Planning

Ok I just want to ask a question...

Is using Coldstone supposed to be fun? Of course. I personally love creativity.

Now I want to ask another question..

if you have everything planned out then all you're really doing when you're using coldstone is being a machine, putting previously thought up ideas into a game.
So what I'm saying is that if you want to have any fun at all I wouldn't plan everything. As someone said earlier, "Do script writers for movies go in and say 'oh we have to do that scene over, I thought of something new'?". well using coldstone is all about creativity, and I personally don't think I'm gonna make any money with it, I'm just using it for fun. Sure I've done planning, but most of it won't be used. I think the characters and the spells are about all I'm keeping for the final product.

Sure, planning will help, but it will kinda take the fun out of it if you use EVERYTHING from your plans.

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"Silence, Dog! Your only purpose is to die by my hand."

Some people are script writers, others are directors...

I think you fall into the latter category...

I myself am all about fun and creativity, quick thinking, and work better while pulling the puzzle together, not planning what it looks like...

But alas, planning is also neccessary to get ahead in this game we call life, so I do both...

Great point though.

Saphfire

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I let my subconscous(sp?) do all the work, letting it control my hands, so almost everything I do isn't even right off the top of my head until after I have written(etc) it. I barely do any planning, though sometimes, like when you are making the hand-drawn map of your world, it is best to plan ahead at least somewhat. But always make sure there is room for something to be added even if it was not planned. That entire point is why I enjoy making scinarios for Blades od Exile so mcuh. Its more addictive than crack!

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"When a bomb starts talking about itself in the third person, I get worried." --Tom Paris
Go to the unofficial EV webboard site! Just click (url="http://"http://yoshi.zzux.com/phpbb/")here(/url) to go.

I don't think it's possible for people to plan everything down to the microscopic level. It's inconceivable that anyone can write down all the dialogue lines and choices that will be required in the game of his/her design. Inevitably in the course of designing the game, you'll come across places where you never anticipated before.

Plan as much as you can. Don't worry, it won't be enough.

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"The unexamined life is not worth living. " - Socrates

There is certainly something to be said for spontanious creation, but I personally believe that nine times out of ten, whatever creative endeavor you are endeavoring to create will turn out better if you plan ahead a little. I personally think planning is as much fun as creating. This is because I really don't see a difference. It's all part of the creative process. To not use an idea simply because you came up with it yesterday in the car and not today at the computer doesn't make sense. No matter how well planned out a story, something you didn't expect always pops up. And that's just fine. If it enhances the story, great, if not, maybe you could use that idea in another project. In working on project by myself and with friends, I've found that planning ahead gives you an idea of where you're going with your story. When stuff pops up you didn't expect, it is easier to incorporate it into the existing story with a plan. If you don't have any plan at all, that new idea is just another random element to be thrown in with the rest. You have a bunch of good ideas, but you're not sure where you are going with any of it.

The best example I can think of to show my point is when I'm role-playing with some friends. Your Game Master is taking you through a great adventure. Everyone's involved, and the night is flowing smoothly. If you have a question the GM has an answer. Then all of a sudden, BAM! The GM starts hemming and hawing during a room description. He takes minutes to do stuff he only took seconds to do earlier. It's like he hit a brick wall. You can tell instantly where a GM's plan for the game session ended and he's having to make stuff up on the fly.

That example may be a bit extreme, because I doubt anyone will be playing your game as you create it. But it does show that planning does have a place in the creative process. Maybe it's place is bigger in my house than it is in yours. Actually, it's place should be a lot bigger in my house. I probably write on the fly too much. But in any event, planning ahead gives you a road to start your journey on, and you can branch off from there. It's a lot easier starting with a small dirt road than having to hack your way through the jungle from the very beginning.

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Money is not the root of all evil, Jar Jar Binks is.

ok something BIG!!!! if you intend on making a sequel to your game, try and include some hints of it in the first game. For instance... "Just as you slay Toresk, his son, Valeth escapes..." Valeth could be considered the main bad guy for the next game.
Everquest hinted at its Scars of Velious Expansion Pack in the manual for Ruins of Kunark, saying the dragon queen settled on the Frozen Continent of Velious, and Velious isn't included in Ruins of Kunark at all.
If you just pull bad guys and characters out of your rear as it were, well then the story won't have much meaning.

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"I felt you.. dying"
"I'm dying..?"
"I won't let you die..."

Although hints are always nice, and very intriguing, you can get away without it by introducing a backstory in the sequel; in fact, in some cases, this may add to the mystery.

For example:

Hero's Story 1: Hero slays the evil emperor.

Hero's Story 2: The emperor's son, unacknowledged in the first game, comes to avenge the death of his father. Throughout the game, you unravel the mystery of his past and link him to his deceased dad.

Not the most brilliant plotlines, but an example none the less.

Misc. Tip: You make the game, you know what to do, what's going to happen; no surprises. If you can manage to entertain yourself through that whole unsurprising ordeal, you have a jem on your hands, worthy of it's replay value.

Saphfire

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I agree about the creative process being fun, I so enjoy making stuff liek EV plugs on the fly, but for something to be sucsesful, a bit of planning needs to be done to draw all the elements together sucsesfully, or atleast in some things (Puter games being one of these things).
But I also think if you plan too much, you kind of put your brain to sleep, and don't open yourself for the chances to improve the game, you don't put yourself in the right mindset to come up with great stuff as you go along.

That said, the extent of my planning is to sketch out details plots, mainly minor ones, and the general events of the ongoing plots. I also do some maps, atleast rough outlines of them, and I will change them as I go along. Plus, drawing out maps for a game is fun

I make sure that I have heaps off ideas floating around in my head though, so that they can come out and be expanded on, and mixxed with the details I already have on paper, as I am creating.

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"For Example: Sunny days make me happy, rainy days make me sad." "But you can have fun on a rainy day too." "Your truth can be changed simply by how you accept it." "That is how fragile truth is for a human being."