- Joined
- Apr 13, 2012
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- 410
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- RMVXA
I'm in a rut, and I wanted to ask for some advice for game making for once. I've offered my ideas on game theory insofar as mechanics as of late, and to a degree storytelling. This is probably me hating what I create but like... how emotional is too emotional for dialogue and cutscenes in games? Let me explain.
I've grown to joke with myself about my certain game niche: "LGBT+ furries with emotional issues go on episodic adventures in consistent worlds". The last three games I've made, one of which hasn't been hosted here, play off these vibes. "The Painted Knight" and "A Maned Lioness" can be found in the Completed Games subforum here on RPG Maker Web. A third, "Dates At The Gilded Dallah", was something I whipped together for RM Network's Valentines Day event. I have a fourth game that's a sequel to Maned Lioness, an actual adventure where the MC meets her future significant other for the first time. If it matters, we'll call that one "It Takes A Trickster".
My first completed game sunk, as y'do. For the sequel no one asked for, Painted Knight, I decided to give banter between the three party members throughout the dungeon crawl. The dungeon layout was half-assed outside of the two main cutscene rooms, and the battles were basic. I feel I handled the banter well though. Maned Lioness, because it was made for Pride Month 2019 and the MC is transgender, involved elements of personal identity and having a heart-to-heart with a misunderstood villain. The dialogue, especially during and after the climactic boss fight, was melodramatic and sappy. I wanted to push a theme of positivity but I feel it wasn't well executed.
Then came the recent event game, Gilded Dallah. I think it's a dece first draft, but by no means something I wanna share until I revise the dialogue. It plays like a visual novel. The good ending didn't work out well in my mind, and I regret akinky joke option available early on. Right now I'm worried about It Takes A Trickster, because a lot of the game right now is dialogue-heavy as the other ones were before.
Here's my qualms. I want to have decent storytelling in my games. I want them to feel like pulp serials, telling ongoing adventures about my characters and worlds and lore that I've obsessed over for years. The last thing I want are throwaway NPCs like so many JRPGs before, especially since my games don't go much longer than a half-hour to play at most. I want players to have a reason to care what happens to not only the NPCs, but also the main characters.
But I also want to write better, and I want my games to feel more like games and less like visual novels. It feels wrong to play the drama and/or pity card in order to write a good story. Banter between party members on an adventure like Painted Knight seems legit. What I've written for games after feels like a dumpster fire by comparison.
So riddle me this. What is a good way to balance this? How do I make the player care about what happens in a narrative-focused game, without manipulating them with drama? What's a good medium? What's worked for you?
I've grown to joke with myself about my certain game niche: "LGBT+ furries with emotional issues go on episodic adventures in consistent worlds". The last three games I've made, one of which hasn't been hosted here, play off these vibes. "The Painted Knight" and "A Maned Lioness" can be found in the Completed Games subforum here on RPG Maker Web. A third, "Dates At The Gilded Dallah", was something I whipped together for RM Network's Valentines Day event. I have a fourth game that's a sequel to Maned Lioness, an actual adventure where the MC meets her future significant other for the first time. If it matters, we'll call that one "It Takes A Trickster".
My first completed game sunk, as y'do. For the sequel no one asked for, Painted Knight, I decided to give banter between the three party members throughout the dungeon crawl. The dungeon layout was half-assed outside of the two main cutscene rooms, and the battles were basic. I feel I handled the banter well though. Maned Lioness, because it was made for Pride Month 2019 and the MC is transgender, involved elements of personal identity and having a heart-to-heart with a misunderstood villain. The dialogue, especially during and after the climactic boss fight, was melodramatic and sappy. I wanted to push a theme of positivity but I feel it wasn't well executed.
Then came the recent event game, Gilded Dallah. I think it's a dece first draft, but by no means something I wanna share until I revise the dialogue. It plays like a visual novel. The good ending didn't work out well in my mind, and I regret a
Here's my qualms. I want to have decent storytelling in my games. I want them to feel like pulp serials, telling ongoing adventures about my characters and worlds and lore that I've obsessed over for years. The last thing I want are throwaway NPCs like so many JRPGs before, especially since my games don't go much longer than a half-hour to play at most. I want players to have a reason to care what happens to not only the NPCs, but also the main characters.
But I also want to write better, and I want my games to feel more like games and less like visual novels. It feels wrong to play the drama and/or pity card in order to write a good story. Banter between party members on an adventure like Painted Knight seems legit. What I've written for games after feels like a dumpster fire by comparison.
So riddle me this. What is a good way to balance this? How do I make the player care about what happens in a narrative-focused game, without manipulating them with drama? What's a good medium? What's worked for you?
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