kaya's confrontation with Vorinclex at Esika's inner sanctum. This is peculiar.
Another strange occurrences within the story include the lack of a Theros: Beyond Death body of fiction.
In short. The story seems to be relatively unstable currently, and I'm curious as to what it may signify.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Wizards. listen. The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
What about the Storyline's overall meta, how it's been organized and communicated across platforms, how has company policies towards the storyline developed or changed over the years?
We saw a lot of experimentation by the company in telling and explaining the game's story and setting across a plethora of platforms and mediums. Physical Books, Artbooks, E-books, Email-newsletters, Video trailers, podcasts, free serialized webfiction & articles, MTG arena voice-acting, and of course the cards and mechanics themselves.
If I were a betting man, I'd wager that they've probably been trying to measure the success of these platforms and mediums using some kind of metric system that examines the issue based on varying criteria, such as audience receptivity, player awareness, cost & profitability, depth, consistency, etc.
This becomes difficult as they would need to take into account the fact that the kinds of stories also being told also influences how successful a narrative is on any of these fronts.
I think there also have been disruptions since war of the spark, both good and bad, that have also impacted how the story is and has been told.
The controversies surrounding the War of the Spark books, the Global Pandemic, increased awareness for the need of greater diversity in the game post-Black Lives Matter, disruptions require more immediate responses by the company that may impact the story's planning, and analysis of a story's overall success.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Wizards. listen. The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
So what's the 'State of the Story' so far post-War of the Spark (set and novels)?
Budding planeswalker = newly sparked, new planeswalker = new to us
We have New Phyrexia returning as a main antagonist. Kaya is now on the hunt for Vorinclex.
Tibalt may or may not be poisoned with glistening oil. Ashiok might be paying New Phyrexia a visit.
Kaldheim/Kaldheimrs may or may not be likewise poisoned. (I'm very unsure of this point)
A few planeswalkers such as Tibalt, Oko, and possibly a third unknown planeswalker are causing trouble across the multiverse.
Elspeth has returned from the underworld and we now have a budding Planeswar Calix following the Inspector Javert trope in hunting her down.
Garruk is cleansed from his curse and may be mentoring the budding Kenrith twins.
Budding planeswalkers such as Lukka, the Kenriths, Niko, Calix, and Tyvar are all learning the extent of their abilities and what it means to be a planeswalker.
Lukka may be stepping into his own Start of Darkness campaign that may lead him to villainy.
Narset has begun to connect with the same fonts of mana she identified with in the original-Tarkir timeline.
Zendikar is healed from the Eldrazi's destruction but Nissa and Jace's relationship may have become damaged in the process.
Nahiri could be now counted among the Gatewatch's growing list of antagonists.
We also have to consider how much of the planning for a main set's basic story is decided in broadstrokes well before the story team figures out the details involved.
Story spotlights have always been general, but they also always seemed to at least reflect the basic idea of what's happening in a story through basic plot points.
In Kaldheim though we seem to be missing entire chapters such as the protagonists' adventures in Skemfar, or Kaya's confrontation with Vorinclex at Esika's inner sanctum. This is peculiar.
Another strange occurrences within the story include the lack of a Theros: Beyond Death body of fiction.
In short. The story seems to be relatively unstable currently, and I'm curious as to what it may signify.
The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
What about the Storyline's overall meta, how it's been organized and communicated across platforms, how has company policies towards the storyline developed or changed over the years?
We saw a lot of experimentation by the company in telling and explaining the game's story and setting across a plethora of platforms and mediums. Physical Books, Artbooks, E-books, Email-newsletters, Video trailers, podcasts, free serialized webfiction & articles, MTG arena voice-acting, and of course the cards and mechanics themselves.
If I were a betting man, I'd wager that they've probably been trying to measure the success of these platforms and mediums using some kind of metric system that examines the issue based on varying criteria, such as audience receptivity, player awareness, cost & profitability, depth, consistency, etc.
This becomes difficult as they would need to take into account the fact that the kinds of stories also being told also influences how successful a narrative is on any of these fronts.
I think there also have been disruptions since war of the spark, both good and bad, that have also impacted how the story is and has been told.
The controversies surrounding the War of the Spark books, the Global Pandemic, increased awareness for the need of greater diversity in the game post-Black Lives Matter, disruptions require more immediate responses by the company that may impact the story's planning, and analysis of a story's overall success.
The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
Budding planeswalker = newly sparked, new planeswalker = new to us
We have New Phyrexia returning as a main antagonist. Kaya is now on the hunt for Vorinclex.
Tibalt may or may not be poisoned with glistening oil. Ashiok might be paying New Phyrexia a visit.
Kaldheim/Kaldheimrs may or may not be likewise poisoned. (I'm very unsure of this point)
A few planeswalkers such as Tibalt, Oko, and possibly a third unknown planeswalker are causing trouble across the multiverse.
Elspeth has returned from the underworld and we now have a budding Planeswar Calix following the Inspector Javert trope in hunting her down.
Garruk is cleansed from his curse and may be mentoring the budding Kenrith twins.
Budding planeswalkers such as Lukka, the Kenriths, Niko, Calix, and Tyvar are all learning the extent of their abilities and what it means to be a planeswalker.
Lukka may be stepping into his own Start of Darkness campaign that may lead him to villainy.
Narset has begun to connect with the same fonts of mana she identified with in the original-Tarkir timeline.
Zendikar is healed from the Eldrazi's destruction but Nissa and Jace's relationship may have become damaged in the process.
Nahiri could be now counted among the Gatewatch's growing list of antagonists.
Did I miss anything?
The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi