Introduction to RPG Design
Creator: KingSpoom
Every piece of literature has a tone or mood. Most professional
games convey a theme, even non-rpgs. It is not necessary to have
one, but it certainly can help. A theme will help to keep your
storyline running smooth, but only if you use it. A theme can keep
the player immersed in your world. Now... how do we come up with
a theme? What exactly is a theme?
A theme is simply the message your game has. Common themes are:
- One person can make a difference (Chrono Trigger)
- Some things are worth dying for (Lufia 2)
- Friends are there to help (FF6).
There and many more out there and millions are possible. Coming up
with a theme shouldn't be too hard. In order to find the theme of
your game (in case you don't have one), you should look at
generalizations of your plot. If your game is a traditional or
similar RPG, then take these steps. First look at your main
character(s). Then ask yourself why, in a general way, he fails
or succeeds. This doesn't work all the time, if it doesn't you
usually have to look throughout the whole story, but many hints
are given. To give you an example, I will take a look at Final
Fantasy 6. Terra is thrown into a world she remembers nothing about.
Throughout the story she is guided to be good, by her newly
found companions. After the world splits apart, many people
lose hope. Just knowing that there were others willing to
fight Kefka wasn't enough, however, and she needed to be
convinced that saving the world would still help the children
she wanted to protect. In the end, Kefka is defeated because
of the teamwork involved against him... and the spell Ultima.
The theme is mentioned above, and it is shown throughout the
game. Your friends are constantly helping you through situations,
giving you the support you need to finish your journey.
I mentioned that a theme isn't necessary earlier. A good and
original idea is important (unless you are doing a parody/comedy
type deal). Creative ideas seem to pop in certain people's heads,
but what about the rest of the populace? Everyone else has to
either steal their idea, or make their own. Hopefully you choose
the latter. Here are various tips I have heard over the years:
- Listen to music
- Watch a movie
- Read a book
- Play a game
- Take a nap
- Ask someone else
Personally, I have only tried listening to music to help
with a game... it was orchestral music. All of my other game
ideas have come out of the blue or by thinking just about games.
It does help to have a guide in your quest, and I intend to
provide one over this small series of articles. When creating
a story, there are a couple of things to remember. First, you
should strive for originality to ensure your game brings a fresh
feeling to the player. Next, you should decide on a setting.
Then, you should plan your linearity. After that, you should
decide your conflicting force. Then, you should develop your
plot to make it dynamic and unpredictable and your characters
to make them interesting and believable. Finally, you should
let it sit. Wait you say? Let it sit? Yes, after fully
documenting your game project, let it sit in a drawer away from
your mind. Come back to it in 2-4 weeks, after you have
forgotten about it. If the game still sounds like a good
idea, then you have a winner. It can be skipped (although I
wouldn't recommend it).
Original ideas...
Some would say they are few and far between, but what is the
definition of an original idea? To be original, you must precede
all others in time, which means to be first. There is a fine line
between originality and deriving your work from another, and there
are even different scales upon which people judge originality. What
you must realize is that the kind of originality that you should
have doesn't have to be as far from your predecessors as possible.
Remember that just making your game original will not force its
success. Things to avoid taking, in order of importance not to
take are: Main stories, character stories, specific graphics,
names (characters, towns, or other), concepts, events, and
features. If you want to help rid yourself of other game's
ideas, you should stop playing games for a week (only involved
games, you can play Tetris, pong, etc...). For those of you
hard-pressed or unable to come up with a plot, I will list several
generic plot types in a future installment, as well as some examples
that may be used by anyone.
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