Hi all! :) It's been a while since we've done a forum game or other collective writing activity. Terlenth suggested we try collectively writing a real game story, and I think this is an interesting idea and worth giving a try. I want to make this activity open to all forum members, although some of us will take leadership roles. So if you're interested in particpating please fill out this survey. You're allowed to leave some categories blank if you don't have any opinions on them. Please, to keep ths orderly, the only things you should post in this thread are survey responses, questions to clarify others' survey responses, and suggestions for how to combine survey responses into a game story. If you have a previously designed proposal, features wishlist, or other resource don't post it here; instead break it down into it's main concepts and put these into your survey response, although you may link to the resource document. We've already established that this is going to be a single-player RPG with multiple endings, so please try to suggest things appropriate for that kind of story. 1) What do you _not_ want to see in the story? - Genre (e.g. Tragedy) - Characters (e.g. Cold-blooded Killer) - Abilities (e.g. Super Strength) - Tropes (e.g. Evil Corporation) - Plots (e.g. Save the World) - Settings (e.g. Medieval England) 2) What existing ideas do you have that you would like to possibly put into the story (describe in detail please)? - Genre - Characters - Abilities - Tropes - Plots - Settings 3) What is not an idea of yours but might be cool to see in a single-player RPG? - Genre - Characters - Abilities - Tropes - Plots - Settings 4) Romance has been mentioned a lot recently. Please describe in as much detail as possible how much and what kind of romance you would want the game to have. 5) If you could only choose one item you have listed above to go into the story, which one would it be? [Edited by - sunandshadow on October 18, 2004 1:22:08 PM]

I'll list the ones that I would strongly like to see put forward (because otherwise I'm pretty easy going)
1.
I'm very easy going about games so I don't really have anything that I *don't* want to see.

2.
Characters: I have an idea for a very honourable (samurai like) character. Sort of an anthromorph.
3.
Genre: Probably my favourite genre would be a combination of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

4.
Again I'm not overly picky, just don't really want to see the old unrequented love senario.

5.
If nothing else than my #3. Otherwise I'm not overly picky.

[Edited by - Terlenth on August 31, 2004 5:29:13 PM]

1) What do you not want to see in the story?
Nothing, really, as long as it is good and makes sense

2) What existing ideas do you have that you would like to possibly put into the story (describe in detail please)?
- Characters - Lots of character personalities and ideas. There is a lot of depth in a character, and in RPGs characters are some of the most important things.
Some personality traits to various characters:
Kind
Loyal
Mysterious
Backstabber
Glutton
...
...
...

3) What is not an idea of yours but might be cool to see in a single-player RPG?
- Genre
- Characters
- Abilities
- Tropes
- Plots
- Settings

4) Romance has been mentioned a lot recently. Please describe in as much detail as possible how much and what kind of romance you would want the game to have.

I don't know how to be overly detailed, but something like in games such as Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger would work. (For those of you who have played either of those games)

5) If you could only choose one item you have listed above to go into the story, which one would it be?

Can I have two? No! Then probably Characters.


[Edit: fixed numbering]

[Edited by - sunandshadow on August 30, 2004 9:11:38 PM]

Well here's mine, guess I'm more picky than you guys. ;)

1) What do you _not_ want to see in the story?
- Genre
Tragedy, noir, horror, war (military stuff is cool, but not big battles were lots of people die)

- Characters
Characters that have only one pure motivtion such as revenge or greed. These characters always come across as shallow and unrealistic.

- Abilities
Any abilities only good for mass destructon or slaughter.

- Tropes
Mechas, robots, evil corporations, actually purely evil or good anything, magic orbs or stones, environmentalism

- Plots
I'm so sick of heroes slicing their way through evil hordes...

- Settings
Modern or near-future, anything grungy and depressing, settings spread out over multiple contients or planets


2) What existing ideas do you have that you would like to possibly put into the story (describe in detail please)?

- Genre
Psychological romantic comedy, science fiction

- Characters
The PC is a foreigner to the culture the game takes place in and most of the NPCs are from.

Skew, short for Skewbald, is a male minor villain with vitiligo, a skin disese which makes someone look like a skewbald or pinto horse, hence the name. He is slender and slightly feminine-looking, smart, amoral, manipulative, defensive, and sharp-tongued.

6-8 well-developed NPCs including the villains and a sidekick for the PC, all of which are pssible romantic objects for te player to court.

- Abilities
Genetic vampire shapeshifters! ;) The game should challenge the player to use their puzzle-solving abilities and persuasion.

- Tropes
Wings - I love 'em! A capital city with lots of stuff in it. An abandoned culture building (a school, temple, art museam, library, etc.).

- Plots
The villain (major or minor) captures the PC, chains him up, and mocks him by treating him like a dog, patting him on the head, and feeding him table scraps.

- Settings
A race/culture of hermaphrodites, a race/culture of shapeshifters, clans, matriarchies, patriarchies


3) What is not an idea of yours but might be cool to see in a single-player RPG?

- Genre
Science fiction and/or fantasy, comedy, slipstream (crossing between two worlds), historical fantasy, military adventure/comedy...

- Characters
Human characters with anthro traits, or anthro alien characters, a character with an imaginary friend

- Abilities
Magical or mental abilities that depend on the worldbuilding, such that they improve as the player comes to a better understading of the worldbuilding

- Tropes
Totem animals, statues and fountains, art noveau architecture, puzzle-machines, a library, a mini-game about breeding animals and/or growing plants, a cross-dresser

- Plots
worldbuildng mysteries, collective amnesia, apotheosis, subjugation by a foreign/alien race, a 'time loop' framing device

- Settings
Either pre-technological or science-fictional technology but nothing in the middle. E.g. a space station or ship, feudal Japan and Germany, pre-historic tribes, I'd be happy to work up some original alien or fantasy race cultures... Ooh, and a dreamworld or insane world. A petshop, zoo, or nature preserve.


4) Romance has been mentioned a lot recently. Please describe in as much detail as possible how much and what kind of romance you would want the game to have.

An optional romance between the PC and the character Skew I described above. IMO a romance should be treated as something the player can't get into accidently but must earn through dialogue choices, with one of 6-8 'gettable' NPCs like in a dating sim game.


5) If you could only choose one item you have listed above to go into the story, which one would it be?

Optional romance between the PC and a male minor villain.


______________________________________
I'm talking about story in my game developer journal now, so don't forget to go read it. :)

[Edited by - sunandshadow on August 30, 2004 8:00:49 PM]

1) What do you NOT want to see in the story?
- Genre:
- CHARACTERS: Obvious or one-dimension hero or villain, crisp distinction between good and evil
- Abilities:
- Tropes:
- PLOTS: Save the world, or big conspiracy
- Settings:

2) What existing ideas do you have that you would like to possibly put into the story?
- GENRE:
- CHARACTERS:
- ABILITIES:
- TROPES:
- PLOTS:
- SETTINGS:


3) What is not an idea of yours but might be cool to see in a single-player RPG?
- GENRE: romance, romance in realistic settings, mystery
- CHARACTERS: Character with double identities, character forced to lie to loved ones, characters with contrasting laid back mode and serious mode
- ABILITIES: Communication thru dreams, going into someone's dream, or mind reading; summoning
- TROPES: Academy of some sort, summoned guardians, religious places such as monastery or temple, ruins, templars, exorcists, spiritual beings
- PLOTS:Preventing a tragedy from reocurring, deja vu, mixing of two identities or uncertain identities, hypnosis, character being converted or persuaded to change side
- SETTINGS: pre-medieval or medieval fantasy, ancient oriental, semi-historical 17-18th century, modern, overlay or back and forth betweeh two eras

4) Romance has been mentioned a lot recently. Please describe in as much detail as possible how much and what kind of romance you would want the game to have.
The main character choosing between an engaged spouse and an recently reunioned close friend; Character falling in love with someone resulting in a socially unacceptable relationship or relationship unacceptable by the character;

5) If you could only choose one item you have listed above to go into the story, which one would it be?
characters

[Edited by - Estok on August 30, 2004 10:08:29 PM]

Quote: Original post by Estok
Are we talking about an RPG that requires fighting or no?

How come there are two 2)?

For the second 2) do you mean ideas from other posters or from existing games/movies and such?

o.O Oops, please re-number those to be 1-5. I was thinking that a standard single player RPG would have fighting, although personally I would like a lower percentage of gametime to be taken up by the fighting. What does everyone else think, would you rather make a game with or without fighting?

For the 'not ideas of yours' I meant you had either thought of it or seen it in someone else's stuff, but the important part was that you hadn't already developed the idea or put it into a game design you are working on and weren't committed to the idea.

I would rather have no fighting. Maybe you should state that in your original post too (?)

I am going to just edit my post, please delete this after you have read it :)

Okay, I'll delete these in a bit, but I forgot to ask - how would you define an 'obvious villain'? I was assuming in writing my survey response that there would be some villains, mostly because I find it hard to imagine a game story without villains; what would a game with no 'obvious villains' be like?

like in a dating game there can be no villain. Think about two lovers that got caught in a war, and the story is about how they survive the their other half, with their strong will to get back together again, who is the villain?

I guess I meant no conspiracy, or at least no big conspiracies, just extraordinary stories of ordinary people based on love.

1) What do you _not_ want to see in the story?
- Genre -don't care
- Characters no one sided character except if they obsessed with one thing and only one thing. (eg Ruddy's only desire is to post on gamedev and everything he does is to do that)
- Abilities -being able to be a powerful mage, and warrior, and mercent with the same character
- Tropes -don't care
- Plots Save the World/universe/princess/prince/car/farm
- Settings -don't care

2) What existing ideas do you have that you would like to possibly put into the story (describe in detail please)?
- Genre
- Characters - NPC's that question orders that they have been given to give you:
The player recives his orders from Chris, however Chris is told what orders to give by Dan. After a while chris begins to doubt the reason given for the orders.
- Abilities -balanced a level 5 mage vs a leval 5 warrior should have wins going both ways.
- Tropes
- Plots- 1000 years have passed since the near distruction of the humman race, however the cause this is unknown. Do to lack of resources a fragile peace exist. One day two groups of alians appear on the planet, the first group is hightly technologyicaly advanced, powerful weapons, craft, and have a hatred of spiritural concepts. The second is more antcient in nature, their weaponry is simple, and their only craft is simingly animals that alreay exist on earth (horses for riding, other animals for carring). However they possess a strong spiritual power, that is both offensive and deffensive.

The player-who is a native of the earth can join one of the groups, in their war.
- Settings

3-none

4) Romance has been mentioned a lot recently. Please describe in as much detail as possible how much and what kind of romance you would want the game to have.

One ending might be having a love afair between an Alien from group one and another from group 2.

5. The plot from 2.