Most of the film world considers writing a script part of pre-production. I disagree with this. I think until you have a script, you don't really enter into pre-production, because you really don't have a product to be creating until that point. Some movies move forward without a script. They are a complete disaster (Star Wars Episodes 2-3 had already created sets, creatures, and many things before they had finished the script. The Pirates sequels were basically writing as they went along during production. The Matrix sequels, well, many wonder if there were scripts at all because of all the simple contradictions (i.e.: The Architect tells Neo there will be a system crash if he goes back to Save Trinity, yet when Neo discusses this with other people, he says the robots will attack within 24 hours...A huge plot point completely overlooked)).
Without knowing what you're going for, it's easy to get lost in what you're doing. It's simpler when you're the only one working on it, but with a team it gets exponentially worse. So the script is the key to everything. I believe that more people give up on their RPG Maker games because they just start creating the game without a plan. They don't know where to go, they don't have a plot set up, and so there's nothing for them to follow. A close second to why they give up would be not realizing the amount of effort that goes into the creation of a game like this, even if all the programming has been removed (Well, most of it. Events are like basic programs).
So what's my point? WRITE A SCRIPT. Not a movie script, but an outline of your story. Even Entebrain gives this great suggestion:
http://www.rpgmakerw..._1.pdf#zoom=100
The site also ends on the note of creating the name and personality of your main character. Go further! You need to create a few different characters. In a conversation I had with Joss Whedon (the director of the "Avengers" and creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", "Firefly", and "Dollhouse"), I asked about how to create good characters who can contribute to a plot or story. He said you start with one character, then find someone that's the exact opposite of them, then find reasons for them to work together so that their personalities clash. That made total sense.
I know many of us are sick of talking about Final Fantasy, but since I know most people have played FF7 I'll use the example there. Cloud and Barrett. Need I say more? Okay, I will. Cloud is quiet, reserved, light skin, blonde hair, uses a sword, and is decent with magic. Barret is loud as hell, easy to anger, dark skin, dark hair, uses a gun (attached to his arm no less), and isn't the best with magic. And the beginning of the game, half the drama and conflict is Barrett yelling and being pissed!
Another thing to think about with your characters are quirks or personality traits. Yuffie steals materia, and she does it no matter what. She can't help it. Aeris wants to help people so badly she'll constantly risk her life.
In movies like Star Wars Episodes 1-3, there are almost no distinguishable personality quirks. One of the things that made the movies so uninteresting. And even the traits we think they have (Anakin willing to do anything for Padme) come to naught (he force chokes her at the end to kill her...WTF?). So I've pointed out some bad and good examples.
So that's what I'm working on today. Coming up with a basic storyline and some characters with personality! Oh, and you'll notice, one of the most consistent things you'll see in a GOOD movie is heart. People with faults. People with unrequited love. Lovers that can't get back to each other. A father doing anything he can to help his daughter. Now, I hate the Twilight movies for many reasons, but I have to admit that I love Bella's father in the movies and think most of those scenes are fantastic in terms of dialogue and realism.
I've spent the last significant portion of my life in the film and entertainment industry. Having helped spark two television series (Flip Men, and Sister Wives both of which I developed the promo footage for and got no credit!), and currently working on two other reality series and a documentary, I've learned a lot about myself and what I'd like to do with my life. I've met some extremely interesting people and continue to do lots of fun work. But there's at least one thing I gotta do, and I have about a month to do it.
(Meeting some of the most creative people in the world)
(Directing a zombie short film)
Growing up, I only knew of the Nintendo games, and due to the sporty nature of my older brothers, I never got to play any RPG games. We played NBA Jam, Madden, and the most extreme RPG I played growing up was Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Then I moved to California. It was here that I discovered two things.
First and foremost, my love for film. My friends and I would make ridiculous movies in our backyards. Knife throwing competitions, sports from the future (including one about trying to convince your friend to seppuku). Ah, the gold old days. Secondly, one of my friends saw me playing Diddy Kong Racing and I'm sure his brain was exploding. He brought over his Playstation, and I said that it was lame, Nintendo is the best (which was accurate sales wise at the time). I played Metal Gear Solid for the first time. I was completely and utterly blown away. This game had a plot 50x more in depth and complicated than all over the Nintendo games I had played put together, minus Zelda. But it far surpassed Zelda. I wasn't some cartoon, "fake killing" cartoon people. I was a super spy, sneaking around, breaking necks, sniping, and blowing the hell out of stuff. I didn't know games like this existed!! And while I did love Goldeneye 007 for the N64, it doesn't hold a candle to MGS in terms of story.
Then he showed me another game. Final Fantasy 7. I had never seen anything like it. A steampunk type of scifi mixed with fantasy. I went to the story the next day and bought a Playstation, FF7, and a memory card. I was glued to the screen for the next couple days. Not knowing all the intricacies of these types of games (I had no idea there were complicated side quests that unleashed Knights of the Round Table...Diddy Kong Racing didn't have anything like that!), after several tries I managed to down Sephiroth. The world opened up to me, and I have been trying to make up for all the RPG's I have missed since.
I have never had a knack for programming, but I come up with good story lines and have been able to use that ability to help my film career. I've wanted to make an RPG, but haven't had the tools that I've wanted. I discovered RPG Maker and while I have helped people on forums with their issues and consulted on games as a hobby, I haven't been able to make my own game. Well, by some form of luck, I'll only be working a little in April (trust me, it is luck! I pulled more than one 90 hour work week this last year), and all the knowledge of storytelling and experience in RPG's I've made will go into the creation of a little RPG Maker game. Hopefully, if it goes well and there's enough interest, we'll use kickstarter to make a much grander scale game.
So what's the point of this blog? To vent as I make the game, to show my process that I'm going through to accomplish it, and what pitfalls I can avoid in the future. It will be an RTP game for the first one. Possibly with custom scripts (depends how long someone takes to get an SBS script out, although I'm talking to a programmer buddy who may be interested in doing one for me).
Hope someone reads this and you can share in the fun with me. Take care!
