AotrouJoin Date: 2008-04-26
Post Count: 11936 |
I’ve been on Game Design, Building Helpers, and many other areas around ROBLOX over the last few years helping people with their RPGs. And I have noticed that, although many of these RPGs are great starts to a career in the genre (for ROBLOX), the majority lack a similar defining feature that is over-looked much too often. The feature that so obliviously missed is a proper storyline.
Now I understand why. As many RPGs (Including old ones I myself have made) have come up with what the ROBLOX community today regards as a storyline, is in fact a common misconception and is completely wrong as a useful storyline. Allow me to explain in detail, with examples.
From what I’ve gathered over the past year, is that many RPG “storylines” (the wrong sort, that is) all have a few basic story elements that they should, as expected, to form a story that the player experiences. They all have an antagonist and an exposition* (The beginning push that drives the story) that the player is set against and must defeat to “beat the game.” Here is an example, of which I got from a recent RPG designer I’m assisting. Names and other key features have been altered to protect the identity of the user.
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Long ago there was a land uninhabited and free from the toils of man. One day, an exploratory ship landed among the shores of this vast, empty land. These explorers, while roaming this new world came across a beautiful cliff-side escarpment and decided to build. Here is where these explorers laid the foundation for the future order of the Knights of Redcliff. Years later, once these orders of knights have constructed the beginnings of an empire, a dark evil came out from the land. There was a reason this land had been uninhabited. The Korblox had invaded led by their warrior king Malice, wanting nothing more than to push back the Knights of Redcliff off the land. And you, as a Redcliff knight, must do everything to stop it.
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Alright, so pretty basic. It has a bit of a backstory from the first to about the fourth sentence; with the introduction of the knight order the player will be playing a part of during the game. Following that, some exposition* as to what situation the player is dealing with, and even giving the name of the “final boss” as that warrior king. But yet, this isn’t a storyline. Not a complete one anyways.
A real storyline is much more in-depth than this. This here is a story introduction, a setting of the scene that the player starts in, but in no way provides where they must go next to achieve their ultimate goal. Usually thought as a story “sandwich,” where the beginning and end are the bread and the middle is the meat. This storyline is missing a lot of that meat so to speak, so let’s add some to the previous example.
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Long ago there was a land uninhabited and free from the toils of man… And you, as a Redcliff knight, must do everything to stop it. The knight must go to the surrounding Redcliff outpost of Hamlet and help defend it from the initial Korblox attack.
[This would be the next mission for the player, lets assume that the outpost is defeated after a large battle and the player must retreat as a story twist]
Upon losing Hamlet, the knight must quickly return to Redcliff with a message that the outpost was defeated.
[The next mission would be to return to Redcliff, but why not make the situation a bit more difficult]
Half way to Redcliff, the knight is stopped on the path by a Korblox scouting party on their way back from Redcliff with valuable scout information. The knight must catch these scouts and kill them before they return to Malice, the Korblox King.
[Another mission, one that further advances the story with another twist]
I believe that is enough examples to get the point across. Obviously you’ve probably noticed that from the developer’s point of view, a storyline looks more like a “storyboard.” That is, a large plan of missions that the developer writes out for the player to go through. That’s the way it should be. Here I’ve provided a few pieces of rising action* that would further advance the player through the story, had I continued, I would eventually provide enough missions where the player would finally come face-to-face with the Korblox king and defeat him. This point would be considered the climax* of the story; where the protagonist and antagonist battle, (usually) with the protagonist winning. This would them be followed with a quick return to Redcliff as a falling action* and maybe an award to the protagonist knight and happy ending as the denouement*.
All of this may seem extensive, but it is this planning that makes a true storyline. Of course, as the developer you can make as many twists and sub-plots as you like to accompany your main mission, that’s for you to plan out, and can quickly become a complex (Not to say you shouldn’t do it anyways) game that many people will enjoy.
So keep this in mind while writing your storyline. If you need assistance, I am always available to be messaged with questions or opinions.
Further reading:
Freytag’s Pyramid (Terms with * following are part of this), a simple wiki page of it.
“The RPG Creation Guide” http://www.roblox.com/Forum/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=73492309
“Why it’s Smart to Build When Happy” http://www.roblox.com/Forum/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=86555752
“Shadowlego7’s Ultimate Guide to Game Development” http://www.roblox.com/Forum/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=64744566
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I completely agree, I thank you for this post, as I was about to start planning out an RPG. I now realize that an RPG is not "Go wack all those guys!". Once again, Thanks. |
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I do have a question. How can I implement these into a Roblox RPG when a server can hold multiple people? What are some strategies to keep the game running smoothly with the possibility of another player triggering the same quest or doing something else to mess it up? |
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AotrouJoin Date: 2008-04-26
Post Count: 11936 |
Good question, I'm glad you asked. The answer is varied however, depending on how you as the developer decide how the game is played. I'll give two great examples that I've seen incorporated:
The first being through GUI-triggered dialogue, where the player talks to the quest giver, the dialogue between the player and the NPC leads to the quest being given with use of a true/false variable, then a checkpoint with a true/false variable, and finally the quest is finished with a true/false variable. Essentially, the game checks that the player's "quest given" variable is true, then the specific quest event is triggered for that player (either publicly or locally). Then the event is completed by the player thus giving them the "checkpoint reached" variable as true. On the players return to the quest giver, the game checks that the "checkpoint reached" is true, and gives the final dialogue and reward.
The other way is a little less script-savy by making certain areas have these quest events publicly, and having them only accessible once the player has the "quest started" variable as true.
Both essentially do the same thing, just the second option makes the map divide players a little too often. But again, you're the developer, so you're free to use what ever method comes to mind. |
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Also, an RPG doesn't have to be follow these quests = You get gold and a good reward. I've seen some amazing RPGs that have several factions in the game, then those factions just interact with each other across multiple places. |
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tommyfunJoin Date: 2011-01-04
Post Count: 1404 |
Good guide. |
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AetricityJoin Date: 2012-03-29
Post Count: 51079 |
A question: Does the story have to cover most of the gameplay involved, basically do you have to tell about every single event that happens at level 35+, 25+, etc. etc. or only the beginning, lets say three levels? |
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rrytryJoin Date: 2012-08-21
Post Count: 4151 |
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DoluanJoin Date: 2009-01-25
Post Count: 1123 |
@rrytry, tis is true.
Runescape however goes against that very Statement. runescapes quests are always done. there is a certain loop of exchange from gameplay to storyline, that when made more apparent, seems to make a player more incorporated into the storyline. so lets not say that all storylines mean nothing. and with roblox it is expected not to just have gameplay, but also a storyline for the sake of enriching the gameplay. |
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rrytryJoin Date: 2012-08-21
Post Count: 4151 |
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Try playing nethack, final fantasy, one of the elder scrolls or one of the fallouts while making an RPG, it will give you an idea on how a good RPG should be formed. |
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AotrouJoin Date: 2008-04-26
Post Count: 11936 |
Wow. Well I'll respond to these all I suppose.
"basically do you have to tell about every single event that happens at level 35+, 25+, etc. etc. or only the beginning, lets say three levels?"
As part of a storyboard, yes. You need to know 100% of what is happening in your game. I don't see how one would just guess the ending.
"The big problem is , even in modern games that have million dollar budgets , no one cares for the story."
Bite your tongue.
"your an action adventure game designer that has customizable weapons."
True. In association to story development, the player would also go through character development. A curse upon static characterization!
"...it will give you an idea on how a good RPG should be formed."
True to a limit. Of course you can get a general idea, but most ideas for gameplay should be from your own mind. |
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Ninjasheep, I chose my words exactly as I wanted them read. That is why I said "an idea" rather than "ideas". |
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AotrouJoin Date: 2008-04-26
Post Count: 11936 |
Touche, good sir. Touche. |
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