I am interested in telling stories, and have always thought of video games as a great medium for conveying them. I have a great many ideas and stories - folders full in fact, however I'll just list one here just to see what people think;

Title:
None currently, although the name I use to refer to this idea is Veriplasm (explained below)
Setting:
Set on an Earth-like planet; futuristic; the time and date, nor positioning of the planet is not important
Characters:
Name: ----Jaran
Gender: --male
Age: -----mid-20s
Species: -humanoid race (the equivalent to humans on this planet, basically the same as humans except perhaps a bit more colourful in appearance, i.e. coloured hair, different skintones etc)
Desc.: ---bright yellow hair, long. Tied back in a pony tail. Long dark purple/black jacket. Wears dark green shades/goggles (in order to see the Veriplasm) Carries to pistol-sized guns, concealed under jacket.

Name: ----Chagran
Gender: --male
Age: -----thirties
Species: -humanoid race, different to Jaran - resembles a Rastafarian except the 'dreadlocks' are actually tentacle-like appendages sprouting from his head)
Desc.: Speaks with a rich accent, from the south of Jaran's planet. Has been friends with Jaran for many years now and only wishes to help him out after finding out he's being brutally hunted by the police.

Locations:

Taerell - A sort of futuristic Wild West, but as if all the futuristic technology has kind of broken down. There's flying carriages but they trail black smoke across the sky. Buildings are made from corrugated metal and repaired with wood. Many of the settlements are ramshackled, perched on the edge of desert canyons. Vast railway bridges rusting away. Many bandits and pirate gangs flourish in this area. Where all those who can't afford life in Amaraz live, on the outskirts.

Amaraz - A bustling city full of technology and life; the complete opposite of Taerell. Think of it like Las Vegas - vibrant city, and then there's desert, except its more like Toyko; neon lights and jutting skycrapers. Hovering cars are everywhere.

Basic Premise:
Jaran is on the run from the police after getting involved with some unsavoury characters in the criminal underworld. After a week of hiding about in the back-alleys of Amaraz city the police finally track him down and he's about to be arrested when his friend, Chagran, manages to contact him and dictate an escape route to him and he makes his way across the border in the desert province of Taerell. From then on, he is somewhat safe from the police, as they have no jurisdiction there, but Taerell is home to scum and lowlives, bandits and pirates and so 'safe' is probably not the best word to use. After a few close encounters Jaran finally meets up with Chagran and it is revealed why the police and in fact the government are after him - because he discovered the existence of Veriplasm.

Veriplasm:
Veriplasm is a diaphonous substance meaning it is almost completly transparent, allowing just enough light to reflect off it in order to be seen, albeit very vaguely. Wearing a pair of Zarium Visors (as Jaran does) allows for it to be seen much more clearly.

Veriplasm was unintentionally created by Caliara Corp. a large corporation that deals with the mining on the heavily industrialised planet of Aemos. The highly corrupt officials of Caliara had been mining for the potentially volatile explosive agent, Disinium which they would later manufacture into the Disinio-Fusion bomb; one of, if not the most destructive force in the galaxy, and sell on to the highest bidder. However, upon finding the substance, during an experiment a disaster occurred destroying the facility on Aemos, causing one of the biggest man-made disasters this century. The by-product of this explosion was Veriplasm.

Veriplasm is strange in that it can assume the molecular structure of anything it, or the user, has already come into contact with; recreating it exactly, right down to the smallest microchip. This is called 'molecular knowledge' and this allows it to grow. It can only be damaged by complete disintegration, rendering it completly inoperable.

Jaran heard about the wreckage left from the disaster wrought by Caliara and travelled to Aemos to see what he could find. He took some of the Veriplasm, wondering what it was, and since the government on his home planet have learned of its powers and want to ensure that they retrieve it, even if it means killing Jaran in the process.


Possibilities:
(I realise some of this is to do with gameplay, but I thought it was worth a quick mention, sorry)

This is a pretty basic storyline I know, but the main feature is the Veriplasm, this would basically allow for the player to construct objects/vehicles using previous experiences in the game to help him get out of sticky situations. i.e conjure up a motorcycle to escape from a pursuer, or create a passkey to get through a locked door. Along with the theme of being constantly under threat of being hunted by the government, and the cutt-throat attitude of the inhabitants in Taerell this could make for a great adventure.

Comment:

I think the story would be better if you could relate the setting to character development. From your introduction, I know what Veriplasm is and how it is can be used in situation. What I want to know from the story, is how it catalyzes the changes to the characters.

Say you have a story about a guy accidentally picked up a large sum of money. In one style, you could talk about how different people try to take his money and how he evades their pursuit. That makes an adventure, but meaningless. In addition, you could talk about what the person hope to do with the money and why he intend to hold onto the money. Avoiding death is a motif but not stimulating.

So I think that to develop the story, it needs:
o The meaning of Veriplasm to Jaran
o Whether having Veriplasm changes Jaran
o Why Jaran hold on to Veriplasm
o Who else has Veriplasm and what they do with it