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Can't get an ending for my game. What now?
Gazp
PortugalRegistered User regular
PortugalRegistered User regular
Hey there good people of the PA forums! I've been lurking around this forum for way to long, and now I find myself in dire need of some help for this project of mine, so what better time to start posting?
I'm on my last year of university (Design and Multimedia Communication), and as the final solo project I decided to make a videogame. Been at it for a month or so, learning Actionscript 3 + Flixel from scratch, and now that I have the main gameplay mechanic well defined, it's time to start working harder on the story and style of the game. At this point my main issue is what to do with the story, since on the graphic department I've already started drawing some of the elements and have a good overall idea of what I'm going to do. The bigger problem is that I can't start developing art assets or more code without having a solid idea of what to do story wise, so I really need to finish this part so I can get to the next phase of development.
Now, let me just give a quick run-down of the game:
1- since this is only a 4 month project (and the first time I'm developing a game), I can't make something incredibly long, so the game will be short. Think the length of a single long Super Mario level.
2- the main mechanic I talked earlier, and developed from scratch, is the player's movement. That means I've been working on a specific feel I want to achieve with the running and jumping. Focus on large scale traversal (ex: Prototype), something I really don't see all that much on sidescrolling platformers. Also, no enemies, no powerups, no points. Just the character, the scenario and the platforms.
3- at least for now, my main idea is to never use text during the game besides the title. Convey all the story through the graphics and gameplay.
These guidelines might seem a bit weird, constrictive even, but I think they will help me build something interesting and different. But unfortunately this leads to me having some problems creating a full (even if short) story around them. I have loads of developed ideas on how to characterize and present the character and the world to the player, but finding a good ending, a twist that in a way validates the rest of game, is kicking my ass.
While I have created scripts and storyboards for video shorts, animations and the like before, it is the first time I'm making something were I have so many constraints. What I am ultimately asking here is if you can help me on this creative process of making a decent, interesting short story while managing all the rules and constraints that come with the technical side of a game. I think I might not be looking at it from the best perspective.
I'm on my last year of university (Design and Multimedia Communication), and as the final solo project I decided to make a videogame. Been at it for a month or so, learning Actionscript 3 + Flixel from scratch, and now that I have the main gameplay mechanic well defined, it's time to start working harder on the story and style of the game. At this point my main issue is what to do with the story, since on the graphic department I've already started drawing some of the elements and have a good overall idea of what I'm going to do. The bigger problem is that I can't start developing art assets or more code without having a solid idea of what to do story wise, so I really need to finish this part so I can get to the next phase of development.
Now, let me just give a quick run-down of the game:
1- since this is only a 4 month project (and the first time I'm developing a game), I can't make something incredibly long, so the game will be short. Think the length of a single long Super Mario level.
2- the main mechanic I talked earlier, and developed from scratch, is the player's movement. That means I've been working on a specific feel I want to achieve with the running and jumping. Focus on large scale traversal (ex: Prototype), something I really don't see all that much on sidescrolling platformers. Also, no enemies, no powerups, no points. Just the character, the scenario and the platforms.
3- at least for now, my main idea is to never use text during the game besides the title. Convey all the story through the graphics and gameplay.
These guidelines might seem a bit weird, constrictive even, but I think they will help me build something interesting and different. But unfortunately this leads to me having some problems creating a full (even if short) story around them. I have loads of developed ideas on how to characterize and present the character and the world to the player, but finding a good ending, a twist that in a way validates the rest of game, is kicking my ass.
While I have created scripts and storyboards for video shorts, animations and the like before, it is the first time I'm making something were I have so many constraints. What I am ultimately asking here is if you can help me on this creative process of making a decent, interesting short story while managing all the rules and constraints that come with the technical side of a game. I think I might not be looking at it from the best perspective.
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If you want someone to help you write your ending, that's not and I'm going to close this thread.
2) It;s difficult to do a fiction brainstorming session without some points of anchorage. What genre(s) are you exploring? What themes are being struck? Is this a typical plot with a central protagonist, or something more like a series of vignettes?
3) If you want to brainstorm the climax / conclusion in particular, I feel we need details about the plot & build-up to that conclusion.
1) Maybe it's related to the rest of the story I've managed to think about. Also, due to it's shortness, I thought that maybe it would be best to have some kind of twist, but you do bring a good point, why not something more straightforward?
2,3) As I mentioned, I want to make a game where I don't explain anything directly to the player. For instance, Canabalt doesn't have anything resembling a plot, story or even character traits. But just by the few elements the game has, the player can create its own interpretation. I don't want to have something as abstract as that though, I'm thinking more on the line of a very simplified 3 act structure.
I didn't want to reveal much about the game for the fear of being used by someone else, but I guess that is a stupid fear, considering the circumstances:
Relating to the overall game, I think what I want to convey the most is the sense of freedom. To be able to jump high into the air, effortlessly, like you were dreaming. The character is human, female, with long fiery hair (this is more for the sake of the animation and to make it stand out from the rest of the game). The world is alien, yet with morphological parallels to the Earth (like in Another World, or Borderlands). Strange colours on stranger rock formations and vegetation based around Earth's less common phenomena, like the ones you find in Giant's Causeway or in Cappadocia, for example.
Now that I showed more or less my graphical vision, maybe its best I try to make a short storyline of one of the ideas that look the best so far, so you can get a better idea. It could be called "Touch the Moon":
You start outside a house on a mountainous area. As you start moving, there are other small buildings and man-made structures, but it all looks like it has been completely abandoned for ages. Everything is overgrown and partially destroyed. It looks like you are the only sentient life form around. You continue walking and jumping in this desolate area until through the mountains you get a glimpse of the sea on the background, stretching far into the horizon, and the Moon, huge and bright, almost touching it. After walking a bit more through the mountains, you start to get closer to the shore. You can only hear the waves crashing bellow, while atop the jagged rocks of the precipice. But you do see strange enormous rocks far ahead of you, sprouting tall from the ocean. It looks like to much of a jump to make, but you manage to reach the platform. As soon as you make contact with it, you hear a loud rumble below, as the platform starts going down into the sea, slow and steady. Luckily, there are more rocky platforms ahead of you, so you jump while there is still time. You continue jumping across the moving rocks with as much haste as possible, zooming through the sky for what it feels like forever, until you finally see it, the Moon. You jump in its direction until you finally touch it.
The End
I like the idea of having such a strange and alien place contrasting with the only thing immediately recognizable by the player, the Moon. Kind of wraps around the story and ultimate goal nicely. But honestly, I don't know. I like this kind of surreal, open to interpretation story, but I'm afraid this might be to weird for the game's sake.
At this point, everything I wrote isn't set in stone, so I'm completely open to any ideas!
1) Maybe it's related to the rest of the story I've managed to think about. Also, due to it's shortness, I thought that maybe it would be best to have some kind of twist, but you do bring a good point, why not something more straightforward?
2,3) As I mentioned, I want to make a game where I don't explain anything directly to the player. For instance, Canabalt doesn't have anything resembling a plot, story or even character traits. But just by the few elements the game has, the player can create its own interpretation. I don't want to have something as abstract as that though, I'm thinking more on the line of a very simplified 3 act structure.
I didn't want to reveal much about the game for the fear of being used by someone else, but I guess that is a stupid fear, considering the circumstances:
Relating to the overall game, I think what I want to convey the most is the sense of freedom. To be able to jump high into the air, effortlessly, like you were dreaming. The character is human, female, with long fiery hair (this is more for the sake of the animation and to make it stand out from the rest of the game). The world is alien, yet with morphological parallels to the Earth (like in Another World, or Borderlands). Strange colours on stranger rock formations and vegetation based around Earth's less common phenomena, like the ones you find in Giant's Causeway or in Cappadocia, for example.
Now that I showed more or less my graphical vision, maybe its best I try to make a short storyline of one of the ideas that look the best so far, so you can get a better idea. It could be called "Touch the Moon":
You start outside a house on a mountainous area. As you start moving, there are other small buildings and man-made structures, but it all looks like it has been completely abandoned for ages. Everything is overgrown and partially destroyed. It looks like you are the only sentient life form around. You continue walking and jumping in this desolate area until through the mountains you get a glimpse of the sea on the background, stretching far into the horizon, and the Moon, huge and bright, almost touching it. After walking a bit more through the mountains, you start to get closer to the shore. You can only hear the waves crashing bellow, while atop the jagged rocks of the precipice. But you do see strange enormous rocks far ahead of you, sprouting tall from the ocean. It looks like to much of a jump to make, but you manage to reach the platform. As soon as you make contact with it, you hear a loud rumble below, as the platform starts going down into the sea, slow and steady. Luckily, there are more rocky platforms ahead of you, so you jump while there is still time. You continue jumping across the moving rocks with as much haste as possible, zooming through the sky for what it feels like forever, until you see it, the Moon. You jump in its direction until you finally touch it.
The End
I like the idea of having such a strange and alien place contrasting with the only thing immediately recognizable by the player, the Moon. Kind of wraps around the story and ultimate goal nicely. But honestly, I don't know. I like this kind of surreal, open to interpretation story, but I'm afraid this might be to weird for the game's sake.
At this point, everything I wrote isn't set in stone, so I'm completely open to any ideas!
Moral of the story: Even if our world is in ruins and desolate, you still gotta stay fit and work every day.
Just need to figure out which ending method fits your vision of the story. If you are a collaborative thinker, or just need to state something to help you decide the method, asking here or chatting with friends might help.
I actually didn't knew much about that dramatic structure. For this game I've been reading up some more on the 3 act structure, as I mentioned already, and "The Hero With a Thousand Faces", but looking at other structures is a good idea.
As for the evaluation, I don't really know what each part is going to weight, but one thing I'm sure, having some kind a story (instead of being an arcade game, for example) will be beneficial. But to be honest, I don't care all that much about that because I'm being evaluated by people that have never developed a game or have any decent interest in games besides acknowledging their value as a piece of design. Since I still can take this chance, I'm just making the kind of game I would like to play. And also, obviously trying to create something with quality for players to enjoy.
Maybe I was forcing the idea of having some kind of twist to much on myself from the start because I felt that having that sort of structure on such a short game would make it better no matter what, and in the end give it more lasting power on the player's heads. But as you say, I should focus primarily on developing a complete story, even if short.
Actually, my first concept for this game revolved around the idea of being chased by this entity on the second area I mention above (the rocks on the sea part), but I hadn't really though about mixing the idea of running away/running towards. Need to think a bit more on it, but I like that idea!
I did thought about this other story were the main character was running to the moon because she systematically explodes on a nuclear scale. She has to do this to avoid destroying her world any more, since all the destruction you see at the beginning of the game was actually created by her. The player would only understand that right at the end of the game. That sounds a bit like Phoenix from X-Men though...
Damn, that does sound like an awesome concept! Right off the bat I can't think of any kind of story to use with it, but I believe that paired with the right one, this could work really well.
On the storyline I wrote above, in my head I just saw a simple cut to black at the point of contact between the player and the Moon, but maybe that is to abrupt? The last thing I want to do is leave the players with a bad taste on their collective mouths. I think your idea of having the player rather than the character "touching the Moon" at the end, by using the camera, is pretty interesting and could also work well. As for giving it a more open end for future additions, that's something I have thought about, but don't know how to implement it. Besides, at this point I have no clue if I'll continue this story or not, so maybe once I develop the game some more
As for collaborating with others, I'll probably have better luck talking with you guys than with the few of my friends I can actually discuss this kind of thing with. It looks like they still hold back when it comes to feedback towards me and each other. Sometimes it feels like they don't don't want to tell me what's wrong, afraid of creating a rift on our friendship or something. I did fall on this mistake earlier on my studies, but not any more. That is one of the great things about a forum like this one: for the most part, people don't hold back.
Believe me, I want to spend most of my time on the way the game plays. If I end up with a game that feels good to interact with, I think I've achieved my goal. But as I said at the beginning of the post, my main problem is that I can't continue focusing anymore on the coding part for now (have been doing that for a month), without having a solid idea of what to do story-wise. I mean, I could, but then I would have to redo big chunks of the game once I have to change things on the story, loosing precious time.
You are right though, all I need to do is to find a simple story that I'm happy with and think more about the rest of the game. Easier said than done, unfortunately.
And you should make that game
Somewhat related to this, I've been trying to find a mechanic that uses death in some interesting way, instead of going for the "you die, you go back to the last checkpoint" trope, but so far I haven't found anything I can use on this project though.
While I was trying to work out the story I posted earlier, I wrote a new one. Well, sort of new, using what I already have but with both a different start and end. I think the way it is written right now, it's more direct and has a better, more final resolution for the game, wish is probably more appropriate for a short game like this.
As characterization is concerned, both the world and main character remain mostly unchanged, the only addition being that you start on a futuristic city landscape: it looks like a dense forest of gigantic dark-grey skyscrapers. Slightly monolithic in the way they have almost no windows or other kind of notable features besides a couple of giant numbers painted at the top. Each building has at least one equally huge protruding pipeline from its side or top that leads a strange bright sludge (red, green, blue?) down into the depths of the city.
(still working on the overall visuals for this city, but for now I'm thinking on something like this)
(One of my teachers said I could try to write these in the first person, so I'll give it a try this time.
I'm also going to copy some parts of what I posted before, if anyone new happens to want to read this.)
Haven't figured how it is going to start exactly (like, right after you press START), but here we go:
Gigantic buildings every way I look. Can't even see the sky from where I'm standing. Even if I could, it probably wouldn't make that much of a difference anyway, considering how heavy the smog is around this city. I keep on running and jumping through the building tops, bridges with speeding trams, and pipelines that descend deep into the bottom of the city, until I finally reach it's border. A deep moat separates the city and the outside desolate world. I leave the city behind with a long leap and continue onto the ruined landscape ahead of me (**this is the portion I talked about before, the mountainous area with overrun small buildings and no sign of life besides weird flora**). I note the pipelines from before, stretching across the mountains and pumping whatever material that was into the land. I continue traversing this desolate area until through the mountains, a glimpse of the sea on the background, stretching far into the horizon, and the Moon (**I figured it could be other thing than the moon, like an asteroid or just another planet, but lets call it Moon for now**), huge and bright, almost touching it. After walking a bit more through the mountains, I feel like I'm getting closer to the shore. I can only hear the waves crashing bellow, while atop the jagged rocks of the precipice, but a couple of seconds later, where before was nothing, strange tall rocks start rising slowly from the ocean, making the world tremble with a ear wrenching roar-like noise. I manage to reach the first platform with a jump, but as soon as I reach it, a loud rumble below! The platform starts going down into the sea! Luckily, there are more rocky platforms ahead, so I jump while there is still time. I continue jumping across the moving rocks with as much haste as possible, zooming through the sky for what it feels like forever, until I finally see it, the Moon. I leap in its direction until I touch it. (**cut to black on contact**)
(**fade back; the character is standing on top of the Moon**)
Nothing but the vast mass of this apparently dead celestial body. I reach into my pocket and remove a tiny seed. I place it into the ground. A couple of seconds later, a green sprout rises from the ground. Life starts again.
(**fade to black **)
THE END.
I think the message and metaphor here are far simpler comparing with what I was trying to do before, but at least for now I won't explain any of the meanings, to see if it is as simple as I'm thinking. Please tell me what you reckon concerning not only the way the narrative is built, but also your own interpretation of the world, the main character and the story.
As always, any tips or ideas are welcome!