Story Writing Basics - Revision history

Yanfly at 12:01, 3 August 2019

2019-08-03T12:01:50Z

Irina: /* The Importance of a Good Antagonist */

2019-07-17T14:32:46Z

‎The Importance of a Good Antagonist

Irina: /* Common Mistakes in Video Game Writing */

2019-07-17T14:32:21Z

‎Common Mistakes in Video Game Writing

Irina: /* Common Mistakes in Video Game Writing */

2019-07-15T21:35:01Z

‎Common Mistakes in Video Game Writing

Irina: /* Common Mistakes in Video Game Writing */

2019-07-15T17:55:10Z

‎Common Mistakes in Video Game Writing

Irina: /* Aim for Simplicity, not Complexity */

2019-07-15T17:52:48Z

‎Aim for Simplicity, not Complexity

Irina at 17:51, 15 July 2019

2019-07-15T17:51:33Z

Irina: /* The Importance of a Good Antagonist */

2019-07-15T13:00:09Z

‎The Importance of a Good Antagonist

Irina at 12:55, 15 July 2019

2019-07-15T12:55:41Z

Irina: /* Rags to Riches */

2019-07-15T12:39:39Z

‎Rags to Riches

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{TOCright}}[[File:StoryWritingBasicsTitleImage.jpg|600px]]
+{{TOCright}}
 {{Article by Irina}}
@@ Line 184: / Line 188: @@
 Avoid the usage of memes in writing. This is not to say that memes aren't enjoyable, but instead, memes have a very short shelf life. By the time your game is released, story is put out, or whatever, there's an incredibly high likelihood that the memes you're using in your story are outdated, don't make sense anymore, and/or phased out entirely.

@@ Line 114: / Line 114: @@
 That's because the antagonist is the source of most (and in some cases, all) of the conflict found in the story. Without the antagonist, there is no quest for the hero to set off on, no journey for the party, and no chaos found in the world if the antagonist reaches that scale. Here's a number of a things that antagonist can affect:
-; Worldbuilding
+=== Worldbuilding ===
 : The antagonist can be responsible for shaping the current state of the world by either throwing it into chaos, changing the status quo, or driving the story's world to action.
-; Unity
+=== Unity ===
 : The antagonist can very easily be the root cause of why a hero's party forms and binds together and/or be the very reason the hero's party splits apart.
-; Pace
+=== Pace ===
 : The actions of the antagonist can determine the pace at which the story goes at. The hero and his/her party is almost always a reactive force to the antagonist's actions, meaning that depending on how and what the antagonist does, the party will have to react to it in tandem. Wherever the antagonist goes, the party is sure to follow after.
-; Growth
+=== Growth ===
 : The antagonist is often the driving force to make the hero grow. The hero must acquire a certain level of strength, find a way to overcome the antagonist, and become a stronger person either physically, mentally, and/or emotionally. The hero would need to come up with ideals stronger than the antagonist.
-; Tone
+=== Tone ===
 : The tone of a story will revolve around the antagonist. How the antagonist behaves, acts, and responds will play a major factor in how the tone of the story turns out.

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:32, 17 July 2019
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	People tend to mock tropes, cliches, and other commonly used techniques in story telling. To some writers, there's more value in being different than making a proper story and this can seriously hamper a good game. Believe it or not, readers are more likely to enjoy a familiar story told well than a unique story told poorly. Work with what you're more familiar with and expand upon that. Do cover your weaknesses, do try to make your story different, but understand that being different for the sake of being different has little to no merit.		People tend to mock tropes, cliches, and other commonly used techniques in story telling. To some writers, there's more value in being different than making a proper story and this can seriously hamper a good game. Believe it or not, readers are more likely to enjoy a familiar story told well than a unique story told poorly. Work with what you're more familiar with and expand upon that. Do cover your weaknesses, do try to make your story different, but understand that being different for the sake of being different has little to no merit.
		+
		+	=== About Memes ===
		+
		+	Avoid the usage of memes in writing. This is not to say that memes aren't enjoyable, but instead, memes have a very short shelf life. By the time your game is released, story is put out, or whatever, there's an incredibly high likelihood that the memes you're using in your story are outdated, don't make sense anymore, and/or phased out entirely.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:35, 15 July 2019
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	Like with simplicity, there's this mindset out there that stories have to be a long, epic story. That's not true. Both short and long stories are fine to make. In fact, if you're an amateur game dev, I highly recommend making a short story first before a long one. Amateur writers and/or game devs aiming for long games tend to pad out their work with filler content that's often meaningless to the audience. Instead, what you should aim for is to make it memorable for the amount of time they put in, rather than take up all their time instead. After all, it's better if a game is "too short" than "too long".		Like with simplicity, there's this mindset out there that stories have to be a long, epic story. That's not true. Both short and long stories are fine to make. In fact, if you're an amateur game dev, I highly recommend making a short story first before a long one. Amateur writers and/or game devs aiming for long games tend to pad out their work with filler content that's often meaningless to the audience. Instead, what you should aim for is to make it memorable for the amount of time they put in, rather than take up all their time instead. After all, it's better if a game is "too short" than "too long".
		+
		+	=== Trying too hard to be different ===
		+
		+	People tend to mock tropes, cliches, and other commonly used techniques in story telling. To some writers, there's more value in being different than making a proper story and this can seriously hamper a good game. Believe it or not, readers are more likely to enjoy a familiar story told well than a unique story told poorly. Work with what you're more familiar with and expand upon that. Do cover your weaknesses, do try to make your story different, but understand that being different for the sake of being different has little to no merit.

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:55, 15 July 2019
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	Avoid making a simple story told in a complex way. They tend to frustrate readers and players once they get the gist of it. You almost never want your audience to feel like your work is a waste of their time.		Avoid making a simple story told in a complex way. They tend to frustrate readers and players once they get the gist of it. You almost never want your audience to feel like your work is a waste of their time.
		+
		+	=== Short Stories are Okay, Long Stories are Okay ===
		+
		+	Like with simplicity, there's this mindset out there that stories have to be a long, epic story. That's not true. Both short and long stories are fine to make. In fact, if you're an amateur game dev, I highly recommend making a short story first before a long one. Amateur writers and/or game devs aiming for long games tend to pad out their work with filler content that's often meaningless to the audience. Instead, what you should aim for is to make it memorable for the amount of time they put in, rather than take up all their time instead. After all, it's better if a game is "too short" than "too long".

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:52, 15 July 2019
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	\| style="padding: 10px;"\| Complex Stories<br>told complexly		\| style="padding: 10px;"\| Complex Stories<br>told complexly
	\|}		\|}
		+
		+	Avoid making a simple story told in a complex way. They tend to frustrate readers and players once they get the gist of it. You almost never want your audience to feel like your work is a waste of their time.

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:51, 15 July 2019
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	; Tone		; Tone
	: The tone of a story will revolve around the antagonist. How the antagonist behaves, acts, and responds will play a major factor in how the tone of the story turns out.		: The tone of a story will revolve around the antagonist. How the antagonist behaves, acts, and responds will play a major factor in how the tone of the story turns out.
		+
		+	A good antagonist can make a story write itself given how much he/she can impact. Design your antagonist well and the rest of the story is likely to follow.
		+
		+	== Common Mistakes in Video Game Writing ==
		+
		+	The following is a list of things I deem to be common mistakes found in video game writing.
		+
		+	=== Having too much pride ===
		+
		+	Being a content creator in any form tends to result people having some amount of pride. This also applies to writers. As a writer, nobody will know your story better than you do. And for that reason, it's not unusual for writers to forget that they have yet to explain a certain aspect of their story, plot, etc. to the reader/player, making certain segments of their writing confusing. Some feelings that you, the writer, may try to convey might not reach the audience. This does not mean they do not appreciate your work or that your work isn't for them, but instead, it may have to do with the way you deliver your work.
		+
		+	=== More is Less, Less is More ===
		+
		+	A common mistake is that writers tend to throw in a ton of unnecessary words in dialogue, narrative, and/or descriptions. Doing so actually detracts from player experience. If a cutscene has a protagonist walking towards the heroine, you do not need to narrate that out. What if they're nervous as they walk towards the heroine? Do you narrate it? You could, but you're better off visually showing it. Showing is always going to be more in a visual medium than a written one. Putting in too many words in a scenario would take away from it.
		+
		+	=== Design your story around your game ===
		+
		+	Design your story around your game, and not the other way around. A common mistake is that game devs who are initially writers will try to design their games around their writing. This is because writing is almost always more flexible than the ability to reproduce inside the game what the story requires. You can write out the most menacing monster out there out, but do you have access to the artistic skill to replicate it? You can conjure up the most complex magic system out there, but do you have the programming ability to create it? You can make the most complicated branching scenarios out there, but do you have the time to actually make them? Instead, you can always cut away and meld your story to fit what you have access to in terms of ability, resources, and personnel.
		+
		+	=== Neglecting to make notes ===
		+
		+	Neglecting to make notes on certain parts of your game can hamper your ability to keep your story cohesive. Always write down notes, make small character biographies, outline out plots, and more whenever you are coming up with ideas. Your mind is your greatest asset when it comes to story writing, but it is far from the most reliable in terms of memory.
		+
		+	=== Writing in Chronological Order ===
		+
		+	You do '''not''' need to write your story in chronological order. Coming up with an introduction, then writing the initial events, how the party forms, etc. is not a necessity to starting out your story. This is a trap amateur writers often fall into. It's extremely easy to fall into the "I have to make an intro" trap or get stuck on "What should my title be?" Instead, plan and write out major events first if you have to, then piece them together. You will have a far easier time rearranging things into chronological order and even have an easier time writing out the parts that need making.
		+
		+	=== Avoid Word Salads ===
		+
		+	Using Latin names as substitutes for naming conventions is pretty darn cool. However, it's also extremely confusing for readers. When you name nearly everything in your game with some obscure unique and fancy name, they not only lose their fanciness, but they also become an annoyance for readers and players alike. If you can call something by their common name, it's best to stick to that and save the unique fancy name for something else that truly does deserve it.
		+
		+	=== Aim for Simplicity, not Complexity ===
		+
		+	There's a mindset out there that stories have to be complex. This is not true. Instead, a story that aims for simplicity tend to work better in relaying what the author wants to the intended audience. There's four ways to write a story:
		+
		+	{\| class="wikitable"
		+	\| style="padding: 10px;"\| Simple Stories<br>told simply
		+	\| style="padding: 10px;"\| Complex Stories<br>told simply
		+	\|-
		+	\| style="padding: 10px;"\| Simple Stories<br>told complexly
		+	\| style="padding: 10px;"\| Complex Stories<br>told complexly
		+	\|}

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:55, 15 July 2019
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	: '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertale Undertale]:''' A lot of the monsters in the game hate humans, but decide they aren't so bad after all.		: '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertale Undertale]:''' A lot of the monsters in the game hate humans, but decide they aren't so bad after all.
	: '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_4 Persona 4]:''' The majority of the main cast tend to have issues with themselves, where, after confronting their true selves in the form of shadows, learn to accept who they are and turn it for the better.		: '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_4 Persona 4]:''' The majority of the main cast tend to have issues with themselves, where, after confronting their true selves in the form of shadows, learn to accept who they are and turn it for the better.
		+
		+	== The Importance of a Good Antagonist ==
		+
		+	A misconception with writing a good story is that the focus is on the hero, and therefore, the most important character in the story is the hero. However, this could not be further from the truth as the biggest driving force for the story is actually the antagonist. Designing a good antagonist should be one of the first things you do.
		+
		+	Why is the antagonist so important?
		+
		+	That's because the antagonist is the source of most (and in some cases, all) of the conflict found in the story. Without the antagonist, there is no quest for the hero to set off on, no journey for the party, and no chaos found in the world if the antagonist reaches that scale. Here's a number of a things that antagonist can affect:
		+
		+	; Worldbuilding
		+	: The antagonist can be responsible for shaping the current state of the world by either throwing it into chaos, changing the status quo, or driving the story's world to action.
		+
		+	; Unity
		+	: The antagonist can very easily be the root cause of why a hero's party forms and binds together and/or be the very reason the hero's party splits apart.
		+
		+	; Pace
		+	: The actions of the antagonist can determine the pace at which the story goes at. The hero and his/her party is almost always a reactive force to the antagonist's actions, meaning that depending on how and what the antagonist does, the party will have to react to it in tandem.
		+
		+	; Growth
		+	: The antagonist is often the driving force to make the hero grow. The hero must acquire a certain level of strength, find a way to overcome the antagonist, and become a stronger person either physically, mentally, and/or emotionally.

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 '''Video Game Examples:'''
-: '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_Moon_(video_game) Chrono Trigger]:''' Starting with a run-down farm and building it back up.
+: '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_Moon_(video_game) Harvest Moon]:''' Starting with a run-down farm and building it back up.
 : '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recettear:_An_Item_Shop%27s_Tale Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale]:''' Running a shop to break free out of debt and learning the trade of being a merchant.
 : '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlighter Moonlighter]:''' A shopkeeper in the middle of a nowhere town trying to make a living.
 <hr>
 === The Quest ===
 <hr>