Shrines - Concept Pitch

Related Links

• Shrine Pitch Prep
• Shrine Lore Task
• Shrine Lore Topic

Overview

Referred to as Anomalies for the remainder of this document.

Anomalies (previously referred to as Shrines, Rift Tears, or Altars) are interactable entities/blocks found inside rifts. They give players a temporary buff when interacted with, serving to add meaningful interaction and variety to rift spaces.

This concept primarily proposes replacing some existing 3x3 POIs with anomalies, resulting in more interesting encounters instead of empty or repetitive POIs.

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Mechanics

• Spawn behavior

  • Randomly replaces some 3x3 POIs in rift rooms with anomalies.
  • This does not remove all 3x3 POIs, only introduces the possibility for them to be anomalies instead.
  • Larger sizes (e.g. 5x5) may be considered later, with the possibility to downscale to 3x3 due to room constraints.

• Interaction

  • Players simply interact (likely right-click) to interact with the anomaly.
  • On closing, the anomaly releases energy that provides a temporary buff.
  • Might also include secondary effects like items or mobs dropping out depending on size (per later lore discussion).

• Non-objective

  • Not a primary rift objective. Meant as optional, additional content.

• Implementation scope

  • Initially focused on 3x3 POIs.
  • Potential for additional types or sizes in the future.

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Lore Discussion

Variants / Types

• Types discussed in the lore conversations include:
  • Guild anomalies: anomalies influenced by guild activities.
  • Sage anomalies: anomalies touched by Sage interference.
  • Anomalies: naturally occurring dimensional instabilities.

Environmental & Sensory details

• Anomalies may have:
  • Ambient sounds (buzzing, harmonic resonance, humming similar to electrical transformers).
  • Possible local block effects (e.g. small scale block disappearance).
• Visual and audio responses on closing, such as:
  • Good: sparkles and uplifting sounds (“boom”).
  • Bad: particles and down sounds (“womp-womp”).

Size

• Most discussed implementation is a 3x3 footprint (normal POI size).
• Larger anomalies (5x5) suggested for future, especially to help players understand varying rarity and impact of anomalies.

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Additional Notes from Lore Meetings

• Why does closing give a buff?

  • Releases stored dimensional energy that naturally gets absorbed by the player, granting temporary enhancements.

• Anomalies as environmental storytelling

  • Could hint at the player's broader impact on dimensional stability.
  • May include dimension-themed structures, memory fragments, or guild artifacts.

• Potential extensions discussed

  • Having different types and appearances based on dimension themes.
  • Possibility of mobs or items dropping when anomalies are closed, if the anomaly size is large enough.

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Terminology

Based on discussions:

• "Anomaly" was a favored term.
• Other terms suggested:
  • Scars
  • Shrines
  • Altars
  • Dais

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Summary

Aspect	Details
Replaces POIs	Randomly replaces some 3x3 POIs.
Interaction	Player right-clicks.
Effect	Releases energy granting a temporary buff.
Size	Primarily 3x3, with future potential for 5x5.
Not a main objective	Optional side interaction inside rifts.
Lore	Leftovers, out of place, residual, ghosts, echoes, ripples
Visual/Audio	Subtle hums, possible block effects, distinct closing sounds.

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This document captures the mechanical concept and supporting lore discussions.
Buff specifics and scaling are left to game design, as noted in multiple discussions.