The not so good story thread!

[RMXPirate 0]

So as you all know I started a new project called VX Chronicles. Now writing the story was a very good process but it needs a lot of work. So i went to Fayte to help me out on that and tell me what I need to fix and all that :). Well when i did this he sent me a link to a forum where people were talking about what things they don't like seeing in rpgs cause its in too many. It didn't go anywhere fast because no one decided to reply i guess but someone did post a link to a huge list of cliche (unorignal) things in most rpgs. I wanted to share that link with you so you just like me can try and get around most of those things as possible but i would also like to point out that in that thread someone brought up a good point about how its hard to make stories unoriginal:

 

most game plots are the same these days, there are some things that can't be made without a Clichè. Else the game will be bad or not Intresting enough. Even great story writers have troubles with that (Even me XD)

 

That is a very good point to me because we are so used to how rpg games are now that its hard to make any unoriginal ones without being questioned first etc. I aslo realized that my True heroic tragedies was so unoriginal it had so many things in the list that no wonder people didn't like it much. This is why i post this thread to help you so you dont have a dead game like I did and to maybe fix up stories you have in the future :D. So here is the link:

 

http://project-apollo.net/text/rpg.html

 

 

Also i wanted to hear from you guys what you think about that list. What should be taken out of most rpg games on that list from your experience etc what do you think games don't really need in it?

[Arkbennett 16]

"Just Nod Your Head And Smile

And no matter how big that big-ass sword is, you won't stand out in a crowd. Nobody ever crosses the street to avoid you or seems to be especially shocked or alarmed when a heavily armed gang bursts into their house during dinner, rummages through their posessions, and demands to know if they've seen a black-caped man. People can get used to anything, apparently"

 

-My favorite.

 

I rememeber this list from a long time ago. Thanks for archiving it!

[Wyzrd 12]

Lol at Ark, I love that one to. That list is old. I think Leon has posted it up on this site some where before.

[Darth Mongoose 0]

Oh man, that list brings back memories! :lol: Haven't read it in a while.

 

The things that irritate me are always the things that simply show a lack of common sense, emotional maturity or life experience on part of the creator. I can happily put up with gigantic swords, being attacked by technicolour monsters out of the blue and potions which instantly cure death. All those can be explained with either "magic", "awesome" or "game mechanics creative licence". What really niggle me are things like:

 

Sewers. Why the crap must every game have a bit in the sewers? They're usually really annoying and let's face it, sewers aren't exciting looking places anyway, especially not when you have to navigate them for ages because they're set out like a maze! Sewers in games are nearly always remarkably clean, surprisingly light (think about it, who would put lights in a sewer? WHY?), don't leave the party smelling awful, get you exactly where you need to go (and nowhere else!) and, most strangely of all, are large enough to walk through and fight in!

 

Illogical romance. Some games handle the romance well and have the relationship between the hero and heroine develops in a natural feeling way as the journey progresses (FF8 does a great job of this, and just as well really since it's quite heavily focused on the love story plot-wise). Other games, however, seem to be under the impression that it's not a proper rpg unless there's a romance element, and will throw in a female character just to be a love interest, even though she has no real reason to like the hero other than, y'know, he's the hero. Just because you've been on an adventure with a guy, it doesn't mean you're going to fall head over heels for him! If there's no reason for a relationship subplot, you could just leave it out!

[RMXPirate 0]

I do agree a lot of those things annoy me and when i look at it I had both those in The True Heroic Tragedy game i was making :). IF you play my horrible demo you will see a bunch of those and i mean a bunch of those ideas in the cliche story list are in my game which is why it failed. But sewers are always really annoying and have no point in the game. Also havign random battles it is annoying if you have WAY TOO MUCH. IF you have like 1 every 2 mintues in the game that is fine but every 20 seconds can get really annoying. This is why i liek games that have ABS's like Eternal Sonata cause you can 1: Avoid having to battle and 2: It doesn't happen very often!