Adapting a story

[ShadowMan]

 Hey everyone,

I will start creating my very own adventure game soon, isn't that exciting?  I am thinking about adapting a novelette of mine. The story is halfway through. But I am running into several issues. I didn't think about item descriptions and such. As a result they feel a bit bland. It will be a serious game, which makes it harder to write these descriptions. Do you have any advice on this? How can I improve my writing for adventure games? There doesn't seem to be any resources online on this.

[CaptainD]

Well... what you're asking is a little bit vague so I'm not sure if this will help, but when thinking about item descriptions, think about your player character - how would he / she describe the item?  Do they tend to funny / silly / sarcastic?  Of course you don't want to overdo the tone, but just generally think about how your character would view the object.

If you want to PM me with any specific examples I'll see if I can help out at all.

[ShadowMan]

The main characters are serious, and the tone is serious. The genre will be strange mix of mystery supernatural thriller. Locations will include: the morgue, crime scene, etc. I am fine with the monologues, and the dialogs, but I am having trouble with item descriptions and the descriptions of the hotspots.
  I haven't even started thinking about the item combinations.

  I guess I have to think harder about my characters personality, as you mentioned.

[CaptainD]

Okay, well this is REALLY not my genre, but apart from thinking of the character, also think about WHY the object / hotspot is in the game (decoration / mood / some purpose), and WHAT the player will need to know about it.  Hopefully that will start you thinking of some ideas, I'm sure once you do a few it will start to flow naturally.

[Stupot]

Also ask yourself if you even need big poetic descriptions of every object and hotspot. Depending on the tone of your story, a simple one word description might be enough. Something to ponder.

[ShadowMan]

I think that you are right. Not every item requires a poetic description. Maybe they will simply comment on how the items are related to the suspects personality.

[Danvzare]

Also, remember that some descriptions can act as subtle hints.
Perhaps from the character remembering what he or someone else did before with such an item, or from noticing something is missing.
"The engine is a decrepit mess on the dirt floor, and completely useless without a chain or fuel."

[Blondbraid]

You can take different routes with item descriptions, either describe what the item is and what it does,
or focus how the character reacts to them.

For example, let's say there is a knife on the floor. What will the character say?
something along the lines of "It looks like a common kitchen knife"
or maybe "Why is the knife on the floor? What happened here?".

The length of the lines can also affect the pace, I'd go with short descriptions for the more intense parts of the game
and some more fleshed out observations for the slower bits when the character has time to look around.

[Retro Wolf]

I'd have thought that if you're capable of writing a novelette, you'd be able to write some item descriptions!

[ShadowMan]

I'd have thought that if you're capable of writing a novelette, you'd be able to write some item descriptions!

I guess you are right. But last time, I left that stuff to the last minute, and it didn't quite work out as I hoped it would.

[Cassiebsg]

Treat it as part of the story.

[Crimson Wizard]

This:

You can take different routes with item descriptions, either describe what the item is and what it does,
or focus how the character reacts to them.

For example, let's say there is a knife on the floor. What will the character say?
something along the lines of "It looks like a common kitchen knife"
or maybe "Why is the knife on the floor? What happened here?".

and this:

Treat it as part of the story.

Presuming you have an idea of the character's way of thinking, and of possible surrounding atmosphere and recent events, try to imagine as your character enters the room and looking around; what thoughts will he/she get when see this or that item?


Another advice I want to give, since we are at this: if the character CANNOT do something in the game, do your best to provide a good explanation why. I recall an AGS game I was reviewing years ago, and it was a pretty good game, but the random character reactions ruined immersion. For example, the plot was that the group of people got stuck in the mansion with some maniac (no, it is NOT "5 Days a Stranger" ), and the main character refused to open windows because "there is rain outside", or something like that.

[Cassiebsg]

LOL

>Open Window
- I can't, it's nailed down good!

>Break glass
- Outch! It's made of unbreakable glass, it seems.