LUCIDSTILLNESS'S PROFILE

As others have wisely pointed out, one big antagonist should not be the only driving force of the plot; he/she/it belongs to a larger world, which, to come across as believable, is full of conflict and drama everywhere. The villains are a part of that world, and live by its ever-changing rules.

Take the real life historical figure of Ching Shih (1775–1844); she was a Cantonese prostitute who was captured by and married Zheng Yi, a notorious pirate. After her husband's death in 1807, she used her influence and her cunning to maneuver her way into leadership of the fleet, establishing a hegemony over coastal villages, imposing taxes and demanding 'protection' money, among other pirate practices. She was known for her brilliant tactics and extreme brutality, and was feared throughout China. When the power of her fleet grew too great, the entire Chinese navy was sent against her, along with the Portuguese and the British; Ching Shih decisively defeated them all. Finally, she and all of the pirates in her fleet were granted amnesty in 1810, and she retired with her loot and her husband (her former lieutenant) and her son Cheung Po Tsai. She opened a gambling house (most likely not without a sense of irony) and died in 1844, at the age of 69. She was one of the most successful pirates of all time.

Now, doesn't Ching Shih sound like she'd make a great antagonist for the heroes? Would anyone who met her back when she was a prostitute ever imagine her rise to power? She did not exist in a vacuum; like any ambitious individual, she keenly saw the world around her and took advantage of her circumstances. What makes her a villain is that she had no qualms about brutalizing or extorting the weak, as she herself had seen how cruel the world was towards the powerless. While her crimes were on her own head, she justified her actions within her historical, economic and geographic context; they had as much to do with her path in life as her gifts.

So, my advice to anyone wondering when to reveal the antagonist is this; is there a reason why such a character would emerge from the story you are writing, and, if so, is that reason believable? Most real-world villains don't want to destroy the world because they are manic depressive misanthropes (or, if they do, they likely don't have much economic or political influence); they want money, power, respect and a sense of 'winning' at life. Many of the most horrible people in history seek these goals while forming elaborate justifications for their behaviour, rationalizing the cruelty of the world, creating scapegoats, etc. The context for such characters is all-important, as it dictates if and how these individuals will have an opportunity to bring their ambitions to fruition, and the consequences to others if they should succeed in doing so.

When thinking about the setting for your game world, consider what forces of change are at work politically and economically, and how both the heroes and the villains fit into those conflicts; you will be surprised how fast the motivations of your characters become believable and organic.

One last bit of advice, which is some of the best writing advice I've ever received; don't force the plot. If you want the story to go one way, but everything you've written up to that point is going another, cut the strings and let the story take its course. If your characters have grown naturally from a world in motion, they will tell you what to write sooner or later.

This is slightly off topic, but I'm sure you're all familiar with IG Maker, which advertises that it can be used to easily code action RPGs:

http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/product/ig-maker

I haven't used this program myself, but I've read mixed reviews. To anyone who has used it; does it solve any of the problems Darken brought up?

The main challenge I face is just finding time to work on aspects of my game, around my job and other duties.

But, for a non-lame thought, I'm currently working on the personality system for my game, which should be a large part of the gameplay when it is finished. Basically, I want earlier decisions from the player to 'tally' into later dialogue options, which sounds simple in theory but requires some tricky implementation with the script in practice.

The distinctions that others have pointed out in this thread are quite valid, and it really comes down to how you want the narrative and the gameplay to pan out. I propose, however, that there are not two categories to be discussed here, but in fact three. They are as follows:

1) The Blank Slate Hero

Your typical silent or mostly-silent protagonist character, often used in games where the player generates their own custom character, such as Skyrim. Since there is no character to write, the challenge as a writer is to give the player things to do and involve them in the story beyond simply undertaking fetch quests and going along for the ride of the main story. It's no secret that players love to customize their characters, but they want to also have some impact on the story, or, better yet, make their own story. Will Wright famously argued that games are "not The right medium to tell stories", noting that in Grand Theft Auto he usually skipped the story segments to go do his own thing. If you are making an open-world game full of possibilities with only a basic plot to tie things together, blank slate heroes are probably the best choice; any attempt at written characterization will just get in the way of the open-world experience.

2) The Pre-Written Hero

As KingArthur pointed out, these kinds of protagonists are common in JRPGs, and can also factor into an ensemble cast. Pre-written protagonists need to be written as interesting, complex characters that the player enjoys spending time with. One of the best examples I can think of is Agent York from Deadly Premonition, who is so weird and cool that the player can't help but want to see what he'll do next. Being pre-written also doesn't mean that the player can't have any impact into what the character does; many of the best JRPGs allow the player to choose the hero's romantic interest and other important decisions which affect the story and the ending.

The challenge of writing these characters is obvious; you don't want to make the character a cliché, but at the same time you also don't want to make the character bizarre and unrelatable. This is why many writers fall back on the tired 'amnesia' plot device, so that the player can learn things at the same rate as the hero. Describing how to write a compelling protagonist would go well beyond the scope of this post, so my only advice is to think about why the story you are telling focuses around this character, and what kind of character the events of the story dictate he or she should be. Ideally this line of thinking should help you establish a fitting protagonist that enhances the pre-written story and draws the player into the game world.

And now, the third kind, and my personal favourite:

3) The Custom-written Hero

This character is different from the Blank Slate Hero in that the character has a written place in the game world already, like the Pre-Written Hero. However, the actual personality of this character is not dictated by the script, but instead by the player. The best example I can think of is Commander Shepherd from the Mass Effect series; Shepherd is basically the same character in everyone's game, but every player has their own stories about what their Shepherd has done. This is a happy compromise between the first two types, as it allows for a pre-written story while still giving the player a lot of freedom. The challenge here is to keep the player's options open, without sacrificing the larger narrative.

So, those are my thoughts. As always, your mileage may vary.

One of the most influential individuals in the history of the humanity, and a reminder of what can be achieved through intelligence, daring, and cooperation.

He was a remarkable and decent man who shall be missed.