How To Make: RPG
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Keyword List: |
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| Final |
Quest
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Legend
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| Dragon |
Sun |
Fantasy |
| Wanderer |
Warrior
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King |
Name: The first, and potentially the most
important part of the RPG design process, is choosing a name. Most potential
customers of your game are going to be looking for certain key words in the
titles (alternate spellings are worth bonus points). For a great title, the
name of your game must have at least one of the words from the
list on the right, and more is always better.
Example : Final Quest of the Sun Dragon King
Graphics: All good RPGs have two types of
graphics: one for fighting, and one for evertyhing else.
Fighting Graphics: Use as much detail as possible. It is
not uncommon for developers to spend the majority of their development
resources on this. Additionally, if the battle is in 3D (and there's really no
reason why it shouldn't be) make sure the camera is moving around constantly.
Everything Else Graphics: Use the simplest graphics you
think you can get away with. The player should be able to tell his character
from the non-playable characters, but more than that is overkill. Bear in mind
that the worse your graphics look here, the better they will appear to be in
the battle scenes. Remember, the word we're looking for here is contrast.
Music/Sound: This is where your game will either
come together like chicken and nuggets or fall apart like a shirt made out of
parafin. There should be music playing at all times. The only
exception to this rule is when something really important happens. Silence =
Pay Attention.
For example : King Der Tea gives your hero his legendary
mission to save Cracker Town from the Soup Bandits, and his evil twin brother,
Baron Bar O'Sope, pushes the Rock of Precarious Balance from its resting place
on to the conveniently placed throne. Here, the music should stop for a maximum
of ten seconds, any longer than that, and the player will get
bored, driving his Going Outside Ratio dangerously close to
1.
So what kind of music should you put into your game? Popular
music is the easiest to find, but it's usually a poor choice. The music has to
fit the mood. If I'm wandering through the Duck Forest looking for the Water
Bill, I don't want to hear anything with words. I have enough words to
worry about when I'm reading the dialogue, I don't need any more than that.
RPGs demand the kind of music that can be played by an orchestra or other
live band. This is imperative for later, when we want to sell soundtracks.
Story: The story can be about anything you want,
provided you have the other elements well represented. In fact, if you spent
enough time in the development of the battle system and graphics, as discussed
earlier, then the story can literally be about anything. There are a few things
that you should keep in mind that are mandatory, but don't really fit
anywhere else:
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The main character should, at some point, save the world.
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The longer the story, the better. The story should be so long that the player
can't clearly remember what happened at the beginning by the time he gets to
the end. What we're aiming for is replay.
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The main character has to have a love interest, but not necessarily as a
controllable character.
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Magic
has to be present in some way. You don't have to call it Magic. You can call it
Mana, Spirit, Power, Flatulence, or whatever, but players have to have the
ability to use fantastic powers.
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At some point, in some form, there must be a sword. The game can't
technically be called an RPG unless there is a sword somewhere.
And that's about it. If you've followed these guidelines, then you have a
guranteed best-seller on your hands. Don't forget to make sequels.
Back to the Socks.