Hello Everyone,

Lately I have been playing around in Unity with game mechanics and learning new things. Now I want to actually convert some of this into an actual game. Most of the games I have created don't really have a story, but for this one I want to do it a bit differently (especially because it forces me to learn new skills).

I would like to start this game with having a basic story / plot, but I don't really know how to start / expand on writing the actual plot. Maybe someone could point me into the right direction / give me some guidelines on how to actually do this.

So I have gotten some basics down:
Graphics: 3D
Genre: Adventure mixed with FPS elements
Time: approx. 2035 (so near future, but it also allows some futuristic stuff)
Story: Linear (no backtracking / minimal backtracking
Main Characters: Human(oid)

There is some stuff I would like for the game to contain (and some stuff I would like to minimize):
- Player mainly plays alone (or with a single (npc) teammate), not with a group
- There should be an clear enemy (was thinking of animals / other humans / etc)
- I would like to avoid large outside spaces (as I know creating large outside spacing can be really time consuming, but I can do a few)
- Would like to include both ‘earth locations’ and ‘space locations’
- I like the idea of having humanoid / synth like characters in the game
- The game should revolve around the story (cutscenes / etc, not another shooter / adventure game with a weak story)

So basically what I am asking is I have all this stuff above but how do I start with actually defining a plot (and how to I continue from there).

With kind regards,

ProtoThis

ProtoThis said:
how do I start with actually defining a plot

You start by imagining the world. As you imagine the world, think about the main character's goals in that world. Is the world dysfunctional? Or is it kind of a sci-fi Animal Crossing where everybody is basically nice but minor conflicts arise? Does the fact that there are humanoids and synthlike beings suggest areas of conflict between them? Are the synthlike beings manmade, or have extraterrestrial beings been discovered? If there are ETs, what do they eat? Do they breathe the same air as humans? Will your protagonist have game events in spacecraft, or are you skipping the travel aspect and just putting him/her on (an)other world(s) part of the time? Is your protagonist Everyman, or is your protagonist a leader (a corporate millionaire or a general or a king)? Does your protagonist have special abilities? Are there aspects of sci-fi and superhero movies that you found intriguing, that you can take inspiration from? Do you need to be asked more questions like these? Can you ask them of yourself?

So cyborgs? Androids? And mutants? As slow as the space agencies move, might need to move new planets back a few decades. They struggle reaching orbit in many cases. If its realistic fiction 2045-2065? Its a FPS so some kind of battle, perhaps genetic manipulation?

My own definition for the three acts of a story are:
First - Who is trying to achieve what?
Second - How are they going about it?
Third- What is the result?

Give the player something to achieve (not just “do”), and methinks you've made enough context to iron out the rest of the plot.

Thank you for alle your replies, sorry for the late reply from my side, your tips where very helpfull and I finally have a nice draft document for my story.

Asking myself the questions you all suggesties helper shape my story and made me actually ‘think’ about the world / setting. After being able to visualize the world creating the story was pretty straight forward :-).

Kind regards and thanks again,

ProtoThis

ProtoThis said:
Asking myself the questions you all suggesties helper shape my story and made me actually ‘think’ about the world / setting. After being able to visualize the world creating the story was pretty straight forward :-).

Excellent!

@undefined Congratulations! Hope to hear more about your game soon.

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