- Joined
- Feb 3, 2007
- Messages
- 1,095
Creating an Intricate RPG Plot
By Elfsilver Lord (Snowdawn)
Contents
Introduction
Starting Off
Writing your Story
Introduction
By Elfsilver Lord (Snowdawn)
Contents
Introduction
Starting Off
Writing your Story
Introduction
One of the most challenging items in an RPG is creating the Storyline or Plot. There are thousands of stereotypical RPGs out there, where some kid who is 12 years old has some magical powers to save the whole world with his 20 foot long sword. But we get tired of these kind of games really fast, and I'm guessing people don't want to be bored with your RPG or Campaign.
Starting Off
To start of creating your plot, you must first brainstorm. Ask yourself these questions:
What category is my project?- I like to use general associated tags when I write a storyboard. They could be items like Comedy and Tragedy, War and Peace, Romance and Hatred. Use contrasting stories, with two complete opposite elements, like shown in my examples. Having a single subject is very bland and will just go right over people's head.
Where does my project take place? - A simple question, but yet still has to be asked. Does your project take place in a fantasy land with unicorns and dragons, or an abandoned space-station overrun with zombies. Draw up a map of your setting to get a better idea. Show mountains and places of interest, like Ruined Temples or a mysterious Ritual Grounds of some demonic cult. Anything mystical will attract players's interest.
When does my project take place? - When I say this, most people would think more like Fantasy, Modern, and Futuristic, but that is just a very basic answer. Go deeper and use events here on Earth to act as a base for your project. Use items such as War and Religion to have key roles inside your storyboard, like a Crusade, or a religion, like the Catholic Church did in Midevil times, controlling knowledge, freedom, or anything of the sort.
What Characters are involved in my project? - I could rewrite the tutorial, but it would take too much time when its already there. Use http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/f278/creating-high-quality-characters-87536/, to develop your characters. Remember, the more characters the better, but you don't want to overdo it. No matter how minor their role, each character is equal in the eyes of the story.
- What category is my project?
- Where does my project take place?
- When does my project take place?
- What characters are involved?
What category is my project?- I like to use general associated tags when I write a storyboard. They could be items like Comedy and Tragedy, War and Peace, Romance and Hatred. Use contrasting stories, with two complete opposite elements, like shown in my examples. Having a single subject is very bland and will just go right over people's head.
Where does my project take place? - A simple question, but yet still has to be asked. Does your project take place in a fantasy land with unicorns and dragons, or an abandoned space-station overrun with zombies. Draw up a map of your setting to get a better idea. Show mountains and places of interest, like Ruined Temples or a mysterious Ritual Grounds of some demonic cult. Anything mystical will attract players's interest.
When does my project take place? - When I say this, most people would think more like Fantasy, Modern, and Futuristic, but that is just a very basic answer. Go deeper and use events here on Earth to act as a base for your project. Use items such as War and Religion to have key roles inside your storyboard, like a Crusade, or a religion, like the Catholic Church did in Midevil times, controlling knowledge, freedom, or anything of the sort.
What Characters are involved in my project? - I could rewrite the tutorial, but it would take too much time when its already there. Use http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/f278/creating-high-quality-characters-87536/, to develop your characters. Remember, the more characters the better, but you don't want to overdo it. No matter how minor their role, each character is equal in the eyes of the story.
Writing your Story
So now that you have brainstormed, you can write your story. Now, the first step to writing a story for an RPG to drop the idea its an RPG. You gotta treat the story like it is really life, not just a level on a computer game. You want to make sure that the player can connect with the player, while feeling involved in the plot. You want to surround the player with the story. Here is a good format to make for a Campaign Chapter's story.
Chapter: 1
Title: Genesis
Description: Our Hero finds himself awakened in a strange tomblike structure. Surrounded by Ancients, he believes that he is dreaming, but he will soon find out that this was more than a nightmare.
Storyline: Jadec is knocked out and carried to an Ancient Temple, where the newly awakened super-humans are ready to expirament a new project-weapon, focusing a mysterious form of dark energy into a projectile. After hours of being shot by the new weapon, Jadec sneaks out and escapes to the surface of the Ocean of Sand.
From this, you can piece together a practical way to display the story inside the map, which is where you have to come to the fact that it is a computer game again. Since there would be little gameplay on the expiramenting, you would expand on the escape, creating puzzles and traps on the way out of the temple, while maybe fighting against a clock until the Ancients notice that you have escaped.
Chapter: 1
Title: Genesis
Description: Our Hero finds himself awakened in a strange tomblike structure. Surrounded by Ancients, he believes that he is dreaming, but he will soon find out that this was more than a nightmare.
Storyline: Jadec is knocked out and carried to an Ancient Temple, where the newly awakened super-humans are ready to expirament a new project-weapon, focusing a mysterious form of dark energy into a projectile. After hours of being shot by the new weapon, Jadec sneaks out and escapes to the surface of the Ocean of Sand.
From this, you can piece together a practical way to display the story inside the map, which is where you have to come to the fact that it is a computer game again. Since there would be little gameplay on the expiramenting, you would expand on the escape, creating puzzles and traps on the way out of the temple, while maybe fighting against a clock until the Ancients notice that you have escaped.
