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I've been building a new game universe for a while now, and I still havn't quite figured out what to do with it yet (Ares? EV Plug? Web-published serial novel?). I have a few questions for you guys with regards to it, if you'd deign to give me some opinions:
1.) What would you think of a game universe that completely lacked any human presence? What I'm currently working on is a galaxy populated by four different, entirely nonhumanoid creatures. Would you be able to empathise and get into their character if a plugin demanded that your character be one of these?
2.) My current notion about what to do with this universe I've came up with is the following: Initially, I'd produce a rather massive total conversion plugin without any sort of major mission threads. As time went on, I'd release additional plugins that added new "chapters" to an ongoing story. Would you get immensely frusterated if you played part-way through the story and had to wait for me to get the next chapter out the door, or would the suspense enhance the plotline if I chose to break off the story at apropriate points.
On a similar note, would gobs and gobs of mission text just serve to piss you off? I'm thinking for of a serial novel interspersed wth EV-style action, as opposed to the story playing second fiddle to the massive explosions.
3.) How many different racial factions are you comfortable with in a scenario? Is a five-way civil war involving three major competitors and two minor powers alternatly casting their resources to one side or another as the war progresses too complicated to be decent plug-in fodder?
4.) What would you think of a plot thread in which you had to totally reexamine your alliances halfway through? That is, you're fighting for the rebels against this evil empire and something happens to make you realise that the rebels you're working for are just powerhungry fiends trying to claw down an otherwise totally respectable government for their own benefit.
5.) What the HELL is the secret to sticking with a project until you can get it out the door?
6.) WOOHOO! I'm a veteran again!
-reg
<font size="1" face="Geneva, Verdana, Arial" color="808BAD">Regulus wrote: **I've been building a new game universe for a while now, and I still havn't quite figured out what to do with it yet (Ares? EV Plug? Web-published serial novel?). I have a few questions for you guys with regards to it, if you'd deign to give me some opinions:
-reg**</font>
Major content post here. Lessee if I can give some answers.
1. Cool. Been there lotsa times.
2. Don't release the plug until you have at least the initial set of missions. Waiting for additional missions would be frustrating, but some of us could endure it - if the missions were interesting. Gobs of text? No problem. One of the things that ticks me off about EV/O is there is no place in the game to really develop a story.
3. As many as needed. I am working on a plug that has about two dozen (human) factions, most of them to some degree at odds with others.
4.'Bout time someone did that. I'm just irritated that you will probably have your plug out before mine
5. Maybe stupidity? When you find it, let me know.
6. Some people are very easily impressed by titles; I am not one of them. You've been a veteran for a very long time, whatever the board status indicator may say.
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(This message has been edited by Joe Burnette (edited 01-30-2000).)
Not a problem: include some detailed background (perhaps in manual form) which describes the psychology of the species in question and you have the potential to develop some really interesting plotlines. Think about forms of social organisation, territorial instincts etc. If the motivations of the four species are distinctly non-human in places, the player could end up doing missions for reasons that make no sense at all from a human perspective, but which may be perfectly logical within the framework of an alien mind.
If each chapter closes some (but not all) of it's plotlines, the player can finish the plug with a sense of achievment while at the same time having a good reason to look for the next installment.
As for the gobs-of-text thing - no plug is to everyone's taste. I'd love it if a plug was more story or character oriented than biased towards the fight scenes.
The whole thing seems absolutely wonderful. Don't do it for Ares, do it for EVO :). I especially love the idea of the twist in the storyline.
Yours,
~R~