Project: The TDC Community Project
|
Posted By
|
Message
|
Jon Lambert
Administrator
Vaporware Master
Registered
19/12/2004
Points
8235
      
|
It occurs to me that a lot of what we are going to program relies on what will happen in the story. Things that are going to be in each stage will be based on what the story will be like for that stage and the game as a whole, so it would be good to begin discussion of the story here.
Firstly, we will be discussing general story structure, not so much the story itself. Unlike in other threads, discussion of the story itself will not be suppressed as often because it may be necessary to think about what we want to have happen in the story to decide on a structure.
One example of a structure would be as so:
Originally Posted by Jon Lambert
You would unlock [characters] as you meet them in the story, and they would have hot-swapping. It might be too complicated, but it could be done that you either: a) Pick worlds one by one, and go through each in the order you choose, but the difficulty ramps up as you beat a world. If you were to go to the jungle world (to bring back old examples) first, it would be relatively simple. However, if you were to go there as the second or last world, it would be harder. In this way, you could choose what order the worlds go in without ending up in a hard world first by accident. b)Go to any world at any time, and simply have the enemies and certain parts of the levels be more difficult. This would be easier, but not nearly as inviting, nor fun.
Each character could come from a different area in the hub, and depending on which you pick, that would define what areas you initially have access to, then by completing one of those, you gain access to other areas of the hub, which leads to more areas.
The story could have certain substories for each area, that connect into a larger story as the game progresses. For example, one may go to the mountain world to find that it is actually a dormant volcano a villian wishes to reactivate. This would be a substory in which you attempt to stop this from happening. An example of how this would tie into a larger story could be that after completing the mountain world, a part of the larger story progresses where the villian reports that they have failed to a larger entity, who moves on to another part of the plot, and after 3 general areas (any 3 areas) another part of the larger story is revealed where the people of the hub world are attacked by the larger entity, which sidetracks the story to a point where you have to go back and help your native area, which could be where the party splits up.
That is something I suggested in one of the programming threads. Such ideas are completely acceptable.
Secondly, I will need two more staff members, an Assistant Project Leader and a Lead Storyboarder. The Assistant Project Leader will be one who can keep their cool out here on these boards, give good critique to other's ideas and give their own, and someone who shows good, reliable interest in this project. What they will have to do is similar to what I already do.
The Lead Storyboarder will manage the story of the game. They will still give ideas and critique others, but they will have a greater decision on how the story will go and how it will be arranged (although I will still require them to greatly consider the input of the community, as this is a community project). There will be no audition, but instead I will choose a Storyboarder based one who gives good and consistent ideas and/or critique on this Story Discussion thread, as well as works well with the others.
Do not be afraid to consider other elements of the game as you discuss, such as how the music or graphics will be in a certain area of the game, or how areas will change as the story progresses, and abilities, characters, and items that will be gained as the story moves.
Let the (narratively) creative juices flow! 
Sandwich Time!Whoo!
JoyCheck & KeyCheck Widgets
For easy implementation of customizable joystick and keyboard controls.
http://www.create-games.com/download.asp?id=8364
|
Matthew Wiese
The Fencer
Registered
01/02/2009
Points
149
|
Here's my story entry.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Matthew Wiese 2/11/09
Rick opened up the shelter's hatch door. He looked out upon the shinning copper city. Pure steam flowing up out of the factories'. He remembered the time before the War, the dirty, green killers who roamed the Earth, the ones his grandather told true tales about. He gathered his clothing, and his .9mm. He put on his overcoat, walked out of the shelter, and locked the hatch. He was heading over to his post on the Western Gate, to guard the city from bandits.
At the gate, he saw a massacre, torn bodies, bleeding limbs. He saw a few bodies of some strange beasts. They looked half man, half hog. Their cold hands, frozen in time, holding crude axes made of stone. Faint moaning awoke him from his staring. It was a soldier, his leg, ripped off, Rick ran over to help him. The wounder soldier started tell him what had happened.
"They surrounded us, they climbed over the walls, broke don the gate. They cries of war, terribly bone chilling." The soldier said in a dying voice, before he closed his eyes, and fell into an eternal slumber. Rick called in medics from his phone. They arrived in less than five minutes, and too were shocked at the madness. One medic told Rick that these attacks happened elsewhere around the different gates. The medic told of an ancient myth that beasts of war will come upon the world. The medic said the hog-like creatures would come back for another war, though one which will not take place against man, and man. But the medic thought the probable cause for the attacks was the constant drilling of underground vents to gain precious steam. He said that the drilling machines may have caused tremors underground, which annoyed the animals. Because there have been reports of attacks underground from an animal that looks similar to the ones at the Western Gate.
Rick headed over to the mining station, to catch a drilling pod down to the underground.
Copyright Matthew Wiese February 11, 2009
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
I thought one level could be Rick going to the mining station, fighting off theives and bandits. And another lvel to fight off the strange creatures while underground.
EDIT: Grammar mistake on February. 
n/a
|
Neuro
Ludologist
Registered
29/10/2006
Points
437
  
|
I liked the idea you had in another post, Lambert, with a supervillain threatening to erupt a volcano, and how difficulty would increase depending on the order you pick the worlds (wherever you go from the overall hub). Having an enemy force (with a number of evil supervillain commander guys - one for each world) preparing for certain evil deeds would be a pretty cool basic story that fits the progression. The premise is simple but I guess it'd be more about why things are happening, and certain twists through the game.
After a number of worlds the plot would advance, and you'd get to further worlds through the previous worlds, I'm not sure exactly how Adam Phant's idea went, but I think it'd work great. If I recall correctly, it's quite similar to Kirby's Amazing Mirror.
n/a
|
dndfreak
Registered
11/01/2009
Points
650
|
I would think to make progression similar to the kingdom hearts franchise: a group of worlds can be progressed through each with their own story after which the next lone main-story world is unlocked. upon the main world's completion, a new set of side-quest worlds are opened. that way each can be visited in any order within a group in a way that doesn't affect the main storyline. maximum consistency for the amount of open world choice. there can also be bonus worlds which are optional but offer unique gear upon successful completion.
right then, story structure:
Note: picture this as a 23rd century thing with steam-powered spaceships- electricity never was invented
You, Ben Storms, are a general in the Marinal Empire, a peaceful and impartial government (think Switzerland). You witness the assassination of the Emperor by his heir, Lord Grisa. Grisa, in his new seat of power, unleashes a devastating army upon the galaxy. After being removed from your post from speaking out against the new Emperor, you follow in the wake of Marina's destruction. Along the way you join the rebel and pilot Rex Ragel, refugee Serae Nelael, and the expired hitman Duke King in the struggle to bring the wars to an end.
I can easily write more if you want, this is just a quick sample.
Vegeta? What does your mother say about my power level?
ITS OVER 9000!!!
|
Gamemaker2010
Registered
22/10/2008
Points
31
|
I love matthew's story. I think it would be awesome to kill these hog monsters and i think we can make a variety of these monsters easier than a variety of human soldiers. It could be pretty cool to hava a variety of levels that are on the surface and then underground kinda like gears of war.
Dnd freak i like your story too. It has a lot of room for plot twists and conspiracies. And if it is possible it would be amazing if there are space levels with low gravity but i dont know how hard that would be to make. One problem with your story is just the name of the characters. Ben Storms and Rex Regal sound too cliche. kind of like in the game Fracture the main character's name was Jet Brody and he was just a dork.
Whats a goon to a GOBLIN?
|
MBK
Registered
07/06/2007
Points
1578
|
The peaceful kingdom of Bluvidia ... a valley of lush green grass, rich dark fertile soil, thriving animals of all kinds, farms, castles, villages, kind and happy people, until one day ... everything changes.
The Steam powered UFO's come and land just outside the valley. The UFO's are packed full of war-mongering mutant animal alien hybrids who like to get drunk and anally probe any creature they happen upon with their tentacles and special dna injectors. They inject them with their mutant dna that way to propagate their species.
A few of the aliens enter the valley and abuse the animals, turning them into strange creatures which will eventually mutate entirely, until they too become mutant hybrid animal aliens.
The kingdom scouts learn a little about the alien steam technology and the King gives a decree that all the blacksmiths and alchemists must begin working on Bluvidia versions of alien ray guns, slime shooters, steam powered hovercraft, backpack copters, tugboats, etc. so that they will be able to defend against the invaders.
As a newly recruited knight of Bluvidia, it is your sworn duty to protect your homeland from the invaders, this includes traveling the land and collecting the new versions of alien tech from alchemists and blacksmiths.
As a Farmer, you must protect your animals from mutant anal probing by any means.
As an animal, run for your life from the alien mutants.
As an Alien, you get to probe animals with your trusty anal ripping dna injectionator 5000 power probe and fend off anyone that trys to stop you.
As a bird you get to poop on aliens and peoples' heads and steal weapons from their hands.
Or whatever else ya wanna add as a character
Did I mention the aliens have mohawks? .. see, they have mohawks and use steam-powered contraptions, so they be ...
Steam-Punks! ;P
This story works off the hub centered theme, the knight has the center hub and gets to travel all over, and not just on the levels around the hub of his area, but also the levels around the levels around his hub. He gets to venture round all the hubs.
Click Me! http://www.create-games.com/project.asp?view=main&id=1444
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?aoo1dnnlq5i
Blood of the Ancient One, Seen only as Shadow, Faster than Lightning, Fierce as the Greatest Dragon, Nearly Invisible, Floating in a Dream, Entered through the Demon Door, Destroyer of Evil in a Realm with a Red Sky Scarred, Who could I be ?
|
Matthew Wiese
The Fencer
Registered
01/02/2009
Points
149
|
Thanks Gamemaker, I'm glad you like it! I really like writing stories. Dndfreak, yeah, the names are a bit cliche, but I really like the conspiracy. MBK, you story is pretty cool too, open for some fun game play elements, though kinda creepy that you inject them in their asses. X) Even though aliens apparantly do that, as seen on "true" tv shows. And I really like your steam-punk aliens.  Gamemaker, yeah, I looked to Gears 2 for some ideas, and the underground fighting came to me. Maybe we could combine all these stories, along with some more ideas from the community.
n/a
|
dndfreak
Registered
11/01/2009
Points
650
|
I know the names aren't a big thing i just randomly picked em outta my head. However, keep in mind that to some degree people are named for a reason. For example, naming a ranger Hunter something may sound cliche but for certain situations make for the most realism. Kids nowadays are named because it sounds good and flows nicely. One of my best friends is named David Driscoll. Then there's Mike Melauris, Aaron James... People have cliche names in the real world. I'm not saying I wont change them at the drop of a hat, just that characters become more memorable that way. If you string together seven random syllables just to make it unique, how many people are gonna take the time to memorize it. Why do you think you remember Jet Brody but go ahead and try for the main character in Final Fantasy Tactics- any of 'em. No clue? That's what I thought. (Yes, I've played all three and I can't name a single character from any of them)
I'll admit that some of these go a bit too far. I will change them to whatever but not to the point when they take up more than 20 letters for a first name- I'm not Asian
Edit: MBK yours looks kinda cool but I'm not sure that anal probes have a place in i klik game like this. As far as I knew this is a serious project.
Vegeta? What does your mother say about my power level?
ITS OVER 9000!!!
|
Sketchy
Cornwall UK
Registered
06/11/2004
Points
1970
|
Too much "back-story" and not enough of the plot, as it will unfold during the game. I want to know who are the player characters, who are the main bad guys, and who are the important NPCs? How do we meet them? What's their relationship to one another, and how do these relationships change (eg. love, betrayal, etc)? What motivates them?
The story needs to be dynamic, with enough plot twists to keep it interesting. If all you have is a backstory, then it's no better than the "save the princess" cliché.
Also, I think it's better to design the characters and their abilities first, and fit the story around that. You don't want to have to compromise on the gameplay, just to make it fit the story.
On the topic of names, characters should only have one name. The convention in RPGs, is for the good guys to only have first names, and the bad guys to only have last names. At least that way they don't sound like porn-stars.
@MBK: I'm going to assume that wasn't a serious suggestion...
The main player characters should include (and possibly be limited to):
* A child (boy or girl - doesn't matter which; probably an orphan who is cared for by their grandfather): They are small, fast and very agile.
* A very old guy: Probably the childs grandfather, and something of a mad scientist type. He is actually quite frail, but wears a steam-powered device similar to the exosuit-cargo-loader from Aliens, which makes him very powerful in combat, and also capable of moving heavy objects.
n/a
|
Matthew Wiese
The Fencer
Registered
01/02/2009
Points
149
|
Lol, so they don't sound like pron stars. Sketchy, do you want me to write a story around what you suggested?
n/a
|
Sketchy
Cornwall UK
Registered
06/11/2004
Points
1970
|
If you want. Depends if you like the idea or think it's stupid. It was just a thought.
n/a
|
aphant
Registered
18/05/2008
Points
1242
|
These are all interesting ideas, but like Sketchy said, they're all backstory. They also look like they were written in 15 minutes. Here's what effect a few hours of planning and writing has on the first draft:
---------------------------------------
(cut)
---------------------------------------
Eh? You get the backstory. You get two character backstories. You get a few locales. You get the source of steam and how it's a valuable commoditiy. You get the villians! You get a bit of the in-game culture, too. There's enough here to form the in-game story with minimal work and a bit of planning.
Here's the TL;DR version:
(cut)
What this doesn't cover is how the story progresses after the game starts, it just sets up the game. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with what happens in-game, using this much information.
|
Neuro
Ludologist
Registered
29/10/2006
Points
437
|
Fantastic. A little planning goes a long way. I like details like the telegram, and 'steam infantry' sounds badass. Sets up for extra characters, too - a Boukan or even one of the council members coming to your aid. I like the setting you've created more than anything, though, paints a much more refined picture in my mind.
n/a
|
MBK
Registered
07/06/2007
Points
1578
|
"@MBK: I'm going to assume that wasn't a serious suggestion..."
Hmmm .. later on in the story, the aliens kidnap the princess and ransom her for half of all the animals in the land. The king agrees as long as the aliens promise to never return to his kingdom. The aliens promise, and an agreement is met. They return the princess, but right after the aliens walk out of town, an alien with a steam copter backpack flys in and crashes into the king, killing both of them instantly, it was a suicide copter alien, promised 70 elephants to eat in the afterlife (did i mention they eat only elephants?). You and the rest of the knights take up arms and prepare for revenge ... and off you go, chasing after the aliens. Two of the following levels could be inside a Steam-powered UFO and on the mutant alien homeworld.
Just Kidding!
I actually just meant the story as a placeholder, until a real story was thought up .. think about how some characters only have levels around their hubs though, (those can be mini-games) and a few main characters get to tag along with the hero. There's no reason why some of the mini-game characters couldn't be some of those characters that join the hero along the way though, maybe could make the mini-games their reason for wanting to join up with the knight. (i.e. aliens steal farmers animals so he wants to get them back with help fo the knight) (the mini-game is when the animals are being taken)
These are all just suggestions though, if you don't like 'em, don't use 'em.
I like your story btw Adam Phant, should probably just use that and get it started unless someone thinks they can come up with something better.
Click Me! http://www.create-games.com/project.asp?view=main&id=1444
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?aoo1dnnlq5i
Blood of the Ancient One, Seen only as Shadow, Faster than Lightning, Fierce as the Greatest Dragon, Nearly Invisible, Floating in a Dream, Entered through the Demon Door, Destroyer of Evil in a Realm with a Red Sky Scarred, Who could I be ?
|
Matthew Wiese
The Fencer
Registered
01/02/2009
Points
149
|
Nice Adam, I was too lazy to read now, I want to relax on a Friday, I might read it later. But stiil, looks like you put your heart, sweat, tears, and IMMENSE creativity in that.
n/a
|
| |
|
|
|
Advertisement
Jon Lambert