User blog comment:Countjoe1/The Big Idea: Debate/@comment-3035081-20110606122211

Another thought, this one relates to Ludachris's most recent comment and my dead city idea:

A story: In the past monster hunter games had very little in the way of story, and most of you would probably think it blasphemy to even include a story, but hear me out.

The dead city used to be a thriving place, the greatest civilisation minegarde has ever known. the hunter you play as resides there.

The game opens with the hunter running outside onto the streets to see the entire city in ruin, burning buildings, the sky blocked out by smoke and ash. All the while civilians run in panic, as hunters and soldiers run through the crowd towards a massive black shadow far off in the distance.

Roars emit and debris cascades through the air. This could act as a kind of tutorial level, the hunter runs back into their house and opens a case, at this point you choose which wepaon class you want to use, (obviously you can change the weapon class later on. Your hunter is wearing very high grade armour.

The tutorials kick in when some civilians are attacked by a smaller monster, at this point you are told the various attacks and movements.

After this a cutscene occurs showing hunters and soldiers descending on the beast, you cannot see it as it is shrowded in a dark cloud. Hunters run into the cloud and bowgunners set up and fire away at the monster. Your hunter begins to run, but freezes and watches as the loudest roar ever emits, destroying houses, throwing hunters aside as for a split second the player sees the monsters face. Then the screen cuts to black.

It is day time, the aftermath, the streets are empty, the camera focuses on the hunter, their armour in tatters, lying unconscious, we then focus on a curious felyne riding a cart pulled by a monster, he loads you up and takes you to your new village, the hunter has lost their memory.

This would give the game more depth and give the player more of a reason to hunt and kill the end-game boss. At the end of the game the hunter would be given a mission to search the dead city. At which point the hunter remembers everything and their flashback is the final mission, in which you slay the legendary boss. In my mind this legendary monster would be a revamped Akantor.

Tell me what you think, any question I'll be happy to answer.