Basic plot techniques, How do you write your stories? Options

[Sparrowsmith]

Okay, so this section still has that fresh 'newly opened' smell, so lets get the ball rolling.

I'm basically thinking we get some beginner's tips out for writing. Anything you guys like to use when writing. These can be professional, or just little quirks you've picked up that work.
I'm basically gonna start off with an easy one: Loops.

I was taught these at a writing class a while back, though they might have other names elsewhere. A loop is essentially a question that you ask early in the story, then answer later. They are open plot lines that you are going to close when the time comes. Loops can be short, long, or even reversed (more on this later.) The most important loops are your opening and closing loops (these are often the same). The opening loop is your inciting incident. The event that puts all the others in motion.

Let's take a classic game plot, Final Fantasy VII. In the opening, Cloud and Avalanche jump off of a train and begin attacking guards. We don't know who these characters are, or what they're doing. Theses are our two loops. The first one gets answered in the first few minutes. The second one takes a little longer to develop, but once we know why they're there (to destroy the reactor) we're now wondering WHY they want to destroy the reactor, WHY have they brought Cloud on board, WHAT is a SOLDIER, WHY did Cloud get a headache as they approached the reactor.

The inciting incident (jumping off the train, attacking the guards) gives us enough questions to establish ALL of this. So what can we learn from this? Keep lots of loops open at once. They don't have to be open for very long (they can be as simple as 'who is that' or 'where did that character go') but they are what keep people interested.

This brings us to the next important point regarding loops. Make sure you close them! The popular TV show Lost had a dedicated fanbase because it KEPT OPENING LOOPS. We never had a clue what was going on, and it kept our interest peaked. But eventually the show got too spread out, and a lot of the loops weren't closed. The show still ended well, but it certainly didn't answer everything, and this annoyed a lot of fans.

So close your loops Especially if they're important.

I said I'd come back to reversed loops. Now, I'm not actually sure if these are even a real thing, but it's what I call them
A reversed loop, according to the dictionary of Sparrow, is a question that gets answered before the question gets asked. Sort of.
In the film Primer (VERY COMPLICATED) Abe's(?) wife mentions that she can hear bumping in the attic. Abe says this is just some birds (or rats....). It seems very unimportant. Later in the film, after the two protagonists invent time travel, it is revealed Abe has come back from a different timeline, and that the sound in the attic is actually the real Abe from this timeline.
So to recap:
*sounds in the attic*
"Where is the Abe from this timeline?"

The question came after the answer.

So without further adieu, let's hear any techniques you use when writing.

[m4uesviecr]

I think two of the most important techniques in writing are pacing/sequencing, and researching.

Pacing: Take your time with your stories. Make sure things happen when they are supposed to, and give it time! Nothing drives me nuts more than a game that introduces the main character's past for 5 seconds, and then abruptly switches to the main character, now 20, breaking into a big name facility. Or a young prince from a kingdom talking to his father one second, then having to go outside and ward off 50 random intruders. Make sure that the key points of your story coincide with one another, and don't be afraid to take your time getting to the meat of the game. I have yet to play a game that took too long to get to the point of the story.

Researching: One way to help write a highly effective plot is to do research, gaining ideas and avenues of construction from the past. Everything that you think of is influenced and is inadvertently related to something else. So why not gain ideas from myths, legends, or even facts. Another is to use the information available to you (Google is a life saver) to help build a plausible and effective plot, especially if you are utilizing historical events. Not to mention that it could also help tie loose ends to a story and/or plot.

This post has been edited by m4uesviecr: Jun 30 2012, 07:01 PM

[Jens of Zanicuud]

-Chekhov's Gun- When this performed well it is simply beautiful storytelling. Its when you subtly mention a plot device early on, something seemingly without purpose and only mentioned in passing, only for it later to be the game clincher. Its a very economical method of storytelling (reusing existing elements for resolutions rather than constantly adding new ones), but also appears flamboyant as it suggests everything has a purpose. If this is done poorly however, then its relevance to the text is immediately obvious and the reader is constantly looking for its purpose, ultimately picking up on, and ruining, the twist.

I think two of the most important techniques in writing are pacing/sequencing, and researching.

Pacing: Take your time with your stories. Make sure things happen when they are supposed to, and give it time! Nothing drives me nuts more than a game that introduces the main character's past for 5 seconds, and then abruptly switches to the main character, now 20, breaking into a big name facility. Or a young prince from a kingdom talking to his father one second, then having to go outside and ward off 50 random intruders. Make sure that the key points of your story coincide with one another, and don't be afraid to take your time getting to the meat of the game. I have yet to play a game that took too long to get to the point of the story.

I completely agree with you. Usually, I follow five steps to write down a plot:

1. What if...
The main idea. I've learned you should not seek for it. It just strikes you as a lightning when you aren't expecting it.
As if writing a music score, you can't program inspiration. You can only help it, reading novels, watching films, travelling by train, looking at the sea during an autumn evening...

2. Set the story
Once the main idea is set, I create the setting. What is the political situation? The world is our world or anything different? Future? Past?
The environment is a main point, since my characters reactions are based on the circumstances they have to deal with.
An accurate environment is helpful, while you haven't any idea on how going on with the plot.
Often, it's the setting itself which helps you writing. (I experimented a lack of ideas while writing Tryadine Effect - Day 3, but I overcame it thanks to the precise description of St. Patrick districts I wrote before...)

3. Characters
A good characterization is mandatory in a good plot. Characters must reveal themselves during the events and, in my opinion, should be not introduced with a long, long flashback on their past. Usually, I let players understand my characters' features by means of events or trivial NPC information and dialogues which seem useless until the end. In the end, players will learn that a large amount of dialogues they had with a NPC hid some information about the characters.
I have a technique in this case. Usually, in my plots, everyone, every NPC knows more about your characters than the player itself, often using phrases like "you perfectly know where this door leads. I can't let you in.".
Obviously, your main character knows what that door is supposed to protect, but you, the player, surely don't.

4. Flux
How many cutscenes between the events? How long should videos last?
These are problems anyone has while writing a convincing plot.
Too many scenes, one after another, and your game will become too dense.
Too many encounters without any sort of explanation and your game will become tasteless.
I usually employ short cutscenes and give player some freedom until the next one, usually sending the player searching for someone or something.
Leave some hint about the story, here and there.
Don't tell the previous history in a long, introduction video.
Just let the player discover the truth, little by little.
This is my way of writing.
I'd like to subdivide the story into chapters and for every chapter set a Chapter Boss worth of its name.
It must be central to the plot, or simply be a surprise boss which has a good reason to attack your party.
It's exactly the same for the last boss.

5. The ending
Never forget this point. The ending is something every RPG player is attached to.
You can write the best plot ever, but if the ending is tasteless, your whole game will be tasteless.
The ending should recollect every hint you have during the game, in dialogues and cutscenes, gathering them and providing a new way of interpreting them. This is the final plot twist. I'd never waste it.
I usually try confusing the player, making him believe something I know is false, without saying it, and then turning the tables during the last cutscene or after the credits.
I really do like this kind of endings (999, The World Ends With You...) and I really do hope I'll be able to write one myself.

This is all I can add to this topic
I hope I've not bored you all.

Jens

This post has been edited by Jens of Zanicuud: Jul 2 2012, 06:36 AM