[Game Idea] Pokemon Unspoken

[UltimateNPC]

One key factor of Pokemon games is its storyline, and quite frequently, a plot in a Pokemon game will attract very mixed opinions - which only further highlights its importance. Some fan games will consciously attempt to make their games more rich with a plot that, rather than feeling like it is overshadowed by the main game formula, feels as though it is overshadowing the main game formula instead. In other words, these games make things like gyms important to the story, rather than the story important to the gyms. This concept has been developed over-time, leading to the creation of some of the best fan games of all time. However, one concept I have yet to see executed is a game that follows the direction of a telltale narrative; every choice, route, action, etc. you take in the game feels relevant as though it will benefit you later down the line - a game where NPCs will remember that you even spoke to them.

Ladies and Gentlemen, with this concept alone I present to you Pokemon Unspoken - a game set in the normal Pokemon World, however it is an alternate timeline in-which an unknown source caused an apocalypse to occur, one which felt as though it'd never end; this apocalypse leaves the world fragmented, with only a small percentage of humanity and Pokemon remaining. There are no longer regions or islands or anything like that, just deserted wastelands. Scattered around these wastelands are what are known as survival enclosures - cities sealed off from the rest of the world that harbor the remainder of humanity, as well as any Pokemon who are not still hiding in the wild. After the apocalypse, hatred and evil became irrelevant - it was now every man, woman and child for themselves, their number one priority was surviving. Various areas of the world are also smothered with radiation, and this is where your player character comes in. Unfortunately, the player character was unknowingly infected with radiation poisoning - however this isn't the kind of radiation that harms you, this radiation harms anyone you interact with. This disease makes it impossible for the player to stay in one place for too long, as the outside world is littered with danger and the survival enclosures would never allow an infected person to stay. This is the primary plot-point for the player. Throughout the journey, you meet other people who are infected by the disease and are therefore immune to one another, as well as find out that Pokemon are actually immune to this disease, just like how humans are immune to Pokerus. You will make new friends and enemies on your journey to find a cure for this strange radiation poisoning, as well as learn how this apocalypse came to happen in the first place, and discover a cult of evil people who wish to manipulate humanity into doing their bidding, with the 'promise' of being able to live safely from all of the dangers in this new and destroyed world.

For more context, the game takes place in a large wasteland terrain, rather than a region. The wasteland won't be one basic theme though, it'll have variants of different themes - such as a burning jungle, or a poisoned ocean. The land you journey through has no name, it is simply referred to as 'The Terrain', while each survival enclosure has a coded title, such as Red Alpha.
As stated earlier the disease that drives forward your character on his journey is exclusive to human beings, and so you can interact with Pokemon all you like - however what I did not mention is that the same radiation has a different effect on Pokemon - but only when the radiation is extremely strong. In these various areas of land, Pokemon who choose to remain in that location end up mutating as a result of the radiation, transforming into much more dangerous and terrifying creatures. These new beasts are known as 'Terraform Pokemon', however certain enclosures refer to them as 'Terraform Beasts' believing them to no longer be real Pokemon after undergoing these unnatural transformations.

This game will have a mildly-dark tone, but nothing too unnerving. The ideas I have are inspired by games such as The Walking Dead, Pokemon (of course), Minecraft, Batman The Telltale Series, etc.

To give context to the game name, it is in reference to the evil cult in the game, who are known as 'The Unspoken Ones'.

At some point in the foreseeable future I would love to see this game come to light - it's much better-developed that my previous ideas and I personally believe it makes a lot of sense, I also think the narrative of the game would work really well hand-in-hand with the typical Pokemon formula. So, what do you guys think?

 

[mgriffin]

It's an interesting idea. I think you might also find inspiration in the Fallout series which I was surprised you didn't reference, and also there's probably a whole bunch of fangames out there with similar post-apocalyptic regions (such as Fission/Fusion).

However, one concept I have yet to see executed is a game that follows the direction of a telltale narrative; every choice, route, action, etc. you take in the game feels relevant as though it will benefit you later down the line - a game where NPCs will remember that you even spoke to them.

Personally I'm most intrigued/excited by this part of your idea, can you elaborate on any specific thoughts you've had on how to pull it off?

Is it simply a writing task where the plan is to find (or be) a strong writer that can make sure all the possible choices come up again in a satisfying way later in the story; and also having them (or a team) write much more dialogue than the usual Pokémon game features so NPCs have new things to say the second (third, fourth, …?) times you speak to them?

Or perhaps you're planning to augment your writers with some procedural generation? I don't know much about the field, but maybe James Ryan's thesis Curating Simulated Storyworlds would be relevant to that line of thinking.

 

[UltimateNPC]

I didn't reference Fallout because I've never actually been a fan of Fallout or even played the games, and I prefer to only reference topics/games I know a lot about.
The post-apocalyptic setting is something I am aware is probably overused, but I want this game to feel different. From what I've seen, most post-apocalyptic games depict a world that is merely scarred by the apocalypse, but gradually recovering. I want this game to really emphasise the unlikelihood of recovering from such a globally devastating event. Only a small percentage of humanity remains, as I said, which will be continuously emphasised throughout the game - as well as various species of Pokemon being on the brink of extinction. I don't want this to feel like a damaged region, I want it to feel like a dying world. The entire game would have an atmosphere of there being no hope, and all that's left for humanity is to try to survive as long as possible in this new and terrifying environment.

As for your question on how to execute the idea of the telltale narrative, here is what I was thinking:
First of all, once again, there would be less NPCs than a typical game, because if you have per-say ten to twenty NPCs per enclosure and then five or six per outside area, that's roughly the same as a normal Pokemon game, so it'd be very difficult to portray there being only a fragment of humanity left without a general reduction of the characters. The important aspect of that feature is that every character is relevant because you will only MEET relevant characters. You will never encounter someone who just explains to you their feelings and ends the conversation there, every character will have SOME kind of importance.

There will of-course be different levels of relevance, some characters will benefit you right there and then, some will return in the story later on (perhaps using some kind of switch event or an item representing a variable - this would need to be figured out later on) - and there will be a select few NPCs who will appear as key characters who will consistently help out the player throughout the game. It was with the intention to make up these characters that I devised the concept of the disease that only affects other people and those who are immune to it. (Fun fact: I forgot to mention, the disease itself with people who are immune to it was inspired by The Maze Runner series) From there, I decided that the main plot-point of the story as well as surviving would be the disease and dealing with it. I wasn't originally going to add the aforementioned evil cult, however it'd be quite challenging to create a game narrative purely on survival with no risks - the enclosures would become 'safe-houses' and the outside world would be basically a more aggressive safari zone. The cult will be used to give you a reason to drive forward, and will be the main thing holding you back from finding the cure to the disease early into the game. In other words, the cult represents the main challenge besides dangerous wild Pokemon. (Side note: I've noticed Pokemon games and the anime on occasion have a habit of calling wild Pokemon areas dangerous, yet this feeling is never really encapsulated. I want to build an atmosphere in the outer part of the terrain that feels as though you truly are not safe)

I also considered implementing a theme around people around you dying due to a long-term interaction with your disease, but I'm not entirely sure how well that would fit. I want the game to feel like a thriller movie made for 13+ kids but with some hints of horror here and there. These deaths would have a similar impact to interacting with those previously-referenced NPCs.

P.S. I haven't posted enough in this community so I honestly don't know how to use a lot of the codes. I know the basic stuff like bold, italics, etc. but I don't know how to quote. Sorry, lmao.

 

[rekman]

I really like the idea! Did you ever played Chrono Trigger? It is a game based on time travel and the future represented gives a similar vibe to the one you are describing: outpost where few humans live with limited resources.
I suggest you to give it a look :)
Other than that, really good promise.
You could motivate the protagonist to move around in the wasteland to find 'the professor', the man who can possibly cure you.
A little thought: how about trainer battles? Few humans=less standard battles. Substituting many trainers with wild encounters/horde might be a good idea but I personally think that it may be not enough. Do you have an idea in this regard?

 

[UltimateNPC]

I really like the idea! Did you ever played Chrono Trigger? It is a game based on time travel and the future represented gives a similar vibe to the one you are describing: outpost where few humans live with limited resources.
I suggest you to give it a look :)
Other than that, really good promise.
You could motivate the protagonist to move around in the wasteland to find 'the professor', the man who can possibly cure you.
A little thought: how about trainer battles? Few humans=less standard battles. Substituting many trainers with wild encounters/horde might be a good idea but I personally think that it may be not enough. Do you have an idea in this regard?

My apologies for the late response, I was not notified of a message in this thread, though I thought I would have been.
I have heard a lot about Chrono Trigger, it sounds like an intriguing game, I may check it out. Also, I appreciate your interest in my idea.
As for trainer battles, that's pretty much what I was going to do but in heavier depth. Since the main focus of the game will be moving between enclosures, there will be a large focus on wild encounters - amongst these will be encounters that revolve around the plot rather than just being an obstacle. For example, you are sidetracked by a mutated Raichu who is trying to start a forest fire or something. Several of these pre-planned encounters will substitute for trainers, so those who you do battle in the enclosures will feel more fairly leveled based on your wild encounter experiences, and from there cult members will be numerous towards the later game, so by then there will be many more trainers to allow you to build up XP despite the increasing required XP between level ups.
Finally, about the professor - I really like that idea, I was initially thinking of the cult developing a cure but only making it for themselves, and using it to manipulate humanity into doing their bidding as I stated in the initial post. I feel like having a professor in control of this cure would go down really well, and would make for some interesting and unpredictable story-telling.