Help Thread: Step 2: Planning the Game

[esperance]

The Path to Being an Elite Hacker

Step 2: Planning the Game

Choosing your ROM | Home | You Think You're Ready?

Good day, followers of the path, and welcome to step two! At this point we haven't really gotten to the actual hacking. And if you're anything like me, you'll want to get right to it! You've probably got this amazing idea for a story that you simply must start work on. But slow down there! Before you can begin hacking, you've got to fully understand what it is that you'll actually be doing. That's right, you've got to do some planning.

Now planning is a lot of work, but I promise you that taking the time to plan out your game will prevent lots of headaches later. I can't tell you the number of hacks that I've seen fizzle out simply because the creator didn't take the time to plan where they wanted the game to actually go.

Theme/Feature Based Story Creation

This is the name of the game here, my students. One of the greatest ways to stifle your game before it even begins is to start with a story. Having a story boxes you in, and forces you to cut out or ignore things simply because they won't fit the story. In short, it limits your creativity. So, what we'll be doing instead is first making a list of themes and features we want to include in the game (from the start), maybe an end goal or two, and then let the actual story evolve as the hacking progresses. Trust me on this when I say that when we're done you'll love this method of development.

Themes

Themes are sort of like overarching things ideas we want to express in our game. For us, this will be rather simple, because we want to just make a simple hack. We're not trying to debate the meaning of mortality or something quite so intense as that.

Here is the theme (although more may be added) for our hack:

• The classic Pokémon experience

Not a very impressive list, but it will do. :3

Features

This can be a rather fun part for the hacking. Features can really be any number of things, from running indoors to having an island in the game. The thing about features, though, is that it can be very easy to think of feature that may be impossible or very difficult to implement (for example, fully animated Pokémon like Gen. V has in FireRed).

Here is the list of features that I want our game to include:

• 4 gyms
• An Elite 4 that uses unique typings
• I want myself as the Champion
• Fairy type
• Updated and new moves/abilities
• A custom Battle Frontier
• Be able to catch at least one legendary
• Have an evil gang
• Have at least 5 cities
• I want at least one island
• (and more when I can think of it)

Now here's a test to see if you actually read the list. Can you figure out which feature may be ridiculously difficult to implement?

Spoiler:

The custom Battle Frontier! Right now the Battle Frontier is a Emerald-only feature, and implementing all of its facilities would prove to be a daunting task to even the most experienced hackers, and is something that a beginner is better off not attempting in FireRed (especially for our little hack).

Asking Some Questions

So now we know a bit of what we want out of the game. At this point it's a good idea to start thinking (in the back of your head maybe) a bit about how the game should start. Important questions to ask yourself include:

• How does the player get a Pokémon?
• How do they get the Pokédex?
• How do they get Poké Balls?
• Why do they want to start their adventure?

Designing the Region

Now while you're thinking about those story elements, we need to decide on what the region should look like. Planning out a basic map of the region allows you to decide early on how you can begin filling in some of those features, and where you might be able to do it. It can also give you an idea of how big a game you are planning to make. In general, a full sized game should have at least 10 cities and 4 landmarks (caves, forests, etc.) with routes filling them in. For our hack that will be significantly less because it's not going to be full sized.

Drawing a Map

The first thing we're going to do is draw a map. Now you can do this with the computer or on paper, because this isn't the map you'll be using in the game. It's just going to help you organize your thoughts.
When I draw a region I always start by drawing the land masses, like so:

Spoiler:

Then I place the cities:

Spoiler:

Then I connect my cities with routes:

Spoiler:

And finally, I add in the landmarks:

Spoiler:

(as you can see I added a lake)​

And a basic map of the region is completed!

Time for Some Purpose!

At this point, you should have realized that while drawing up your region you were already thinking up names and ideas about locations. For example, I was thinking of making my island the location of Victory Road and the Elite 4. This is a good thing! Because the next step is giving basic purpose to each of your cities. It's easiest to show this through example.

Cities

1. Looks like a good starting town. The player could meet the professor here.
2. A basic town. A Bug or Grass type gym could go here.
3. A snowy town. The evil team could be introduced here. A good place for an Ice type gym.
4. A large port city. A Normal or Poison type gym could go here. Home to the evil gang's base? If so, this might be the best place for the last gym. The Professor's lab is here.
5. The island that I wanted. Home to the Pokémon League.
6. A smaller port town. The Water-type gym could go here? A good place for a market?
7. The final town. Maybe the last gym could be here instead of at 6.

Landmarks

a. A generic forest. Home to lots of Bug, Grass and Flying Pokémon.
b. A very large cave. It has multiple paths, and forces the player toward 3 first.
c. A cool looking lake. The evil team could be encountered here. A neat place for a legendary Pokémon (Suicune or Articuno?)
d. Victory Road. The most challenging trainers will be here (other than the E4). Another good place for a legendary.
e. Maybe a volcano? A nice pace to catch Fire types. Maybe Moltres could go here.

You'll notice that I haven't given any names to the places yet. I like to give those when I get closer to actually designing them, when I have a better idea of what they look like and act like.

Answering some Questions

Now that we've got a basic region working, we can begin answering some of those questions that we asked earlier.

How does the player get a Pokémon? Since the player will start in town 1 , and the major city is city 4, it doesn't make sense for the Professor's lab to be in 1. So, the player doesn't get a Pokémon from the professor. In this game, the player will get their Pokémon from their grandmother (why not?).

How do they get the Pokédex? The player does not live anywhere near the Professor's lab, so we need another way for them to get a Pokédex. Maybe the Professor could send one by mail? Maybe he/she has a vacation home in town 1 and offers the player one? I like that option, but it may be a bit silly.

How do they get Poké Balls? This is an easier question to answer. They could get some from their grandmother with their Pokémon, or they could get some alongside their Pokédex.

Why do they want to start their adventure? Well the theme of the game is "classic Pokémon" so the motivation here will only need to be a desire to fill the Pokédex. In a more serious story this may need more thought.

The Cycle

Once you've gotten to this point, it becomes time to take matters into your own hands. This step is really a cycle of continuous thought and refinement, which you do over the whole hacking process. It only stops once you've decided the game is finished.

For example, now that I know a bit about how the player gets their Pokémon, I can focus a bit on the professor. What are his goals? Is the Professor even a he? What is his name?
Introducing Professor Maple (tree names are a staple after all), an expert in Pokémon biology (he seeks to discover why are the way they are). When he is not researching in his lab, he likes to relax at his vacation home in town 1 (which is still unnamed).

And what about the evil team? What does it want to do? I'm not exactly sure yet, but I feel like it may want something to do with Pokémon genetics and/or legendary Pokémon. Once we get closer to their introduction, we'll figure that out a bit more closely.

Finally, I've decided to name our region "Tokan" because it's a peninsula like Kanto. :P When it comes to region names, 5 character names are usually used for GBA regions so some in-game text can be easily edited, but this doesn't have to be the case.

Some Things to Remember

Before you forget anything, here's a good list of things you'll at least want to consider before starting the actual hacking.

• Gym leaders and their teams
• The Elite 4 and Champion
• The evil team (if you have one)
• Legendary Pokémon (if any)
• Starter Pokémon
• The level curve of the game
• There's actually a lot more that I'll add as I go

Conclusion

I hope that after this second step you haven't been scared off of hacking yet! Sure all the planning can be pretty time consuming, but hey, it can also be a lot of fun! :)
I'll see you next time, when we get into a bit of why you may not be quite ready to start hacking immediately. ;)

Also, I'm sorry for my bad drawing skills. I know that world map doesn't look amazing. :3

 

[Xencleamas]

Nice! Explained in crystal clear! :D

But wait, should it be 8 gyms, not 4 gyms? It is because in the common story, the gyms are eight. :3

 

[Spherical Ice]

Nice! Explained in crystal clear! :D

But wait, should it be 8 gyms, not 4 gyms? It is because in the common story, the gyms are eight. :3

I think it's safe to assume that for the sake of the tutorial, four gyms is plenty to cover the important aspects of making a hack. Eight gyms would get repetitive, and take too long.

 

[esperance]

Nice! Explained in crystal clear! :D

But wait, should it be 8 gyms, not 4 gyms? It is because in the common story, the gyms are eight. :3

I think it's safe to assume that for the sake of the tutorial, four gyms is plenty to cover the important aspects of making a hack. Eight gyms would get repetitive, and take too long.

Spherical basically explained it. In order to keep the tutorials both manageable and not repetitive, the hack that will be created during them will only have four gyms and then the Elite 4/Champion.

 

[Xencleamas]

I think it's safe to assume that for the sake of the tutorial, four gyms is plenty to cover the important aspects of making a hack. Eight gyms would get repetitive, and take too long.

Spherical basically explained it. In order to keep the tutorials both manageable and not repetitive, the hack that will be created during them will only have four gyms and then the Elite 4/Champion.

Ahh. Okay! Thanks guys! Now, I see why.

 

[DizzyEgg]

Great tutorial. I have one question. How could I draw a map like yours? It looks really nice, especially the routes. You could even make a tutorial on how to draw such a map(if it's difficult), I'd be grateful for that.

 

[avantimaestro]

Hey there, i am currently working on a first hack (nothing special, just for testing stuff out) and when i read your post, i realized that i unconsciously did all the steps you mentioned in the exact order! anyways, nice guides you are writing there, waiting for the next part :)

 

[esperance]

Great tutorial. I have one question. How could I draw a map like yours? It looks really nice, especially the routes. You could even make a tutorial on how to draw such a map(if it's difficult), I'd be grateful for that.

I actually just made the map in Paint, and doing so is a lot simpler than you think. First I start with a blank ocean, and then I draw the land masses in the darkest color green. From there, you take slightly lighter shades and move in a bit, forming mountains as you work upward. The key to drawing land is to think "no straight lines or corners". Then I just made little square-like black and white tiles for cities, pasted them, then connected them with blue and white roads.

Hey there, i am currently working on a first hack (nothing special, just for testing stuff out) and when i read your post, i realized that i unconsciously did all the steps you mentioned in the exact order! anyways, nice guides you are writing there, waiting for the next part :)

Sounds like you're off to a better start than I was when I first started. :P And thanks for following along! Expect the next part soon.

 

[Magical Carp]

Its my first time hacking, advance map seems to only have pokemons up to gen3, do you know any way to increase the pokemon list up to until gen7.?.
I also used a patch from pokefreak 1020/1460