Hovercraft and Why Storyline is Important
By Andrew “Red Knight” Maxymillian

In my last article, I wrote about how the first Matrix movie was the best in the series, and how, for the Matrix Online (MxO) to succeed, it would have to follow in the footsteps of that film. Recently, I have seen another example of a trouble area for MxO, and that is in the area of its storyline.

Generally speaking, the problem is that the Matrix movies were stories, and they were presented in a very particular way. MxO, on the other hand, is a video game. Certain sacrifices have to be made in order to make the game enjoyable, and this is understandable. I believe, however, that MxO should strive to its utmost to stay true to the movies, and that any departures from them or the world created therein, would be a terrible crime.

What do I mean?

Last month, I started a long and very in-depth discussion about the question of hovercraft in the context of MxO. As we all now know, MxO starts as soon as the third Matrix movie ends. In that movie we see nearly the entire Zion hovercraft fleet destroyed. So, how can we explain having literally thousands of people suddenly flying around in hovercraft? Multiple theories were kicked around.

Remember that MxO *is* a video game, so some finer points of storyline will inevitably have to be sacrificed. In fact, just recently Toby Ragaini, the lead designer of MxO, “resolved” the question of hovercraft in an interview at IGN. He said that humans repaired a few of the hovercraft lost. Remember, the original hovercraft fleet was taken out by an EMP blast, and it's plausible to assume that they could be salvaged. He also explained that large hovercraft – termed “hoverbarges” - could now be used to transport humans to the surface. The theory is that humanity had a large number of heavy lifters for construction and transport purposes within Zion itself, but being large, slow, and unarmed they were completely unsuitable for expeditions to the surface. Given the truce, it is now safe for them to ascend to the surface.

This explanation, on reflection, is only a slight stretch of the storyline – it is plausible that Zion would’ve had other hovercrafts around for industrial purposes. But, remember that Revolutions presents us with a final apocalyptic battle. Wouldn’t you have armed those ships with whatever you could, and thrown them into battle?

In any case, I am not arguing that the current explanation for the hovercraft gap is an incorrect one. It is, as I said, plausible. My argument is that there is a better explanation possible, one that fits more closely within the storyline of the movies, and would further help to open up the gameplay of MxO itself.

My theory is that the machines themselves, as a part of the peace, would have to build the massive lift capacity necessary to get that many humans to broadcast depth, as a part of fulfilling their end of the truce. Consider that the Architect stated, at the end of Revolutions, that the machines would let anyone who wants to leave the Matrix. It's plausible that the machines would have to build a fleet of hovercraft to accommodate all the newly freed red pills. I could furthermore argue that humanity never had knowledge of hovercraft construction. In the Animatrix we see Machines building hovercraft that look like the ones from the movies in Zero One. Even if they did, Zion is clearly a salvage society and not an independent industrial one. In the first movie, when we first get to see the hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar, we see that its core was constructed in A.D. 2069. This plaque is clearly telling the audience that humans aren’t building hovercraft anymore. I reject the idea that Zion had the capability to lift, hold, and feed thousands of people, in any case. Zion simply lacks the industrial base to build a fleet of this magnitude. If Zion did have that industrial capability, then why weren’t there more ships ready to go during Revolutions? This is why Toby Ragaini talked about hoverbarges. He recognizes that it is impossible for Zion to build that all those hovercraft.

Now, accepting the idea that the Machines themselves build the hovercraft that humanity uses, consider the implications. This means that there are some tangible actions to the truce: machines and humanity really are cooperating, at least to some degree. This opens up the entire game because it creates opportunities for people within factions to disagree. You can have Zionist machines, working to help free humanity or machinist humans, working to keep everyone inside the matrix. In the world in which there is no cooperation between machine and man, the lines are much clearer; machines and some human traitors versus humans and some machine traitors. This accurately mimics the alignments seen in the movies. But if, officially at least, there is some tense cooperation between man and machine, then there is the possibility of much more intra-faction conflict then inter-faction conflict. I would state that this is incredibly beneficial to MxO.

The game is supposed to be set in a “new world” of sorts; the old alliances can’t be trusted. It would also give players more room to maneuver within the faction roles created for us and overall contribute more to the paranoid relationships of MxO. If man and machine are officially cooperating, even slightly, then that just makes the cold war even more intense.

I leave it to you to consider the further implications of my hovercraft explanation, but recall also my larger point. While back-story like hovercrafts may seem completely irrelevant, the choices the devs make could powerfully affect gameplay and, in the end, the quality of the game itself. Just think about the difference in tone between the world of Toby Ragaini’s explanation and the world of mine. Obviously, I prefer my world, but at least realize the importance of good storyline choices. Here’s to hoping that the developers of MxO make them well!

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