by David Piner on May 26, 2010
The static feeling that you get in a lot of MMOs is a normal feeling by now. NPCs may ask for 10 bear pelts to help them craft a coat, but years later they will still be standing there in the snow begging for more bear pelts. In World of Warcraft there is an NPC in Terrokar Forest who still, to this day, begs people to read him the sign posted in the middle of town. Everyone has read it to him, but he still broadcasts for help. Guild Wars 2 however will be very different from your standard MMO.
Your character will have its own personal story that follows you through the game. Your story starts out when you create your character but it doesn't stop there. The choices you make will affect the story in the game. So, perhaps if you don't help that guy make a coat he'll later on become your enemy or perhaps he'll later need medicine for the cold he got (this is a speculative example). If you do, perhaps he'll become an ally in a big fight later on or open his shop and help you out. One of the fun things about this is that you won't excluded from helping your friends with their own personal story. You can group up and work on everyone's own story together and gain rewards and see a different story combination as you move through the game. That gets an A+ from me.
Something I find very interesting is the idea of homes. You'll have your own personal home that you can customize yourself. Fans of Phantasy Star Universe know how awesome instanced housing is. This is something that's fit into the article that you'll definitely need to check out.
One of the challenges of a massively-multiplayer game is that in being inclusive to a vast number of people, it loses a lot of the personal interaction that makes single-player RPGs so much fun. When you're looking at the games on the store shelf, it seems you have only two options - a game that you can play with your friends, or a game that has a satisfying personal story. The Guild Wars 2 design team believes that a game should have both.
Personal Story Overview over @ GuildWars2.com.