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STORY TRIGGER PROBLEMS
Posts
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happax
30
happax
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CloseYou know, I'm writing the story for my game project (one of so many unfinished game project...but hey! you never know!) and I alway have difficulties with the "trigger" of the story. The things that make the hero want to go on a quest to save the world or whatever need to be save.
I mean, I want to avoid the general cliche such as: hometown destruction, sibling abducting, fall-for-a-cute-girl type of things. It is kind of hard to find the good motivation for your hero.
so, what's your inspiration or whatever creating processs to find those trigger?
I mean, I want to avoid the general cliche such as: hometown destruction, sibling abducting, fall-for-a-cute-girl type of things. It is kind of hard to find the good motivation for your hero.
so, what's your inspiration or whatever creating processs to find those trigger?
Verincia
366
You can't always avoid a certain cliche especially if it's appropriate. Look at your story, and let it write itself. If a certain type of "trigger" comes to you and you can see how it can work then use it. Even if it's cliche, and many of them are, what your first impression is, generally tends to be the best one. There may be several different ones, then see which one you like the best, or is the easiest, and go with that one. It all depends on the story, but you should let the story guide you. If it doesn't, then try different scenarios and go with the one that works the best.
Amusingly enough, TVTropes actually has a very informative article on the use of tropes and cliche. I recommend giving it a read.
Shinan
4314
If the hero is reluctant you really do have to force the hand a bit. I rather like destruction. But you can also force the player in other ways. For example instead of kidnapping a loved one, kidnap the player. Throw him in a far away prison, conscript him into an army. Somehow get him away from his comfort zone, then have him want to go back at first opportunity and voila adventure ahead (and somewhere along the line the big story can happen too)
I mean to be honest, using the old tried ways to get a story going generally isn't a bad idea. And one of my favourites is throwing the main character into the middle of things going strange. Getting an artifact some baddies want (though then you might wonder why not just give it to them? You gotta hate reluctant heroes eh?).
And always kill a couple of guys off. That's always good.
I mean to be honest, using the old tried ways to get a story going generally isn't a bad idea. And one of my favourites is throwing the main character into the middle of things going strange. Getting an artifact some baddies want (though then you might wonder why not just give it to them? You gotta hate reluctant heroes eh?).
And always kill a couple of guys off. That's always good.
Darkflamewolf
2178
Tales of the Abyss was excellent in doing this. They took an aristocratic snob who clearly wasn't going ANYWHERE and literally threw him 1000s of miles away in a new, strange setting, completely out of his comfort zone. It was over the course of getting back to his home that the grand story started to take place and ultimately, taking the hero along with it, for the better.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
I just wanna say I am really sick of having my hometown destroyed.
My game starts out with the hero already motivated. However, through backstory, you learn that his reason for being motivated is that his wife was killed several years ago. I think this is a nice change - starting the player already in the action always seems good to me, I don't think many people like starting up a game and having to dick around doing chores and mingling with townspeople for 30 minutes before they get to do anything cool.
Really, you should pick something that fits the main theme and message of the game. What's your game about?
My game starts out with the hero already motivated. However, through backstory, you learn that his reason for being motivated is that his wife was killed several years ago. I think this is a nice change - starting the player already in the action always seems good to me, I don't think many people like starting up a game and having to dick around doing chores and mingling with townspeople for 30 minutes before they get to do anything cool.
Really, you should pick something that fits the main theme and message of the game. What's your game about?
DBAce9Aura
52
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_of_Manners
A worthy consideration, particularly if you want to lower the scope of your game.
A worthy consideration, particularly if you want to lower the scope of your game.
happax
30
author=VerinciaThanks, that've been helpful.
You can't always avoid a certain cliche especially if it's appropriate. Look at your story, and let it write itself. If a certain type of "trigger" comes to you and you can see how it can work then use it. Even if it's cliche, and many of them are, what your first impression is, generally tends to be the best one. There may be several different ones, then see which one you like the best, or is the easiest, and go with that one. It all depends on the story, but you should let the story guide you. If it doesn't, then try different scenarios and go with the one that works the best.
author=ShinanI agree with you: the main thing here is the "comfort zone"! it's more about how I sould take the hero out of it. when I think of it like this, I find new ideas. thanks
If the hero is reluctant you really do have to force the hand a bit. I rather like destruction. But you can also force the player in other ways. For example instead of kidnapping a loved one, kidnap the player. Throw him in a far away prison, conscript him into an army. Somehow get him away from his comfort zone, then have him want to go back at first opportunity and voila adventure ahead (and somewhere along the line the big story can happen too)
author=Shinanyeah! you're right (when the hero is so foolish, he always do everything he can to get into more trouble! )
Getting an artifact some baddies want (though then you might wonder why not just give it to them? You gotta hate reluctant heroes eh?)
Dyhalto
7536
What is your protagonist? Is he the usual small town boy with sword skills? You're already off to the races with a cliche. It'll be an uphill battle if you want to de-trope that.
Once you figure out what your protagonist is, motivation comes easily. He could be a policeman trailing a criminal, or a mercenary accepting a seemingly easy job, or a thief trying to steal something, or an amnesiac with a clue, or a god-sent soldier with a duty to fulfill, or a fugitive with nowhere to go, or a lost guy trying to go home, or a political activist fighting for his beliefs, or a lord who loses everything, or a runaway prince who returns home in a time of need, or a naive brat who wants to see the world, or a powerful mage searching for mystic secrets, or a bad enough dude called upon to rescue the president.
There's a little more to it than just dumping a half assed reason to get that hero off his butt and into the Cave of Slimes.
Once you figure out what your protagonist is, motivation comes easily. He could be a policeman trailing a criminal, or a mercenary accepting a seemingly easy job, or a thief trying to steal something, or an amnesiac with a clue, or a god-sent soldier with a duty to fulfill, or a fugitive with nowhere to go, or a lost guy trying to go home, or a political activist fighting for his beliefs, or a lord who loses everything, or a runaway prince who returns home in a time of need, or a naive brat who wants to see the world, or a powerful mage searching for mystic secrets, or a bad enough dude called upon to rescue the president.
There's a little more to it than just dumping a half assed reason to get that hero off his butt and into the Cave of Slimes.
happax
30
author=Dyhalto
What is your protagonist? Is he the usual small town boy with sword skills? You're already off to the races with a cliche. It'll be an uphill battle if you want to de-trope that.
Once you figure out what your protagonist is, motivation comes easily. He could be a policeman trailing a criminal, or a mercenary accepting a seemingly easy job, or a thief trying to steal something, or an amnesiac with a clue, or a god-sent soldier with a duty to fulfill, or a fugitive with nowhere to go, or a lost guy trying to go home, or a political activist fighting for his beliefs, or a lord who loses everything, or a runaway prince who returns home in a time of need, or a naive brat who wants to see the world, or a powerful mage searching for mystic secrets, or a bad enough dude called upon to rescue the president.
There's a little more to it than just dumping a half assed reason to get that hero off his butt and into the Cave of Slimes.
wow, I didn't think of that!, indeed my characters aren't that well define in the first place. no wonder I also has trouble with the setting of my hero. (yeah, my hero's a lumberjack who live in a peaceful forest village, heh)
Thanks a lot, I think I'll change my hero (there is that mercenary the lumberjack meet at some point, he might do a better hero job!) Not that i want to avoid cliche altogether, but I think it might be hard for a village boy to find motivation to set off on a quest.
thanks again
Well, one day, the lumberjack wakes up and all the trees are burnt to the ground, trees are the love of his life and the reason, also he cannot make a living any more, he's got to do something! so he sets off to the nearest village to know what has happened, on his way he notices that other forests are (half?) decimated. Once in town, he meets a friend with whom he has a beer at the local bar and they start talking about the event. His friend so happened to have seen a shadow with a torch through his window 2 nights ago, so they decide to hide at night to try and see if this has anything to do with the fires, they catch a suspicious individual who ends up telling them he's working for this lord who lives in some big mansion, he doesn't kow much about this fellow, but is always ready for a "job" if there's good money in the bargain, he's half of a nasty person and offers to accompany them to the mansion , they set of to the mansion, etc. ... Well, all in all it's (also) half of a good start. I wrote it for fun, but also because I'm not sure you can make a good story if you don't stick with the character that inspired you first....? but I may be all wrong in this case.
Avee
5794
Here are some tips that work well for me.
The hero's motivation/reasons to get out of his daily life and start traveling and fighting baddies can be internal (i.e. to have a personal goal he wants to reach) or external (i.e. to take revenge on the evil murderer, to be forced to do something for someone else).
Then set a "flavor" to the selected reason: is it social, psychological, biological, etc. Let me set some examples here...
I think most cliches use external + social reasons such as: to save the world for the sake of mankind, to retrieve the crystals to prevent the planet's decay. These reasons are easy to think of and help build a world full of NPCs and different quests, thus they're widely used in all video game types.
Personal + social reasons examples: to rise through the military ranks and become number one, to retrieve the crystals to rule the world.
Psychological reasons examples: a princess trying to flee from the pressure of royal duties, a man's dilemma regarding his current relationship and a new flame (as in Catherine ^^)
Biological reasons examples (these might be tougher to think of): young wolves challenge each other to a test of strength to determine the next leader of the pack, a survivor of a plane crash tries to find food, water and a safe place to spend the night.
Of course you can have multiple reasons for a single character to embark on a quest. Try to be creative and combine reasons with the game's style (fantasy, horror, sports, etc.) Hope this can help ^^.
The hero's motivation/reasons to get out of his daily life and start traveling and fighting baddies can be internal (i.e. to have a personal goal he wants to reach) or external (i.e. to take revenge on the evil murderer, to be forced to do something for someone else).
Then set a "flavor" to the selected reason: is it social, psychological, biological, etc. Let me set some examples here...
I think most cliches use external + social reasons such as: to save the world for the sake of mankind, to retrieve the crystals to prevent the planet's decay. These reasons are easy to think of and help build a world full of NPCs and different quests, thus they're widely used in all video game types.
Personal + social reasons examples: to rise through the military ranks and become number one, to retrieve the crystals to rule the world.
Psychological reasons examples: a princess trying to flee from the pressure of royal duties, a man's dilemma regarding his current relationship and a new flame (as in Catherine ^^)
Biological reasons examples (these might be tougher to think of): young wolves challenge each other to a test of strength to determine the next leader of the pack, a survivor of a plane crash tries to find food, water and a safe place to spend the night.
Of course you can have multiple reasons for a single character to embark on a quest. Try to be creative and combine reasons with the game's style (fantasy, horror, sports, etc.) Hope this can help ^^.
happax
30
yeah thanks for everything guys.
it's been helpful and I mean it!
I wanted to create motivation for my characters and I think I have something now!
for short:
I'll stick with the lumberjack. He's selling wood on the castle town market then come a castle servant loooking for something. He notice the lumberjack, mistaking it for a mercenary (because of his traveling cloth and a the axe he mistake for a battle axe) he tell him to come along. once in the castle, the lumberjack his brought before the king. the king tells him the kingdom is threaten by (insert the baddy here) and so a champion is needed as an agent of the kingdom and a distraction for the baddy so the royal army can work undercover...eventually of course, over his adventure, the lumberjack will become the only hope for the kingdom. as for my character motivation: He is really patriotic, he love the country and want do help it anyway he can. of course, he will always try to get something in return (so he can return to his peaceful life richer than he was).
that's about it for now... but you've been a great help!
it's been helpful and I mean it!
I wanted to create motivation for my characters and I think I have something now!
for short:
I'll stick with the lumberjack. He's selling wood on the castle town market then come a castle servant loooking for something. He notice the lumberjack, mistaking it for a mercenary (because of his traveling cloth and a the axe he mistake for a battle axe) he tell him to come along. once in the castle, the lumberjack his brought before the king. the king tells him the kingdom is threaten by (insert the baddy here) and so a champion is needed as an agent of the kingdom and a distraction for the baddy so the royal army can work undercover...eventually of course, over his adventure, the lumberjack will become the only hope for the kingdom. as for my character motivation: He is really patriotic, he love the country and want do help it anyway he can. of course, he will always try to get something in return (so he can return to his peaceful life richer than he was).
that's about it for now... but you've been a great help!
Crystalgate
694
Usually I start with a goal and motivation that isn't "save the world" or anything that spectacular, but as the adventure goes on, the hero gets involved in more serious businesses.
My current game begins with the hero the hero trying to prevent a recless girl he owns a favor from getting herself killed. The main villain doesn't become important to him until later.
My current game begins with the hero the hero trying to prevent a recless girl he owns a favor from getting herself killed. The main villain doesn't become important to him until later.
tpasmall
228
For my game, the main character isn't really apparent until halfway through the story. The story and game play revolve around another character until something major happens and the back story to the game is revealed. Up until that point, the game is pretty cliche. The problem I foresee with my story is keeping people hooked up until that point.
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