So right now I'm playing a game called octopath traveler 2. The story features eight protagonists going on their own separate journey. (there are also 'paired' chapters to the story as well) Each chapter of their 'story' for the individual characters tells a complete story, building on a "main" mystery that connects them all. I'm not sure how to pull that off, I do like to write character driven stories (I prefer character driven over plot driven narratives) but I've never attempted something like this. I'm trying to pay attention to how the writing goes within the story of the game, but it's hard to parse when I'm focusing on the actual game. To make matters worse I only have an idea for a single party member, the Inventor. I kind of want at least three other main characters for the story too.
I've never played Octopath Traveler 2, but I've heard of it. On the other hand, I love doing perspective switches, and I might have tried something similar in the past. I guess I would ask how related do you want the characters to be? Do they need to all know each-other, or does it only need to be their actions that link them. Mine was about 5 chapters, each one happening about a day after the last, each one focusing on how whatever happened the last day affected the new character it focuses on. I don't want to ramble about it, but a dude summons a demon by accident the first day, that guy sends said demon to terrorize an 90's ID software-esque games company, the guys wife sees the demon and decides to gtfo, some military group finds traces of the demon and tries to harness a similar power (and fails), and then the guy outsmarts the demon, but in a way that destroys himself too. Idk if my description there pulls it off, but basically you never know precisely what the demon is fully capable of until the end (Which I think could be a "main" mystery), and also both the dude's wife and the demon could be considered "paired" chapters (presuming that means chapters that focus on multiple people from before in the story). First, instead of taking it on like one continuous story, treat it more like you're writing several individual short stories. Don't worry about the cohesion of it all right away, because it'll be a lot easier to deal with when it's all on the table. Obviously try to avoid any huge glaring contradictions, but if you try to set the order of your stories in stone, you might end up wanting to switch stuff around, or even cut chapters when they don't work as well (I swapped two chapters, and cut two chapters out of mine, couldn't get them to fit very well by the end.) This is probably the most important thing, but make sure things progress naturally. On it's own I feel like that's as simple advice as "use good words", but I think in this case there's some sort of method to it. After you get your story started, think of what the resolution to your main mystery will be, and then some potential consequences for what happens when it gets resolved (or doesn't get resolved, I'm not your boss.) From there, it's kind of like a puzzle, "What is the most efficient but believable way my characters can act to get the reader to this revelation?" Also, remember that none of your characters exist in a vacuum. Even if one characters actions don't seem to have an effect on the others, never rule out the possibility. You have a character called the Inventor, right? Describe some of the things he's invented, without saying what they do. In the moment, it'll seem like just a little bit of set dressing, but a chapter or two later you can show off what that device does in the hands of another character. Things like that will make the world feel interconnected, even when you don't have characters directly interacting. It also can tell things about the notoriety (or lack thereof) of your characters on a larger more worldwide scale. You also could fit these details in later when you have all your stories in order. If you write a story like this, you have unparalleled ability to hide things from both your reader and your characters, never forsake that ability because you can drop some atomic bomb level realizations on people. Also, you could always check through a play-through of Octopath Traveler 2 if the gameplay itself is what's making it hard for you to focus on the storytelling. If you wanna keep looking towards video games for inspiration, the Yakuza series has some characters going on their own separate "journeys" that all come back together for a larger reveal, particularly Yakuza 0, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 5. They might not be exactly what you're looking for, but I absolutely adore the series and its story, even if it can be a little soap opera-ish at times. Hope I could help
I'm doing something similar. I've planned it as a 6-book series; the first four books have different MCs and the books are self-contained, but they take place in a larger event arc. The last two books bring everything together. I posted a thread about it awhile back (and I just now noticed there's a typo in the title). Course, if you want series with lots of POV characters, you should check out Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones - they'd give you plenty of ideas.
Should you do it right now, if you have never attempted anything like that? I would write a shorter story or two with just two POVs. Then another story or two with three POVs. Et cetera. The more you write, the better you'll become. And if you write shorter training stories, it won't take too much time. Since you can always publish those shorter stories, it is not even fair to call them "training" -- they are just stories that happen to be shorter and easier. But overall, it is not uncommon to have several POVs in the book. And it happens when several separate stories/chapters are in fact happening at the same time, just following different POVs (just like you want) I personally wrote such a book. But, unlike you, the common part between the 2 stories wasn't very big, so it was easier. First, I had an extremely good idea of what is happening. If you don't have the whole story, then it is easy to write yourself into a corner. Then, I just decided where ad how the characters of the story 2 would appear in the story 1. While writing, I jumped back and forth between the stories, making sure they don't contradict one another. There was a mystery involved: the characters of the story 2 did the deed, and the characters of the story 1 tried to investigate it. I don't know about you, but for me, the point was that the reader had to root for all of the characters -- there were no villains involved in that particular part. And the fact that the stories were connected had to be something more than just a gimmick -- the characters of the story 1 investigated incorrectly and it caused real harm. For you, the "being more than just a gimmick" part would be establishing and solving your big mystery. Personal reaction of the characters is also important. In my book, the characters of the story 2 knew that they caused some change in the story 1, and they felt guilty. For you, that realization may assume a different form. It is always cool to see when different main characters either know about each other, or about each other's mission, actions, etc.
Take a look also at Harry Turtledove's work. His alternate histories, often have multiple POV characters that see events from multiple sides
Don't know if Euphoria could be included, but a lot of episodes especially in Season 1 have one certain main character as the main focus
I've never played Octopath Traveler so I'm not aware of the details, but you could switch perspective each chapter or give characters sub-chapters. I've been working on a Heroes season 5 fan-fiction novel on and off in different forms since the show was cancelled all the way back in 2011 and that was how I always approached handling so many characters with their own paths that crossover. The 'Song of Ice and Fire' does something similar from the little I've read.
Mary Robinette Kowel, the short story writer amongst other things, gave a lecture that you might find interesting. Specifically because it has a section with formula to estimate final word count based off the number of characters, scenes and themes you want to cover. In short, eight character will lead you to a very long book, which is fine if that's what you want. The lecture:
