Rather than risk flooding this post with a gigantic wall of text involving the idea I have in mind, I'd rather get an opinion on the concept of going about the plot. My plot is--self proclaimed, of course--quite complex in its execution, but the premise is rather simple. A cataclysm of events caused by a minute, seemingly meaningless action, if you will. The problem, which brought me to this forum, is executing this plan. After breaking my plot into pieces I've managed to divide the first movement into 4 parts. Giving a bit more insight on the story, it involves the younger years of the protagonist beginning his adventures and accomplishing the goals of the first story, a second story in which he is quite an expert at his craft and simply a "sequel for the fans", GASP! Third installment with a jaded hero, and the fourth installment leading to our original character becoming a major enemy. While the flow is certain to be changed, the volume of the project is certainly still overwhelming. One side of me wants to stay true to my original idea, while the other wants to try and compress the idea to save valuable attention span from the readers. Then again, I can't count how many times perfectly excellent stories were ruined by sloppy, quick conclusions. Any suggestions on how to keep a franchise-in-mind from going belly up?

"Any suggestions on how to keep a franchise-in-mind from going belly up?"

Don't make it scifi.

"it involves the younger years of the protagonist beginning his adventures and accomplishing the goals of the first story,"

Star Wars: Episode 1.

"a second story in which he is quite an expert at his craft and simply a "sequel for the fans", GASP! Third installment with a jaded hero"

Star Wars: Episode 2.

"and the fourth installment leading to our original character becoming a major enemy."

Star Wars: Episode 3.

[Edited because Quote tags don't like me.]

[Edited by - orionx103 on October 27, 2007 11:52:50 AM]

Quote: Original post by orionx103

Any suggestions on how to keep a franchise-in-mind from going belly up?


Don't make it scifi.

it involves the younger years of the protagonist beginning his adventures and accomplishing the goals of the first story,


Star Wars: Episode 1.

a second story in which he is quite an expert at his craft and simply a "sequel for the fans", GASP! Third installment with a jaded hero


Star Wars: Episode 2.

and the fourth installment leading to our original character becoming a major enemy.


Star Wars: Episode 3.

I laughed.

It does rather point out that there are NO original ideas, since Aristotle(?)

I'm just sayin', he described the outline of his story vaguely and it fits the exact basic outline of Star Wars Episodes 1-3. I'm not saying there are no original ideas, I'm saying that doesn't sound like one.

Eh... Originality is unoriginal. It's a game, the story doesn't have to be original as long as it's entertaining and the gameplay is interesting/fun.

As for the original post, all I can say is that it sounds like everything's in place, but you're not sure if the way it's presently constituted is the way to go... My advice would be to make the first one. Take in reactions from users and how you feel after people have played it through and after you've played it through multiple times. Then roll-out the rest based on those factors. I think everything will be much easier for you to settle if you just get the first one knocked out and worry about the others later.

Quote: Original post by jesot
Eh... Originality is unoriginal. It's a game, the story doesn't have to be original as long as it's entertaining and the gameplay is interesting/fun.

I would agree except games tend to be a lot more interesting, and in turn, fun when the plot is origional. ie: I'd far rather play half life than a game about a princess locked in a tower being recued by... "(YOU!)". I don't care how cool the gameplay was, that's just gay.