INFINITESERAPH'S PROFILE

Is there an XP Charset template somewhere?

Also, does XP take faces somehow?

Sorry for these silly questions. I'm trying to bust out this production for my supa-secret project.

PS - You guys are going to LOVE IT....

Bad Guy Notice
Please do not distribute, post, or profit from this material. This material is only allowed to be posted on my website, the forums with which I associate with, and on any webmaster/forum member's website/blog space whom has asked permission before posting or blogging it. Sale of this and any of my material, whether online or physically, is strictly prohibited.

Entertainment Notice
This material, and any material that I post, is strictly for entertainment and knowledge/learning purposes. It is not designed as a be-all, end-all tutorial. It is not designed to fix and/or alleviate your game or book of any negative criticism or hype, all of which should be expected when creating either a game or book. This material should solely be used as a guideline in addition to your current writing and creation styles. Use at your own risk--I cannot guarantee or take responsibility for the use of this material.

Writing Style Notice
I am a very technical and theoretical writer. To me, it is just as important to know the background and theories of various subjects, supported by various examples...as opposed to, for example, listing items and offering vague descriptions and suggestions for what I think you should do with your game. Knowledge is power, and doing is learning.

Onwards.

What is collaborative writing?

Collaborative writing is an often discussed and controversial solution to the writing portion of any publication. In it's most basic form, collaborative writing is any piece of literary information which contains two or more authors. While the concept of collaborative writing can differ from implementation to implementation, true collaborative writing requires equal access of material in order to add, edit, and delete information within any portion of the work, at any stage of the work.

While true collaborative writing is extremely rare, a form of collaborative writing is essential to the release of most commercial magazines. Multiple editors, usually more than four, are required to revise any given article and make necessary changes and edits as the context allows. This allows for a tier "proofreading" system within the company, and also proposes communication and sharing of ideas between individual writers.

Aside from magazines, all other commercial written works surprisingly taper off in author plurality. Fiction books, for example, are usually never collaboratively written because of intellectual property conflicts and profit-sharing issues. However, a non-fiction book written by two or more authors isn't unheard of--yet still uncommon. Strictly contrasting this trend, informational websites (and some fictional ones) are well-known for true collaborative works. Very popular collaboratively-written websites include Wikipedia, Scriblist.com, and H2G2.

Modern commercial video games are recently incorporating collaborative works, with varying degrees of complexity in terms of storyline. In comparison, almost all retro video games usually had one writer (who also helped in another facet of the game's production). It really wasn't until the release of the Playstation (PSX, PSOne) that collaboratively written games, usually RPGs, began to surface. The complexity of video games have risen consumer expectations, and companies are now considering storyline to be as important as gameplay in modern video games---even for platformers such as Spyro The Dragon, or Tomb Raider.

Collaborative writing in Indie creations?

Writing in Indie games--more specifically, RPGs--generally takes a backseat to gameplay and game elements (such as graphics and sounds). The most common reason for this is because most Indie creations fall in one three categories:
1) Re-creation, or prequel/sequel, to an existing game or series;
2) Movie, or book "port" of a game, such as an RPG based on Dreamcatcher or Batman;
3) A "test" or "joke" game, to test out a particular concept or custom system, or delivers lots of comedy. "Community RPGs" fall under this category, except "Chain Games."

So usually, Indie games will attempt to cater to the creator (as a fan), game/series fans (with same interest), and/or a community or group of friends (with joke games, or test games with a custom system). These games are generally written, directed and programmed by one hand, and if there is a team, the other members are varied artists and composers. Very, very rarely, does one of the archetypes listed above have various writers; concept directors; publishing/marketing directors; various programmers; etc. It isn't necessary, and could very well cause needless confusion and conflict.

Therefore, for the purpose of this article, I am only referring to original storylines.

Why collaboratively write?

Generally, if you have your storyline completed, you obviously don't need more writers. You could hire a concept planner to help review your work and suggest various revisions and changes, or perhaps another writer could review and give his critique. However, if you are most indie creators, your game is still in pre-production. Your game may even be in pre-conception. In a case like this, it may be beneficial to consider the pros and cons of hiring writers.

Collaborative writing has many benefits for the right director. On average, a story written by two or more people is finished much quicker than written by one. The writers have a chance to exchange ideas and information back and forth, and discuss possibilities in the storylines. Generally, every writer has their specialties, and one writer may be perfect at coming up with dilemmas that your characters may face during the game---while another writer can always think of the perfect word that belongs in that dialogue (or the perfect dialogue!!). Perhaps another writer isn't so great at determining storyline within the game, but he writes fantastic trailers---and therefore should work with the marketing director/trailer production team.

Of course, all of that should be taken with a grain of salt. Collaborative writing does have it's negative sides and downfalls---although the degree of the downfalls is ultimately determined by the executive director/owner. There is always a possibility of plot clashes, minor discrepancies within the character views or dialogue. Differences may occur between the individual writers, which slows down production, and creates animosity in the team. Slower production can also occur with group meetings regarding permanent decisions in terms of story/character direction.

Role with it!

So you decided that you want various writers on your team. Being an effective leader is very important when having multiple people in the same department. The first thing you must always remember is that the ultimate decision regarding anything rests on you. In fact, allowing the writers to settle it amongst them, or "duke it out" is never a good idea, and will only cause animosity between them (and potentially lost writers). Of course, if you know your team and you know they always come to a peaceful conclusion, great! However, for newly-formed teams or well-known members who have a tendency of becoming irate (or worse), knowledge of all decisions bring made and firm decision-making is crucial for production.

If you are a writer working in a team, know that not everyone (including your boss!) will agree with everything that you come up with. A small bit of humility is required, along with some skin and negotiating abilities. This is especially important when you aren't familiar with the other writer(s) on the team. Of course, constructive criticism is important. Remember that you are representing yourself and your boss through a piece of written work. If it's a bad idea, say so---even if it's your own. But instead of attacking the writer or the idea, offer explanations for why the idea is bad, or what could make it better. Usually, this mending of an idea is a better accepted solution, and the originator of the idea will be more receptive to this sort of suggestion.

No matter what role you play in the development of a game, however, note that everyone wants to be heard. Support members won't like working with a leader who won't listen to ideas; a leader won't like working with radical support members who won't listen to reason. It goes beyond any "chemistry" that a team may or may not have. The term "bad chemistry" (when used in the context of team members) is a misunderstood and ultimately false concept. A team with "bad chemistry" ultimately consists of a team who's unwilling to listen to each others' ideas.

Ready...set...write!

When deciding to write a storyline, a fair amount of pre-planning is always suggested. Unlike a single writer for a storyline, multiple writers can listen to a single idea and form vastly differing opinions. This is noted even in writers with closely similar styles; if you asked three writers to perform a single task for you, you will get three different results. Of course, the key to collaborative writing is to divide the writing projects in accordance to their interest level and ability.

If Final Fantasy VI's writers were to split up the game in today's terms, perhaps the beginning half of the game would have been written by one person, up until Kefka comes into power. Another writer would take up the other half of the game. With only moderate character information exchange, they could easily independently write their respective halves of storyline without clashing too heavily with each other. Maybe after they were finished, they could switch storyline and "proofread" for existing conflicts. Any conflicts that exist within the complete story would be resolved and the programmers would have a completed story to work with.

While it probably didn't happen like that, something similar could easily be done with today's indie creations, seriously speeding up production and release of quality games. Proper communication is always encourages between teams as a whole, but proactive members will make it a point to communicate FOR their developers or editors. If you know that the programmer is busy getting the battle system together, perhaps you can send the artist a sketch of what the character in your storyline looks like so he can make a sprite in time for the programmer (so he doesn't have to ask). If you are finished with Act II and the programmer is still in Act I, you can let the artists know of the chipsets, tilesets, and monsters the programmer will need for Act II.

Conversely, programmers: if you have a fantastic storyline idea or want to implement a system that would require some backstory (like an Esper system), be sure to let the writer know so he can tie it into the story.

Overall, while collaboratively writing requires much pre-planning for consistency and a bit of a tougher director, I feel it can be very beneficial to the right team, or with the right storyline. If the storyline is divisible in terms of major events that occur IN the storyline, it is extremely time-consuming and can allow for material and programming forecasting. Communication is a two-way road; while lack of communication can easily lead into a ruinous plot, plenty of communication and discussion can speed up production and allow for fantastic plots in much less time.

Alright.

After much planning, pre-planning, procrastinating, and visiting the IRC channels, I'm ready for my staff. I asked once before, and I was asked for some information regarding the game. Now I am ready, and I am due to release the first trailer for my game by November 2nd, 2008.

Which ultimately gives me a little less than a month to put a trailer together and get this game into real development.

Most of the storyline, at this point, will be kept under wraps. However, I will release a little blurb about the basic focus of the game. Whoever is interested in joining my team, please note that 75% of the planning is already finished, and very little is needed to finish what remains. In other words, the remaining 25% missing on paper is things that I need to develop as I create the game (like most skills).

Here is the blurb, as promised. This could be on the back cover of my game if it were released commercially (for an idea of what I'm trying to accomplish here):




..Or something like that. This is about as much as I can give without giving away too much information. Again, the storyline is finished! What I need:

Sprite (Motion) Artist/s
The name says it all. Motion Sprite Artists will create walking graphics (as well as variations) for the game.

Sprite (Combat) Artist/s
Again, self explanatory. Combat Sprite Artists will assist with battle spriting, as well as animations and anything battle-related. Monster design is a huge plus!

Composer/s
Ideal Composer will be creative, intelligent, and work without major supervision. Will take (contstructive) criticism well, and will take praise and worship well.

Motion Animator/s (I hope?)
This is a hopeful for me. I'm hopeful that I will come across someone who would be interested in motion graphics for *short* movies during the game. I really mean short, the longest single movie I'd like to implement in my game is about six seconds long.

Of course, I have alternatives to movie-making. They just aren't my preferred.

(2nd) Project Manager who has ideas
Basically assist with throwing ideas. Must live in American Time Zone, or be online on these times for constant idea-swapping back and forth. Must be able to program. Must be able to manage my current team.

The ideal Project Manager will be able to take parts of my project and create them using the resources available. Must be good with tiling/map making. Must be CREATIVE.

Again, I'm not looking for someone to rate (or berate) my game, although your opinion is always welcome. I'm looking for staff. Please PM, E-mail, AIM, or MSN me (I'm on MSN *right now* lvega1986@live.com)

Bad Guy Notice
Please do not distribute, post, or profit from this material. This material is only allowed to be posted on my website, the forums with which I associate with, and on any webmaster/forum member's website/blog space whom has asked permission before posting or blogging it. Sale of this and any of my material, whether online or physically, is strictly prohibited.

Entertainment Notice
This material, and any material that I post, is strictly for entertainment and knowledge/learning purposes. It is not designed as a be-all, end-all tutorial. It is not designed to fix and/or alleviate your game or book of any negative criticism or hype, all of which should be expected when creating either a game or book. This material should solely be used as a guideline in addition to your current writing and creation styles. Use at your own risk--I cannot guarantee or take responsibility for the use of this material.

Writing Style Notice
I am a very technical and theoretical writer. To me, it is just as important to know the background and theories of various subjects, supported by various examples...as opposed to, for example, listing items and offering vague descriptions and suggestions for what I think you should do with your game. Knowledge is power, and doing is learning.

Onwards.

My intention with this article is to attempt to introduce different screenplay and storytelling styles for the sake of originality, self-improvement and interest factor. Again, please note that I will not be focusing much on the character side of things in this article, but instead purely on the storyline side. Any characters that are mentioned are purely consequential and necessary for example purposes.

Speaking of examples, this article may be lacking in a wide variety of examples from commercial video games. The reason is mostly because these ideas would be fairly difficult to utilize in a video game, and are much easier in a piece of fiction---however, creative minds who can use some of the examples listed here will certainly gain the attention and support of gamers who are tired of the same threaded storylines.

Introduction
There are many RPGs out today, all of which follow different storytelling method. Interesting, innovative games that tend to stand out apart from the crowd story-telling wise are extremely rare. The reason that most of these games will want to follow a basic linear storytelling style encompasses two main reasons:

• a) To avoid utter failure and disrespect from gamers and consumers;
• b) To preserve interest in the main characters, and to promote familiarity within the gaming community.

What this means, is that commercial developers would rather remain in the confines of comfortable developing while generating profits, as opposed to taking a chance and risking failure and huge losses. Also, by deriving from a generic linear storyline, developers realize that they would risk trading overall character development for the sake of a better, or originally-conveyed story. A perfect example of this would be SaGa Frontier 2, which feature various different characters while conveying one whole plot. You can advance with the game however you please, and the story will make sense regardless of which way you opt to continue.

Linear vs. Non Linear
The Real Brickroad from http://www.rpgmaker.net wrote a huge piece about Linear vs. Non Linear RPGs, describing in full detail what they mean respectively and the pros and cons of each. I will now formally thank him for saving my fingers a bunch of grief. If you don't know what's the difference between a linear, and a non-linear storyline, I suggest you read his article titled: When Linearity Attacks! The reason that I bring this up in my article is because, with few exceptions, the specific writing tactics that I will outline are designed for linear storyline---not so much non-linear, although it is possible. However, for simplification purposes, any writing style that I introduce will be introduced in a linear style.

Let's get down to some theory.

Innovative Writing Styles for RPGs: Chronology
As far as RPGs go, although the elements that are in the RPG can vary drastically from project to project (animation, graphics, sounds, storyline, elements, etc), the way the storyline is conveyed is traditionally chronologically, starting from a point where the character realizes a conflict/crisis, and ending at the point where the conflict is resolved, usually with the added benefit of saving the world in the process. And if you can think of one commercial RPG that isn't designed in this manner, you would be better off than me, because I'm hard pressed to think of more than a scant few.

In Lufia I: The Fortress of Doom, you start out as Maxim, Selan, Guy and Arty, who will make an appearance in Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals. The significance of this is, while the individual games follow a chronological storytelling method, the entire story is told in reverse, with the hero of legend Maxim appearing in the second game, and his descendant appearing in the first. It's a very interesting way to portray the storyline, and the second game does a fantastic job of portraying the legendary heroes and closing every loose end, up until the final scenes.

In Final Fantasy X, Tidus begins in his dream world of Zanarkand, which no longer exists in the world, playing Blitzball and being his usual cool self. He then somehow gets tossed into present-day Spira, which is somehow technologically de-vanced, yet sometime in the future (or perhaps just not Dream World). Again, the storyline is portrayed chronologically (which is almost impossible to avoid) but with the twist of time/space travel.

Same thing with Chrono Trigger. The storyline is portrayed chronologically--but only to the player. Crono is warping across various instances of time and space attempting to restore the natural order of things, and it makes for interesting dialogue and ultimately, innovative style. It's ultimately a shame that I cannot think of any other instances where storyline derives from the usual dual-chronological setting (both the character and the player see a chronological story unfolding).

Innovative Writing Styles for RPGs: Point of View
Another common RPG storytelling element that I see is the character Point of View element. While this one is much more difficult to innovate on, it's not impossible to come up with solutions to make your game follow something else other than the character. For example, Final Fantasy XII's storyline is partly told by an unknown third person, who is explaining the details of the background storyline and Ivalice, as the story unfolds. And while, again, I'd be hard pressed to remember them, I'm sure there are a few games whose storylines are dependant on a third person depicting the tale.

The innovation of having a bystander storyteller is that they can relay events that happened in true chronological order. For instance, if while our hero is fighting a giant rat, an explosion occurs in the southwest sector of the labyrinth he's currently located at, we can change scenes to reflect that our bystander is conveying this information to us. Otherwise, realistically, our hero (and us) would not know about the explosion unless they heard it, or somehow found out about it.

Enough theory! Next are some innovative writing ideas and storyline deviations that this community can have fun with.

My name is Seraph, A.K.A Asura in some forums.

I'm very interested in home-made RPGs, and really what most interests me about all RPGs is their respective storylines. I'm currently playing Final Fantasy: Crisis Core, which is AWESOME, and everyone should play it.

Anyways, other than that, some of my goals is to create a website to review existing home-made games..and to post some of my tutorials. Check out one of my tutorials, here on RPGMaker.net, called 5 Common Writing Pitfalls!

Articles-->Articles-->Writer's Block-->5 Common Writing Pitfalls.

:) See you all around the board!

-Seraph