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Announcement
A long time coming....
BD_Design
A lot has happened in the time since my last post, some good , a lot of bad. But I haven't given up on this project. Been working on learning more 3D modeling, as well as Photoshop. I'll eventually get back on this full steam, but in the meantime, I'm putting this post out mostly to protect my concept. A search of Xenocop brings up this page as well as my other blog page that was set up for school assignments. But there are some other Xenocop titles from Artists as well as a sci fi book description. I'm not too concerned with them, but this title has been MINE since the 90's. So this is just a little reminder to all you aspiring space crime writers: HANDS OFF.
That's enough marking for now.
That's enough marking for now.
Miscellaneous
Storyline and Plot Progression (WARNING: SPOILERS)
I have most of the general story blocked out, next I'll set up the scenes and then work on actions before adding dialogue. After that, it will need to be proofread and edited for spelling, grammar, and logic. Once this is done, I'll note any changes in the design document and start work on the storyboards.
That said, let's discuss something that has been on my mind since the early days of RPG making.
Story points are the basic things that happen in the story. Often you'll find posts in amateur game dev forums asking for feedback on a plot, when what they have really provided are two or three story points.
Here are the various story points that I want to use for Xenocop. For the most part they are in the order that they are introduced.
1. Geddon escapes prison; Daoki is hurt in an explosion.
2. After becoming a cyborg, Daoki follows the Pirate Lords to Earth (Opening sequence).
3. Daoki arrives and begins hunting pirates immediately.
4. Daoki is ambushed in a train yard and left for dead.
5. His presence is compromised by two teens who find him and keep him a secret
6. Body and memory damaged; he must repair himself.
7. The kids become allies and help to rehabilitate Daoki at great personal risk.
8. There are aliens among us already; Daoki must contact them for information.
9. Ray’s sister falls in love with Daoki’s young man disguise, this becomes a recurring problem.
10. The Department of Homeland Security investigates reports of UFO sightings.
11. The cops and military mobilize as events begin to violently escalate.
12. Repairs and disguises help Daoki find more clues to hunt pirates.
13. There are a fixed number of pirates, Daoki must kill them all. Minions are a secondary (bonus) concern.
14. Cultural references occur during the story that shapes Daoki’s perception of the human race.
15. The pirates are taking over various criminal operations in the city.
16. Geddon plans to turn the Earth into his staging area for striking back at the United Star League.
17. Infighting between the pirates is still common and their infrastructure is still weak.
18. Various television shows and news agencies report on the strange events going on.
19. The government arrests Daoki, he manages to escape.
20. The United Star League becomes increasingly aware of Daoki’s setbacks.
21. A weapons manufacturer knows of the aliens and wants Daoki’s body for research.
22. Daoki is captured by the company but escapes; this is a ruse, however.
23. The League plans to take more drastic measures if Daoki fails again.
24. Daoki must bypass the new and even more restrictive programming the League (via the weapons manufacturer) has downloaded into him.
25. Daoki fights Geddon (final showdown, climax).
26. A twist is revealed: traitors are in the League (denouement).
27. Daoki leaves Earth to confront the League and the traitors in their midst. (End sequence, credits roll)
I learned in one of my film classes that Francis Coppola wanted 25 things to happen in Apocalypse Now. I wanted to at least match that, not so much for ambition, but because it's the only reference I have and I want the option to scale back if I need to. I'd rather cut something out than have to cram something in later.
That said, let's discuss something that has been on my mind since the early days of RPG making.
Story points are the basic things that happen in the story. Often you'll find posts in amateur game dev forums asking for feedback on a plot, when what they have really provided are two or three story points.
Here are the various story points that I want to use for Xenocop. For the most part they are in the order that they are introduced.
1. Geddon escapes prison; Daoki is hurt in an explosion.
2. After becoming a cyborg, Daoki follows the Pirate Lords to Earth (Opening sequence).
3. Daoki arrives and begins hunting pirates immediately.
4. Daoki is ambushed in a train yard and left for dead.
5. His presence is compromised by two teens who find him and keep him a secret
6. Body and memory damaged; he must repair himself.
7. The kids become allies and help to rehabilitate Daoki at great personal risk.
8. There are aliens among us already; Daoki must contact them for information.
9. Ray’s sister falls in love with Daoki’s young man disguise, this becomes a recurring problem.
10. The Department of Homeland Security investigates reports of UFO sightings.
11. The cops and military mobilize as events begin to violently escalate.
12. Repairs and disguises help Daoki find more clues to hunt pirates.
13. There are a fixed number of pirates, Daoki must kill them all. Minions are a secondary (bonus) concern.
14. Cultural references occur during the story that shapes Daoki’s perception of the human race.
15. The pirates are taking over various criminal operations in the city.
16. Geddon plans to turn the Earth into his staging area for striking back at the United Star League.
17. Infighting between the pirates is still common and their infrastructure is still weak.
18. Various television shows and news agencies report on the strange events going on.
19. The government arrests Daoki, he manages to escape.
20. The United Star League becomes increasingly aware of Daoki’s setbacks.
21. A weapons manufacturer knows of the aliens and wants Daoki’s body for research.
22. Daoki is captured by the company but escapes; this is a ruse, however.
23. The League plans to take more drastic measures if Daoki fails again.
24. Daoki must bypass the new and even more restrictive programming the League (via the weapons manufacturer) has downloaded into him.
25. Daoki fights Geddon (final showdown, climax).
26. A twist is revealed: traitors are in the League (denouement).
27. Daoki leaves Earth to confront the League and the traitors in their midst. (End sequence, credits roll)
I learned in one of my film classes that Francis Coppola wanted 25 things to happen in Apocalypse Now. I wanted to at least match that, not so much for ambition, but because it's the only reference I have and I want the option to scale back if I need to. I'd rather cut something out than have to cram something in later.
Miscellaneous
Further Developments- Story Dynamics
   I've gotten far enough in the design document to be able to move on to the next phase, which is writing the screenplay. Dramatica Pro is a program that has proven invaluable for this task. It's really forced me to dig deep and consider all facets of each of my characters. So far, I have the general storyline and some of the principle cast fleshed out.
   While the player is the main character, there is an element of non-interaction that must take place in order to keep the game within the confines of the plot, or in gaming terms, establish the rules. In order to do that, I've had to develop a framework of Daoki's character and his relationship with the story structure.
   Dramatica asks 12 questions, four to three groups. These groups concern the Main Character, the Plot, and the Theme. All three form the Genre. For the purposes of this blog, I show a truncated version of the question, followed by the answer, and then an explanation why. If you're interested, the full questions can be found here.
Resolve: Change- Daoki must change his way of thinking in order to progress past the main problem.
Growth: Start- Daoki grows as a character by overcoming his restrictive programming and starts thinking for himself.
Approach: Be-er- Daoki mentally adapts to his environment. Initially a do-er, events transpire that take that level of control away from him, and transforms his external strife into an internal one.
Problem Solving Style: Logical (male)- As a cop, Daoki has been a logical problem solver long before undergoing the cyberization proccess.
Story Drive: Actions- The escape of the Space Pirates leads to Daoki's accident, his cyberization, and his subsequent mission to Earth.
Story Limit: Option Lock- As Daoki eliminates the Pirate Lords, he eventually reaches Geddon and the final showdown. A secondary limit (time) later appears as Daoki's superiors demand faster results.
Story Outcome: Success- Obviously this hinges on the player, but it's easy to figure out what happens if he fails, it's GAME OVER.
Judgment: Good- Daoki resolves his personal limit and returns to space in order to confront his superiors.
Story Throughline: Activity- The nature of the problems that ALL of the characters are dealing with stems from the escape of the Pirates and the later havoc they are causing (the activity) on planet earth.
Story Concern: Gathering Information- Space Pirates are hiding on Earth. In order to find them, Daoki must gather clues. This works at the character level (internal process) as well, since Daoki must also relearn his abilities by observing and drawing conclusions.
Story Issue: Preconditions- While Daoki is given a broad mandate to essentially do whatever it takes to destroy the pirates, he has a set of restrictions that are holding him back: the programming given to him by his superiors.
Story Problem- I'm still working on this. As I chose each answer, the answers for each subsequent question were narrowed down. what I am left with t this point, I'm not exactly sure what to do with. Obviously more research is in order.
All I know about the problem at this point is that The Pirates must be stopped, and Daoki needs to grow as a character in order to remove the obstacles preventing him from achieving the goal.
   While the player is the main character, there is an element of non-interaction that must take place in order to keep the game within the confines of the plot, or in gaming terms, establish the rules. In order to do that, I've had to develop a framework of Daoki's character and his relationship with the story structure.
   Dramatica asks 12 questions, four to three groups. These groups concern the Main Character, the Plot, and the Theme. All three form the Genre. For the purposes of this blog, I show a truncated version of the question, followed by the answer, and then an explanation why. If you're interested, the full questions can be found here.
Resolve: Change- Daoki must change his way of thinking in order to progress past the main problem.
Growth: Start- Daoki grows as a character by overcoming his restrictive programming and starts thinking for himself.
Approach: Be-er- Daoki mentally adapts to his environment. Initially a do-er, events transpire that take that level of control away from him, and transforms his external strife into an internal one.
Problem Solving Style: Logical (male)- As a cop, Daoki has been a logical problem solver long before undergoing the cyberization proccess.
Story Drive: Actions- The escape of the Space Pirates leads to Daoki's accident, his cyberization, and his subsequent mission to Earth.
Story Limit: Option Lock- As Daoki eliminates the Pirate Lords, he eventually reaches Geddon and the final showdown. A secondary limit (time) later appears as Daoki's superiors demand faster results.
Story Outcome: Success- Obviously this hinges on the player, but it's easy to figure out what happens if he fails, it's GAME OVER.
Judgment: Good- Daoki resolves his personal limit and returns to space in order to confront his superiors.
Story Throughline: Activity- The nature of the problems that ALL of the characters are dealing with stems from the escape of the Pirates and the later havoc they are causing (the activity) on planet earth.
Story Concern: Gathering Information- Space Pirates are hiding on Earth. In order to find them, Daoki must gather clues. This works at the character level (internal process) as well, since Daoki must also relearn his abilities by observing and drawing conclusions.
Story Issue: Preconditions- While Daoki is given a broad mandate to essentially do whatever it takes to destroy the pirates, he has a set of restrictions that are holding him back: the programming given to him by his superiors.
Story Problem- I'm still working on this. As I chose each answer, the answers for each subsequent question were narrowed down. what I am left with t this point, I'm not exactly sure what to do with. Obviously more research is in order.
All I know about the problem at this point is that The Pirates must be stopped, and Daoki needs to grow as a character in order to remove the obstacles preventing him from achieving the goal.
Miscellaneous
New Character Page
I've now gotten to the point in my design document that I need to start fleshing out my characters. My protagonist and antagonist histories and motives have been worked out, and I am now working on the rest of the cast.
I figure since the setting is in an alternate Los Angeles, I'd make Ray a Latino. His friend Cyndi comes from a Polish background. I'll come up with character sheets eventually.
Thanks for stopping by! Comments and suggestions welcome!
I figure since the setting is in an alternate Los Angeles, I'd make Ray a Latino. His friend Cyndi comes from a Polish background. I'll come up with character sheets eventually.
Thanks for stopping by! Comments and suggestions welcome!
Miscellaneous
New Soundtrack Page!
   Hi all, still working on my design document, but I figured I'd add another page to the profile. There, you'll find some information on the music going into Xenocop. There isn't much, but I haven't really gotten to that part of the design phase yet. You'll also find some links where you can learn about one of my favorite bands, Project Pitchfork, as well as videos for two of the theme songs.
   School started back up, and that means homework, so the work on the game will slow somewhat. Most of the design document work is just going through all my chicken scratch and reorganizing it. From there I can fill in any holes. I'll add a link to the template I'm using to the Library page.
See you later!
   School started back up, and that means homework, so the work on the game will slow somewhat. Most of the design document work is just going through all my chicken scratch and reorganizing it. From there I can fill in any holes. I'll add a link to the template I'm using to the Library page.
See you later!
Miscellaneous
From The Primordial Slop I Call A Brain
   Welcome to my imagination! Pull up a seat, and don't mind the puddles of creative juice on the ground.
   A lot of the data and concepts for this game have been collecting dust since the days of RPG Maker 2003. I'm keeping most of the concepts and rough designs, and chucking out everything else.
I can't reuse maps anyways, since my entire catalogue of 2000-2003 map data was corrupted in a hard drive crash I call, "The Cleansing." Yes, every game I had ever worked on was lost.
   Now I keep duplicate saves. Remember: If it isn't saved in more than one place, it doesn't exist!
Thanks for stopping by!
   A lot of the data and concepts for this game have been collecting dust since the days of RPG Maker 2003. I'm keeping most of the concepts and rough designs, and chucking out everything else.
I can't reuse maps anyways, since my entire catalogue of 2000-2003 map data was corrupted in a hard drive crash I call, "The Cleansing." Yes, every game I had ever worked on was lost.
   Now I keep duplicate saves. Remember: If it isn't saved in more than one place, it doesn't exist!
Thanks for stopping by!
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