I need to save the world! Where was I?

[TriceratopsX]

Alright so when a player leaves a game unfinished for a while (days, weeks, months) before coming back to finish it, how do you guys remind them of where they were in the story? (current events/quests)

 

[Pine Towers]

A diary/journal where he wrote what he did and what have to do. Always loved how Baldur's Gate made this so natural, weaving the objective in a narrative in a way the player actually cared about not only what he must do, but why he is doing it.

 

[bgillisp]

Quest Log.

 

[The Stranger]

Scrying... nah, a quest log. I gues syou could be more creative and have some sort of scene which plays when the player loads his\her game. A scene which jogs their memory - sort of like a flashback or a "Previously on the Walking Dead" thing.

 

[TriceratopsX]

@The stranger


yeah I belive Pokemon FR/LG did something like this, though I'm not sure how to make an event like that.

 

[Doktor_Q]

For some games, all you need is a quest management system that includes the main quest- like a journal or the sorts. But there's some other ways you can keep them up to date on the main quest, which I'm a fan of:


The first is a "last week on dragon ball Z" recap when they load into the game- summarize the most recent plot developments, their current position, give them a hint at what comes next, and is a good chance to add some flavor. It's a nice fit for games that like narration and cinematics. Mechanically, you could easily do something like [recap switch = true] > [save game] > [recap switch = false] to 'prime' it, and then a common event auto runs if [recap switch = true], displays the recap, and turns the switch back off.


The second is having inter-party dialog the player can access at will- maybe map a hotkey or menu option for "talk to the party". It works best if you have a persistent partner character to talk to (I remember it from the Mega Man Battle Network games), but in a pinch you can fall back on RPG hero monologues or the voice of an omnipresent authority figure. The advantage of this is that you can squeeze in character interaction or characterization, and provide easy access to hints instead of just reminders.

 

[HexMozart88]

There's a diary system in my game where it sort of explains at what point we are in the game. You visit it anytime and it has entries that will sort of refresh your memory. I find that the best way to do it as far as my game goes because it fits with the personality of the main character a bit better. He's always alone writing something or other so it blends in nicely. I think that'd be the best thing to do in any game. Whatever fits with the story and the personality of your main character. Although, sometimes, if you can set up the game well enough, keep the pacing even, the player can get wrapped up in it the moment they get back to playing. 

 

[Wavelength]

I usually don't have any problem remembering where I am in the narrative (unless it's a really bland story), but I often do have a problem coming back to a game and remembering what I am supposed to do next or where I am supposed to go next.  I'm the type of player that occasionally puts down a game for years and then comes back to it much later to give it a second chance, and I like to pick up where I left off.


The Tales series has what I think is an almost-perfect solution to this problem - each game has a "Synopsis" option (or similar) on the main menu, which includes a chapter-by-chapter summary of the plot so far, with each paragraph or chapter ending by telling you what you should do next.  For example, it might say "With the Balacruf Mausoleum's guardian defeated and the third seal broken, the party headed to the Church of Salvation to learn more about the fourth seal."  Well, reading that, there's no ambiguity over what to do - head to the Church of Salvation and speak to someone who might know about the seals!


As a tangent to the discussion, I have found that even after two weeks away from a game, if I have played another game in the meantime I often forget a lot of the controls and have trouble getting back into it.  This is much less of a problem in RPGs than most other genres, but I think it's a very worthwhile thing for any game developer to remember - keep the controls as simple, intuitive, and compact as possible, and include good in-game tutorials that can be accessed at any time.

 

[kaukusaki]

quest log is your best bet. When important events happen, switch on the variables that appear. It's quite simple to implement

 

[Nirwanda]

An alternative option to the quest log is, like @Doktor_Qmentioned, would be the possibility to talk with your party members in your base/hub town/from the menu/whatever and have them mention your current objectives. It's more interactive and adds the possibility of extra characterization for your other party members. (a journal would help characterize only your main character, or the one writing the journal if it's not them)

 

[consolcwby]

I think @Wavelength said it perfectly. This was the only thing I liked about FFXIII. The wall of text can be a good thing, if done right!

 

[MAIR]

If you've ever played Sonic Adventure or it's sequel, those games will have whatever character you're playing as narrate over the events of the stage you last played, and talking about what you're about to do next. It's not only a good way to recap, but also a good way to allow the player to get inside a character's head for a minute. So, that's an option.

 

[HexMozart88]

HUH?! How could I have forgotten about Sonic Adventure? I love that game! Although the voice acting is a little questionable at times. So you can do that, but just the text. No voice.  

 

[MAIR]

@HexMozart88 Unless OP has voice acting, in which case I commend you.

 

[TriceratopsX]

I like the idea of a recap when you start the game back up, but I have no idea how to go about making that.

 

[Caitlin]

I have a tent, like Breath of Fire 3 and 4, so the characters are going to be discussing what's happened and maybe what they have to do next.  It won't help with quests, I might develop a quest book, but so far, I haven't decided, yet. 

 

[Dr. Delibird]

@TriceratopsX, you would need to figure out how to run a common event after loading a game (which would definitely require a person with scripting knowledge). 

 

[kurt91]

I remember always seeing pubs and stuff in the towns in classic RPGs, but they were never used for anything except an extra room full of NPCs. What about using them for a natural reminder? Instead of a constant Party Chat function, why not something where you go into a town and buy a round of drinks for your team? They sit down around a table, relax while they enjoy their drinks, and discuss what they need to do or something that just happened. Having to pay for the drinks, even if it's an incredibly minor cost, will prevent the player from using the "Party Chat" when it's not needed, so they're less likely to notice repeat dialogue while making it seem more natural. (I always thought that only seeing a single dialogue play out multiple times, even in a "Party Chat" setup, was a bit immersion breaking)

 

[Doktor_Q]

I like the idea of a recap when you start the game back up, but I have no idea how to go about making that.

The crux of it is that you want:


1. A variable or variables to track progress, this tells which recap to show.


2. A common event that auto-runs when switch "recap" is flipped on, and turns said switch back off when it finishes running. Inside the event, it should look at your progress variable and show the appropriate recap.


3. Immediately before saving, turn the recap switch on. Immediately after you finish saving, turn it back off before the common event can auto fire. This way, it's remembered as 'on' when the load the data, but it's not inside the event so it won't turn back off.


The last but I'd where it might get tricky- you need either some scripting to edit the save sequence, or you need to save through an event. If you use save point events on the map, that's easy. If you save through the menu, you'll need a script of some type to replace the "save" option with an event that opens the save menu, and also does you switching.

 

[TriceratopsX]

1. A variable or variables to track progress, this tells which recap to show.


2. A common event that auto-runs when switch "recap" is flipped on, and turns said switch back off when it finishes running. Inside the event, it should look at your progress variable and show the appropriate recap.


3. Immediately before saving, turn the recap switch on. Immediately after you finish saving, turn it back off before the common event can auto fire. This way, it's remembered as 'on' when the load the data, but it's not inside the event so it won't turn back off.


If you use save point events on the map, that's easy.

Thank you so much for telling me how to go about eventing something like this, it helps me out tremendously! Luckily I'm using save points for my game so this should be fairly simple to implement now   I had tried to come up with something like this on my own but I hadn't thought of step 3, so whenever the player would save they'd have to sit through the recap. (I hadn't implemented it for that reason)

I remember always seeing pubs and stuff in the towns in classic RPGs, but they were never used for anything except an extra room full of NPCs. What about using them for a natural reminder? Instead of a constant Party Chat function, why not something where you go into a town and buy a round of drinks for your team? They sit down around a table, relax while they enjoy their drinks, and discuss what they need to do or something that just happened. Having to pay for the drinks, even if it's an incredibly minor cost, will prevent the player from using the "Party Chat" when it's not needed, so they're less likely to notice repeat dialogue while making it seem more natural. (I always thought that only seeing a single dialogue play out multiple times, even in a "Party Chat" setup, was a bit immersion breaking)

That sounds like a cool idea. (Won't really work in my current project though )