Outlining Multiple Character Paths

[jameswestbrook351]

*To preface this question, I should probably summarize my game's method of story advancement/POV(Point-Of-View). In my game, you are seeing the world through the eyes of who is leading your party. Certain characters are filled with bloodlust and everything is red and disturbing to them, one character is only able to see movement. It goes well with the puzzle mechanics, being each character can only do certain actions, for example: the "knight" can use strength to move large objects, the nearly blind one can communicate with most insects due to his spider heritage, some characters are more advanced in magic. The way the story advances it you see the POV of who is leading party(already said that lol) and you see their internal dialogue and specific details depending on who you are playing as. At several points in the game, there are scenes/maps/fights/ect that are different for each character for their path. Each path exists both dependently but also supports the other paths story wise. Half of the point in this is to improve replayability of the game. (a few more ideas i have for replayability is playing one route unlocks special bosses for other characters, you also unlock skills that are shared between characters that are kept when restarting the game[new game plus]). Each character has their own ending, and I am considering one of two things


1. Require you to get specific routes(all the important ones) before you get one major ending that takes place after each one, or 


2. Design each ending so that it leaves you no knowledge about the other character's routes and individual story lines and endings.


I made it a goal to work on the story of my game for an hour a day. I wanted to start by writing the POV of the first character, except now I am having difficulty with it, knowing there are several other characters I need to make it worth with. Does anyone know of any resources I can use to manage multiple story lines at once? I know there are a lot of resources for plotting basic stories, but I'm wondering if there is anything that makes planning several coexisting paths easier to manage. 

 

[HexMozart88]

I just use Microsoft Word. Or a notebook. Make a different document for each character. 

 

[jameswestbrook351]

I just use Microsoft Word. Or a notebook. Make a different document for each character. 

So you don't know of any outlining methods or resources one could use? I have several word processors I could use but I am not writing ten different coexisting stories on separate pages. 

 

[Punamaagi]

You could try a mind mapping software (such as FreeMind or MindNode) to map all the important points and choices and how the story diverges from them. The only problem with mind maps is that they can get rather complex and confusing if you have a long story and/or many points where the story branches.

 

[jameswestbrook351]

You could try a mind mapping software (such as FreeMind or MindNode) to map all the important points and choices and how the story diverges from them. The only problem with mind maps is that they can get rather complex and confusing if you have a long story and/or many points where the story branches.

Yeahhh. It makes it seem like I just need a really large piece of paper the length of my living room for this xD. (I am actually considering getting that construction paper from walmart, but im not sure if its too fragile or not lol.

 

[LaFlibuste]

What about an excel document? Imagine its a timeline or whatever, columns are POVs and rows are... whatever you measure your game with. Quests, events, days, whatever. It works if it's linear & parallel. It'll be a mess if it's branching or whatever, though.

 

[jameswestbrook351]

What about an excel document? Imagine its a timeline or whatever, columns are POVs and rows are... whatever you measure your game with. Quests, events, days, whatever. It works if it's linear & parallel. It'll be a mess if it's branching or whatever, though.

Thats a good idea. if I enlarge the rows and columns it could potentially work. hmmm. Then i could also probably use highlighting for rows to specify theme like quests events ect like you said. 


I will probably try that with my google drive!!!  Thanks for the idea. (All the other ideas were great as well btw)

 

[XIIIthHarbinger]

I think to determine how this plotting out needs to happen, would depend a great deal upon the level of connectivity of these individual characters, as well as the ability of the player to alter the path of a respective character.


Now I've seen games where you can play as multiple characters, who are all interacting with the same game world, where they largely didn't interact with each other; but even though the aren't interacting with each other you need to determine what the nature of their relationship is or potentially would be, because "heroes" are fundamentally dynamic characters who are altering the word around them. So are these characters pursuing conflicting agendas that will undermine each other's respective goals, even if they don't interact directly? Cliche as the butterfly analogy is, the unforeseen consequences of second & third order effects based on decisions others made is very much a real thing, & "heroes" within a story tend to have very "big wings". 


Another thing to consider is do the other characters who aren't the players selected main, have a "canon" path as it were? It's one thing to have players choosing their own paths when the various characters they could play as are separated by great physical distance of a large amount of time. Take for example the way the Elder Scrolls & Fallout series reference previous in series protagonists. Very broad terms, general ambiguity characterized by different NPCs disagreeing on who, what, where, when, why, & how, & only the events with very pronounced impacts on people's lives for years or even decades to come are clearly established.


From what you are describing though, it seems like you have your characters all racing up different paths of the same mountain at the same time. Yet being largely unaware of each other's presence, or at the very least each other's actions. That would be a difficult tightrope to walk, storyline wise, & not shatter your player's suspension of disbelief. So I would definitely recommend a canon path as it were for each character, especially with an interconnected ending, based on the collective actions of all your characters.


You would have to map out every potential point of the game world where two or more characters could be at the same location, interact with the same NPC, or battle the same enemy; then determine if such an interaction is going to be possible, & if not why. I am not saying you need to declare the reason in expositional dialogue from every other NPC that crosses the path of each character mind you; but you need to know why Hero A, B, & C who all talk to NPC 12 don't bump into each other, & then write your story accordingly. 


LaFilibuste had a good idea with excel document with your characters serving as the rows, & columns being points of interest for the story. After doing that I would create a "map of the game world" as it were, depicting the positions of all of the areas the players will potentially explore, relative to each other. Assign each of the columns or your "points of interest" a position on that map of the world in accordance with the area they are found in, then map each character's path from point of interest to point of interest in sequential manner. Perhaps use a different color for mapping each hero's path, & then number them in accordance with the order they will proceed to each point of interest.  


So when Hero Character 1 is at Point of interest 4, where are Hero characters 2, 3, 4, etcetera at on that "map of the world"? This should give you a good idea of when your characters are in the same general area, & when they are on the other side of the map; decide accordingly on their potential levels of interaction.     

 

[jameswestbrook351]

I think to determine how this plotting out needs to happen, would depend a great deal upon the level of connectivity of these individual characters, as well as the ability of the player to alter the path of a respective character.


Now I've seen games where you can play as multiple characters, who are all interacting with the same game world, where they largely didn't interact with each other; but even though the aren't interacting with each other you need to determine what the nature of their relationship is or potentially would be, because "heroes" are fundamentally dynamic characters who are altering the word around them. So are these characters pursuing conflicting agendas that will undermine each other's respective goals, even if they don't interact directly? Cliche as the butterfly analogy is, the unforeseen consequences of second & third order effects based on decisions others made is very much a real thing, & "heroes" within a story tend to have very "big wings". 

You definetely made some good points. And yeah, it's gonna be a pain(to say the least) to make them all connect together in a positive way. I do intend to make each route canon. A friend of mine told me to put in multiple paths based on who you played as- ugh yeah nope each path is canon and only one interconnected ending lmao. 


My plan is to focus on two characters at a time, and draft out their interactions and ect. From there I'll keep adding one character to the chart, fix the story up, and then add another. 


And yeah, each character has their own motivation(and each path is canon, i say this later but i wanna say it not for clarification), and certain characters come onto completely different sides in terms of what they want to achieve, some seeking the more cruel but safer path, such as murdering certain protagonists who are dangerous to society due to mental conditions, others seeking the risky but high rewarding path such as trying to find a cure, with risk of devastation. 


Making each character path will be interesting, because I will have to make each path interesting, because one concern is "I already played this path, why should i play his?". It's gonna be a challenge designing each storyline to refer to others, while also having their own special plot arc. For example, you play one route and then when you play someone else's point of view in the same time, the player goes "OH THAT'S WHAT HE WAS DOING OH MY GOD" or something like "oh my god that is really messed up, I suppose he does have reason for doing that"

You would have to map out every potential point of the game world where two or more characters could be at the same location, interact with the same NPC, or battle the same enemy; then determine if such an interaction is going to be possible, & if not why. I am not saying you need to declare the reason in expositional dialogue from every other NPC that crosses the path of each character mind you; but you need to know why Hero A, B, & C who all talk to NPC 12 don't bump into each other, & then write your story accordingly. 

Yep, I plan on taking that into account. I love putting attention to detail when it comes to stuff like this. I do intend on having characters meet up several times throughout the game. They just aren't all together at the same time. Each character has their own personal motive related to the overall conflict. And halfway through the game, the majority of characters get split into two different viewpoints/sides, each with their own justified viewpoint. 

LaFilibuste had a good idea with excel document with your characters serving as the rows, & columns being points of interest for the story. After doing that I would create a "map of the game world" as it were, depicting the positions of all of the areas the players will potentially explore, relative to each other. Assign each of the columns or your "points of interest" a position on that map of the world in accordance with the area they are found in, then map each character's path from point of interest to point of interest in sequential manner. Perhaps use a different color for mapping each hero's path, & then number them in accordance with the order they will proceed to each point of interest.  


So when Hero Character 1 is at Point of interest 4, where are Hero characters 2, 3, 4, etcetera at on that "map of the world"? This should give you a good idea of when your characters are in the same general area, & when they are on the other side of the map; decide accordingly on their potential levels of interaction.     

That is actually a really good idea. After I finish the first draft, Im going to type it into an excel doc(actually i may just start with the doc lol). It would make it easier to manage each path.