How simple a story?

LWFlouisa · Post by **LWFlouisa** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:25 pm

How simple of a story and plot do you need to finish a basic JRPG project? I started a couple of projects in another engine, but having to learn everything from the ground up in this new engine.

I'm pretty sure I want Epic Fantasy, I'll still need to work out the details of the plot though.

My previous titles I was aiming a little to big for my boots (at the time), so I'm wanting to take it down a notch and focus on a short story project for practice.

I don't necessarily mean a good game to publish, just one to familiarize with the engine.

Gizmog · Post by **Gizmog** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:33 pm

If you have to ask, you can't do it. Seriously. You can make any project, big or small, so long as you've got the confidence to go in there and do it. If you're having to ask "Guys, is this too small?" then you're already screwed.

What was it my dad always used to say... "It ain't the size of the wand that makes the magic"? Something like that. Do something small and get a feel for it. Get a feel for getting slime done. Make it a habit. Epic fantasy is for schmucks! You can make a decent game in entirely one room.

kylekrack · Post by **kylekrack** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 12:37 am

Yeah, Giz sums it up pretty well.

My projects tend to be infinitely more successful when they're meant to be short. The more complex it is the less satisfied you'll be when it comes out feeling simple.

I'd say if you want to learn the engine use the JRPG cliches. 4 heroes, big boss, and 3-8 dungeons to get to him. Draw some concept art to give you a feel then let ideas form as you go. I could be horribly wrong, but I think if your main purpose is to become familiar, that's going to be the best way to do it.

Willy Elektrix · Post by **Willy Elektrix** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 12:50 am

Start very small. You can always expand it later if you want. A good exercise would be 1 town, 1 wilderness area, 1 dungeon. However, make those three things the best that you can.

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 1:24 am

Play my game. It's a short rpg. It's also amazing.
[game]TROLL OVER[/game]
http://www.slimesalad.com/forum/viewgame.php?p=107713

I'm a shameless self promoter.

LWFlouisa · Post by **LWFlouisa** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:51 am

Willy Elektrix wrote:Start very small. You can always expand it later if you want. A good exercise would be 1 town, 1 wilderness area, 1 dungeon. However, make those three things the best that you can.

Thanks I'll try this method. And I can do it just fine. I'm more experienced with short fiction. More concerned about long projects.

FnrrfYgmSchnish · Post by **FnrrfYgmSchnish** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:11 am

"Save the princess/king/other random NPC from the dragon/demon/other random monster" and "go through the dungeon/castle/cave/etc. to get some legendary item" are pretty frequently used basic, short, simple stories. "Whoops, you stumbled into a cave/haunted house/portal to another dimension/etc., now try to escape" is probably the closest you can get to "no story" while still having a clear goal in an RPG-type game.

All of those also come with the bonus of being pretty easy to expand on if you decide you don't want to just make a short, simple game after all. Heck, combine two of these and add in a final boss battle and you basically get the plot of a lot of early RPGs (Dragon Warrior has a princess saved from a dragon, gathering some legendary items, and then a final boss; Final Fantasy has a princess-saving moment early on, then fighting multiple bosses to get their legendary items, then a final boss.)

Foxley · Post by **Foxley** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 5:36 am

The simple answer is, you don't even need a story at all in order to finish a game project. But it helps to have something that drives you; what sort of story would you yourself like to see in a game? Having some sort of core storytelling concept in mind can become a huge shiny beacon of artistic direction and motivation, a goal to work towards and fulfill. There's no quantifiable amount of story complexity you need to pad your project out with before your game becomes valid, just go for what feels right.

That said, do focus on fleshing out the core parts of the story, the most important parts. Adding complexity for complexity's sake and worldbuilding and backstorying the bejeesus out of everything, even with subplots that don't really matter to the central storyline, is often a lot of effort for relatively little value. I've had times where I felt I had to do all that, but really, letting the player connect the dots themself can be the best thing.

LWFlouisa · Post by **LWFlouisa** » Mon Nov 16, 2015 11:31 pm

As an update, I ended up reviving a project from another engine I worked with, and will be trying to work with this 6,500 word script for a JRPG.

I ended up making it a bit dark (theme wise), it may need some editing. A lot of what I wrote then (at sixteen) is different now.