History SoYouWantTo / WriteAnRPG

{{RPG}}s tend to have ''tons'' of settings because of their epic scope. You'll probably end up sending the player everywhere on the map, so make sure that everywhere on the map is somewhere worth going. ''TheGrandListOfConsoleRolePlayingGameCliches'' calls these "The Compulsories" (it's #9), and we've got our own in VideogameSettings. Check them out and decide which ones (if any) you want to use, and which (if any) you want to try and subvert.

BlueDragon attempted to be a ClicheStorm, and it was praised for it's traditional setting. It took some of the cliches to new heights, and managed to be original, avoid cliches, but still make the work a ClicheStorm at the same time. If you're going to use a ClicheStorm, it's worth PlayingThePlayer in some way, and subverting the tropes, while still using them as the framework for the plot.

''TheDemonRush''. The Demon Rush is the ultimate example of How Not To Do It--how best to mismanage your time, budget, and skills. It's patently obvious the designer has only played a few [=JRPGs=]--The Demon Rush plays like a JRPG xeroxed to the point of illegibility, to the point where despite being a computer game you can't even use the keyboard to write your characters' names or use the mouse to click anything. The plot is an incomprehensible mess of exposition, jargon, and "dramatic revelations" that require more exposition and more jargon. Characters are poorly-designed in every way: they look stupid, they have random abilities that make every character a useless jack-of-all-trades, and they're all poorly-written, with most of them talking in the same voice and in the same stilted diction. Enemies are staggeringly hard and drop zilch for experience. Bosses are too easy. Deus ex machina and author appeal are everywhere. Even the coding is a abomination. See the [[http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2913491 announcement thread]] and the [[http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2925321 Let's Play]] on the Something Awful forums for the full skinny. Take notes on a piece of stationary titled THINGS I MUST NEVER, EVER DO.

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A lot of older games are virtually unplayable nowadays due to slow speed, annoying controls, and the lack of certain shortcuts we have grown to know and love. Games like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' and ''DragonQuest I'' are virtually unrecognizable to fans of their modern installments, and playing them is like going from ''VideoGame/WarcraftII'' to the original ''VideoGame/WarcraftOrcsAndHumans'', where you had to specifically select the "walk" and "work" buttons, and couldn't just right-click on the place you wanted to go or the thing you wanted to do.

* The ''DragonQuest'' series. ''Dragon Warrior III'' and ''IV'', which are oldschool and got updated for "better" graphics later.

* If you want to go ''really'' oldschool, consider checking out a {{Roguelike}}, early ''{{Ultima}}'' games, or ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}}''.

If you're going to have a ClicheStorm, try PlayingWith things, subverting things, but still keeping it a ClicheStorm, like Franchise/TalesSeries - after the DiscOneFinalBoss, the cliches are subverted, but they still provide the framework for the plot.

''PlanescapeTorment'' took the basic game engine behind the more traditional BaldursGate and twisted it all around into something totally unique. Most notably, it embraced the game medium and lampshaded some of the absurdities of save points and MeaninglessLives by introducing a main character who literally, in the story, wouldn't stay dead. Just as importantly, the whole game is extremely well-written (for a game, anyway) and features dialogue that's actually worth paying attention to.

''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' is notable for its unique setting, with Air Pirates travelling in between {{Floating Continent}}s on airships, and for its generally upbeat and optimistic tone at a time when many games in the genre were trying to become DarkerAndEdgier; it's a game worth looking at if you don't intend to rely on angst. That said, don't draw too much inspiration from it if you're trying to create a unique plot, as since the genre isn't trying to be as DarkerAndEdgier any more, a {{Reconstruction}} won't be as effective.

''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' is to be acknowledged for having a rather unique gothic horror theme in an original (for J[=RPGs=] anyway) setting, early 20th century Europe and China. It also contains Yuri Volte Hyuga, who is considered by many to be the best RPG protagonist of all time (and the other playable characters are fairly well-developed), along with Roger Bacon [[spoiler: (real name Albert Simon)]] and [[EnemyWithin Fox Face]], two of the more memorable JRPG villains, and some of the more creative {{Mook}} designs. While its sequels are to be applauded for proving that JRPG characters don't always to be the same tired, cookie-cutter stereotypes (if a bit [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot drastically]] so), they unfortunately dropped the original dark and creepy storyline and atmosphere in favour of a far more generic one.

* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series: ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV IV]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV V]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' for oldschool, then ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII VII]]'' and higher for better graphics and more complex gameplay (and more pretentious, if nothing else, plots).

Female protagonists are underused. If you're going for a ClicheStorm, using WriteWhoYouKnow, or just want a male protagonist, use TheThreeFacesOfEve, or for a FiveManBand, TomboyAndGirlyGirl. The SmurfettePrinciple is overused and sexist.

{{Villain Protagonist}}s are underused. Seriously, it's our turn to kidnap the MacGuffinGirl, raise TheDragon, and lead an archeological dig for [[TomeOfEldritchLore How To Make Really Bad Shit Go Down Fourth-And-A-Half Edition]]. Because "save the world" has been done to death, and [[HumansAreBastards the world doesn't deserve saving]].

''ShadowHearts'' is to be acknowledged for having a rather unique gothic horror theme in an original (for J[=RPGs=] anyway) setting, early 20th century Europe and China. It also contains Yuri Volte Hyuga, who is considered by many to be the best RPG protagonist of all time (and the other playable characters are fairly well-developed), along with Roger Bacon [[spoiler: (real name Albert Simon)]] and [[EnemyWithin Fox Face]], two of the more memorable JRPG villains, and some of the more creative {{Mook}} designs. While its sequels are to be applauded for proving that JRPG characters don't always to be the same tired, cookie-cutter stereotypes (if a bit [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot drastically]] so), they unfortunately dropped the original dark and creepy storyline and atmosphere in favour of a far more generic one.

* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series: ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV IV]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' for oldschool, then ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII VII]]'' and higher for better graphics and more complex gameplay (and more pretentious, if nothing else, plots).

* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series: ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI IV]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' for oldschool, then ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII VII]]'' and higher for better graphics and more complex gameplay (and more pretentious, if nothing else, plots).

You may want to check out VideogameCharacters, StockRPGSpells and StockMonsters while you're at it. And [[TheGrandListOfConsoleRolePlayingGameCliches this]] and [[TheRPGClichesGame this]] are both useful.

A lot of older games are virtually unplayable nowadays due to slow speed, annoying controls, and the lack of certain shortcuts we have grown to know and love. Games like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' and ''DragonQuest I'' are virtually unrecognizable to fans of their modern installments, and playing them is like going from ''{{Warcraft}} II'' to the original ''{{Warcraft}}'', where you had to specifically select the "walk" and "work" buttons, and couldn't just right-click on the place you wanted to go or the thing you wanted to do.

You mess with {{Save Point}}s, and most of the players will hate you at some point or another. But the ease of restarting the game from just before your CriticalFailure is, well, perhaps a little ''too'' easy. Consider that {{MMORPG}}s such as ''WorldOfWarcraft'' don't allow you to save and reset, and people still play ''them'' despite the potential for loss and disaster ("Gah! I just sold my epic sword for 40 silver! ''[[BigNo Nooooooo]]!''"). But also consider that ''WorldOfWarcraft'' doesn't allow you to be killed, doesn't make you start all over from the beginning of the game, and ''does'' allow you to restart a mission -- even ones where a major character got killed.

Is the hero a FeaturelessProtagonist, or do they have some personality beyond what the player brings to the table? Ask yourself, who should the player character represent, a player's avatar or your character? For the former, go ahead and use the FeaturelessProtagonist. Allow the player to customize the character as much as you can, and leave everything else undefined. This lets the player's imagination fill in the blank spots as they progress through your game. For the latter, well, just define the protagonist like you do any important character. It's hard to make the player believe that the fully-defined character represents themselves (unless you actually design the game for a certain person or very specific group), but lack of actual personality makes for flat characters. Both styles have their use, and aren't interchangeable.

''Videogame/{{Earthbound}}'' took a sudden veer away from the traditional RPG setting with a modern yet fantastic world that worked up from crazy townsfolk to cultists, zombies, bigfoot, aliens, robots, and an underground community of talking monkeys. The hero withdrew funds from an ATM [[strike:machine]], drove around on a bicycle, killed monsters with a baseball bat, and could catch heatstroke from being in the sun too long. He could also get homesick (a serious status ailment that needed to be cured by a quick phone home). The fight with Giygas at the end is also required reading for those wishing to make a memorable FinalBoss, as it effectively conveys just how pants-wettingly terrifying a fight with an outright EldritchAbomination should be.

''{{Earthbound}}'' took a sudden veer away from the traditional RPG setting with a modern yet fantastic world that worked up from crazy townsfolk to cultists, zombies, bigfoot, aliens, robots, and an underground community of talking monkeys. The hero withdrew funds from an ATM [[strike:machine]], drove around on a bicycle, killed monsters with a baseball bat, and could catch heatstroke from being in the sun too long. He could also get homesick (a serious status ailment that needed to be cured by a quick phone home). The fight with Giygas at the end is also required reading for those wishing to make a memorable FinalBoss, as it effectively conveys just how pants-wettingly terrifying a fight with an outright EldritchAbomination should be.

''{{Persona 3}}'' and ''{{Persona 4}}'' are unique in the genre in that they take place in a modern-day setting that's LikeRealityUnlessNoted, as well as for incorporating a way to improve your stats and abilities ''outside'' of battle. The [[LevelUpAtIntimacy5 Social Links]] are a pretty innovative way of fleshing out the in-game world by adding a psuedo-DatingSim mechanics to the game. It also helps that the characters for these links are usually incredibly well-written, and delving deeper into their stories rewards the player not only in terms of gameplay, but by making them more emotionally invested in the world that they're supposed to be saving.

If you do decide to dismantle the ArbitraryHeadcountLimit, keep the gameplay balance and controls complexity in mind. On the issue of balance, make sure that combat is equally challenging to a party that includes every recruitable NPC in the game and to a PC who sticks to a handful of plot-relevant companions. The FinalBoss, for instance, should not come over as an AnticlimaxBoss to the former and a HopelessBossFight to the latter. Take a look at ''[[VideoGame/{{Diablo}} Diablo II]]'', for instance, which [[DynamicDifficulty dynamically scales the boss toughness]] to the online players' numbers and levels. On the issue of controls, remember during combat, the player has to keep in mind many, many variable such as health/mana levels, available spells, ability recharge times, etc.. An ArbitraryHeadcountLimit naturally reduces the risk of overwhelming the player with information, so you have to make sure that doesn't happen in your game. You could, for example, implement RealTimeWithPause, let the players configure the [=NPCs=]' combat tactics in advance, or make your [=NPCs=] [[ArtificialBrilliance smart enough]] not to hold them back (or all of the above). Alternatively, consider the TurnBasedTactics genre.

Is the hero a FeaturelessProtagonist, or does they have some personality beyond what the player brings to the table? Ask yourself, who should the player character represent, a player's avatar or your character? For former, go ahead and use the FeaturelessProtagonist. Allow the player to customize the character as much as you can, and leave everything else undefine, lets player's imagination fill those blank as they progress through your game. For latter, well, just define the character like you do to any important character. It hard to make the player to believe that the fully defined character represent themself (unless you actually design the game for certain person or very specific group), while lack of actual personality make boring character. Both have their use, and aren't interchangable.

Does he arrive on the scene with total amnesia, or does he recognize people he's met and places he's been before? (Warning: Amnesia has been done an awful lot in [=RPGs=]; if you're going to use it, make sure you use it well) Do {{NPC}}s recognize him? How important is the hero? How experienced is he? If he's supposed to be experienced and well-traveled, how do you justify [[OverratedAndUnderleveled starting him at level one]] with a [[WithThisHerring wooden sword]]?

Try adding ShowsDamage, and getting rid of BeautyIsNeverTarnished. And there's always some psycho (or someone looking for realism) who wants fully-destructable landscape and the ability to take out a wall with his BFG. so, for example; "You encounter locked door. Pick [[hottip:(Neutral):-The door is opened in a way that doesn't require it to be replaced, but without permission]] / use key [[hottip:(good):-If you have the key, it stands to reason you have permission]] /shoot hinges [[hottip:(evil):-you've ruined a perfectly good door and wasted some ammo]]"

''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' was wonderful, yes, but your protagonist doesn't have to be an angsty {{antihero}} who is really a TomatoInTheMirror. Really. For that matter, your villain doesn't have to be an angsty {{bishonen}} with a [[AGodAmI god complex]], either. On the opposite end, your hero doesn't have to be a courageous, sword-wielding, happy-go-lucky teenager who becomes TheMessiah despite being [[IdiotHero not that bright]], and your female lead doesn't have to be a demure FriendToAllLivingThings who wields a [[SimpleStaff staff]] or a bow and arrow and specialises in magic, or a bratty {{Tsundere}} who falls in love with the hero anyway and also is the party's main healer/caster.

By the way, this is about writing video games, if you are looking for advice on writing a tabletop one, see SoYouWantTo/WriteATabletopRPG instead.

By the way, this is about writing video games, if you looking for advice on writing a tabletop one, see SoYouWantTo/WriteATabletopRPG instead.

Try adding ShowsDamage, and getting rid of BeautyIsNeverTarnished. And there's always some psycho (or someone looking for realism) who wants fully-destructable landscape and the ability to take out a wall with his BFG. so, for example; "You encounter locked door. Pick (Neutral) / use key (good) /shoot hinges (evil)"

TheElderScrolls series is a critically acclaimed RPG series which is unique in that it allows the player nearly total freedom. Want a [[MagicKnight mage who wields a sword in one hand and a staff in the other whilst wearing heavy armour]]? You can do that. Want a thief who can [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation conjure their own bow]]? you can do that. Want a [[CombatMedic warrior who can also mix up a healing potion in a few seconds from stuff he/she finds on the road]]? You can do that too. The games offer the Warrior/Mage/Thief as only a base which the player can then build on themselves. It isn't unheard of that a player would start as a mage and then end up as a warrior by the end of the game, they aren't constrined to one particular path. The player also has the ability to ignore the main quest of the game entirely and focus on sidequests.

FacelessMooks are cliché. The "bad guys" should have their stories told too. Try not to just use ThoseTwoBadGuys or EnemyChatter, but give the [[NoCampaignForTheWicked Villain(ous side) its own campaign]].

Is the hero a FeaturelessProtagonist, or does they have some personality beyond what the player brings to the table? Ask yourself, who should the player character represent, a player's avatar or your character? For former, go ahead and use the FeaturelessProtagonist. Allow the player to customize the character as much as you can, and leave everything else undefine, lets player's imagination fill those blank as they progress through your game. For latter, well, just define the character like you do to any important character.