Home > Tutorials > Game Development > Some Do's and Do Not's of Storylines
Some Do's and Do Not's of Storylines
Ok. Let's calm down here and think about what we want. You've just shelled out 60 bucks to some Japanese company to obtain the awesomeness of RPG Makers. XP, 2003, VX, it doesn't matter which one you have if you don't have a story. No story = no glory. So, you're a decent writer, right? You've played your share of crappy RPG's in the past and your share of awesome ones, and you have a fairly detailed picture in your mind of what you want your game to be and what you don't want it to be. So the question is, 'Where do I start?' Let's look at several common wants and needs of a beginning RPG creator:
1: I Want My Game To Be Special: Everyone says this. Even the fine administrators at RPG RPG Revolution say this. Everyone wants their game to be special and the sad truth is only about 10% or fewer of the games that come out of indie (anyone not affiliated with a company i.e. pretty much everyone using an RPG Maker of any kind) game creators actually achieve the level of professionalism that they intended.
2: I Want My Friends To See It First: This can be a good or a bad thing. Your friends have different tastes than you, usually. If you have a mission plan but you listen to your friends and change it, then where is the originality? I AM NOT SAYING FRIENDS ARE NOT GOOD SOURCES OF INFORMATION! Grill your friends daily for their preferences in games and their experiences in the RPG world, but do NOT allow them to mess with your story!
3: I Already Have An Awesome Story!: If you haven't spent any more than a day or two getting down basic plot structures for your game, then I'm sorry, but you don't have a story. Your story is a direct reflection of your dedication to the game you are making. You can't cut this halfway in any facet of your game.
So you're asking yourself, 'Nekros22, how on earth do I begin? What's my motivation?' Let's set out some basic objectives of creating a game:
Your Story: The Window to You
Your storyline is, quite frankly, a measure of your creativity. The sole hero going up against an evil army is nothing new, and neither is the old 'Demonic Invasion' deal. What about you will be in your story? Your characters, your plot, how much of it comes from you and how much of it comes from Warcraft or Final Fantasy? These are the questions you have to ask yourself. Here are some examples of plots and the diagnosis behind them.
Plot 1
My story involves a land of magic and war. An army of rebels faces utter destruction at the hands of a merciless emperor, and they await the chosen princess of the gods to save them!
Diagnosis: All in all, not a bad plot for a story. But it does seem kind of repetitive doesn't it? How many games right now can you pick out with themes similar to this? This game would be mediocre, to tell the truth. Lack of originality will KILL YOUR GAMES, EVERYONE!
Plot 2
The land has awaited for the return of the Chosen One to overthrow the dictatorship of the evil Conglomerate! Using magic, skills, and luck, will the Chosen One save the world?
Diagnosis: Well this poor horse has been beaten to death, hasn't it? Virtually 100's of games revolve around this plot. It isn't good at all, and honestly speaking, would you want to play it?
How to Make your Story Special
You make your story special by adding 3 basic ingredients: Creativity, Inspiration, Originality and top it off with a dash of YOU! You would be surprised; shocked even, to find what can come out of an afternoon with a legal pad, a pen, and some good tunes. Set goals for yourself, work in increments, and don't even touch the computer yet. You have to tell yourself 'I am going to do this in 2 hours' and stick to it. Develop a character, work on a plot twist, do anything! A lot of times people will make it up as they go and this will only lead to the inevitable inconsistency or even worse a 'jumping the shark' moment. It is understandable; RPG Maker VX, XP, and 2003 are all very fun to tool around with and experiment upon. If you're serious about making a story, though, DO NOT JUMP RIGHT IN! Plan it out: give it a beginning, rising action, climax, falling action and end. Story telling is an art that takes practice to perfect!
Detailed Stuff: Pay Attention!
If you pay attention to detail you will take the effectiveness of the storyline in your game to new heights. Use those diagrams from grade school!
This is a basic plot organizer that will greatly advance your story telling effectiveness.
Beginning: EVERYTHING IS INTRODUCED IN THE BEGINNING EVEN IF IT'S SUBTLE! Worry about plot twists later. Introduce your basic characters, your antagonist, you're lovable ally, whatever; just get it all out here. Don't give up the whole story, though, keep the juicy bits to yourself until the time is right.
Rising Action: This is where the story gets interesting. Here you can add conflict to the story, a death or invasion or any other conflict inducing thing you can think of. If you were watching the Matrix, for example, this would be where Neo is awakened from the Matrix and is introduced as the possible One. It is here that, like the Matrix, you should develop some love interests if you have any. Also like the Matrix, you need to add a minor confrontation with the main antagonist in the Rising Action to set yourself up for the Climax. This is one of the most important parts of your game and if you mess it up it's all over.
Climax: The magnum opus, the zenith, the biggest and most awesome part of your game! Love interests are exposed for the entire world to see, the army unleashes its secret weapon, the main character fights the main antagonist, anything huge and crucial to the plot needs to be laid out here. Many people think a climax is a short scene or a single moment, but this isn't true. A climax can be a long drawn out process. Basically, the climax is the turning point in the story. Everything that was done before the climax will not happen again after the climax. We don't need another training sequence, we don't need another introduction, that's all over and done.
Falling Action: This is where the plot twists and deus ex machina's are brought into play. The Falling Action is basically the after effects of the climax. The aftermath of the huge battle, the death of a major character after he/she saves the main character's life, anything that happens because of the Climax goes here. At this point the game will almost be done. Characters will be maxed out on stats, your secret technique has been fully awakened, whatever. This is the most important part of the story if you want a sequel. Give subtle clues or plot twists that will invariably set you up for a sequel game.
End: The end is where a lot of game makers mess up. Things that should have been left in the Falling Action all too often get mixed up in the End. The End is not for affects of the climax, the End is the end. Another word for the End is the 'Denouement', which is French for 'Unraveling of the Knot' or something close to it. Literally, this is where all the knots of your story come unraveled. Does the villain escape after the Falling Action or does he get killed? Is a new villain introduced? Do the main character and a supporting character get married?
My Denouement
I hope I have helped a few of you out. If there's one thing I want you to take away from this excerpt it is this: Do not undervalue your ideas. Don't shoo an idea away just because you aren't comfortable with it, write it down for later. Maybe it'll find its way into your game! Write often, be creative, and as always, comment please!
|
|
Details
|
|
Tutorial:
|
Some Do's and Do Not's of Storylines |
|
Date Listed:
|
2008-06-08 |
|
Author:
|
nekros22
|
|
Total Hits:
|
2281 |
|
|
Submit Your Article
Guild Wars 2 Forum
RPG Maker VX.com
