So we're doing this as forum posting (we can edit lines that sound cheesy or bad), by making sections like this.
Prologue
(Our title quote before this?)
Rasquel's Backstory
He came from "the village of the Exiled ones"... a town which was originally a wasteland where those who had chosen the twisted path of dark magic were all exiled to by the order of High Magus. His name was Rasquel. He traveled the lands in an attempt to tell the the town that over the generations, the exiles had forgotten their old ways and were no longer a threat to society. But, nobody would listen to his words. The soot black skin of an Exile is said to have been a curse mark passed down from the blood of original exiles, who accepted it in order to pursue greater dark powers. But commoners assumed that Rasquel practiced the dark arts as well. He was banished from the towns he visited because of his origin. One day while he was sitting in a pub, a cloaked individual presented him with a curious looking box. He was told that he would get what he had seen if he opened the box up. When he turned to accept the box, the cloaked one was nowhere to be found, leaving the box behind. What could be the mysterious secrets of this box?
(There should also be brief cutscene of Rasquel coming after a few random towns to try to destroy them. After that, we cut straight to a conversation with the heroes debating whether to invade Rasquel's lair.)
Town
(Individual character lines, shopkeeper text, maybe some story background stuff)
Cave
Puzzle Tutorial
(This should be their character names)
Maya: Ugh it's locked. Johnny: Hm, there's probably a key around here somewhere. Note: Press the Enter key to search. You can even open treasure chests this way! (There's a bunch of flower vases or something, press enter to search them) Johnny: Found it! (You'll be playing as Johnny for this portion)
(Each break is a new screen)
(Boulders are in the way) Maya: Another roadblock! Now what? Rosetta: I'm sure Johnny could move it Maya: Yeah, I was getting to that. Note: Press the Enter key to move boulders. (There is a strange platform in the distance, you have the option of interacting with it which gives you a dialogue, or if you already understand the puzzle it gives you the option of just pushing the block on the switch.) (This is the dialogue that would follow if you examined the platform.) Johnny: Hey, what's with that strange looking platform? (Johnny steps onto it, a door opens.) Party: !!! (Johnny gets off and the door closes) Whole Party: Awwwww.... (If you step off it, the door closes) Johnny: Okay, that should be heavy enough to hold the door open.
Maya: Why do all these rooms look the same?! Johnny: Another closed door? But there aren't any places to hide a key. Kevin: There's nothing to push either. Rosetta: Wait, what's that over there? It looks like a stone tablet. (Password system. This is basically a naming system that checks through multiple names. We should have about 10-15 extra names that aren't used for characters, for stuff like this) Tablet: You who seek passage, remember the ancient spell for opening all such gates. ("Open Sesame") Johnny: Whoa, it opened! ("Open Salami") Maya: Wait, I'm sure it was something like that. (Anything else, causes a flash and party steps back) Johnny: Ouch! It zapped me!
(We might need a script if we plan to have this one, so it's optional)
Johnny: Hey, this door isn't sealed! Kevin: Yeah, but there is a giant pit in the way. Johnny: Yeah.... Maya: Wait! There's a switch over there, I bet I can hit it with my magic! Note: Use the Shift Button to switch modes. The default is Search. Press Enter to use the abilities. (Some of these options should be greyed out until you get the needed tools, for now we just have Search/Magic Arrow as options on either a choice menu or a custom menu) Maya: If I can hit that target, those gears should open the release for the bridge. (When you stand near the edge of the cliff) Maya: Yes! We did it! (If you hit it) Kevin: Good try but no cigar. (If you are standing too far left/right) (Teamwork screen)
Maya: Urgh, I'm getting tired of all these buttons (;_; animation above head) Note: Each platform holds a bridge on, you have to switch back and forth using the * button to change parties. (You'll need a variable that stores each party's X and each Y here, if we haven't the tool thing above Shift is the party change button instead) Rosetta: I think I can jump this! (If you come to a certain type of ledge, possibly marked with some sort of ! sign) Note: If you see areas like this, try pressing enter, to jump to the next area.
(First boss, teamwork lines here)
Stronghold
(Rasquel's backstory cutscene activates after exiting the cave)
Extended Backstory
(In first person,with heavy action) I took the box with me to an abandoned alleyway, feeling power emanate from the cracks. Hesitating first, I slowly opened the box. What happened next was unknown.
When I woke up, it was dark and I was lying in the mud, still in the same exact alleyway. I peered back into the open box, and saw nothing inside, just ordinary wooden walls with no decoration. I then closed it, picked it up, and started walking towards his camp site. Why would somebody just give away a box like this? And why would it knock someone out? Had something escaped?
As I was leaving the city, a drunkard jumped me, barely able to hold the knife in his hand in his perpetual stumble. As the knife closed in, I yelled "Stop!" This caused the man to immediately halt the trajectory of his blade, accidentally tearing his own shirt with a miscalculated back-swing. Amazed at what had just happened, I tried another command to "Let me go!" and sure enough, the drunkard released his grip, just sort of staring at his arms as I made a hasty retreat.
When I said this to the man, it was odd what I felt. It felt like all kinds of things were coming out of the box, all at once. But as I held it, there was a strange power over other people, things like fear and greed and all sorts of evil went into them, making them want to obey my commands. But... the box was empty, wasn't it?
As I learned to command people, I noticed it didn't work on everyone. It could not change thoughts directly, but it could cause others to act through seemingly their own will, via the power of suggestion. Not all were susceptible to it, but it did work on quite a few. I wondered why some were immune.
(It affects people without hope. Heroic types are unaffected)
People with all motives and goals joined me. The box used these ambitions, and drove them to my service through their sick desires. Longing for something to believe in, they followed me around, hanging onto my every word. All of them needing something, got something, lost control, and eventually lost everything to their name.
In that mountainous region, my vast army of minions trained. It was time to strike back against those who had driven me out.
(Prisoner's lines)
Library
The History of This Book
Once there was a book that was written. Then it was published. Eventually it ended up in the hands of this reader. The End
If You Give An Ostrich An Omelet
If you give an ostrich an omelet, it will ask for it with sausage and mushrooms. But then, rather be satisfied, it be disgusted since it will realize you just you just served it what could have been its children. Be careful what you wish for. The End.
Cry Me A River
This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world. I met her in a pub down in New Orleans, and she was sad there too. Whenever she cried, raindrops kept falling on my head. They kept falling. So to cheer her up, I decided to singing in the rain with her. Yes, just singing. She told me, "I'm happy again. The sun's in my heart, and I'm ready for love." I had a smile on my face as I walked down the lane. We listened to the rhythm of the falling rain, looking for a brand new start, and when she stopped crying the rain stopped. I abused this power, telling her things like "You are my sun, you are my earth" when I needed sunshine, my only sunshine to grow crops. She made me happy when skies were grey too, as I sold six-foot wide pumpkins. But then I took a chance and made other plans. And when she found out about she told me, "You told me you loved me, why did you leave me, all alone?" And I told her, "Now it's your turn to cry, so cry me a river." And she did, she couldn't stop the rain from falling, I drowned in these tears she cried. This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world.
Murder of Property
It's a novella about a band of thieves who's rivalries cause them to splinter into civil war. It follows a man questioning his faith in the brotherhood as it crumbles around him.
The Westward Thieves existed sometime ago as myth, though one widely believed. To their ancient order, losing one's knife is a greater loss than death. The reason for this was lost to the sand's of time, until a young apprentice begins to question this rule. As he searches further, the flimsy dogma of the brotherhood begins to crumble. Each new face he encounters gives a different answer for their devotion to the laws, and vehemently argues that theirs is the true ruling. The thieves become assassins, stealing their brothers knives and offering them the choice between indoctrination and death. Everything the order stood for descends into madness, and our doubtful protagonist relinquishes his knife and leaves for greener pastures. The moral choice presented is one of choosing your principles, not their justifications.
(More of these books...)
(On entering the library) Maya: Wow, I could spend hours reading all these books (her offline personality is a bookish nature girl, her online persona is almost the opposite) ...I mean, I wonder if there's anything we can use in here.
(If standing near the top of the screen, pan effect to a ladder just out of reach)
Kevin: Whoa, will you look at that? Rosetta: It looks like we've got an upper floor, if only we could reach that ladder. Johnny: But how? All Party: Hmmmm...
(At least one character starts pacing, and time passes)
Rosetta: We could get on each other's shoulders...
(They try this. It hilariously fails. Kevin gets on Johnny's shoulders because he's the strongest. Maya is fairly athletic in real life so she gets on Kevin's shoulders. Rosetta on the other hand is more a cute klutz, so she gets on Kevin's back, slips and pulls him down, taking Maya down too. They all collapse in a heap on top of Johnny) Kevin: These retractable ladders sometimes have a catch mechanism. I've got some rocks left from my sling.
(Just to prove Rosetta doesn't have a monopoly on stupid ideas. The rock ricochets and hits him in the head) Johnny: Oh for goodness sake! Just take a few books from each shelf and stack them in piles. We'll move the piles to where the ladder is. Maya: Those poor books! (pause) I mean... (most of the rest is book/shelf moving puzzles)
(Villain battle lines)
--------------------
(We're gonna fill in this later, but this is a bare bones script outline, starting with Layer 1. I'm gonna edit this as we add stuff, until I forget to do so)
This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Jan 15 2013, 05:34 AM
Scrolling text is a bit tedious, perhaps we could have a narrator tell the backstory? (It's typical in mmo's to have voiceovers only for key points of the adventure)
Villain's Backstory
Rasquel came from "the village of the Exiled ones" and for many years was an aimless traveler, visiting every town that he could to try and change the opinions of the masses with regard to the ones of his hometown, which was originally a wasteland where those who had chosen the twisted path of dark magic were all exiled to by the order of *insert powerful political official here*. He attempted to tell them that over the generations, the exiles had forgotten their old ways and were no longer a threat to society. But, of course, nobody would listen to his words, assuming that he was lying or something. The soot black skin of an Exile is said to have been a curse mark passed down from the original exiles, who accepted it in order to pursue greater dark powers, not knowing or caring that it was hereditary. But not many commoners knew this and assumed that Rasquel practiced the dark arts as well. Many times he was ostracized and kicked out of places simply because of his origin. One day while he was sitting in a secluded pub, a cloaked individual approached him. He had heard of the adversity and strife that Rasquel had faced and presented him with a curious looking box. It was made of a sturdy wood and had a relief carved into it that looked like a rose. It was also gilded at the corners and had a peep-hole at the top. The cloaked one got him to peer inside. What he saw was in glowing letters: "Persuasion". He was told that he would get what he had seen if he opened the box up. He didn't particularly believe the cloaked one, but he was also very desperate for a solution. When he turned to accept the box, the cloaked one was nowhere to be found, leaving the box behind. Rasquel took the box with him to an abandoned alleyway, feeling power emanate from the cracks. Hesitating first, he slowly opened the box. What happened next was unknown. When he woke up, it was dark and he was lying in the mud, still in the same exact alleyway. He peered back into the open box, and saw nothing inside, just ordinary wooden walls with no decoration. He then closed it, picked it up, and started walking towards his camp site. Why would somebody just give away a box like this? And why would it knock someone out? Had something escaped? As Rasquel was leaving the city, a drunkard jumped him, barely able to hold the knife in his hand in his perpetual stumble. Tonight this poor man was going to be a hero and take out his financial frustration on an unarmed kin of the Exiles. Rasquel was grabbed by him before he could turn to run. The man slowly weaved and wobbled his knife towards him with a satisfied look on his face, glad to finally bring justice down on the one who had done nothing wrong. As the knife closed in, Rasquel yelled "STOP!" This caused the man to immediately halt the trajectory of his blade, accidentally tearing his own shirt with a miscalculated back-swing. Amazed at what had just happened, Rasquel yelled "LET ME GO!", and sure enough, the drunkard released his grip, just sort of staring at his arms as Rasquel scampered away.
Some days passed and he had already mastered his new found gift of persuasion. It didn't exactly work the way that he had hoped it would, but it still was very useful. It could not change thoughts directly, but it could cause others to act through his own will, via the power of suggestion. Not all were susceptible to it, but it did work on quite a few. He utilized this ability to band together some allies to protect himself. There were many who were wary of his company and his intentions and plotted against him. His mighty lackeys disposed of any who conspired against him. Not all of his recruits had to be persuaded. Some of his more powerful associates had ulterior motives and there were some that joined in order to try and warn him about the nature of his abilities. They were ones that had previously obtained the box in some fashion. All of them needing something, got something, lost control, and eventually lost everything to their name. Rasquel had abandoned the exiles who did not follow him to establish a kingdom of his own, not that far in the east. In that mountainous region, his vast army of mindless drones trained, awaiting the day that the land that had forsaken him would strike back.
If you guys find any details that need to be changed, just post them.
Town
Should we write out some dialogue for the characters and npcs?
Cave Yay teamwork! Perhaps the boss is actually too powerful for them, so they need to use sleep spells and such, and one character has to keep filling the mage's magic.
Oh yeah Phantasia. So that's just the introduction "movie" then.
What I meant is we should have text on the bottom of the screen, a narrator, and pictures to show the game's background.
Mind if I change a couple things about the rock puzzle? Mainly the dialogue just to make it sound a little more like an MMO.
Excuse me for not remembering their in game names.
Edits are bold
Maya: Ugh it's locked. Johnny: Hm, there's probably a key around here somewhere. Note: Press the Enter key to search. You can even open treasure chests this way! (There's a bunch of flower vases or something, press enter to search them) I guess there could be flower vases in a cave Johnny: Found it! (You'll be playing as Johnny for this portion)
(Each break is a new screen)
Boulders are in the way Maya: Another roadblock! Now what? Rosetta: I'm sure Johnny could move it Maya: Yeah, I was getting to that. Note: Press the Enter key to move boulders. There is a strange platform in the distance, you have the option of interacting with it which gives you a dialogue, or if you already understand the puzzle it gives you the option of just pushing the block on the switch. This is the dialogue that would follow if you examined the platform. Johnny: Hey, what's with that strange looking platform? Johnny steps onto it, a door opens. Party: !!! Johnny gets off and the door closes Whole Party: Awwwww.... (If you step off it, the door closes) Johnny: Okay, that should be heavy enough to hold the door open.
Maya: Why do all these rooms look the same?! Johnny: Another closed door? But there aren't any places to hide a key. Kevin: There's nothing to push either. Rossetta: Wait, what's that over there? It looks like a stone tablet. (Password system. This is basically a naming system that checks through multiple names. We should have about 10-15 extra names that aren't used for characters, for stuff like this) Tablet: You who seek passage, remember the ancient spell for opening all such gates. ("Open Sesame") Party Member: Whoa, it opened! ("Open Salami") Party Member: Wait, I'm sure it was something like that. (Anything else, causes a flash and party steps back) Party Member: Ouch! It zapped me!
(We might need a script if we plan to have this one, so it's optional)
Johnny: Hey, this door isn't sealed! Kevin: Yeah, but there is a giant pit in the way. Johnny: Yeah.... Maya: Wait! There's a switch over there, I bet I can hit it with my magic! Note: Use the Shift Button to switch modes. The default is Search. Press Enter to use the abilities. (Some of these options should be greyed out until you get the needed tools, for now we just have Search/Bow & Arrow as options on either a choice menu or a custom menu) Maya: If I can hit that target, those gears should open the release for the bridge. (When you stand near the edge of the cliff) Party Member: Yes! I did it! (If you hit it) Kevin: Good try but no cigar. (If you are standing too far left/right)
(Teamwork screen)
Maya: I'm getting tired of all these buttons ;_; Note: Each platform holds a bridge on, you have to switch back and forth using the * button to change parties. (You'll need a variable that stores each party's X and each Y here, if we haven't the tool thing above Shift is the party change button instead) Party Member: I think I can jump this! (If you come to a certain type of ledge, possibly marked with some sort of ! sign) Note: If you see areas like this, try pressing enter, to jump to the next area.
Sure, lemme look at that. Okay, tooled around with it a bit. Forever's End and such has animations that happen overhead, so we can probably duplicate that instead of having her say ;_; just drawing a cute emoticon or something.
Can you plug around with the Rasquel opening? Put anything that you wanna be shown instead of text in (). I haven't a clue how much is action and how much is written/spoken.
This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Jan 8 2013, 08:56 PM
Group: Global Mod
Posts: 4,600
Type: Writer
RM Skill: Intermediate
Rev Points: 5
We could probably help the characterization by making the characters a bit better at the game.
I imagine most people playing the game will figure it out without instruction, but if anyone does need to know how to move a boulder, then talking to the characters will reveal the answer.
Dialogue
Johnny: Okay, first room, we ready? Maya: Of course! Kevin: No shit, let's do this. [Player can examine the door, it's locked] Johnny: It's locked. Rosetta: Not really a surprise. Maya: You know how these things are. There'll be a key around here somewhere. [Player can either find the keys themselves, or talk to the other characters] Johnny: Hey Maya: Any luck finding those keys. Johnny: It's just the one key actually. Maya >:| Maya: You know, Rosetta's usually good with this kind of thing. Johnny: Yeah, but she's just gonna rip me about it. [talk to Rosetta] Johnny: Hey Rosetta Rosetta: Sup Johnny, you stumped on the first puzzle? Johnny: I don't see you opening doors like it ain't even a thing. Rosetta: As a matter or fact I was just looking at those plant pots. Johnny: We'll have plenty of time to interior decorate when we've saved the world. Rosetta: Cute. I was just thinking who puts plants in a cave. Johnny: They really tie the room together. Rosetta: Come on Johnny, it's a dead giveaway! Johnny: Yeah yeah, I'll just go smash up some plant pots, yeah? Leave those flowers all homeless and whatever. Rosetta: I'm almost positive no one will mind. Johnny: What if you're wrong? Johnny: What if I'm left cradling these poor, dying plants. Johnny: Everyone watching teary eyed. Johnny: Who's hands will the dirt be on? Mine. Rosetta: Johnny? Johnny: Yeah. Rosetta: Just go search the plant pots. Johnny: Oh, right, yeah.
I dunno, I like the idea of them being a little more jokey with each other, and the option for the player to just go and do it without being told.
__________________________
Warning!this post may contain sarcasm, please re-read it in a funny voice The old spoiler was out of control, it had to be stopped.
I'm gonna condense Rasquel's backstory into something more like a prologue (It's too long, and much of it feels weird description, since prologue shouldn't generally tell events as if the narrator saw them but leave stuff incomplete since the narrator doesn't always see everything, so his stuff with opening the box gets split into a cutscene), we'll do battle lines, and then comes the hard part, individual lines.
Rasquel
He came from "the village of the Exiled ones"... a town which was originally a wasteland where those who had chosen the twisted path of dark magic were all exiled to by the order of High Magus. His name was Rasquel. He traveled the lands in an attempt to tell the the town that over the generations, the exiles had forgotten their old ways and were no longer a threat to society. But, nobody would listen to his words. The soot black skin of an Exile is said to have been a curse mark passed down from the blood of original exiles, who accepted it in order to pursue greater dark powers. But commoners assumed that Rasquel practiced the dark arts as well. He was banished from the towns he visited because of his origin. One day while he was sitting in a pub, a cloaked individual presented him with a curious looking box. He was told that he would get what he had seen if he opened the box up. When he turned to accept the box, the cloaked one was nowhere to be found, leaving the box behind. What could be the mysterious secrets of this box? Years later, a group of adventurers was to find out firsthand, when he entered their town. Only, this time... he did not come in peace.
(There should also be brief cutscene of Rasquel coming after the town to try to destroy it, which causes the heroes to go on the quest in the first place. Might have them as children, surviving the thing and having to move to the current town)
(We should show most of this box's description, not tell. Also, what Rasquel does with this should actually go to the cutscene before the stronghold, and be told from his point of view)
This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Jan 10 2013, 05:51 AM
Group: Global Mod
Posts: 4,600
Type: Writer
RM Skill: Intermediate
Rev Points: 5
how could we have them as children when they're just playing an online game? I think we're getting too caught up in the pageantry of layer 1 and forgetting the teenagers sat in layer 2 who actually control and voice these characters. Unless they're all hardcore roleplayers, then they can't talk like 'normal' adventurers. There has to be some deconstruction going on, but that isn't immediately obvious.
"Why are you in such a hurry to kill Rasquel anyway?" "Money. Fame. So I can move on to the next big thing really."
This exchange just makes speaker 2 look rather selfish, but once layer 2 is revealed it makes perfect sense. It's a common feature of games. You kill something, take the loot, and move on to kill something bigger. We need to pepper the script with these kinds of foreshadowing.
__________________________
Warning!this post may contain sarcasm, please re-read it in a funny voice The old spoiler was out of control, it had to be stopped.
Yeah I actually like what Sparrow is doing too. Although it was funny and made me laugh, I feel that certain players would get annoyed with all the dialogue, is there any way where we could make it more MMO like and have the text be on screen while the player still has control?
But yeah, we really don't have enough forshadowing for the player to go, "Oh wow, I didn't realize", right now it's more of "What. Where did that come from?"
More of a surprise than a realization is what we have now :\
how could we have them as children when they're just playing an online game? I think we're getting too caught up in the pageantry of layer 1 and forgetting the teenagers sat in layer 2 who actually control and voice these characters. Unless they're all hardcore roleplayers, then they can't talk like 'normal' adventurers. There has to be some deconstruction going on, but that isn't immediately obvious.
"Why are you in such a hurry to kill Rasquel anyway?" "Money. Fame. So I can move on to the next big thing really."
This exchange just makes speaker 2 look rather selfish, but once layer 2 is revealed it makes perfect sense. It's a common feature of games. You kill something, take the loot, and move on to kill something bigger. We need to pepper the script with these kinds of foreshadowing.
Good point. In an actual MMO, the destruction the villain causes is impersonal. That said, part of roleplaying is that characters act as though it is personal ("That was the town I grew up in, so he must PAY" when no, actually you didn't grow up in any town around the game, you grew up in Cleveland) Lemme change that last part.
Rasquel
He came from "the village of the Exiled ones"... a town which was originally a wasteland where those who had chosen the twisted path of dark magic were all exiled to by the order of High Magus. His name was Rasquel. He traveled the lands in an attempt to tell the the town that over the generations, the exiles had forgotten their old ways and were no longer a threat to society. But, nobody would listen to his words. The soot black skin of an Exile is said to have been a curse mark passed down from the blood of original exiles, who accepted it in order to pursue greater dark powers. But commoners assumed that Rasquel practiced the dark arts as well. He was banished from the towns he visited because of his origin. One day while he was sitting in a pub, a cloaked individual presented him with a curious looking box. He was told that he would get what he had seen if he opened the box up. When he turned to accept the box, the cloaked one was nowhere to be found, leaving the box behind. What could be the mysterious secrets of this box?
(There should also be brief cutscene of Rasquel coming after a few random towns to try to destroy them. After that, we cut straight to a conversation with the heroes debating whether to invade Rasquel's lair. At least one of them might bring up that their reason is for "justice" or "vengeance" when neither of these actually applies, except in the context of roleplay)
This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Jan 11 2013, 12:26 PM
Group: Global Mod
Posts: 4,600
Type: Writer
RM Skill: Intermediate
Rev Points: 5
On the subject of justice I did suggest a while back that at least one of them is something of a roleplayer. So you could have: "Well I'm in it for the honor! To right what has been put wrong." "Oh yeah, I forgot you were so..." "Righteous?" "Intense."
I see what you mean about the dialogue being too long. It would probably be a lot shorter than that, but I was trying to demonstrate how they might talk outside of the game as well as in. They're in a hurry here, so it should be quite short bits of dialogue, but there'll be the occasional section where they'll talk longer (someone is preparing something/solving a puzzle/etc) and it helps to characterise them when we get the opportunity.
QUOTE
is there any way where we could make it more MMO like and have the text be on screen while the player still has control?
this is a thought, just difficult to implement. One idea I've mulled over is short lines of text that quickly move away, but where to put them is a bit of an issue. You could put a short line like "First room, we ready?" on the screen as opposed to in a standard text box. We could even have conversation boxes which can be closed (talking to a character opens up a conversation box between those two characters, closing is another issue...) where chats would happen alongside character actions. It would definitely foreshadow the MMO feel, but would it be too much?
__________________________
Warning!this post may contain sarcasm, please re-read it in a funny voice The old spoiler was out of control, it had to be stopped.
We could do massive strings of upward floating transparent text pictures, that move, get added, and erased, as new text appears.
It would be mainly for party speak not plot cutscenes though.
Also, some MMOs have actual speech bubbles after characters speak rather than just text streams. This might make it less MMO-like (though at least two MMOs I've seen this from) and more like people are genuinely trying to talk.
Let's see, we have a library, so I'll spew out some sample book covers, you guys can draft ideas:
(Important) History of the World (it's nonsense, btw) The Mystery Box (Possibly on a table rather than a shelf, Rasquel has actually read it because it talks about his box) Parallel Dimensions: A Study of Worlds Within Worlds (eerily significant, but a side-detail until things get revealed) Aubhi Shanei Grimoire (It's a spell book that teaches your wizard spells ahead of schedule) Tome of Fulfilling Life (It's a prayer book that teaches your priest stuff ahead of schedule)
(Secondary relevance) Bestiary: A Field Guide (It tells monsters and possibly their weaknesses) Lands of the Realm (a geography book of the area) Law of the Land (an extremely dry legal book)
(Science Books)
(Fairy Tales) The Frosty Snow Demon If You Give An Ostrich an Omelette The Stump of Molten Jello Cry Me A River (It's about a girl who it rains whenever she cried) Etc.
(Poems)
This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Jan 12 2013, 09:16 PM
Sparrow, your writing is always funny I love that little dialogue you just did.
Actually, I just had an idea for the text. Have either of you played Mischief Makers? That game had a good text feel. You pushed a button that you normally don't use for any other action, and it opens up a dialogue box. The player has the option to keep using this button to scroll through the text, or walk away, which, after a certain distance, closes the text box. It gives a nice freedom to the player, and might be a good way to convey the mmo feel.
Ooh books, we could actually read them the same way as the dialogue.
We'll need to think up maybe fifty book titles, and then have maybe a short paragraph or so for each one. For example,
If You Give An Ostrich An Omelet
If you give an ostrich an omelet, it will ask for it with sausage and mushrooms. But then, rather be satisfied, it be disgusted since it will realize you just you just served it what could have been its children. Be careful what you wish for. The End.
This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world. I met her in a pub down in New Orleans, and she was sad there too. Whenever she cried, raindrops kept falling on my head. They kept falling. So to cheer her up, I decided to singing in the rain with her. Yes, just singing. She told me, "I'm happy again. The sun's in my heart, and I'm ready for love." I had a smile on my face as I walked down the lane. We listened to the rhythm of the falling rain, looking for a brand new start, and when she stopped crying the rain stopped. I abused this power, telling her things like "You are my sun, you are my earth" when I needed sunshine, my only sunshine to grow crops. She made me happy when skies were grey too, as I sold six-foot wide pumpkins. But then I took a chance and made other plans. And when she found out about she told me, "You told me you loved me, why did you leave me, all alone?" And I told her, "Now it's your turn to cry, so cry me a river." And she did. This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world.
(This is weird. I'm blending lyrics about songs about rain to make a plot. I think I also added a bit from Lola)
Group: Global Mod
Posts: 4,600
Type: Writer
RM Skill: Intermediate
Rev Points: 5
Okay, so we're doing more in depth dialogue, but keeping it optional. I like.
As for the books,
The Murder of Property
It's a novella about a band of thieves who's rivalries cause them to splinter into civil war. It follows a man questioning his faith in the brotherhood as it crumbles around him.
The Westward Thieves existed sometime ago as myth, though one widely believed. To their ancient order, losing one's knife is a greater loss than death. The reason for this was lost to the sand's of time, until a young apprentice begins to question this rule. As he searches further, the flimsy dogma of the brotherhood begins to crumble. Each new face he encounters gives a different answer for their devotion to the laws, and vehemently argues that their's is the true ruling. The thieves become assassins, stealing their brothers knives and offering them the choice between indoctrination and death. Everything the order stood for descends into madness, and our doubtful protagonist relinquishes his knife and leaves for greener pastures. The moral choice presented is one of choosing your principles, not their justifications.
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Warning!this post may contain sarcasm, please re-read it in a funny voice The old spoiler was out of control, it had to be stopped.
Lands of the Realm should have an atlas picture. This would be a good place to start with map making.
Bestiary: A Field Guide
The beast of the land are divided into a few categories: Human, Demon, Angel, Ghost, Plant, Mammal, Amphibian, Bird, Ooze, and Construct.
Humans are not strong to any magic, but by the same token are not weak to anything. Demons are weak to holy and blessed weapons and magic. They are largely resistant to poisons and curses. Angels are resist blessed weapons and magic, but are vulnerable to cursed weapons. They are largely weak to poisons, having a frail body. Ghosts generally dodge all physical attacks. Affecting them with fire or other spells works. Plants and Amphibians like water and thus are immune to it. Plants dry up in extreme heat, amphibians can't stand electricity. Birds dodge physical attacks, but ranged magical attacks can hurt them. They are immune to earth damage though. Oozes ignore most physical attacks because of their gel body. They are vulnerable to freezing though. Constructs have very high defense and attack. Hit them with lightning.
(This will need some edits, I'm sure)
This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Jan 16 2013, 01:15 PM
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Jan 7 2013, 06:06 PM
I love that little dialogue you just did.