In a plot device supposedly written by the Wachowskis themselves, Morpheus was killed in the Matrix Online yesterday. MTV has the best account. Here’s about their future plans:

The next task for Morpheus’ followers, however, will be to figure out whodunit. Chadwick promised that the murder mystery will unfold every few weeks through the course of “The Matrix Online”’s first year. Players will be encouraged to figure out not just who the assassin is, but what Morpheus was really all about. That means, in fact, that thanks to the wonders of flashback scenes, “Matrix” users haven’t heard the last of Laurence Fishburne’s voiceover work in the game. “We’re going to milk Morpheus as long as we can,” Chadwick said. “He’s a great character.”

I admire the Matrix sticking to their events plan, and I admit it’s ballsy for the Wachowskis to kill off a major character in an MMO. It speaks well to their promise that the MMO story will be a legitimate continuation of the movie’s storyline.

What I am most interested in is whether they have anything in place to bring latecomers up to speed. One of the huge problems with events is similar to the Blind Men and the Elephant – designers and events coordinators forget that the players have a real hard time getting a complete picture of what’s going on, because the players’ viewpoint is so much smaller and completely out of their control. Hell, even if he’s at an event, a player can miss a key line of dialogue because they’re too busy running for their life, getting in a yelling match with their guild, or cybering the healer.

Is there anyone who reads this blog who is playing the game? It’d be interesting to get some feedback on the matter. Are the flashbacks that mentioned above substantial enough to recap the whole story arc for latecomers or those who couldn’t log in? Can you keep track of what’s going on without visiting the website? If done right, it could be a real evolutionary jump for events in MMOs.