Hey guys I will be working on a game and I''m in charge of handling the plot scripting and possibly map editing. I''ve never done these two things before and need some guidance . From what I''ve been told the plot scripting tells a part of the story at various stages of the game that the player cannot control. It''s like in Final Fantasy when the game cuts to the animation. My two questions are is their anybody out there thats doing something like this and if so can you lead me to some information on how to accomplish this, 2nd question: Is anyone out there good at using map editing tools and can direct me to some?. Thanks Guys, Casper :o

1. Plot scripting is basically the list of everything that happens in the game. Linear plots are easier to script that non-linear ones. For instance, Super Mario Bros. 1 was a linear game and the plot script would look basically like:

• Mario/Luigi run left through level 1-1.
  
• Mario/Luigi run left through level 1-2.
  
• Mario/Luigi run left through level 1-3.
  
• Mario/Luigi run left through level 1-4. Sorry, but our princess is in another castle.

That may be a bit simplified, who knows
For a non-linear game like the final fantasy games want you to think they are, it becomes more complicated. It would look more like a Choose Your Own Adventure(C) with a description of the plot in the current stage of the game and branches off for each possible path the player could take.

2. Tell your programmer to write you one. Until then, you could always use ASCII data as the map files and edit it by hand, it''s slower but I''ve done it before and it''s not *too* hard.

You are a bit wrong heh =)

Well the FF games are not totally linear.
But because of the quest that''s going on(story) you
have to "make" it if not all linear, a "bit" linear.
Else the story would''nt be the same.
Pretty obvious. And no Square does''nt want us to think
that you can do like whatever you want..
It''s the story you want.. And music of course hehe
Nobuo Uematsu is the king!
It''s a console style RPG, not an RPG for comps like BG, etc.

=) Just wanted to mention this

I was thinking about this stuff for sometimes know.
The easiest way to do it is just to create ''keys encounters'' and store the result of the encounter.

That way you could write a totaly non linear game...

Sometimes you check one or more info from those ''keys'' and you know what will happen next.

Tell me if it helps, please.

(It''s a long time that I''m playing RPG as GameMaster, so I know the basic)

-* Sounds, music and story makes the difference between good and great games *-

Anon: You''re right, especially about Nobuo Uematsu. I have midi''s of almost every FF song and have figured out quite a few of them on piano; he''s such an amazing composer: one of my role-models.
The only truly nonlinear games I can think of are MMRPG''s like Ultima Online, many MUDs, and probably Asheron''s Call althought I''ve never played it... EverQuest I suppose is as well, but it''s a terrible excuse for an RPG in my opinion that consists of fighting, healing, fighting, healing in whatever order you''d like to do them