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More Confused?
Ok, so hopefully now you know in your heart that your game needs a GOOD PLOT. To me, plot means a lot of things. It captures the backstory, the goal, and even the interactivity into one word. So how do we make it great? Well, there are some do's and don'ts that have to be understood:
- Avoid cliches! Sometimes the tried-and-true formula has been tried too many times. If you're making an RPG and planning on having it about this great knight who defeats the evil dragon in Medieval times...well, your game better have good graphics. Try to think of something original, and if you use a cliche, put a new spin on it.
- Main character! The player's has to be around him a lot, so they better like him. Make sure that the main character has a clear personality and behaves similarly throughout the game. Give him a name, characteristics, and most importantly, a goal. There are too many games where the player is off to save the world...but what's in it for him?
- NPC's are people too! If you're doing an RPG or a graphic adventure (or even a FPS), good Non-Playable Characters can make or break the game. Like the main character they should have very distinct personalities and should behave in the same manner all the time. Make sure the player knows the NPC to the same degree that the main character does. If there is an NPC that is the main character's best friend, make sure the player knows that NPC very well. However, if there is some vague and mysterious woman in your game, the player shouldn't be able to read her like a book.
- Predictability is a no-no! If the player figures out plot twists and whose the secret murderer, etc, etc. before they are supposed to (and therefore before the main character knows) then you have just lost the player forever. Make sure you have plenty of plot turns and that the main character is always up-to-speed with the player and vice versa.
- Don't over-do it! Games nowadays are getting more and more revolutionary. However, don't try to change gaming through plot...at least not in your first attempt. Only the greatest storytellers like Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island creator, among others) can actually change the way you play through a story. Try to keep it believable, entertaining, and within the context of your technologies. If you don't have a decent texture modeler don't set your game in a vivid photorealistic world.
- Dialogue is everything. Dialogue and character interaction is often considered an unimportant aspect that is only a believable way for a character to obtain information fast. Make it more than that. In an adventure game, dialogue can be a player's only link to the world that you have placed him/her in. The dialogue should offer many branches and ideally could change a particular puzzle's outcome. It is very important that you write out dialogue during the Design phase carefully. DO NOT let the programmer think up stuff on the spot while he's coding the dialogue engine.
- It all comes back to backstory. Backstory is the backbone of a game. If it isn't good and involving it could cause a catastrophic domino effect. Bad story leads to no character motivation, which leads to pointless NPC's, uninspired villains and finally an anticlimactic ending. You see? Make sure you put time and effort into your backstory, and think of a sub-genre first! Is your game a comedy, horror, sci-fi, fantasy? Will the world be cartoony, super-realistic, or a hybrid? If the backstory doesn't grab the player AND fit well with the world then your plot is down the drain.
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Unite 2010
