Okay, I feel really stupid asking this but ive hit a writers block. In JRPG style games, a typical thing is exploring the entire world(ex: spira from FFX). But if i were to do a sequel, I cant think of a way to have that setting. I wouldn't want to make it re- visitings of old places, but i wouldn't want to arbitrarily limit the setting in the 1st game. And even if a do, in the second game it would be strange to incorporate new settings and characters and story elements(what, all of a sudden you are on the different side of the world), with a completely different story or new story elements to the fiction fo the game world?) And if a i went half and half, it would be strange. One idea is you go through the game and at the end you get transported to another world, but that is also weird. If thought of things like planets, but that invokes a space theme. Ive also though of diving up the settings into different planet type things, but arent really planets so it fits in the theme...but thats ripping off the kingdom hearts series. As you can tell, im stuck. Any ideas? And I know you shouldn't plan a doing a sequel but I like thinking about it for a few reasons 1:It makes it seem more natural(Several sequels in games/movies seem un-planned, and forced). 2: I enjoy it. If i like a game that im working on, i enjoy planning it out further, even if it wont be a game. I know this is a kinda basic question but thanks in advance.

Depends on whether its a direct sequel or a spiritual sequel --

Final Fantasy has all but once stuck to semi-direct, spritual sequels where the game takes place, essentially, within the same universe. The core item catalog is still the same, Chocobos/Cid/Namingway make their usual appearances, the gameplay doesn't vary too radically and the general "feel" is basically the same. Nevertheless the world at large, the factions and the characters themselves are always a new experience.

For a direct sequel you better have a good excuse why the world is different -- time, travel, and semi-cataclysmic events would be good excuses for minor to moderate changes, though I don't think you can get away with ripping the whole world out from underneath the sequel unless your story calls for inter-planetary or inter-dimensional travels.

There's a few ways it can be done. One of my favourite writers is Ian Irvine, and at the end of his "The View from the Mirror" series, there's this epic battle with the bad guy (not getting into too much detail), and they eventually manage to kill the bad guy and the series ends. Then, the next series, "The Well of Echoes" is set a couple of hundred years later - after the battle from the first series, a rift was accidentally opened to the "void" which has let all these creatures through and mankind has been at war for hundreds of years - the world is totally different, war-ravaged and you barely recognise it. Then, at the end of that series, the war is over and just as things starts to look like it's going to be OK, a new "God-Emporor" appears and the world is under his control for 10 years before the first book of the next series, "The Song of the Tears" starts. Again, the world is a totally different place.

Basically, it's a combination of world-altering events at the end of the series, and time, that allow the setting to remain in the same "world" but with a totally "new" setting and characters (obviously, with hundreds of years passing betwen the first and second series, it's all new characters [though some are rumoured to have survived, and mention is made of characters from the first book]; with the second-to-third transition, the protagonist (and antagonist) actually carried over).

I guess it would depend on the original story but I would say it could be very interesting to revisit old places. Perhaps the player could see what impact the main character truly had on the world.

For instance if there is a war where alot of people die then how do certain industries continue on with the lack of workforce? How do governments rebound back from all of the debts incurred? Was what the protaganist did in the first game really such a good thing?

I think a sequel gives you a chance to evolve the setting and give it additional depth. I find that it is pretty common that the world settings in JRPGs are essentially static and only change somewhat after key story elements have been introduced. Perhaps reintroduce NPCs from the first game. Maybe have tombstones that describe notable characters from the first game? Or what about local shops that have expanded and opened up new shops in close villages?

Why can’t you have a sequel set in the same world?
Your typical JRPG has the player roaming the world stop death and destruction in every city along the way until they manage to destroy the ultimate evil. The world is hardly the same at the end as it was at beginning.

Take final fantasy 6 as an example, most to the world is destroyed by the end of the game, magic is leaves the world, and the leader ship of the once powerful empire is gone.
All thanks to small group of unlikely heroes. Plenty of opportunity there to tell a new story, in the same world.

Some random ideas that could be in a FF6 sequel:
- Cult of the Hero - a mysterious group of dedicated believers who treat the saviours of the world as Gods is spreading through the world growing in power.
- The magic inquisitions - people fearful of anyone gaining the power that Kefka once had hunt down and imprison anyone with a hint of magic.
- Rebuild the world – Cities lie in ruin, lands ravaged by plagues, the few people who survived starving and need of help.

Writing a sequel is all about choosing those aspects of a previous story that you enjoyed and want to explore further in a new story.

You could always let the first game concern a whole continent, which is the whole 'world' to those who inhabit it. By the time of the second, they have found a whole new continent to explore. All those Vikings went off from Europe with Erik the Red's son, didn't they? If the stories are to be trusted, they found the American continent.

It is just a question of scale really. The whole original continent might be there in he sequel, slightly updated, but with a whole matching landmass to explore.

The question is are you putting too much area into your game? I've often been dissatisfied with many JRPGs, and even newer WRPGs like Morrowind and Oblivion because they are too large and empty. Even in those with smaller worlds, you pretty much have a few towns and dungeons, and nothing else. No tiny villages, hidden caves, small mines, farms, etc...

I opted to focus in on a single valley. I have scripted "endings" where the player leaves the region, fleeing rather than doing the main quest. Obviously, it's more of 'bad' ending, but still, it's better than arbitrarily saying "THOU CANST NOT LEAVE, MORTAL! TREMBLE IN FEAR!"

This leaves plenty of room for sequels. Off hand, I can point out two major points of interest which the backstory can provide for a second or third game. I know of two more which can each make for additional, unconnected sequels. I also know of several areas which the player might be interested in exploring later, and can find out from my user base later. And then there's the back story itself, which can prove 'prequel' settings in the distant or not so distant past.

This is all without directly planning to make any more than the 1 game, though I do have a list of features I'd like to add into the engine should I do so.

it's kind of an odd request to ask for the setting of a sequal without knowing anything about the original. The way you end the previous game usually has much to do with the way the sequal is presented. Although if you're just asking about general settings, there are a few pretty well used ideas.

Time Skip

Probably one of the most used devices. Usually when you beat a game with a boss, you assume that the world is now relatively safe. Unless there are one of those "little did he know" or "now we take the fight to them" kind of scenarios where the boss was just the start of the conflict. So assuming the protagonist does not live in a power rangers world where something goes wrong every day, it is assumed that there is a time of peace in which to give a new sort of evil time to reveal itself. There are a few ways you can go about adapting this device. You can do the "x amount of years later" and use the same characters, you can do longer periods and use their children or grandchildren, or you can create an entirely new cast at whichever time period you choose. After you decide that, you must think about when it was the new conflict appeared. Was it so many years before the game and the characters have had time to aclamate themselves to the new change? Does it happen at the start of the game through some cinematic or perhaps playable event? Or does it gradually happen as the cast progresses through the game?

Progression

Another pretty well used device. These ones are pretty straight forward. There is one goal the character is trying to reach and each game is a step closer to completing that goal. These types of games usually take you to different locales whether it be another part of a city, across the country, to the other side of the world, or to another planet entirely.

Placement

This device is popular among spiritual successors of games. Unlike progression, the story does not need to flow between games. Simply put, the sequal is in generally the same universe, in the same basic time, just in a different area. A few examples would be the Ar Tonelico series, Disgaea, Final Fantasy (sorta). The game takes place in the same universe as the first within the same basic time frame, however the cast, location, and story are completely different. These types of games tend to have similarities to their predecessors such as returning characters, similar locations, mention of or overlapping story arcs, or perhaps even commonly used names.

Meanwhile...

I haven't seen this device used as much as the previous ones, but this one is basically the same as the first game but told through a different perspective. Perhaps in the first game you played as team red fighting team blue, and in the sequal you are team blue fighting team red. You can also have the story follow someone from the same group, but following a different path as the original with a different set of goals in mind. For example, in the first game your goal was to protect the outpost, where as the sequal would be to attack the rebels planning to attack the outpost.

The possibilities are limitless as long as you have a story in mind. Starting from a sequal is very difficult. You need to take into account that you not only need to tell the story of the game you're on, but of the previous games as well. Things you are expected to already know, because your characters are already aware of the previous events. It is not impossible, but it is deffinitely more trouble then it is worth the majority of the time. Also, keep in mind that the titles for the different devices probably have official names. I just used whatever sounded right to me.

Good Luck, hope that helps.