ATAVUS DEI'S PROFILE

If you haven't seen a Joss Whedon show, watch some episodes. Good inspiration. I'd say start with Firefly. :P



Though you'll want to keep a balance with the wit. As mentioned before, trying too hard is bad; only insert it with where it fits. Such as, you don't want to have a serious dramatic scene ruined by a misplaced sarcastic quip (not to say you can't put quips in such scenes; many stories do that successfully, but the quip usually fits in with both the character's way of talking and the subject of the scene).

Is RPG Maker XP supposed to limit you to three lines per message box? I've tested this on two computers, and the Show Message event only allows me to input three lines. Inside both the event box and XP, it seems that there is definitely extra room for a fourth line to be added. Anyone know what's going on?

Desperation of Alcoholic Dream. It is only on the title. :P

author=Karsuman link=topic=3227.msg63761#msg63761 date=1235701158
It was discussed in the topic before Nessiah destroyed Skie's topic. What do YOU think is important in terms of aesthetics and storytelling to reach the audience you desire?

Presentation. No matter what style an author uses, if the presentation is badly done, then all the work would be for naught. A story that can't communicate its content to the player, music that can't bring the player into the action or mood, artwork that can't describe the player's world, characters, or events; those are all examples of bad presentation. This includes quality, consistency, and form.

In every step of the creation process we make choices that will attract or dissuade a potential player. We often discuss this in terms of gameplay - but how about from the perspective of writing and art? I mean, if we wanted to reach the largest and most casual audience possible we would probably go with a traditional fantasy story and vaguely realistic but somewhat stylized character designs.

This is where genre comes in. A musical example would be the differences between hard rock, soft rock, and heavy metal. Choosing a genre determines what audience you will be targeting. This is true for every work of art/literature/etc. anyone produces; there is no such thing as a target-all genre.

So why is it people decide to make sci-fi and modern games? How do things like face art and concept (the main topic of discussion in Skie's thread for awhile there) effect your choice in game to play? Keep in mind that Skie's graphics were custom-made for her project and were, generally speaking, of at least passable quality, and the game STILL alienated players. People were simply unwilling to try it based on it's simplistic story and what it looked like.

I personally liked Skie's art; it had a "kawaii-silly" aspect to it which I enjoy in some anime. In the same token, I can see how it wouldn't be other people's cup of tea. This is another example of genre taking effect. Also, I'd be lying if I said anime wasn't part of the reason why I'm taking a media major; it's been a huge influence in my line of thinking.

Basically, to sum it up, the question is this - are you, as a game designer, willing to knowingly sacrifice potential audience to fulfill your own artistic direction?

Following new/uncommon/oddball/etc. artistic directions generates more creativity, and makes the entertainment world that much more interesting. If the same old formula was used all the time, then the world would be a static, boring place. None of history's famed artistic revolutions would have occurred, and nothing new would come out; this is the fallacy Hollywood tries to keep up, which utterly fails nearly every time executives attempt to retain the "norm". Consider George Lucas' "Star Wars" and Gene Roddenbery's "Star Trek"; two mid-90's sci-fi epics that popularized the concept of serious space opera. During that time, most American space opera was relegated to camp, or not taken seriously otherwise.

Also, there are sayings about this:

"If you truly want to succeed, then you must take some chances."
"Risk is part of the game."
"You never know what you're going to get until you try."

Cliche, but most certainly true.

author=Max McGee link=topic=3208.msg63725#msg63725 date=1235693332
Wow clearly I have started a real fuckaree here with my one little innocuous comment.

Innocuous? Perhaps in your view. To most others, it was one that makes you look like a complete douche. Sure, you may not like the art style, but was it really necessary to post that? Do you see other people who don't like the art style flocking over here to shoot down the game before it even gets off the ground? Criticizing the technical competence or not, you're putting yourself on a high pedestal and acting like a self-important, pompous ass.

Honestly I just thought it might be helpful to the creators to know that, I am not playing this, not because it looks sloppy or bad, but because its style and genre are not to my tastes. Why did this start world war fucking three again?

What makes you so special? Notice how the other members of this forum, to whom DOAD's art style also didn't appeal to, did not post in the same inflammatory vein as your comment. As I, SFL, WIP, and so many others have already stated, you are welcome to your personal opinion. However, this is one of those occasions where you should keep your mouth shut, for the reasons stated above.

Hey there brogurt, show me where I ever fucking said that this game was "Teh sux" or said anything other than I DO NOT LIKE THIS ART STYLE ALTHOUGH THE ART IS TECHNICALLY COMPETENT.

I despise the art style of this project.

I am not saying anything about the technical prowess of the art, just the style.

It is a very big turn-off for me.

Obviously my analogy must've skipped right over your head. I can easily see that you didn't outright say her art sucked. However, peanut gallery comments like "If you want to get my attention then you should choose another art style!" are just plain rude. Which is how your statement could've easily been interpreted, regardless of your intent.

Back in the Mac vs. PC days, you'd have people who liked Macs, and people who liked PCs. Most of these people in both factions respected the others, and didn't say anything aggressive toward their "enemies"; however, you would occasionally have some who thought it would be fun to start flame wars over whether or not Macs were better than PCs, or vice-versa, for some inane reason or another. This is the point of the analogy. Some people didn't like the other "genre" of computer, and made idiotic statements for shits and giggles.

I'd also suggest you get off your persecution complex. You aren't the only one to have been criticized for this kind of crap.