Starting a new AGS game, but come across writer's block.

[DanielH]

Sorry in advance if this is the wrong forum, my problem is AGS related, but not technical, so I think this is the place to post. I've been planning an AGS game, and most of my friends agreed to help once I've decided what to do. So I think the best thing to do is to get a decent plot down on paper. But that's it. I get a pen, some paper; I sit down, but nothing. I'm normally quite imaginative, but for about a couple of weeks I can't even jump the first hurdle- did any of you experience writer's block? If so, please tell me how you overcame it. I'm not asking for ideas though- just a way to get them.

[Ibrahim9]

What you should do is go outside and take a walk. You most likely have writer's block and need fresh air to bring back imaginative ideas back, which i assume you've said your good at. After you've cleared your head, try to think of crazy wacky concepts and then decide which of them you would like to see be made into a game.

[Grundislav]

Take a lot of showers.  I know it sounds odd, but I find that taking a nice hot shower is like opening the floodgates for ideas.  I get some of my best ones while showering.

[Snarky]

If you don't have an idea for a game you want to make, why is it you want to make a game?

Anyway. Blank slates are tricky. It can often be easier to have a starting point or some restrictions to set you off. That's one of the things MAGS is good for. You could take a dictionary or encyclopedia, pick three words at random, and try to come up with a plot about those things.

One of the most important things is to disable your mental "filter" in the brainstorming phase. Don't reject any ideas, for whatever reason. It might even be good to try to come up with the most idiotic ideas you can: you'd be surprised how often there's a nugget of something worthwhile in them.

Don't put a lot of pressure on yourself to come up with "THE game". Think of all of this as creativity exercises, throwaway ideas you use to warm up. Usually, you'll find that one of them sticks in your mind more than the others, and you'll be putting energy into working out all the details. That's when it's time to look at it critically. If it's something suitable for a project, go with it!

I'm pretty sure someone else asked a similar question recently, so do some forum searching to get more answers.

[Ghost]

When writers have writer's block, as an old joke goes, they write about themselves having writer's block.

Why not make a game about a guy who wants to make a game? Seriously. I can smell a small game in there.

As for plots in general, I usually start by watching some good, image-tickling movies. To name a few: Labyrinth, the Dark Crystal, and Gremlins.

[ildu]

Warm water stimulates the brain. Like Grundi, I get my best ideas in hot showers, too. And this doesn't restrict itself to just writing either. I get most of my illustration ideas in the shower as well, and it's much easier to form concise mental imagery of what I'm gonna draw.

[bicilotti]

The difficult thing for me is to get it started, then ideas flow free. Think at a strange, mysterious situation (maybe something you've dreamt, or something you saw, whatever).

The ask yourself questions: like, why those characters are here, who sent them, what's in their mind? The more question you ask yourself the more the picture gets pretty, the more your mind starts working.

Jot down whatever stimulates your mind, you'll be amazed by the results.

Just my two eurocent.

[ThreeOhFour]

Hot showers. I believe even Einstein asked "Why do I get all my best ideas in the shower?".

Also, talk to a friend about your idea (find one who owes you some listening time or is interested in it, of course). If you're lucky, they'll ask you questions which you'll have to invent answers for, and it can help you build up a story.

I think potentially a character is a good place to start. Think up an unusual character and then put them in a situation you'd not expect to find that sort of character in - then consider how that particular person would solve the problems that arise.

[vertigoaddict]

Brainstorm and Summarize/ Refine. Just take a piece of paper and writting equipment and make a brain storm of random ideas or words. Connect the words (start with 3) and write a very short story with at least three tasks/quest for the start, middle and end. Not making sense? Sorry, I'm not very good with explaining myself.

eg.

Chosen words from my brainstorm:

1) Toilet

2) Barbie

3) Flute

Okay, connecting....

A little girl named Barbie got locked in the toilet and she tries to get out; she uses her flute and cracks and shatters the windows open via blowing really hard.

if it's too short refine it, repeat what you did above and merge the other story together (if it's too long or you're too lazy summarize it) in this case it's too short (we've got one puzzle though.

another brainstorm collection:

1) Demon

2) deer

3) Box.

Barbie had found an old box in her attic and in the box was a book on satanic rituals, she followed it (offered a deer as a sacrifice) and summoned the demonl; The demon wants to use Barbie as a host body (she of course, refused) , Barbie runs away and locked herself in the toilet. and that's where we merge the story.

Okay what do we have now? 3 tasks:

1) kill a deer and use it to summon te demon.

2) run away from the demon or else, game over.

3) get out of toilet via window, use flute to shatter the glass.

This game needs an ending, lets make one shall we?

Brainstorm!:

1)cat

2)yarn

3)car

Barbie takes a ball of yarn and her cat and goes in search of the demon outside. The demon comes closer. she pulls out her cat and the demon (instead of going into Barbie) goes into the cat. The cat goes mad. Barbie lets go and runs away. Comming closer to the road she sees a car comming by. The demon-cat is out to get her. Barbie throws the yarn into the middle of the road and for some reason the demon-cat is compelled to catch it. The car comes un-aware and runs over the demon-cat.

YAY!THE END! But... a cat has nine lives...

Sequel time!

^ I should have kept the above idea to myself....sounds like a hell load of fun.

[Lionmonkey]

Take a lot of showers.  I know it sounds odd, but I find that taking a nice hot shower is like opening the floodgates for ideas.  I get some of my best ones while showering.

I've got tons of ideas, that seem nice, while showering, but as soon as I get to my computer, they all seem crappy. So I've decided to never take shower. Ever.

[RickJ]

First of all stop trying to come up with a game idea, if you try too hard it will never come to you.  You hve to kind of let it come to you.  Start by trying  to get some inspiration.   Take a note book with you and go have lunch somewhere where there are people.  Watch the people around you.   Pick out a really old looking guy and try to imagine how he looked when he was 14 years old.  Ask yourself what kind of life's journey brought him to where he is now.  Pick out other people that have some interesting characteristic and make up stories about them.   Pick out some interesting scenery and make up a story about it as well.  Imagine that it is somewhere in the past, future, another country, or another world, etc.   Or just pick out some of the elements and use them to imagine another place.

Next use some of the above inspiration to start developing characters.   Start with one character and start telling yourself stories about that person.  Give them names, nationalities, strenghts and weaknesses of character, personality, physical traits, etc.   I find that once I have a collection of good characters that the stories tend to tell themselves.

If you get this far you should be well past writer's block...

[Galen]

One word: Plagurism. 

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Sometimes writer's block is just caused by boredom, and even if you are excited about something after awhile it can seem too much like work.  Some writers suggest that you keep working even if you are sick/disinterested but I find that to be rather stupid and self-defeating, since every time I've tried working on something I had no desire to work on the results were less than pleasing. 

What I do when I need inspiration:

I return to the things that inspired me to write/design a game in the first place.  Revisiting the books and games that interest me has paid off on more than one occasion and it might work for you.  I've also tried the shower thing and yeah, you do tend to get ideas, but it's not because it's a 'shower', it's because you're stuck doing something monotonous for 5-30 minutes (depending on how long you mess around) and your mind wanders.  This can happen just laying quietly in bed and listening to music just as easily or other activities that allow your mind to wander.

Ultimately, if you run into a massive stumbling block at the start of a project you should consider that maybe the project isn't as good as you initially thought and your mind is trying to tell you that it's not interested.  I've had plenty of ideas that seemed neat at first, but as soon as I started working on it I lost interest.

Also, if your game idea is massive and you are working alone, scale it down!  An epic, full-length game is just going to kill your drive before you even get to the halfway point, trust me, because having to jump from one game component to the other is draining and you'll end up with what seems like very little accomplished.  A compact game can be just as entertaining, and it is a far more successful option for an amateur/lone designer.  If your game seems like it will take too long to make, cut it back.

[Lionmonkey]

One word: Plagurism. 

It's plagarism and it doesn't help.

[paolo]

One word: Plagurism. 

It's plagarism and it doesn't help.

No, it's "plagiarism", but it STILL doesn't help

Seriously, though, once you've got half an idea of something that might make a decent game, get yourself a partner to work with - someone who is keen to write a game too, and has one or two ideas of their own. Then spend several hours with them working out the game - the plot, the puzzles, what the the characters will look like, etc. You will probably need to do this several times if the game is longer than a very short one. It's quite difficult to come up with a complete game all by oneself, and getting two heads together can make a big difference to what you come up with.

[Ubel]

It's quite difficult to come up with a complete game all by oneself, and getting two heads together can make a big difference to what you come up with.

Or could lead to huge differences in said people's opinions, thus leading the project to its demise. So make sure this partner would have a very similiar way of thinking as you have.

I shall also join the hot showers -club. Many a time I have stormed out of the shower to find pen and paper when an idea has come up.

Don't worry about the whole writer's block that much though. We've all been there. It'll go away and you'll come up with a good story in time. You'll just need to be patient.

[Galen]

Of course plagur- plagiri- plaguria- stealing ideas... helps, perhaps not of adventure games but popular culture in general. Take any sort of cult program and it'll be chock-a-blok full of useable elementst that you can "borrow".
Take Star Wars, from that the world in the game could be ruled by a facist dictatorship or empire, it could involve  a desert planet or perhaps even be about a farmboy that takes part in a rebellion or civil war on Earth in times gone by.

[DanielH]

Thanks for all the replies! It seems the best thing to do is take a shower, so, I will. Then, I'm going out in the fresh air for 30 minutes (being cooped up inside for the holidays is probably what did it.) Then, I'm going to finish the book i'm reading- (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein- I stopped reading it because I was busy with all my new prezzies ) Then, If all else fails, I'll try the find-a-random-word thing.

[OneDollar]

I get a lot of ideas when I'm doing something I don't want to do but have to. At the moment I'm studying for exams and I've got about 6 different game ideas swimming around in my head (and they'll be the last things I want to work on when I finish )

The thing is you can't just start from scratch. I agree with the plagiarism - though I wouldn't call it that - you need to take some bare bones before you can flesh them into your own work. Listen to music - not necessarily the words, but the sound - and try to imagine what sort of scene it would fit. Think of scenes from movies that you like and ask yourself what did you liked about them and how you could use that in a game. Think of character traits that you find interesting, and try and build several of them together into an interesting character. If you have an idea for a plot/setting/time/characters/etc do some research. Look them up in Wikipedia, see if you can find out anything interesting that gives you more ideas. Think of things you'd like to see in a game, and try and work out how they'd fit together.

Once you've got several matching pieces you can start trying to link them. As mentioned before you need to keep asking yourself questions - if you have an idea for a puzzle ask how the character gets there, why he or she needs to complete the puzzle, what hints they will have received, why the puzzle exists and so on. Keep asking yourself questions about why something is what it is, and how you're going to put that across to the player.

I've never worked on a game with someone else, but I have found it helpful to bounce things off friends when I get stuck with an idea. I also do a lot of my thinking when I've got nothing else to do like when I'm in bed going to sleep - or in the shower, I guess - which has led to a lot of lost sleep.

Or you could rip graphics and make a Monkey Island fan game

[Pelican]

If you don't have an idea for a game you want to make, why is it you want to make a game?

My thought as well. If you don't have a story you want to tell, what are your reasons for making a game? Thinking about that may give you ideas. For example, if you want to capture the nostalgic feel of old sierra or lucasarts games, then go play them! Remind yourself why you love those games, and what you'd like to put your own game. Heck, just play any games - see what others did right, and what they did wrong, and use that experience to your benefit.

That said, there are tons of ideas out there, you just have to teach yourself to notice them. Look at people and places while you're out, and make notes about anything interesting you see. Read news stories or interesting articles and see if they spark anything off. Write about your own memories and then change them into something completely different - change the setting from school, to a magic school; the best friend becomes a magical gnome sidekick. Use what you already know in new and interesting ways.

As Prog says, if you really aren't in the mood to write, don't force it, it won't be worth the effort. But if it's just a matter of figuring out where to start, then just pick one aspect to focus on. Create a setting and try to figure out what sort of characters would inhabit it. Or create the character and figure out what setting suits them. Just write anything that comes into your head (even 'I can't think of anything' ) and chances are, eventually something useful will pop up.

Can you tell I'm taking a creative writing class?