Yeah I've found that just saying names, words, titles will inspire something. The name of the boss in my game was inspired by Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy 7. I thought of the worst boss but the one you could sympathize with the most. In Wind Waker, Ganon was more a philisophical type boss. So I said...hmm Ganon...And in FF7, you could sympathize with Sephiroth because he lost his "mother" and was really a crazyc razy guy. So I said...hmm...Sephiroth...hmm...Ganon...hmm...Gonith! and now Gonith is the name of my boss. =D
Honestly, this took less than 45 seconds. And I've stuck with this name for 3 years, which is amazing cuz everything else in my story has gotten editted at some point in time lol.

Takes nothing at all, just a little mind game and you'll get the results you want.

Quote: Original post by Oluseyi

Quote: Original post by sunandshadow
What were you looking for in the folktale collection? Perhaps I can recommend something?

I was really just looking to compare and contrast folktales across African cultures and perhaps identify some universal devices or tropes. It would also be nice to read Yoruba folktales I am familiar with as a refresher.

Some African cultures' folktales are the historical/epic type, and some are the animal fable type, and the two are not comparable. You'd find more similarities comparing the first type to greek and norse myth, and the second type to native american myth.

hey everyone,

first the AP, you might want to try something by Micheal A. Stackpol if you like sci fi and want a fantasy war book.

I dont tend to do much wrighting but read lots and found that with the two books I have reread (I also dont tend to reread books) I was fasinated by how much of the little hints and details you tend to miss the first time through.

BTW if anyone is looking for a good book and likes chinese (anciant) history you might want to try Romance of The Three Kingdoms, it's one of the best books i ever read. Theres a free online copy here but its admitadly not the best translation.

Here's an idea.

One person writes out different titles, themes, and quotes they think of that start to gel into an idea for them.

Then someone *else* has to write a short paragraph-or-two synopsis of how they would envision it.

it took me a while to get myself accustomed to the new habit, but i keep a stack of notecards in a box by my bed now because i tend to wake up in the night with random ideas. and notcards are easy to just write a quick idea down, and toss it in the "used" side of the box rather than a journal which i can't really scribble on in the dark.

when i'm seemingly running out of ideas later on, i use the box to just remind myself how nuts i can be sometimes, and generally thinking back about weird dreams or ideas i've had just sparks new ways to develop a character or plot points. i always keep the same stack of notecards even if i've used the idea once, because 2 months down the road, something that just sparked that creativity might do so again in a completely different way. bonus if a notecard is actually a seed for a totally new story all by itself!

if that doesn't work, sometimes i'll force myself to sit in one spot for 3 or 4 hours without resorting to tv (music is fine) and just zone out, because i find when i get really (really) bored, wheels start churning. the key is to not have options for distraction. this is a last resort though because it's super easy to rationalize "oh, i can just play 1 more round of double agent online.. "

i do like the title browsing though... very interesting.

PS i'm basically a noob to game dev, i'm finishing my master's in screenwriting this may, keeping options open for future career paths in tv/film and more recently games. i'm very into the possibilities that are emerging with the new generation of titles coming out. anyway, that's my experience with brainstorming

I'm lucky to where I subconsciencly(may have mispelled sorry if i did) think of something which leads to a bigger and bigger story, these are what I use.