How To Write The Storyline and Plan...

[Takyon]

Thanks some great advice on this forum I was a little concerned I'd get "flamed" before I posted lol.

Would you suggest I write all the information about my main characters before I start to write the 'script'?

[Ghost]

It would help, but as far as I've learned it often doesn't happen that way. You start with what you got and add to it. You  may have a scene that makes you think, yes, this is because my hero did THIS as a kid... and suddenly you have a new piece of background. Or vice versa. But it's sensible to say that you should have a complete "story walkthrough" before you "waste" too much time on elaborate artwork/animations.

Another thing that might be helpful is the tried-and-tested "quest tree". Make a mind map of all your "larger goals", and break them down into their subquests. Check where any sub-action requires something that is part of a different quest. And then make sure that you do not have situations where the player needs the key to get the crowbar that he needs to smash the box where the key is hidden.

And, just a thought, this is turning into an interesting topic, maybe it should be stickie'd?

[Takyon]

Thanks Ghost, it has helped me somewhat as I've worked out how to link more mysteries/plots in with the main character by doing this but I'm trying not to go into to much detail as it feels like I could write an entire family tree lol.

I don't really know how many characters I have I mean more will develop as I progress through the story. Is this really a problem though or is it ok to build up as I go through, provided they're not huge characters?

[Ghost]

Paper's patient, as we say in Germany, and if you're prepared to provide the sprites and artwork, heck, go with side roles! They are a good way to provide some extra info/flair/fun, so what the heck 

[RickJ]

Writing a couple pages of back story for major characters (that your audience may never see in any way) always helps create a richer story in screenwriting, and I would assume it does the same in creating adventure games.

I agree.  Don't be shy about writing character background, back story or whatever that may not be used directly in the game.   It's all helpful and you'll never know whatr your'e going to need.

[Trent R]

I was going to suggest a lot of what m0ds has said: movie script. It's a format that can very easily be adapted to games, especially if it's a very linear game. I was looking for a site that had a really good guide for beginner's but it is sadly down.

~Trent
PS- Eejit's Guide to Film-Making, if anyone's interested. I've loved it in the past, so I'll be watching for it to come back up.

[Takyon]

I've spent quite a few hours writing the bio's of the main character and both his parents (which are not even in the game lol but are mentioned). This is a long process but it is paying off as I've got some new ideas that will hopefully make the game more original, I'm worried it might not be appealing enough....

[Scummbuddy]

You may find some useful tutorials and development notes that I archived from the internet here:
http://www.lucasstyle.com/tutorials.htm

[Takyon]

As I worked into the early hours last night me and a friend who is also working on this potentially huge project with me discussed doing a smaller game first like suggested. We've decided to go onto do a small less serious (storyline wise) side project to give you guys some idea of what we do and to have some actual visuals to give you lol.

Here's some backgrounds we've made for the side project already.



Nothing amazing but a bit more basic and we're able to make these backgrounds ourselves. If anyone would be able to help similar backgrounds please let me know though, thanks.


EDIT: Any feedback on these screenshots would be greatly appreciated

[Jakerpot]

Screens are good! Make sure you created a small situation that the character need to complete without too much trouble or delay, a good example of a small game is Annie Android, by Ben. It`s a small and fun game, that ilustrate how a small game have to be. Few rooms, 1-14 rooms are a good amount for a small game, i mean rooms, not rooms that could be frames. I never ended a game on AGS, but if i tried starting a small one, for sure i would finish it. But i'm very stubborn, so i want to create a big one  :

[Takyon]

I am also very stubborn I dislike the idea of short games strongly lol. This small side project seems to be getting bigger and bigger the more we plan it lol. Thanks for the advice though I'm going to try and keep it shorter, in less the story flows nicely and we can finish it quickly with a nice length. Saying that though we only have one programmer on the team so far that uses c++

[Stumblebum]

Screens look good.  The extent of your character development is up to you, but I usually prefer to err on the side of having too much before starting than having too little.  Just remember that you don't have to include all of it in the game itself.  Let it dictate your characters' actions, and include the more outlandish bits if your characters have particularly odd quirks that may not make sense without knowing about their pasts.  Typically, it helps to use your basic premise and plot line as a skeleton, allowing characters to do their own thing within its context as long as they do not stray too far from the original idea. 

[Takyon]

Thanks Shea, although I'm still writing for my major project we've decided to take this little side project more seriously as we're getting quite good feedback from the screenshots etc. It's going to be a comedic type fantasy where the hero is not what you'd usually expect. I'm finding it very hard though making this idea original as I have no experience in this kind of genre before apart from monkey island.

[Stumblebum]

Well, it sounds fun, and since you are going the comedic route, you can always parody, satirize,  or just plain make fun of the aspects of your story that feel unoriginal to you.  Look at what Mel Brooks does with movies like Space Balls and Robin Hood Men in Tights or what Matt Groening does in The Simpsons and Futurama.  Keep us posted on your progress.

[Takyon]

Ah yes I never really thought about doing something like that. I want to make it my own story but perhaps I could use parts of fairytale, nursery rhymes etc in a homage/parody type way.

We did have an idea of Zelda being mentioned and the main character saying how he heard she was "a bit of a floozy" lol and also a scene where pikmin help you on a puzzle, so I think you've given me a good idea here thanks I'll use more ideas like this when writing.

I'll definitely keep you updated as the AGS community seem very welcoming and helpful. I should have a few more screenshots in 2 weeks, about 3 or 4. Still looking for programmers for the team though lol

EDIT: Just found some more screens that we've actually decided are either not good enough or unfinished but thought I'd share anyway.
1 2 3 4 5

1. Zombie Kid (not the main character) sits on the hill wishing he could be a hero. (frames being redesigned)

2. Close up of Oscars skull (a puzzle item)

3. Zombie Kid

4. Pikmin cutscene (hand drawn sketch) currently unfinished

5. Pikmin cutscene, second frame (hand drawn sketch) currently unfinished