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Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by RealStormRider, Apr 11, 2021.

  1. RealStormRider

    RealStormRider

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    I need ideas to make a game. I know that this is not a good thing to do but I have wasted 2 days just thinking what should I make. I want to make a story based game but cant think of a story because I don't have base. Can Someone provide me with a theme so that I can be productive with my life.
     
  2. Martin_H

    Martin_H

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    EternalAmbiguity and stain2319 like this.
  3. EternalAmbiguity

    EternalAmbiguity

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    Want to concur, if you don't have a specific story you want to tell, you should probably just focus on a gameplay focused game. If you're not creating a story intentionally it's probably not going to be very good, and focusing on gameplay first is good because even a story-focused game is improved by good gameplay.

    However, the fact that you don't have any ideas at all and this,
    implies to me you might want to sit down and think about why you want to make a game. If it's just to feel productive, there are probably more tangible and easier ways to do that that have nothing to do with games.
     
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  4. stain2319

    stain2319

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    So first of all - no one should ever take my advice, because I'm possibly kind of a crazy person. But one thing a lot of Hollywood writers and directors have done, which has led to making very successful movies in some cases, is to "Re-tell" an existing, old story.

    So maybe if you are lacking inspiration you can do that. Pick some story, folk tale, fable, etc that everyone knows and do something to make it your own. Shakespeare comes to mind. Pick a play - Romeo and Juliet or whatever. OK, now let's think of a random, weird setting. The Wild West. Boom - you've got a story!

    Now, try to make a game that follows the basic plot of that story but in the setting of your choice. Swordfights become shootouts. Juliet on the parapet of the castle becomes Miss Julie on the balcony of the saloon.

    And know that your first ten, or twenty, or maybe a hundred game ideas will never come to anything and will never be finished even if you start them, and just keep at it. You'll learn a bunch of stuff in the process.
     
  5. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    If you can't quickly come up with a story, you should probably focus on a gameplay instead.

    For example, Arcanoid had plot.
    Arkanoid is a block breaker video game. Its plot involves the starship Arkanoid being attacked by a mysterious entity from space named DOH. A small paddle-shaped craft, the Vaus, is ejected from the Arkanoid. In Arkanoid, players maneuver a paddle-shaped craft named the Vaus along the bottom of the screen.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkanoid
    However most people won't remember it, as it had no effect on gameplay.
     
  6. Joe-Censored

    Joe-Censored

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    Many of Disney's most successful movies are just adaptions of old stories. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea for example was a huge early hit for Disney, and a fantastic movie, but it is just an adaption of a Jules Verne book which is in the public domain. There's lots of public domain stories and characters which get retellings of or new stories for. Another example is Sherlock Holmes is public domain, anyone can write a story for him (though you'd have to make a smart story, or the Holmes fans will be up in arms!).

    There's also original characters and stories which use common structures to many other stories. The most famous example is the Hero's Journey.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero's_journey

    Star Wars is a classic Hero's Journey, Lord of the Rings as well. Pretty much any story which takes a relatively normal person and thrusts them into the role of the reluctant hero is a classic Hero's Journey tail. Even the original Terminator movie could be argued is a Hero's Journey story. It is a commonly used story structure because it really works so well. If you follow that structure, it almost writes the story for you.
     
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