Writing a video game plot and trying to keep players guessing, or just writing in general and worried about cliches? Here's the place to put it.
Throw us a quick rundown of your plot, and I and whoever else wants to will try to guess what happens next. If we guess right, then your plot is predictable, otherwise you have an unpredictable plot.
DISCLAIMER: Having an unpredictable plot isn't always a good thing. But there are more benefits for having an unpredictable plot than there are for having a predictable one.
Lurvid
Mar 27 2011, 07:55 AM
What the hell why not.
This is a rundown of the plot for my current project. It's kinda supposed to be told in a cliche' way due to the game having a good amount of comedic value in it. But mainly just because I LIKE the cliche way to tell a story. |:(
Story
4,500 Years after half of Earth was mysteriously obliterated, the planet managed to repopulate and begin anew, which it's denizen's have named it Rith. The planet today - Sinnih 45th 1567 - Is dominated by two races, Humans and Porkupal. It was said that Humans were on the planet before it was mysteriously damaged, but the origin of the Porkupal is still in the same shadow as the planet's history.
Here we join our hero, Marthhin M. Meke, a 32 year old Detective. Although he likes his job, he had just recently gone into early retirement due to health issues. But after a string of unexplainable murders, murders which include the entire staff of the very detective agency he used to work at, he goes on a journey across Nova Island to find out who or what is doing this. With nothing but his gun and detective skills by his side, it's Meke's duty and his alone to find out who's behind all this and put them to justice.
It's kind of a rough draft and I haven't buffed out the real script yet but it'll suffice. It's better to see if it's really predictable or not now anyway, before the script is all done. I'm almost sure it isn't very predictable.
Titanhex
Mar 27 2011, 08:12 AM
That one is a rather unpredictable plot. I think it helps that it starts off rather unfamiliar to me. You have an original set-up at least, with a few exceptions.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say he's going to uncover the origins of the planet's history in this investigation. His health issues are a tough one. I'd like to say that he has accumulated these health issues on the job, but that it might be linked to the murders.
Other than that I am at a loss as to guess what happens next. Good job :3
Lurvid
Mar 27 2011, 08:18 AM
Thank you kindly! My stories do usually revolve around not totally giving away what you're doing most of the game (Eg. "evil bad guy got out of his prison, go kill him for some reason"). The planet's history actually isn't all that reliant, the story does a lot of twisting has it unfolds (But no "whatatwist!" moments). But either way, good to know it's not predictable.
shinyjiggly
Mar 27 2011, 09:51 PM
Here's mine:
Basic back-story and basic main story
Set a couple hundred years after Pokemon Mystery dungeon 2, you are in the world of Pokemon. Humans have been colonizing for a couple generations (they got there by a space ship) but they mostly like to stay away from the pokemon. Pokeballs and pokedexes have not been invented yet.
You are a Jigglypuff who lives by herself near a medium-small sized town and you're liked by most of the other pokemon that live there (except for that one at bullies you on occasion...). After a couple months of same-old same-old, an alien crashes in the forest and can't get back home. Being the kind and friendly Jigglypuff that you are, you decide to help this alien out any way you can.
Ceiling Cat
Mar 28 2011, 09:01 AM
I'm not entirely against my game being predictable, but still, give it a try if you wish. Spoilers ahead, you've been warned.
Outquest/introduction rundown
A rather peaceful morning in the coastal village of Narett. After years of training, two friends prepare for the final test to become Airanian Blades - members of a squad of the best warriors in southern Miderea. Airanian Blades are mercenaries by legal status, but in reality they are acting on the behalf of the kingdom of Airan and are considered far better than mere soldiers. Few things are more desirable for a warrior than to become one of them. Each year, in a test and tournament hybrid event which is different each time, trainees compete to become accepted - and in the end, only the winning team of two gets in. For that reason battle skill, tactics and cooperation are equally as important - more often than not, the victors end up working in pairs and relatively small groups even after they become Blades. The test itself serves as a tutorial, and has rather minor impact on the story. It's supposed to last no more than half an hour of gameplay. The two are done with the event, and decide to stay behind on the cliffs to talk about something in private. Soon, a bright flash from the horizon catches their attention. Something is approaching the cliffs from the ocean - and fast. The object makes a hasty turn and hits the coast just mere inches from our protagonists.
I welcome you to guess what happens next, and say whether you'd be interested enough to keep playing.
manat31790
Apr 1 2011, 10:34 PM
My game plot. A spoiler tag isn't working for me, but hell...
"The world has two sides, one is where we live in everyday, and the other is the fantasy world full of magic, myths, and beasts.
On the "normal" side of the world lives Arek Powalan, a university student who has to struggle with his ultimate bad luck plague and unstable emotion problems caused by his abusive dead father years ago. One day, Arek is chosen to wierd the sword of darkness "Ifrit" and fight mosters invaders from the other world with a mystical beast helper named Bow or Armageddon by his side. The sword, however, need Arek to do something horrible to power it up, sex, crime, adultery, whatever, and there's no other way to destroy invaders other than power up the sword to the its max power."
I myself am not against cliches. I care more about how lovable the characters are and how fun the stories can be with smart eventings.
EDIT @Shinyjiggly plot: The pokemon hero helps the aliens out, and they turns out to be humans who live in the space colony. Bad humans will try to use and trat the hero in a bad way, but the hero and the aliean couple work together as a team and show them humans and Pokemon can be true friends... maybe?
Shadyone
Apr 2 2011, 07:53 AM
Heh why not.. these are rough drafts of my story for Red Souls.. and I seem to have typed it up to sound more like a novel than an actual story plan.
Prologue
PROLOGUE: -------------------- A happy union -------------------- On a warm sunny day, a dark knight named Yoshimuru was getting married to a woman named Nermia. Soon after they head home and find
that the city is under attack, so Yoshimuru leaves his wife alone at home while pursuing the attackers. The attacker was the Demon King, he
was continually summoning creatures, horrible terrifying creatures, Yoshimuru fought and fought until the Demon King came to him and
asked. "Who is the one most important to you?" Yoshimuru replied "My wife Nermia." The Demon King laughed and turned away, it had seemed like he had retreated, yet the creatures still
kept pouring forth. After a few minutes of fighting Yoshimuru noticed less and less creature were spawning, after he finished the last few
demons he went back to his wife's house and noticed the Demon King standing inside, Yoshimuru ran in and saw his wife being butchered by
the Demon Kings own hands. The sight was horrible and Yoshimuru went into a blind rage and rushed towards the Demon King. "You
asshole..! You murdered my wife, I WILL KILL YOU!!!" Yoshiumuru shouted. The Demon King laughed and raised his hand pointing at
Yoshimuru, "You think you can kill me? Think again" The Demon King shot a dark bolt out of his fingertips and hit Yoshimuru in the chest.
Yoshimuru's sword clattered on the floor wooden floor. "Urgh...what..did..you do to..me..?!" shouted Yoshimuru. Yoshimuru feinted with the
Demon King's face as the last thing he saw. The Demon King disapeared in a mist of darkness, most of the village was destroyed that day.
Chapter One
CHAPTER ONE: -------------------- Lost Memories -------------------- Three days later Yoshimuru woke up in the castle's infirmary, he looked around, "Where am I?" "Urgh.." Yoshimuru fell back in pain, his
chest was severely bruised and he had seemed to have forgot about his wife. The nurse said to Yoshimuru "Just lay down, you shouldn't be
moving in your condition, you've been out cold for three days." Yoshimuru did as he was told and laid down on the bed. Yoshimuru asked the nurse what had happened for him to be there "The village was attacked, and we found you lying in your house, we thought you were dead."
"Oh.. and..." The nurse paused with a sad look on her face. "And what?" asked Yoshimuru. The nurse replied "It's nothing..."
The next day Yoshimuru's bruises went from severe to minor and he seemed strong enough to walk around. Yoshimuru stood up and went
outside. It was another warm sunny day, as the village usually was. Yoshimuru was sitting on a rock outside the castle, which was surprisingly
comfortable and peaceful gazing out towards the mountains. The same nurse Yoshimuru saw yesterday came outside looking for him. "Ah
there you are. The king wishes to speak with you. Yoshimuru looked surprised and responded "Why would he want to see me?" the nurse
shook her head and shrugged.
On the way to the king, Yoshimuru was thinking of why the he was want to see him, did he do something wrong? Yoshimuru entered the
throne room "Ah Yoshimuru.. It's good to see you're well again" The King said to Yoshimuru happily. "This surprises you?" Yoshimuru
replied. The King shook his head "Well I was a bit worried, considering the condition you were in, but I know it's hard to keep you down,
you're one of our best men" The King laughed. "Come, join me." Yoshimuru sat down at the table in front of a large roast chicken, and one
of the servants laid down some cutlery and a goblet of wine. "Yoshimuru.. has anyone told you about what happened 4 days ago?" The King
said with a worried look on his face. "I was told the village was attacked, nothing more. Why are you so worried?" Yoshimuru replied. The
King said "..." "I think the time will come when you will find out." for a moment it was silent. "You seem to have lost your memory. Do you
remember anything that happened that day?" asked the King asked. "Actually I don't.." Yoshimuru said with a sad expression. The King
looked at him in empathy.
Milton Monday
Apr 2 2011, 08:07 PM
Ah, what the hell.
A synopsis of the first chapter of A Kind of Magic
The main character, Aggie, is an orphan girl living with and studying sorcery under her tutor, Carmen, with whom she shares an almost mother/daughter relationship, in a small, but growing, rural village. She's a little scatter-brained, clumsy, and a bit full of herself, but she's also very bright, has great potential and her heart is in the right place. Like any other teenager, she loves to have a good time with her friends, so it comes as no surprise that she can barely contain herself at the excitement of the upcoming Twin Moon Festival, a holiday that commemorates a once-in-a-decade celestial event. The people of this particular village celebrate the Twin Moon with a week long extravaganza of music, dancing, games and feasting under the light of the moons as bright as day. About two months before the festival, just as Aggie has put the finishing touches on an independent experiment of hers (read as, it blew up in her face) her sort-of-boyfriend Will, a recently appointed Ranger (essentially a government sanctioned militia/vigilante organization) walks in, requesting magical assistance from Carmen for a mission of his. It seems that rumors of demi-human tribes migrating into the valley have sprung up, and he's being sent out on a reconnaissance to confirm the rumors, and if true, to bring back intelligence on their numbers, position and fortifications in case a raid becomes necessary. It's probably a wild goose chase, he explains, but he thought a little magic, maybe an enchantment placed on his sword, might help tip the scales if things get ugly. Aggie explains that Carmen is away on Guild business. Eager to see real live demi-humans (and worm her way out of cleaning up the mess) suggests that she accompany him. Will resists at first, but being sort of a spineless wimp when it comes to her, all it takes is some puppy dog eyes, the promise of a home-cooked meal and some mild threats of extortion to break him. They go to the outlying farmlands, speak to the witnesses, and acting on their information, find a small encampment of pig-men on the southern edge of the meadow. Being an gifted outdoorsman, Will finds a vantage point from which he can observe the settlement, and begins taking notes. Aggie, who thought this whole thing would be more exciting, starts to get bored, when she hears a little girl singing nearby. Concerned for the child's safety, she rushes off, leaving Will to be discovered by the pig-men. Aggie finds the child in a small, untended apple orchard, and tries to play big sister, only to be insulted in return. Irritated but undeterred, she tries to explain to the girl that it's dangerous here, and that she should go home to her parents. The child has a good laugh, and says she could go home if she could, and that she's just trying to make the best of a bad situation. She tells Aggie that she's "interesting", and that she looks forward to playing with her. She then vanishes as a patrol of pig-men appears behind Aggie. She prudently surrenders. She is reunited with Will (who has a few choice things to say to her) in a makeshift prison. Will tries communication, as he's studied pig-man language (for about twenty minutes), while Aggie's imagination runs away with her and she screams at the horrors she imagines will be inflicted on them. The combination of his blundering nonsense and her hysterical ranting and screaming only serve to further anger the pig-men. Things are about to get ugly when a commotion starts up outside. Taking advantage of the confusion, Aggie uses a spell to blow the lock, and they make their way out to find the whole regiment of pig-men chasing what seems to be a little boy, who seems to be having the time of his life. Aggie wonders if there's any connection to the little girl she saw earlier and they both agree that they can't leave the child to his fate.. They take out a few rounds of the creatures before they both get tired. When things start to look bleak, the pig-men start collapsing comatose. Not taking time to question this turn of events, they grab the boy and run for the hills. When they reach the edge of town, they are met both by Carmen and the Will's superiors. While Aggie gets dragged home by the ear, Will is both praised for his good work and scolded for involving a civilian. At home, Aggie is lectured for making a mess in the lab, taking rash and dangerous actions, and dragging a filthy little urchin home. Aggie does a double take as she realizes that the filthy little urchin she rescued has followed her home. She demands an explanation. The boy in a rapid fire, rambling, often incomprehensible speech introduces himself as Octave and explains that he's not a filthy little urchin, but rather a filthy little fairy, a brownie to be specific. The pig-men were chasing him because they found him in their supply tent, where he just happened to be drugging their water supply. He followed Aggie home because he thought she was hot and that he might get a little "something-something" for saving her life. Aggie promptly slaps him, and declares she's going to bed, and that is not an invitation. After she leaves, the brownie declares his intentions to start living in the house, because he finds Carmen to be even hotter than Aggie. She is about to refuse, but suddenly changes her mind. He gleefully runs off for the Aggie's room as she wonders exactly why she agreed to this arrangement. She writes it off as having always wanted a pet as the brownie rolls backwards down the stairs and crashes into a wall followed by the Aggie's angry screaming. Carmen remarks to herself with a little chuckle that things should be more lively from now on. The second chapter opens a few days later with Aggie running errands with a few female friends. The pig-men have been kept under close watch by the Rangers, but have not made a move, not even in retribution, and even more tribes have been spotted, similarly well behaved. Octave continues to live in the Aggie's house and be an obnoxious, perverted brat. The mysterious little girl has not been seen or identified since the incident...
shinyjiggly
Apr 4 2011, 05:26 PM
My guess on Shadyone's story plot: Yoshimuru is sent on a quest by the king to stop the demon king but then later on transforms due to the effects of the lightning attack. He eventually finds some way to get his memories back (most likely though some convoluted mini-quest) and then really go crazy on them. There will be a very large amount of tension if Yoshimuru ever gets to the demon king with the memories and the transformation (especially if it is a two-way transformation that can be controlled somehow).
Also, I forgot to mention something about my story: the alien definitely isn't a human or a pokemon but looks similar enough to a pokemon that it might as well be one.
IIomenII
Apr 5 2011, 10:44 AM
meh what the hell...could be interesting
Chronicles of Eden, Rise of Man
Story in a nutshell
A world shrouded in endless night is having problems with spirits not crossing over into the afterlife and causing terror around the map. The Human nation of Selene has declared holy war on all the other nations for worshiping false gods with the idea that once slain their god will restore balance back to the world and the undead will vanish.
You play as a young girl who becomes a mercenary with unusual powers that make her respected and feared at the same time. Your main target is a super being referred to as "The Trickster" who caries a giant scythe causes mischief around the lands.
If you wish to learn more about my story please check out my site ( under construction ) Chronicles of Eden
LDanarkos
Apr 5 2011, 08:14 PM
QUOTE (Lurvid @ Mar 27 2011, 10:55 AM)
What the hell why not.
This is a rundown of the plot for my current project. It's kinda supposed to be told in a cliche' way due to the game having a good amount of comedic value in it. But mainly just because I LIKE the cliche way to tell a story. |
Story
4,500 Years after half of Earth was mysteriously obliterated, the planet managed to repopulate and begin anew, which it's denizen's have named it Rith. The planet today - Sinnih 45th 1567 - Is dominated by two races, Humans and Porkupal. It was said that Humans were on the planet before it was mysteriously damaged, but the origin of the Porkupal is still in the same shadow as the planet's history.
Here we join our hero, Marthhin M. Meke, a 32 year old Detective. Although he likes his job, he had just recently gone into early retirement due to health issues. But after a string of unexplainable murders, murders which include the entire staff of the very detective agency he used to work at, he goes on a journey across Nova Island to find out who or what is doing this. With nothing but his gun and detective skills by his side, it's Meke's duty and his alone to find out who's behind all this and put them to justice.
It's kind of a rough draft and I haven't buffed out the real script yet but it'll suffice. It's better to see if it's really predictable or not now anyway, before the script is all done. I'm almost sure it isn't very predictable.
He travels to the town where or nearest to where the murders happen, picks-up other party members to join him, dies due to his fading health, the remaining party members decide to continue his journey where he left off, along the way they find-out that Porkupals committed the murders, also Porkupals were responsible for Meke's fading health (probably poisoned everyone at the detective agency and Meke didn't stick around long enough to get a lethal dose right away), and finally the party defeats the Porkupals responsible.
QUOTE (shinyjiggly @ Mar 28 2011, 12:51 AM)
Here's mine:
Basic back-story and basic main story
Set a couple hundred years after Pokemon Mystery dungeon 2, you are in the world of Pokemon. Humans have been colonizing for a couple generations (they got there by a space ship) but they mostly like to stay away from the pokemon. Pokeballs and pokedexes have not been invented yet.
You are a Jigglypuff who lives by herself near a medium-small sized town and you're liked by most of the other pokemon that live there (except for that one at bullies you on occasion...). After a couple months of same-old same-old, an alien crashes in the forest and can't get back home. Being the kind and friendly Jigglypuff that you are, you decide to help this alien out any way you can.
The alien becomes like a poketrainer, using pokemon to battle for it. Humans witness this and get the notion to do the same, so they invent pokeballs. The alien finds a way to get home, but instead of leaving, it sticks around to eliminate all human use of pokeballs.
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