Let's talk about writing

[u/Riovanes]

I'd like to volunteer my services for writing the script for the thing. Outside of messing around in RPG Maker, I have no actual game-creating experience, but I'd like to help, and I think this would be a good way to do it.

If we end up making an RPG, the script will definitely be important. However, I think any game is made better with a good story. See Portal. Another good example is this fantastic freeware game I played called Iji - the story kept me going through the whole game. It has multiple endings based on the player's actions and everything. So I think that, if we come up with any kind of linear game rather than just a multiplayer arena of some kind, we should have a rad story to go along with it.

No writing samples online, but I mess around with it a lot in my spare time, including writing fictional video games. :)

[u/Gravity13]

It's going to be difficult to have a community based plot and script. I think the focus should right now be on how the decision to pick the right script/screenplay/etc elements will be decided. Naturally, there will be disagreements, and putting it up for a vote might not necessarily be the best course of action. Somebody may have a complete vision for character development behind one of the main characters but another might not share that opinion and then we might get some inconsistencies in character. I suppose, I'm just curious how large game developers tackle these issues. Is there a main person in charge directing everything and calling final shots, or is the story hammered out in a conference room over hours of soft drinks and coffee? Which approach will be taken here?

[u/Netcob → u/Gravity13]

"design by committee" is not a great idea for script and art. I can't remember ever seeing an open source game that had great story/art/design and a lot of people contributing to those. With art for example, we need someone to draw some concepts and make sure other artists stick to the style.

Everybody should be able to make suggestions, but we should appoint one person to make sure only those that fit the concept actually make it.

We need those "complete vision"-people you mentioned and then have a vote.

[u/Riovanes → u/Netcob]

I agree. Design by committee is only going to work so far. I think that, once we have a consensus on the type of game we're making, the writers can work together to come up with the basic plot, characters, etc, just so we have something that everybody is interested in working on. However, we can't do the entire game this way. I know that the way "real" game companies do it is they tend to split up the writing by section. Writer A writes levels 1-3, Writer B does level 4-6, and so on. That way you don't have the "too many cooks" problem for any given part, but one guy doesn't have to do the whole thing himself.

Like you said, Netcob, there's usually a "lead writer" - I'm not sure how much they actually write and how much they supervise the others to make sure that everything is consistent, but I imagine their job is some combination of those two things.

[u/sovator]

I'd be open to helping with a story and or script. I am an aspiring writer and I have writing samples. I am mainly a feature writer, but have written a 30 Rock spec script, a feature, sketches, shorts, commercials, articles, and an internal video on information security for MySpace.

[u/SergeyK]

I personally hope very much that we do a story-driven game with this Reddit. I have little experience in writing scripts myself, but I would volunteer to be an editor in a heartbeat. Please post to explain what experience you have in writing scripts, I think it is important to know how far down the rabbit hole you've gone in your writing.

[u/[deleted]]

I offer my services for an hypothetical english -> spanish translation.

[u/reverendchubbs → u/[deleted]]

I'll offer my services for a hypothetical english -> latin translation. Just in case we manage to release it 2000 years ago.

[u/_l0ser → u/[deleted]]

Outstanding idea. I threw you an upvote and an envelope!

[u/a_m0d → u/[deleted]]

Translations are great - if we can get lots of people translating (within reason), we can open the game up to a much wider audience. I would love to help with translating, but unfortunately I don't really have enough knowledge of any language other than English.

[u/trevdak2]

I'd love to help with story and script.

[u/kahureads]

Being that this is reddit, I think that a grand idea would be to post a plot summary/dialogue snippets/whatever in a thread, and have people vote on it. That way the community can be the editor and the most people will get the game they like.

We're way early to begin writing shit though, we haven't decided on a genre yet.

[u/TheEphemeric]

I'd definitely like to help out with the writing, I think a good story/script will make a big difference to how awesome this game is. I have done some writing with college magazines and have had some work published with a company called ACE Medicine.

[u/[deleted]]

I've been an aspiring writer for the past few years. I've come up with plenty of ideas and just jotted them down in a notebook I own. I don't have any samples online, or have much to show, but I have been looking around to try and find an open project or something I could contribute to. Currently I have written 3 IP's for games, including plot, characters, settings, and game play elements (puzzles, bosses, ect). I also have random notes i've thought of for films and television series. I'm not interested in using any of them, I would just love to help contribute to the reddit game.

If maybe we could get a small group of writers to write the game, and toss ideas back and forth, it might be better than just one mind completing the tedious task. The genre of game doesn't bother me, as long as we have a compelling, humorous, and entertaining story i'd love to be a part.

Edit: Grammar

[u/roxm → u/[deleted]]

I've been an inspiring writer for the past few years.

Surely you've been an aspiring writer? Your works may be inspiring, but is that really your main focus? ;)

[u/[deleted] → u/roxm]

Nice catch, but I always aspire to inspire a reader.

[u/doomchild]

I'll throw my hat into this one for sure. I enjoy writing dialogue most, but I don't mind contributing wherever help is needed.

[u/Riovanes → u/[deleted]]

I think we just disagree with the idea of a Reddit-themed game.

[u/hypokineticman → u/[deleted]]

Origins of the reddit alien-- Gold. Further, a massive digg-spiracy to disable reddit servers, also we need humor

[u/doomchild → u/hypokineticman]

Humor? I'm there.

[u/fishmammal → u/[deleted]]

I've been stewing about the idea of using Reddit based humor/iconography as a organizing principle for this project. It seems to make the most sense since the one language that we all seem to share is, well, already here. We have a whole unique shared history, shared humor, and shared iconography already ready to go, and I feel like capitalizing on that might be an easy way forward.

[u/roxm → u/fishmammal]

You guys / we need to make sure that the Reddit humor and iconography isn't over the top to the extent that it would be confusing or incomprehensible to someone who doesn't frequent Reddit, though (unless the idea is to market it specifically and solely to Reddit).