Storyline discussion

[Involuntary Twitch]

(Forgive me if this is in the wrong section or whatever, but there's really no thread like it and I just wanted to talk about it I guess. xD)

So, regarding story in Pokemon fangames. I've written/discussed/criticized my fair share of plots, but really, I only know my own opinion, plus that of those around me.
So I'm wondering: what do you think about story? Should a game be as gripping as a book, or is it just enough to be fun to play? Is it okay to be cliche? What about darker and edgier?

Also, what's your writing process? What comes first: the game concept or the story? How do you organize your thoughts? Do you just get a pitch and wing it?

 

[Spikey-Eared Pichu]

To me, as far as Pokemon games go, story really never means much. If you look at the past Pokemon games (Main series), all of them stand on the same flimsey boards; begining a quest to become a Pokemon Master, catching all the Pokemon, and stopping an evil team. Essentially, the story of all Pokemon games is thrown in to move things along and ultimately have the player raise a strong enough team to capture and train the remainder of the games' Pokemon.

In my opinion, I think Pokemon should have a slightly more serious and dark edge to it, if only to draw the attention of some more serious gamers. But, don;t make the game to story-orientated or its no fun. And a cliche or two is fine because it shows that the game doesn't completely stray from its roots.

I come up with the game's concept before working on the story. I'm constantly getting inspiration for new Pokemon, Mario, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic, and other games. Heck, just in the past two weeks I've come up with atleast four ideas for new Pokemon games. Whatever my inspiration, I build my story on that. Take, for instance, Pokemon: Amaterasu Waking (My fangame which is located on page 2 or 3 in the Plot and Story Idea Space section), my inspiration was Japanese mythology. I began making the concept; a Pokemon game set in a Japanese-oriented region that is centered greatly around the struggle between two deities. From there, I spawned the game's legend and plot.

Sorry, but subjects like this just make my fingers dance across the keybord ^^;

 

[Involuntary Twitch]

To me, as far as Pokemon games go, story really never means much. If you look at the past Pokemon games (Main series), all of them stand on the same flimsey boards; begining a quest to become a Pokemon Master, catching all the Pokemon, and stopping an evil team. Essentially, the story of all Pokemon games is thrown in to move things along and ultimately have the player raise a strong enough team to capture and train the remainder of the games' Pokemon.
True. But... well, don't you ever think there could be more to it? Like there's so much unexplored backstory, it seems a shame that so many fangames are just original flavor. The games are designed to have their sort of mass appeal and be more gameplay-oriented, but fangames can afford to be niche, since you're assuming people won't spend as much time playing your game as they do the official ones.

In my opinion, I think Pokemon should have a slightly more serious and dark edge to it, if only to draw the attention of some more serious gamers. Darker and edgier... meh. It can be interesting, definitely (I've seen some great fanfics like that) but get too far off the deep end and you get stuff like this Oblivion thing which is really the exact same thing that deludes itself into being different. But, don;t make the game to story-orientated or its no fun. And a cliche or two is fine because it shows that the game doesn't completely stray from its roots.
I agree that cliches are okay; it's when they're used in place of actual storytelling that they drive me insane. People don't even write their own plots any more!

I come up with the game's concept before working on the story. I'm constantly getting inspiration for new Pokemon, Mario, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic, and other games. Heck, just in the past two weeks I've come up with atleast four ideas for new Pokemon games. Whatever my inspiration, I build my story on that. Take, for instance, Pokemon: Amaterasu Waking (My fangame which is located on page 2 or 3 in the Plot and Story Idea Space section), my inspiration was Japanese mythology. I began making the concept; a Pokemon game set in a Japanese-oriented region that is centered greatly around the struggle between two deities. From there, I spawned the game's legend and plot.
...Haha, it's funny, because while that is mostly true for me, it worked in reverse with Uranium. In working on the storyline, I derived inspiration from the game's title, creating significance where there previously was none.

And a game based on japanese mythology in a japanese-oriented region would be very fun, but then if I wanted that I would just play the original games, now wouldn't I? xD The official games have some very Shinto-esque underpinnings you know. Nevertheless, I would want to play that.

Sorry, but subjects like this just make my fingers dance across the keybord ^^; That makes two of us, haha

...I wonder what it is about talking about plots that makes me want to boldcomment?

 

[T3h Kaiser]

I think a story is very important, and any fangame that doesn't have one isn't really worth my time. I mean, I just got back from seeing Avatar in theaters and it was nearly intolerable; the setting was amazing and the special effects were hella impressive, but... with the same cookie cutter green peace nonsense plot, it just couldn't hold my attention at all. It was Space Pocahontas, and I called every shot they made.

But on the other hand, developers have to remember their audience and - more importantly - they have to remember their vessel. We're making Pokemon fangames, and that should never "change". Making a Pokemon fangame darker and edgy is more of an awkward disservice to the franchise, I think; it's turning Pokemon into something it simply isn't. Look at Shadow the Hedgehog; he's practically Poochie and it doesn't suit the franchise.

On the other hand, lacking a plot and keeping it simple doesn't really do much to differentiate fangames from the retail Pokemon games. If all I want to do is beat Team Rocket and became the Champion, I'll replay Red or Blue Version. Keeping the same Pokemon tone doesn't mean the game has to be simple. I think alot of times, people confuse tone for depth.

I sort of sometimes think that people write dark and edgy because they're too afraid to write anything else, or because they simply aren't able to. Happy endings are tricky because nobody likes predictability, and "happily ever after" has been accepted as sort of cliche for awhile now. But when everyone is trying their hardest to make a deep message or talk about why humanity is dark or whatever, happy endings aren't really cliche anymore. I think sometimes people lose sight of inspirational, happy storylines because they're more difficult to write.

I honestly feel that the best any fangame can do is look to the Digimon anime for inspiration.

This is all something I've been thinking about for quite awhile now and I've got loads more to say, but... I just got back from the theater and I don't feel like typing anymore.