The Ultimate Guide for Making Nifty Fantasy RPGs by Magus Masque
03-11-2009, 06:33 PM
An old Article I had for a couple years and
decided to post... I didn't write it.
First of all, I can't take credit for all the great advice in this tutorial as much of it was taken from the book "Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Crawford Kilian. This book is a MUST for any aspiring writer who wants to delve into these Genres. Since Most RPG's seem to take place in those mystical worlds full of Magic, dragons, (and, as Jerhico points out in HIS Tutorial) "old men with sticks", I though you'd benefit as much as I have (hopefully, more) from this info. If it isn't enough for you, go out and buy the book ($15.95 Canadian). It's worth the money.
1. GENRES AND SUB-GENRES
Basically, if you don't already know, a genre is a particular "topic, setting or issue" (In layman's terms the story's category, i guess). Since the core of a good RPG is its story and theme, Genre is extremely important. Here we go!
EPIC FANTASY
HEROIC FANTASY
SWORD AND SORCERY
RELIGIOUS FANTASY
2. CREATING A WORLD FOR YOUR FANTASY RPG
UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA
Many RPG games start off in an ideal world, where everything serves the desires of the people. Something goes wrong. The villain escapes from his ancient prison and wrecks havoc: The hero is exiled from his village for practicing forbidden magic: You get the idea. Suddenly, the world isn't so tame anymore and your hero has to figure out the who, what, where, why and how of things in order to set them right again. A prime example of this idea is Final Fantasy V, where all hell breaks loose when the wind stops, and before Butz knows what happened, He and his friends are plunged into a hostile and strange world. If you choose to do things this way, the "exile fom Eden" doesn't have to be so literal, but you get the idea, right? Then again, you might want to go from a Dystopia to a Utopia, like in Final Fantasy 7 which starts in the ugly sterile Midgar and ends with the lifestream healing the wounded planet. But Let's move on.
A SYMBOLIC REASON
Kilian suggests that you start with a symbolic reason for the kind of Utopia you want. Say you want to start your RPG with your hero living contentedly in a womblike world. (a closed off valley?) Suddenly, he's cold wet and naked (metaphorically) in the woods, with monsters just aching to devour him. Then again, lookig at Illustrious of The Gaming Overworld's (www.gamingoverworld.com) excellent RPG "Forever Across Dreams" Your hero might be an outsider coming to this Paradise as a kind of symbolic death.
BE CONSISTANT
If you're going to start from scratch, making your hero's world completely different from our own, be consistant, and stamp out all echos of our own world. You can't name one character Hajakilia and then have another named Bob (unless it's for a comic effect of course). Be careful not to give any Deities names like Allah, Zeus, Loki, or Yahweh.
3. BRAINSTORMING
Arrgh. Everyone's favourite part, I'm sure. If this is the part of RPGmaking that you dread more than sunlight, just stick with me and the almighty book. We'll get you through this, I promise.
IDEAS FOR DUMMIES
Bear with me here. this is where the similarity between Fantasy novels and Fantasy games wanes.
THE OPENING
a) Use Scenes, as well as quests to tell your story. IMHO, baldur's gate 1 wasn't nearly as good as Baldur's gate 2, because the good people of Interplay neglected this little detail. Sure, we knew that someone was out to kill the main character, but you could count the number of times you saw the villian on your fingers. Aside from that, there was almost no banter among the party members except when they wanted to whine at you. This is what makes Squaresoft RPG's vastly superior to anything Interplay can crank out. If the heros get taken prisoner by the bad guys, use their inprisonment as an oppurtunity for character development:
Scene:
The shy hero Levy is in one cell with the mysterious girl-Mage Morrigan. Their thick-headed friend Finn is in the next cell over. Finn can hear everything Levy and Morrigan say, but it doesn't occur to him that they can also hear him. The scene might look something like this:
Morrigan: I can't believe Garoue betrayed us! Levy, I'm really sorry for getting you guys involved in this.
Levy: . . .
Morrigan: Please don't ignore me!
Levy: Sorry. I was just wondering where they're keeping Finn.
Finn: I'M RIGHT NEXT TO YOU, BONEHEAD!!
And so on. There you have it. The makings of what could be an amusing/romantic/etc. scene.Of course, the Hero's quest and subquests can't be overlooked, otherwise, you won't have an RPG, you'll have a series of little events and cut scenes.
B) Quests and Subquests. Since we've already established what the Hero's quest consists of, Let's now turn our attention to the subquest.
i) The Detour
back to her. as a reward, she gives you a doll. Now who wants a doll? Wait: remember that whiny kid who complained about not having any toys? Bring her the doll and she'll give you a cook book. Give the cookbook to the king's chef, who gives you a squid pot pie. Give the pie to the husband who forgot his wife's birthday and so on. . . eventually your reward might be something important to the quest, or a special relic for your hero. You understand, don't you?
iv) The Character Subquest
v) The Character Development Subquest
INCLUDE ALL ELEMENTS NEEDED FOR THE CONCLUSION
If the end of the game involves your hero finishing the Villain off with a magic crystal, show the crystal long before your hero has to use it. But don't make it too obvious; The nagic crystal should be only one of the many things your party encounters in their quest. The players shouldn't see the crystal as too important to the outcome unless they have to deliver directly from Evil's grasp
MOTIVATION
give the characters in your party real motivation for their actions and words. Drama is people doing amazing things for very good reasons. Melodrama is people doing amazing things for bad, stupid, trivial, or nonexistant reasons. Drama is good. Melodrama is. . . well, I shouldn't have to tell you. People usually do amazing things only because they're insecure or scared. Fear is a wonderful motivater. In the WildArms RPG, The hero Rudy is about to be drawn into abyss by the villain who has latched onto his arm with an unbreakable rope. He does the sensable (and painful thing) by cutting off his own arm. Do you think he did it souly for the purpose of destroying his foe? NO WAY!! Who wants to be drawn into an abyss? That kid was about to soil himself! Remember that the main theme of Fantasy is power and how to use it. the greater power your characters have, the more insecure they are. Just look at Terra in Final Fantasy VI. She was a mess! A villain in contrast, is often someone who uses power with too much confidence and too little caution. The villain is allowed to be Melodramatic, acting out of foolish and trivial reasons.
DEVELOP THE PLOT AS A SERIES OF INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT PROBLEMS
Each solution tells us more about the heros and their situation, and it also raises the stakes. The hero and her party have managed to escape the murderous black knight, by fleeing to the mountain, but now they're trapped in a cave full of vicious demons. Make the solutions to the problems appropriate to the personalities of the characters in the party. When upon joining the hero, Salara mentioned she was a newly trained priestess, noone expected her to banish the leader of the Demons (after your party whoops him in a fierce boss battle, of course).
SHOW YOUR CHARACTERS CHANGING
After all you've put them through, they'd be emotionally retarded and braindead if they didn't change in some way. Near the End of Final Fantasy VI, Terra no longer questions her purpose. Having discovered love, she knows she must face Kefka if her children are to grow up in a safe world. Maybe the hero is still after his original goal but for very different reasons, and with a different understanding of himself.
THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR
At some point in the game it looks like all is lost. The magic crystal has shattered, the Villain has sucked up a good portion of the Hero's world, and the Empire is slaughtering EVERYONE! Do it right and the player will feel like turning off the game. . . but he/she won't.
THE CONCLUSION AND FINAL BATTLE
Ahh, the final confrontation with the villain. It better be good, huh? This is the part in the game where everything the Hero and his friends have worked for could be lost by a single word or deed. This is the climax, which reveals something to the player (and perhaps the characters as well) that has been implicit from the onset but not obvious or predictable. Make sure your Hero fights the villain verbally before drawing his sword. This is the part of the game that is the final proof of your chosen theme: That a woman in love will stick with her guy at any cost, that simple decency can overthrow tyrants, that a dark destiny need not apply to the hero if she's determined and brave enough. When all that's said and done, and even the villain is cowed/impressed/weakened wage war on his lousy ass and WIN!! Which brings us to the Game's ending. Put some time and thought into it, or no one will have any incentive to play another RPG by you again. Above all, make sure the ending of the game reflects the theme.
LOOKING THE GAME OVER
Does everything have a reason? Nothing in a game (except exploding kitty cats) happens without a reason. Why is the hero's name Maximillian? Why is he such a loud-mouthed jerk? For example, Maximillian means "The Greatest" Which might explain to the cagey player why the hero has a Reggie Mantle sized ego.
Do you know the conventions of your chosen form? Breaking these conventions can result in pure sillyness. If it's conventional for a warlord to be a gritty, polygamous, hard-drinking, aggressive type, you just can't go and make him into a shy, yogurt-loving teenager who also happens to be a mama's boy. he'd have to have a pretty strange mama if she approves of him raping and pillaging as a hobby.
5. SYMBOLISM AND ALL THAT
Symbolism in your game will reflect the kind of game you're making. Many fine RPG's are about a search for identity, and Final Fantasy VII is a perfect example of this, where the hero Cloud has lied to himself from day one. Eventually, Cloud is forced by the Villian (who happens to be the COOLEST villain Squaresoft has ever come up with, excluding Magus from Chrono Trigger) to see the hard turth about himself. That identity depends very much on the hero's position (or lack of position) in society. A tragic game shows the hero moving from a socially integrated position to a socially isolated one. A typical RPG story shows the hero moving from social isolation (Terra as a mindless slave of the empire) to social integration (Terra living happily in Mobliz as a great Heroine). The RPG basically has those two structural principals: The struggle between the ideal and demonic worlds and the natural cycle: night into bay, winter into spring. These principles are expressed with symbols- angels and devils, fire and ice, maidens and crones, heros and demons
THE NATURAL AND HUMAN WORLD
Desert verses garden, sinister forest verses park: a hostile natural world verses a world designed for human benefit and happiness. Desert doesn't mean dry and sandy, but desolate, empty of humanity. a notable exception of this (again) comes from FFVI with the Desert kindom of Figaro, and its spirited people. But even this holds symbolism; King Edgar and his people of Figaro have tamed the hostile environment of the desert, so they fight against the empire. See?
Pastoral world verses city: chioldlike humanity (usually elves) in harmony with nature; adult humanity in an entirely man-made environment.
The journey from innocence to experience is often symbolized by the hero's journey from an idyllic world close to nature, to an urban world that has closed itself against nature. Think of the bible; this is the journey from Eden to Nod to heaven again. Returns to the natural world are sometimes successful, and maybe you have plans for your hero to bring the urban world into a new harmony with nature. in other cases, the hero finds meaning and value through some kind of contact with nature.
6. THE HERO'S QUEST
No RPG ever had the hero staying home hearding Nerfs. A dangerous journey is the only way the hero can test himself, affirm his identity and rescue his society. And anyway, it's the prime ingredient for making a good (okay, playable) RPG. In many cases, the quest really begins at birth, and goes through some familiar stages. Since we see the same stages in ancient mythology, they must have a prominent place in our collective consciousness (OH NO!! Masque is starting to sound like "Mr. Glass" from "Unbreakable!!" RUN!!!)as the way we acheive our identity, which explains why all those college kids seem to like backpacking through Europe. Is the quest the same for a female hero as it is for a male hero? Sure. Traditionally, the girl was just a symbol for the hero's success: Why do you think oldschool nintendo games involved rescuing the princess/girlfriend/sister? But as you can see in the modern RPG, the Girl's role has changed. They now pilot magitek armour, run bars, go on terrorist missions, build robots, and beat up reptites. Whether you want your heroes to be male of female, success means the formation of a new society, often symbolized by the union of lovers (Final Fantasy IV ends with the marriage of the hero Cecil and his girlfriend\party member, Rosa). Typically these unions are male and female, but You can, if you like, make a gay or lesbian union. Hey! It's YOUR RPG, right?
THE TEN STAGES OF THE TRADITIONAL HERO'S QUEST
SYMBOLIC IMAGES
A symbol can be good or evil depending on its context, and you're free to develpo the context to convey a particular symbolism. For example, the tree is usually a symbol of life, but not if you use it as the venue for a lynching, or if you turn it's wood into a gibbit. Here are some images and their most common meanings:
Garden: Nature ordered to serve human needs
Wilderness, desert: Nature hostile to human needs.
River: life, often seen as ending in death as the river ends in the sea
Sea: chaos, death, source of life
Flower: Youth, sexuality; red flowers symbolize the death of a young man
Predatory animals: Evil; threats to human society and order
Fire: light and life or hell and lust
Sky: heaven, fate or destiny
Bridge: a link between worlds, between life or death.
You get the idea.
7. CHARACTER TYPES
I remember reading a list called "The Laws of Anime" not too long ago. One part of this little gem that I found amusing and truthful was. . . *Masque rummages through the boxes of junk under her bed and fifteen minutes later, emerges triumphantly with a ragged pile of print-outs* AHA! here it is! *reads*:
"The Law of Quintupular Agglutination:
Also called 'The Five-man Rule', when good guys group together, it tends to be in groups of five. There are five basic positions, which are:
1) The Hero/Leader
2) His Girlfriend
3) His Best Friend/Rival
4) A Hulking Brute
5) A dwarf/Kid
Between these basic positions are distributed several attributes, which include:
1) Extreme coolness
2) Amazing Intelligence
3) Incredible Irritation
4) Spiritual Power
5) Super Sex Appeal/Spunkiness
6) Overwhelming Brawn
7) Clumsiness/Awkwardness"
There you have it: an all-too-true summary of your main good guys from the Otaku viewpoint. Here's what Kilian has to say on the basic characters in Fantasy:
Different types of characters occur so often that they've acquired their own names. Here are some of the most common:
You can express a character's metaphorically through objects or settings (A rusty sword, a ragged sea coast, a violent thunderstorm). at first, these may not be perfectly understandable to the player, but they seem subconsciously right. Symbolic association can be consciously "Archetypical," linking the character to other characters in literature or in other games. even the character's name can be symbolic. The only example for this that I can think of off-hand is the ending sequence of Final Fantasy VI; as each character finds his/her way out of Kefka's tower, we are shown an object associated with that character. Umaro's bone scultures, Celes' bouquet and Locke's bandana, etc. See what you can come up with, because some of the most appropriate symbols in your game will come from you, the creator.
Well, that's about it for now. I hope that this tutorial was of some use to you. If you want to correct me on anything, or add something feel free to e-mail me (pookie_laroue@ hotmail.com). Check out my homepage: (www.angelfire.com/scifi/WorldDL) and above all,
Happy RPG Making!! ^_^
decided to post... I didn't write it.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR MAKING
A NIFTY FANTASY RPG ^_^
Tutorial by Magus Masque
(pookie_laroue@hotmail.com)
DISCLAIMER
A NIFTY FANTASY RPG ^_^
Tutorial by Magus Masque
(pookie_laroue@hotmail.com)
DISCLAIMER
First of all, I can't take credit for all the great advice in this tutorial as much of it was taken from the book "Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Crawford Kilian. This book is a MUST for any aspiring writer who wants to delve into these Genres. Since Most RPG's seem to take place in those mystical worlds full of Magic, dragons, (and, as Jerhico points out in HIS Tutorial) "old men with sticks", I though you'd benefit as much as I have (hopefully, more) from this info. If it isn't enough for you, go out and buy the book ($15.95 Canadian). It's worth the money.
***
1. GENRES AND SUB-GENRES
Basically, if you don't already know, a genre is a particular "topic, setting or issue" (In layman's terms the story's category, i guess). Since the core of a good RPG is its story and theme, Genre is extremely important. Here we go!
EPIC FANTASY
- The whole world is at stake in a giant battle of good vs. evil
- This world is usually preindustreal (as in Baldur's gate) the highest Technology is Steel Making
- The political order is very much like medieval feudalism, and usually (in Literature) this is where the problem is (The Princess has been kidnapped, someone's stolen the throne,The Dark Lord wants his ring back, Etc.)
- The humans (if any) share the world with other humanoid people and animals can sometimes talk (dragons, especially)
HEROIC FANTASY
- This genre revolves around the hero (DUH! :D)
- The hero might be the true heir to the throne, an apprentice Mage, or an ordinary shmo who manages to save society.
- the hero often has special abilities (like Terra/Tina in FF6) that keep him/her from integrating into the society he/she saves.
- The hero has to deal with an enemy of tremendous resources (Cecil vs. Baron in FF4), so has to outwit them, outmagic them and outfight them. (in books, the hero usually starts with no allies except for a wise, old man (with a stick, no doubt) :P)
- Everyone in epic fantasy goes on a quest-- a tough, almost impossable journey essential to success-- so when the noble Prince/Sorcerer hero of the game sets out, it's commonly called a high quest.
- it seems in heroic Fantasy, the best kind of hero is the underdog, the lil dude you just can't help but root for. When the story follows the lil dude it is called a "low quest," referring to the hero's social status.
- often in heroic fantasy, the hero must make an inward journey as well, and usually the inward quest is by far the most important. Will he find the courage thae we know is there in order to stand up to the evil dark knight? Will she use her magic powers for evil or good?
SWORD AND SORCERY
- This genre usually revolves around brute force and sex, with the grumpy outsider who takes the imperial throne, for example. You really don't see this genre in RPG games, mostly because it would leave the magic to the evil sorcerers that kidnap the hero's girlfriend. Since Magic is so important to the average RPG, please forgive me for not really going into this Genre. A Sword and Sorcery RPG is completely possible to make, but. . .
Well, without the sex, why bother? :D
I recommend that you leave S&S to platform games like Golden Axe.
- The trick to this genre is to stay in our history, but add a supernatural element. For example: The Evil zombie pirate LeChuck and his crew Kidnap Govenor Marley in an attempt to take over the Carribean.
- Take the modern world. Add magic, and maybe some dragons and evil sorcerers. There you have it, modern fantasy.
Which leaves me with a question: Has there ever been a modern fantasy RPG NOT based on a popular anime series?
- This is the sub-genre that transports the hero from this world to one of antasy and magic.
- Once the hero (usually a young kid or teenager) starts out in the strange new world, he is faced with a big dilemma: How does he get home again? While on his journey, he must draw upon all his brainpower and social skills to find that damn dimensional portal (or whatever) and getting home, he takes with him a valuable power/lesson/etc.
- The hero finds he posseses qualities he never before noticed. The shy loner Discovers the power of love and friendship, the grumpy brat learns not to take things for granted, or the Kid who always felt different discvers on his journey that he possesses magical powers.
- The villain of this genre almost certainly knows the way home, or must be overcome so that others (say, the wizard of oz) can send the hero home.
RELIGIOUS FANTASY
- It's just like it sounds. You want to make an RPG about an angel fallen to earth? Or maybe one about Ninja-Warrior Rabbis?
Breath of Fire 2 could probably fit in here, as Ryu and his friends fight the evil influence of the Cult of Saint Eva.
- One word: "Slayers."
- Think of The Lord of The Rings with a senile Gandalf or Conan the Barbarian as a thick-skulled moron.
2. CREATING A WORLD FOR YOUR FANTASY RPG
UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA
Many RPG games start off in an ideal world, where everything serves the desires of the people. Something goes wrong. The villain escapes from his ancient prison and wrecks havoc: The hero is exiled from his village for practicing forbidden magic: You get the idea. Suddenly, the world isn't so tame anymore and your hero has to figure out the who, what, where, why and how of things in order to set them right again. A prime example of this idea is Final Fantasy V, where all hell breaks loose when the wind stops, and before Butz knows what happened, He and his friends are plunged into a hostile and strange world. If you choose to do things this way, the "exile fom Eden" doesn't have to be so literal, but you get the idea, right? Then again, you might want to go from a Dystopia to a Utopia, like in Final Fantasy 7 which starts in the ugly sterile Midgar and ends with the lifestream healing the wounded planet. But Let's move on.
A SYMBOLIC REASON
Kilian suggests that you start with a symbolic reason for the kind of Utopia you want. Say you want to start your RPG with your hero living contentedly in a womblike world. (a closed off valley?) Suddenly, he's cold wet and naked (metaphorically) in the woods, with monsters just aching to devour him. Then again, lookig at Illustrious of The Gaming Overworld's (www.gamingoverworld.com) excellent RPG "Forever Across Dreams" Your hero might be an outsider coming to this Paradise as a kind of symbolic death.
BE CONSISTANT
If you're going to start from scratch, making your hero's world completely different from our own, be consistant, and stamp out all echos of our own world. You can't name one character Hajakilia and then have another named Bob (unless it's for a comic effect of course). Be careful not to give any Deities names like Allah, Zeus, Loki, or Yahweh.
3. BRAINSTORMING
Arrgh. Everyone's favourite part, I'm sure. If this is the part of RPGmaking that you dread more than sunlight, just stick with me and the almighty book. We'll get you through this, I promise.
IDEAS FOR DUMMIES
- You don't have to be wildly original. Most RPG's follow a tried, tested and true formula. For example, Final Fantasy games have always gone by the "small group against a great big Empire" formula. You could do this. Hell, you could probably build a great game off that formula if you give it your own unique twist!
- Write something, anything! Take a pen and paper, and just write anything that comes into your head. You may surprise yourself.
- Read some folklore from all around the world, from Japanese ghost stories, to the werewolf legends of Germany. After you decide to travel the world hunting demons for a living, you may come up with some spiffy ideas. It doesn't hurt to skim over a fantasy paperback or two either. Of course, the very best thing to do when brainstorming is to play other RPG's!! Yay ^_^
- Get your ideas together with a like-minded buddy and talk 'em over. Don't flat out refuse anything he has to offer your RPG, instead, say something like "that's cool and. . . " Who knows, with the right encouragement, you might come up with a real gem between the two of you. Of course, you'll have to put him in the credits :P
Well, that's all I can tell you for that part. aside from the book, I forgot to really brainstorn. Guess what MY weak point is?
Bear with me here. this is where the similarity between Fantasy novels and Fantasy games wanes.
THE OPENING
a) Introduce the main characters, or at least foreshadow them. Maybe you'll make the Tree of life wither at the villian's vile touch. Maybe a girl piloting Magitek Armour will raid a town escourted by two soldiers. . . HEY! wait a minute!
B) Show the hero under stress. If the hero has to revolt against his rotten King later, show him grudgingly obeying orders he KNOWs to be wrong. The game will then deal with his efforts to redeem himself, in his own eyes and others.
c) Show the hero and the villian. Who're the players Really gonna root for, aside from the little dude they control? Even if the hero's a total jerk, what's he got going for him that makes him so memorable? The villian can be likable, maybe even good-intentioned, but set on a course that that we reject. A good example of this is Karla from the legendary fantasy anime series "Record of Lodoss War" She's all about the greater balance, believing that it's well and good, but we know better. All your major character should care about something, and the good guys should care about other people.
d) Establish the setting. Where and when the Game takes place. Is it the accursed island Lodoss? Is it that damn nameless world where all the FF games take place?
e) establish the scene of conflict. If you're doing that whole "good guy against big bad empire" thing, then the scene might be the hero's decaying bond with the emperor.
f) set the tone of the story. Is it humourous? Dark? Th tone depends mostly on the hero's behavior. If your hero is an incurable smart-ass, or a serious young fellow bent or bloody vengeance, be sure to show it. But remember, the game should have a little bit of everything, from fear, to laughter, to tragedy.
g)Show what's at stake. Who's going to play an RPG if they don't know where it's going? The stakes had better be high, although it isn't necessary to show HOW high right away. When the returners try to thwart the Empire's attempt to streal that frozen esper, how are they to know that they're about to witness the destruction of a balanced World? They're expecting a terrible war, not complete and utter pandemonium. And so is the player.
a) Use Scenes, as well as quests to tell your story. IMHO, baldur's gate 1 wasn't nearly as good as Baldur's gate 2, because the good people of Interplay neglected this little detail. Sure, we knew that someone was out to kill the main character, but you could count the number of times you saw the villian on your fingers. Aside from that, there was almost no banter among the party members except when they wanted to whine at you. This is what makes Squaresoft RPG's vastly superior to anything Interplay can crank out. If the heros get taken prisoner by the bad guys, use their inprisonment as an oppurtunity for character development:
Scene:
The shy hero Levy is in one cell with the mysterious girl-Mage Morrigan. Their thick-headed friend Finn is in the next cell over. Finn can hear everything Levy and Morrigan say, but it doesn't occur to him that they can also hear him. The scene might look something like this:
Morrigan: I can't believe Garoue betrayed us! Levy, I'm really sorry for getting you guys involved in this.
Levy: . . .
Morrigan: Please don't ignore me!
Levy: Sorry. I was just wondering where they're keeping Finn.
Finn: I'M RIGHT NEXT TO YOU, BONEHEAD!!
And so on. There you have it. The makings of what could be an amusing/romantic/etc. scene.Of course, the Hero's quest and subquests can't be overlooked, otherwise, you won't have an RPG, you'll have a series of little events and cut scenes.
B) Quests and Subquests. Since we've already established what the Hero's quest consists of, Let's now turn our attention to the subquest.
i) The Detour
The detour is releated to the Hero's quest, but not directly. It isn't about fighting your way through a dungeon and snatching up the Villain's only weakness, it's about Getting a hint about where to find this Dungeon. That's a bad analogy. Maybe this will help:
It's utterly essensial that the hero crosses the ocean to reach the evil empire, but how are him and his pals going to get there? The Empire has blockaded all the ports so taking a Galleon is pretty much out of the question. But wait! What's this? a hot air balloon?? Hmmm. . .
The Pilot of the balloon refuses to give your party a ride unless you do him a favour. You must get his golden pantaloons off that pirate captain. Getting those golden pantaloons will only get your hero one baby step closer to facing his nemesis. He's still got a lot more work to do, a lot more golden pantaloons to track down, if you will. The detour is the filler matereal of the RPG. It's that space that gives your hero's party something to do while collecting experience for a big battle. Think of the Ship Graveyard in Final Fantasy V.
Who doesn't love a good treasure hunt? It makes the RPG way more fun, especially if these little secrets can turn up something really rewarding like a special summon magic, or an ultimate weapon. Say your hero reads a book that makes a passing reference to Bunny rabbits. The average player just might smirk and move on, but We know better don't we? That bunny reference REALLY points to a secret island full of almost invincible bunny monsters. Beating those bunnys with the right amount of wit can win your hero Adamantium ore that can be forges into Excalibur! In my RPG I made a secret item known as the eye of the phoenix, an item that can only be used once. If you examine certain bones, you'll get the option to restore them to living characters. Each character can adversly affect the outcome of the game, and can even in some cases, join the party, giving my RPG good replay value. It's surprisingly easy to do, and no good RPG is without its secrets. . .
Arrgh. This one can be an important part of the game, but that doesn't mean it isn't annoying. This subquest is all about running around and swapping items with NPC's, like in the Gameboy game of the same name.
back to her. as a reward, she gives you a doll. Now who wants a doll? Wait: remember that whiny kid who complained about not having any toys? Bring her the doll and she'll give you a cook book. Give the cookbook to the king's chef, who gives you a squid pot pie. Give the pie to the husband who forgot his wife's birthday and so on. . . eventually your reward might be something important to the quest, or a special relic for your hero. You understand, don't you?
iv) The Character Subquest
This is a subquest undertaken to get a character in your hero's party. I'm going to use an example from "Tales of Phantasia".
v) The Character Development Subquest
If you've played any RPG's by Squaresoft then you know what I'm talking about. In "Chrono Trigger" (one of the finest non-linear console RPG's), The hero and his friends are told that they each have unfinished business to take care of before they face Lavos. Venturing through the sunken desert gives Lucca a second chance to save her unhappy mother from paralysis. Finding the raindow shell gives the princess Marle an opportunity to reconcile with her father. This subquest type is an important part of FFVI, where your party has been scattered and you must do these quests if you wish to re-unite them. Whether you choose to make this subquest an important part of your game or completely optional, you probably shouldn't leave it out. Character Development subquests can be extremely rewarding and certainly profitable. For another fine example, get yourself a copy of Baldur's gate II for the PC. Some great subquests like the planar sphere can't be accessed without having a certain character in your party
INCLUDE ALL ELEMENTS NEEDED FOR THE CONCLUSION
If the end of the game involves your hero finishing the Villain off with a magic crystal, show the crystal long before your hero has to use it. But don't make it too obvious; The nagic crystal should be only one of the many things your party encounters in their quest. The players shouldn't see the crystal as too important to the outcome unless they have to deliver directly from Evil's grasp
MOTIVATION
give the characters in your party real motivation for their actions and words. Drama is people doing amazing things for very good reasons. Melodrama is people doing amazing things for bad, stupid, trivial, or nonexistant reasons. Drama is good. Melodrama is. . . well, I shouldn't have to tell you. People usually do amazing things only because they're insecure or scared. Fear is a wonderful motivater. In the WildArms RPG, The hero Rudy is about to be drawn into abyss by the villain who has latched onto his arm with an unbreakable rope. He does the sensable (and painful thing) by cutting off his own arm. Do you think he did it souly for the purpose of destroying his foe? NO WAY!! Who wants to be drawn into an abyss? That kid was about to soil himself! Remember that the main theme of Fantasy is power and how to use it. the greater power your characters have, the more insecure they are. Just look at Terra in Final Fantasy VI. She was a mess! A villain in contrast, is often someone who uses power with too much confidence and too little caution. The villain is allowed to be Melodramatic, acting out of foolish and trivial reasons.
DEVELOP THE PLOT AS A SERIES OF INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT PROBLEMS
Each solution tells us more about the heros and their situation, and it also raises the stakes. The hero and her party have managed to escape the murderous black knight, by fleeing to the mountain, but now they're trapped in a cave full of vicious demons. Make the solutions to the problems appropriate to the personalities of the characters in the party. When upon joining the hero, Salara mentioned she was a newly trained priestess, noone expected her to banish the leader of the Demons (after your party whoops him in a fierce boss battle, of course).
SHOW YOUR CHARACTERS CHANGING
After all you've put them through, they'd be emotionally retarded and braindead if they didn't change in some way. Near the End of Final Fantasy VI, Terra no longer questions her purpose. Having discovered love, she knows she must face Kefka if her children are to grow up in a safe world. Maybe the hero is still after his original goal but for very different reasons, and with a different understanding of himself.
THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR
At some point in the game it looks like all is lost. The magic crystal has shattered, the Villain has sucked up a good portion of the Hero's world, and the Empire is slaughtering EVERYONE! Do it right and the player will feel like turning off the game. . . but he/she won't.
THE CONCLUSION AND FINAL BATTLE
Ahh, the final confrontation with the villain. It better be good, huh? This is the part in the game where everything the Hero and his friends have worked for could be lost by a single word or deed. This is the climax, which reveals something to the player (and perhaps the characters as well) that has been implicit from the onset but not obvious or predictable. Make sure your Hero fights the villain verbally before drawing his sword. This is the part of the game that is the final proof of your chosen theme: That a woman in love will stick with her guy at any cost, that simple decency can overthrow tyrants, that a dark destiny need not apply to the hero if she's determined and brave enough. When all that's said and done, and even the villain is cowed/impressed/weakened wage war on his lousy ass and WIN!! Which brings us to the Game's ending. Put some time and thought into it, or no one will have any incentive to play another RPG by you again. Above all, make sure the ending of the game reflects the theme.
LOOKING THE GAME OVER
Does everything have a reason? Nothing in a game (except exploding kitty cats) happens without a reason. Why is the hero's name Maximillian? Why is he such a loud-mouthed jerk? For example, Maximillian means "The Greatest" Which might explain to the cagey player why the hero has a Reggie Mantle sized ego.
Do you know the conventions of your chosen form? Breaking these conventions can result in pure sillyness. If it's conventional for a warlord to be a gritty, polygamous, hard-drinking, aggressive type, you just can't go and make him into a shy, yogurt-loving teenager who also happens to be a mama's boy. he'd have to have a pretty strange mama if she approves of him raping and pillaging as a hobby.
5. SYMBOLISM AND ALL THAT
Symbolism in your game will reflect the kind of game you're making. Many fine RPG's are about a search for identity, and Final Fantasy VII is a perfect example of this, where the hero Cloud has lied to himself from day one. Eventually, Cloud is forced by the Villian (who happens to be the COOLEST villain Squaresoft has ever come up with, excluding Magus from Chrono Trigger) to see the hard turth about himself. That identity depends very much on the hero's position (or lack of position) in society. A tragic game shows the hero moving from a socially integrated position to a socially isolated one. A typical RPG story shows the hero moving from social isolation (Terra as a mindless slave of the empire) to social integration (Terra living happily in Mobliz as a great Heroine). The RPG basically has those two structural principals: The struggle between the ideal and demonic worlds and the natural cycle: night into bay, winter into spring. These principles are expressed with symbols- angels and devils, fire and ice, maidens and crones, heros and demons
THE NATURAL AND HUMAN WORLD
Desert verses garden, sinister forest verses park: a hostile natural world verses a world designed for human benefit and happiness. Desert doesn't mean dry and sandy, but desolate, empty of humanity. a notable exception of this (again) comes from FFVI with the Desert kindom of Figaro, and its spirited people. But even this holds symbolism; King Edgar and his people of Figaro have tamed the hostile environment of the desert, so they fight against the empire. See?
Pastoral world verses city: chioldlike humanity (usually elves) in harmony with nature; adult humanity in an entirely man-made environment.
The journey from innocence to experience is often symbolized by the hero's journey from an idyllic world close to nature, to an urban world that has closed itself against nature. Think of the bible; this is the journey from Eden to Nod to heaven again. Returns to the natural world are sometimes successful, and maybe you have plans for your hero to bring the urban world into a new harmony with nature. in other cases, the hero finds meaning and value through some kind of contact with nature.
6. THE HERO'S QUEST
No RPG ever had the hero staying home hearding Nerfs. A dangerous journey is the only way the hero can test himself, affirm his identity and rescue his society. And anyway, it's the prime ingredient for making a good (okay, playable) RPG. In many cases, the quest really begins at birth, and goes through some familiar stages. Since we see the same stages in ancient mythology, they must have a prominent place in our collective consciousness (OH NO!! Masque is starting to sound like "Mr. Glass" from "Unbreakable!!" RUN!!!)as the way we acheive our identity, which explains why all those college kids seem to like backpacking through Europe. Is the quest the same for a female hero as it is for a male hero? Sure. Traditionally, the girl was just a symbol for the hero's success: Why do you think oldschool nintendo games involved rescuing the princess/girlfriend/sister? But as you can see in the modern RPG, the Girl's role has changed. They now pilot magitek armour, run bars, go on terrorist missions, build robots, and beat up reptites. Whether you want your heroes to be male of female, success means the formation of a new society, often symbolized by the union of lovers (Final Fantasy IV ends with the marriage of the hero Cecil and his girlfriend\party member, Rosa). Typically these unions are male and female, but You can, if you like, make a gay or lesbian union. Hey! It's YOUR RPG, right?
THE TEN STAGES OF THE TRADITIONAL HERO'S QUEST
- Strange or mysterious birth (Superman, jesus, Terra from Final Fantasy VI, Rudy from WildArms)
- Prophesy that the hero will overthrow the present order (Elora Danaan from "Willow," Jesus, Aragorn)
- Threat from a monstrous or false "Father" figure (Darth vader versus Luke "Nerf-hearder" Skywalker)
- Secluded childhood among humble people in a pastoral setting (Frodo in the shire, Terra in the esper world)
- Signs of the hero's unusual nature- Not always positive (Rudy's ability to wield firearms, Terra's Magic powers) at this point the hero is something of an outsider, often looked down upon or even feared.
- Journey/quest. Some person or event impels the hero to leave home on an urgent mission. This leads to a series of adventures and ordeals (with his friends, of course!) that test the party's virtues and skills: physical and moral courage, loyalty, dedication, and so forth (Frodo and sam in Mordor, for example)
- The confrontation. The quest is bound to end in a climactic struggle with a monstrous of fasls version of the hero: an evil brother or that damn oppressive "Father" figure (Cloud verses Sephiroth, Cecil verses Golbez and later Zeromus, Terra verses Kefka, Luke verses Darth Vader)
- Death- real or symbolic. The hero may literally die and enter the afterlife (Chrono's showdown with Lavos, Terra's refusal to fight) or he may experience a symbolic death.
- Rebirth. The hero returns to the world, often greatly changed (Chrono is resurrected, Terra accepts her esper heritage, discovers love, and gets her fighting spirit back)
- Recognition as a savior/king; formation of a new society (Cecil ascends the throne of Baron).
SYMBOLIC IMAGES
A symbol can be good or evil depending on its context, and you're free to develpo the context to convey a particular symbolism. For example, the tree is usually a symbol of life, but not if you use it as the venue for a lynching, or if you turn it's wood into a gibbit. Here are some images and their most common meanings:
Garden: Nature ordered to serve human needs
Wilderness, desert: Nature hostile to human needs.
River: life, often seen as ending in death as the river ends in the sea
Sea: chaos, death, source of life
Flower: Youth, sexuality; red flowers symbolize the death of a young man
Predatory animals: Evil; threats to human society and order
Fire: light and life or hell and lust
Sky: heaven, fate or destiny
Bridge: a link between worlds, between life or death.
You get the idea.
7. CHARACTER TYPES
I remember reading a list called "The Laws of Anime" not too long ago. One part of this little gem that I found amusing and truthful was. . . *Masque rummages through the boxes of junk under her bed and fifteen minutes later, emerges triumphantly with a ragged pile of print-outs* AHA! here it is! *reads*:
"The Law of Quintupular Agglutination:
Also called 'The Five-man Rule', when good guys group together, it tends to be in groups of five. There are five basic positions, which are:
1) The Hero/Leader
2) His Girlfriend
3) His Best Friend/Rival
4) A Hulking Brute
5) A dwarf/Kid
Between these basic positions are distributed several attributes, which include:
1) Extreme coolness
2) Amazing Intelligence
3) Incredible Irritation
4) Spiritual Power
5) Super Sex Appeal/Spunkiness
6) Overwhelming Brawn
7) Clumsiness/Awkwardness"
There you have it: an all-too-true summary of your main good guys from the Otaku viewpoint. Here's what Kilian has to say on the basic characters in Fantasy:
Different types of characters occur so often that they've acquired their own names. Here are some of the most common:
- Eiron: The one who depreciates himself and appears less than he really is (Butz from Final Fantasy V, Locke from Final Fantasy VI for a couple of good examples)
- Alazon: an imposter, one who boasts and presents himself or herself as more than he/she really is; subtypes include the braggart soldier (Cloud from Final Fantasy VII)and obsessed philosopher/mad scientist (Saruman from Lord of The Rings)
- Tricky Slave: The Hero's helper (Gollum, or Bow from Breath of Fire II)
- Helpful Giant: The hero's helper; in tune with nature (Chewbacca, Rand from Breath of Fire II)
- Wise old man: The Hero's helper; possessor of knowledge (Gandalf, Tellah from Final Fantasy IV, Bugenhagen from FFVII)
- Buffoon: The guy that creates a festive mood, relieves tension (Sam from Lord of The Rings, That little mouse Dude from Wild Arms, The Guy with the Dragons on his back from Star Ocean)
- Churl: Straight man; killjoy or bumpkin (Cyan from FF VI)
- Fair Maiden: Symbol of purity and redemption (Aerith of FF VII)
- Dark Woman: The Symbol of Lust, temptation, or natural sexuality
- Hero's double: The dark side of the hero's personality (Sephiroth)
You can express a character's metaphorically through objects or settings (A rusty sword, a ragged sea coast, a violent thunderstorm). at first, these may not be perfectly understandable to the player, but they seem subconsciously right. Symbolic association can be consciously "Archetypical," linking the character to other characters in literature or in other games. even the character's name can be symbolic. The only example for this that I can think of off-hand is the ending sequence of Final Fantasy VI; as each character finds his/her way out of Kefka's tower, we are shown an object associated with that character. Umaro's bone scultures, Celes' bouquet and Locke's bandana, etc. See what you can come up with, because some of the most appropriate symbols in your game will come from you, the creator.
Well, that's about it for now. I hope that this tutorial was of some use to you. If you want to correct me on anything, or add something feel free to e-mail me (pookie_laroue@ hotmail.com). Check out my homepage: (www.angelfire.com/scifi/WorldDL) and above all,
Happy RPG Making!! ^_^
![[Image: MS-sig01.png]](https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/Yinvis/MS-sig01.png)
