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Reporting from the front: Marv Wolfman on the chronicling of PlanetSide 2's war
Let's face it: First-person shooters aren't typically renowned for their intricate lore and detailed backstories. When you're mowing through a herd of alien bugs or a room full of terrorists with a plasma rifle and grenade launcher, "story" takes a backseat to "Boom! Headshot!" So why, then, is Sony Online Entertainment making a concerted effort to slather its upcoming PlanetSide 2 with a healthy layer of story? To answer this, we sat down with famed comic writer Marv Wolfman, who has once again teamed up with the MMO studio to provide the backstory for PlanetSide 2 in the form of several short stories (the first of which can be read on the official site right now). Wolfman, who has been working on this project for several months already, sees story as essential to the game experience. "Sooner or later, you want to know why you're here and doing what you're doing," he explained. The first PlanetSide had a paper-thin backstory that tended to escape the attention of most of the players, which is why SOE is trying to give this "reimaging" a solid grounding in lore. Sure, not every player cares about it, but for the ones that do, being able to read about the history of the world and the reason behind the conflict is important. PlanetSide 2 isn't just a mindless shooter to the company but a war with depth, meaning, struggles, and purpose. This is where Wolfman comes in to work his wordsmithing magic. Hit the jump as we investigate the scope of these stories and how you wish you had a history class that covered war in such a cool way.
