1. diegzumillo

    diegzumillo New Member

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    Advice on creating stories in semi-fictitious worlds

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by diegzumillo, Apr 13, 2013.

    Hello there

    First of all, please don't cringe at the possible writing mistakes in this post as English is not my native language.

    I'm not a writer, I come here as an indie game developer asking for some general directions regarding the story aspect of games. I'm not a game developer either, by the way, this is a hobby.

    My questions aren't about story telling or actually writing, but creating the universe. I have this pet project of mine that lives in my mind for years, the gameplay is solid, the environment where it happens not so much though, I have pictures in my head, half dialogues, places and characters. Just enough to make me like this world and nothing more. My main obstacle, in a nutshell, is this: it's an espionage story set during the 70s, filled with unrealistic technology for the time (both then and now) and I just don't want to use real countries and real events like US and Russia during the cold war. I have nothing against basing a story in real events but I really want to avoid using real names, which forces me to either omit names, which could be very difficult given the international nature of espionage stories, or create a whole new world.

    Sorry for not having a clear question. Writing is just so out of my league, I appreciate any advice or comments!
     
  2. GreasyLocks

    GreasyLocks New Member

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    I can't get Harry Tipper from Time Splitters out of my head now. I think the key is consistency, if it's going to be camp and outrageous and obviously based on real life villains, be consistently camp and outrageous and it'll seem to all fit together. I would use real countries, to give the player a point of reference, but fictional characters (with typical names from their countries) and semi-fictional events. Put your own twist on the Cliches and conventions to give it an original feeling
     
  3. diegzumillo

    diegzumillo New Member

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    Never played time splitters, why did you think of it? :)

    I think using real names is the best way in the end. Maybe if I focus the story on something more local I could refer to the country as "the country", the intelligence as "the intelligence". That's plausible if the plot isn't about an international crisis!
     
  4. quiltpen

    quiltpen New Member

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    I'd use real countries and maybe even base it off a factual event, but have the main gameplay/storyline occur during fictitious events with fictional characters/names and so on. So for example its set during the Cold War during the fall of the Berlin Wall maybe, but follows the story of a fictional characters involvement with the event, sort of like Transformers 3 if you get what I mean.
     
  5. GreasyLocks

    GreasyLocks New Member

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    ok, first off, play all the Time Splitters games!
    In TS Future Perfect, you have to time travel to 60s Russia, to fight a stereotypical fictional villain, because of the time travelling, some of the tech is quite advanced! There's a groovy 60s American secret agent called Harry Tipper, check him out!

    I would use realistic names but let the details of the events and characters be fictional, and the wider, international context be real, like time and place
    it'll help people understand, who don't know much about the topic, and keep the game simple to enjoy

    I really want to play it now, what style of gameplay is it?
     
  6. diegzumillo

    diegzumillo New Member

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    Most espionage novels are based on international crisis, so I'm looking for espionage books about national security subjects, maybe that'll inspire me to make a story that doesn't require real places and events (at least not explicitly). I have these two on my list, anyone read it?

    The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
    Nonofficial Asset by William Sewell

    Both seem to be governments dealing with internal security issues, instead of another country.

    I just found some videos on classic game room (a very fun game review youtube channel) reviewing these games! I'm watching them right now. The next best thing after playing them myself lol. Well, I'm not a shooter fan so I see these are not for me.

    My game is all about stealth. I intend to make the most stealthy game of all stealth games! *waves arms in the air with a silly face* I have some gameplay implemented and some artwork that I'm not embarassed to share with others. I can post some of it here :)
     
  7. diegzumillo

    diegzumillo New Member

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    A concept, way too futuristic for my tastes, for the main character. A stealth agent.
    [​IMG]

    Here I was trying to find a good balance of internal design that is both futuristic and 70-ish. It turned out waaaay too futuristic, but it's a neat image.
    [​IMG]

    Before the game Dishonored came out I had the idea of making this a hyper realistic (exagerated features) victorian steampunk thing. Then Dishonored came with that exact idea and I lost interest. These images are from that time
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    This video shows the basic movement implemented, moving, jumping, mantling, moving along ledges and grapple ropes. Near the end it shows the stealth system, with a billboard-like camera, its red light shows how visible the player is.
     
  8. GreasyLocks

    GreasyLocks New Member

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    wow, the artwork and video look great
    We should try to keep on the topic of writing!
    if you haven't already, post your artwork in the entertainment section for people to see :)
     
  9. diegzumillo

    diegzumillo New Member

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    thanks! But sorry for derailing the topic, you're right. You wanted to know more about the game and that's all I have :)

    I'll probably have more things to ask and bother you peple after I read those books
     
  10. GreasyLocks

    GreasyLocks New Member

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    I look forward to it, keep us updated on your world in the settings forum :)
     

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