Tomas Elliot presents: So you want to make a Pokemon fangame

[Simon]

Funny enough, I never noticed that pin until now.. o_o

But anyways, I decided to pin this thread along with the other two as I believe they would be helpful to anyone who would be interested in making their own game.

[Tomas Elliot]

Welp, I could now make some hypocritical post about how I did this for the people and not for personal glory, but... Yeah, I do have an attention-seeking side ( I wouldn't write fanfictions or work on a project like Se7en if I didn't), so I am glad to see this pinned.

On a more serious note, I do hope that this will be helpful for people who want to make a fangame: keep in mind that these guidelines can always be improved, heck I even added an entire point following a suggestion from Anvilicious once... So yeah, now that this topic has been revived, if you think that some points could use some improvement or that entirely new points should be added, please do post here

[Commander]

Welp, I could now make some hypocritical post about how I did this for the people and not for personal glory, but... Yeah, I do have an attention-seeking side ( I wouldn't write fanfictions or work on a project like Se7en if I didn't), so I am glad to see this pinned.

On a more serious note, I do hope that this will be helpful for people who want to make a fangame: keep in mind that these guidelines can always be improved, heck I even added an entire point following a suggestion from Anvilicious once... So yeah, now that this topic has been revived, if you think that some points could use some improvement or that entirely new points should be added, please do post here

To be honest, this deserved to be pinned. I suppose I could give some more valid points in how to create the story since that seems to be the only front that has barely scratched the surface. Here's just a few points to consider when drafting up the plot:

1) Make sure that the player is involved in the story

Nothing is more boring than just have your character sitting there watching text wall after text wall with no say in it. Giving the yes and no option really helps. You can even go beyond that making alterations in the story and easy to miss dialogue that only occurs under certain conditions. It gives an incentive to explore and talk to more people instead of just trying to grind through the game as fast as possible. Story branches are rare, but I do not recommend huge ones unless the game is pretty short because it's rare for people to play a game more than once after it's beaten because it'd take to long to do the other branches.

2) Having knowledge in other areas of game making helps with the story planning

If you don't know anything about programming, it's kind of hard to create a story for a game. I've had to throw out ideas in the Revolution project solely because it'd be way too time consuming and a waste of time. Also with that programming knowledge, I'm able to have backup ideas just in case something doesn't work out. Field Effects too hard to make? I have a few alternatives to replace it. Even music knowledge can help as you can sync scenes directly to fit the song and timing.

3) Don't just throw a character in, incorporate them into the story

I'm going to be honest here: I'd rather play a game with 8 difficult gyms and a very strong, crisp story, than to have one with 18 gyms with most of the characters being nothing more than empty husks. The more characters you have, the more difficult it is to balance and implement them well. I know it's easy to make a plot with a lot of characters, but it's hard to do it well and give each leader a chance to shine and stand out.

4) Make sure you and your partners "equally" contribute to the plot

Some people are better at making a plot than others so it's never going to be equally be split equally. What I mean by it is that everyone should be contributing to it if they are working on the game. Obviously, the programmer should barge and be able to turn an idea down if it's not something they are willing to deal with and the director/leader should also have the power to turn something away if it's either against his vision or makes a huge plot hole. Make sure the group you choose to make an outline with is getting along otherwise, it'll either end up or mess or maybe someone vital might leave. I'll also add that the more people collabing on something mean more conflicts will arise as everyone will not agree on everything. 2-3 people is a very good number as it can cover one person's weaker areas with their strengths.

5) Be originally unoriginal

Let's be honest: it's next to impossible to make a completely unique and original plot. Use that to your advantage. People have certain expectations when it comes to a story and when something happens that they didn't expect, it'll catch their attention. I'll give you an example: almost all Pokemon games start with a professor giving out the starter. If you do something besides this, they're going to remember it as it's against the norm.

6) Realism is the key to a good story

Just because the story is fiction, doesn't mean everything has to. People are still people so they are still going to act in a certain fashion due to the situation. Half the reason Reborn is so good of a story is that it's based on real people and how they acted on the league. Often when crating any story, I try to think of how a character would react to a certain situation to get a better feel of their characters.

7) That Atmosphere is Important

Some of you may remember that old Pulse Tangrowth forest event that was scrapped for Episode 2's section. Why were so many people upset about it? It may have been nonsensical, but it had a fantastic atmosphere. Literally, you are walking through this forest alone, giving a feeling of dread...then you see Amaria and Florinia tied up by the vines. It gave a sense of fear for something bad coming. It was a well done build up for a pretty tense fight.

8) Don't create a dark story for the sake of it being a dark toned story

I'm not saying you can't make a dark story, but make sure there are lighter parts to it. If at every point in the story, you make something bad happen, you'll become a bit predictable. The simple, nice, and sweet points can make a bigger impact than even a surprise genocide if done well.

9) The story should be your best kept secret

The first time you read a story is completely different than any other times. For the Revolution project I'm working on, I often get criticized why I'm so secretive and don't share my ideas with the whole group. It's because I don't want to until they're finalized. Protect this thing at all costs especially the plot twists.

10) Limit you References

If you make a reference to some work or figurative person (let's say George W. Bush for example), not everybody is going to get the reference. I mean it's also fun to reference something (even GF does it once in a while), but splattering too many will just confuse people.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

I guess I should expand upon some of those things there Commander.

1) Make sure that the player is involved in the story

Nothing is more boring than just have your character sitting there watching text wall after text wall with no say in it. Giving the yes and no option really helps. You can even go beyond that making alterations in the story and easy to miss dialogue that only occurs under certain conditions. It gives an incentive to explore and talk to more people instead of just trying to grind through the game as fast as possible. Story branches are rare, but I do not recommend huge ones unless the game is pretty short because it's rare for people to play a game more than once after it's beaten because it'd take to long to do the other branches.

This is a very true point and one that has a lot of validity, however keep this things in mind.

False Choice isn't really involvement. If there's a choice that seems like it does something but ends up doing nothing in the ultimate end of things... even if a little bit ((like sometimes like extra dialog.)) It's not really a choice.

Side Quests. This are definitely something that will add to the game if they are meaningful ((you know, not something like go collect 10 Pikachu asses then get back here.)). Because they are side stories the Player can choose to go one without them but miss a bit of story or maybe a neat little reward. These are also fun little ways to expand on Major Characters. Think of the New Mauville side-quest you get from Wattson in the main series, while it's not the best example it certainly gave you another way to interact with a main character but was never anything you had to do to complete the story. ((The More End Game missions are probably better examples but this is a side quest that I remember taking place during the Main Story line which is rather uncommon in Pokemon Main series for some reason.)). Not only this but they allow you to expand on the world a little or show off maybe an aspect of a Pokemon that might not be gotten from battle. Like maybe the players learns of a legend about that Pokemon, or maybe they learn why a Pokemon is so important to a Village. etc...

2) Having knowledge in other areas of game making helps with the story planning

If you don't know anything about programming, it's kind of hard to create a story for a game. I've had to throw out ideas in the Revolution project solely because it'd be way too time consuming and a waste of time. Also with that programming knowledge, I'm able to have backup ideas just in case something doesn't work out. Field Effects too hard to make? I have a few alternatives to replace it. Even music knowledge can help as you can sync scenes directly to fit the song and timing.

Key point here, It's good to have an idea of what's doable and to keep in scope one thing this is a game. There will be a player playing it, and no matter how much you craft your story etc... there's always going to be a player on the other end. They can just click through your text. ((this is a perfect example of why not to tell directions in dialog that can't be reviewed because some Players may never see it.)).

3) Don't just throw a character in, incorporate them into the story

I'm going to be honest here: I'd rather play a game with 8 difficult gyms and a very strong, crisp story, than to have one with 18 gyms with most of the characters being nothing more than empty husks. The more characters you have, the more difficult it is to balance and implement them well. I know it's easy to make a plot with a lot of characters, but it's hard to do it well and give each leader a chance to shine and stand out.

I'm going to add a couple caveats here.

Not every character in a story MUST be important. Clearly there will be mooks and people that are secondary actors. Basically this typically end up being the random trainers and the throw away grunts of the bad guys etc etc... However this can be true of others characters as well. They don't need to be integral or really push the plot that hard. If you try to make every gym Leader super important you going to make a suuuuuper huge mess. The more characters pushing a plot the more complicated and messy it gets. They should be important on the basis of what they need to do, The Protagonist is usually played by the player so the most important person on that side is easily taken care of. The Antagonist drives the plot even from the shadows, this will be our big bad. They should receive the most attention and it goes down there from importance etc... Making everyone have a bunch of moments is going to get sloppy. Don't let them overstay their welcome. ((especially characters with stranger quirks... they get annoying super fast and are not cute at all... I don't care how much you like them...Not going to name any characters here...))

However, I will add to avoid throwing in random characters that just appear... it's super weird and you shouldn't do it. They should have some reason to be there even if small like a Trainer battle.

10) Limit you References

If you make a reference to some work or figurative person (let's say George W. Bush for example), not everybody is going to get the reference. I mean it's also fun to reference something (even GF does it once in a while), but splattering too many will just confuse people.

An alternative is trying to do a reference that will stand on it's own even if it isn't understood. Of course this is suuuuuuuper tricky to do but it is possible. But use them with caution, too much of them get really strange and... even cheesy.

Also, avoid using self-Inserts for anything but suuuuuuuuuper side things or little easter eggs. NEVER give them plot relevance. Besides the fact that it's a bit of a writing sin... ((full on inserts really. Most characters have a little of the writer or people they know distilled into them.)), trust me it's just not a good idea to have anyone fully based on you, one of your friends, or someone in the project as an explicit character in the plot. Things like the Gamefreak Building in some of the Main Series Games are okay, those do no harm since they are little out of the way Easter eggs.

[Commander]

However, I will add to avoid throwing in random characters that just appear... it's super weird and you shouldn't do it. They should have some reason to be there even if small like a Trainer battle.

This was the point I was trying to make at 3. I suppose the Gen V games is the best example because almost all the leaders at least did something. My main point was supposed to be was don't be a Gen VI. Literally, how many of you can name the Team Flare Scientists names and their aces off the top of your head? How about team Galatic Admins? (I can actually do it for team Galatic).

Also, avoid using self-Inserts for anything but suuuuuuuuuper side things or little easter eggs. NEVER give them plot relevance. Besides the fact that it's a bit of a writing sin... ((full on inserts really. Most characters have a little of the writer or people they know distilled into them.)), trust me it's just not a good idea to have anyone fully based on you, one of your friends, or someone in the project as an explicit character in the plot. Things like the Gamefreak Building in some of the Main Series Games are okay, those do no harm since they are little out of the way Easter eggs.

Yes, yes, yes, OMG yes! If you need to put anything, put that in the OP. I feel ashamed not even thinking about that when creating the list. I'm the guy crazy enough to deal with this problem because I don't care what people think and how I ruined these type of characters.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Yes, yes, yes, OMG yes! If you need to put anything, put that in the OP. I feel ashamed not even thinking about that when creating the list. I'm the guy crazy enough to deal with this problem because I don't care what people think and how I ruined these type of characters.

That's cause they are really just self-gratification machines and aren't in there for any other purpose then "OMG, I SO AWESOME LOOK AT ME" factor. They quickly just become issue since they are super prone to favoritism ((which I didn't touch on and probably should have a bit.)) and you jsut can;t trust yourself to give them proper treatment. One second it's them being a gym leader, the next it's them saving the day at a crucial point then they become god-king of the universe. It only snowballs exponentially. As a writer you have waaaaaaaaaaay too much of a bias towards that character because you start to attach personal stuff do them etc... and it quickly gets out of hand. It's just suuuuuuuuper bad form. Don't bloody do it. Ever. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever. I'm not joking at all. Don't do it. Because you cannot trust yourself at all when that is the case. And if you can't trust yourself to write the plot who else will? ((and don't get cheeky and say another writer... if they know you they are also biased...and they have to know you to work on the project, because you'd ahve to explain the plot up to that point.)) Just... don't do it kids. It may be tempting, but it's not and never is worth it.

[Tomas Elliot]

You guys both made some very valid points. I have a big exam tomorrow (the last one, thankfully) so yeah, I don't have much time to rework your stuff and add it to the OP right now... But I will do so in the week-end

[Anvilicious]

On the one hand, I feel like this may be too much information for someone just starting out making a game. Yet on the other, I believe this is a much needed wake up call to those who think making a game is easy, and don't have the time or motivation to see such a large and challenging project through.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Anvilicious

[Azeria]

One thing I keep seeing people who try to start their own games do is to push out their games as fast as possible. This is a horrible idea, believe me I've seen people do this quite often. It often leaves a large amount of bugs;glitches, tile errors and all sorts of things. Polish it, work on the graphics, rework it as many times as needed until it's not just 'good' but amazing in and of itself. Make it stand out amongst others as a gem in the rough. A good example would be what Jan did with V6 of Rejuvenation. While everything was already good and Rejuvenation was an enjoyable game anyways;he reworked a Large part of it and the improvement is VERY noticeable, that's what polish is, making something that's already good or a rough idea and shaping it into exactly what you want. Don't be satisfied, well that sounds wrong but get what I mean, Don't be satisfied untill it's damn near perfect and even then it could use work.

[mde2001]

One thing I keep seeing people who try to start their own games do is to push out their games as fast as possible. This is a horrible idea, believe me I've seen people do this quite often. It often leaves a large amount of bugs;glitches, tile errors and all sorts of things. Polish it, work on the graphics, rework it as many times as needed until it's not just 'good' but amazing in and of itself. Make it stand out amongst others as a gem in the rough. A good example would be what Jan did with V6 of Rejuvenation. While everything was already good and Rejuvenation was an enjoyable game anyways;he reworked a Large part of it and the improvement is VERY noticeable, that's what polish is, making something that's already good or a rough idea and shaping it into exactly what you want. Don't be satisfied, well that sounds wrong but get what I mean, Don't be satisfied untill it's damn near perfect and even then it could use work.

Yeah, I'd agree with this (and I'm severely guilty of it). I initially wanted Regal to come out really fast and because of that E1 isn't of the highest quality.

I'm slowing down a bit now and would recommend others listen to the advice in Azeria's post!

[Tomas Elliot]

Ok so, I am still recovering from yesterday night (and tonight I am going to have another wild night... Which will be the last one for better or worse), but in the meantime, I have checked out this again.

So yeah, Azery's instance can be easily added as "Do not rush your game", while Commander's points are harder to fit in, simply because there are so many... Commander, could you please try and compress everything you said into one or two points, if possible?

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Ok so, I am still recovering from yesterday night (and tonight I am going to have another wild night... Which will be the last one for better or worse), but in the meantime, I have checked out this again.

So yeah, Azery's instance can be easily added as "Do not rush your game", while Commander's points are harder to fit in, simply because there are so many... Commander, could you please try and compress everything you said into one or two points, if possible?

And we totally forgot my existence. I feel so appreciated right now lol.

[Tomas Elliot]

And we totally forgot my existence. I feel so appreciated right now lol.

Look, I recovered from a hangover just in time to get another one, cut me some slack <.<

[Dragon116]

IDK where else to mention this, but it looks like they're doing a Cyber Monday sale of RPGMaker XP for $6.25 at their main site. If you're aspiring to be a fangame creator, get on it lol.

[DigitalAmber]

On 7/24/2015 at 7:00 AM, ArmoredGuardian said:

I wanna make a fan game where the poke-gods fight each other(Lord Goodra, Helix, Arceus, Giratina, etc) and this trainer must hurry up and train to calm the fighting because he is the new coordinate that was destined to become the hero of the land and stop the fighting between these mighty beasts

(I'm just kidding this is a stupid idea)

Why, this was also my little inkling of an idea. Except for the fact that it's the fossil gods plus Goodra. Also I would try to keep the MC away from being a demigod chosen being or whatever. It's basically just a cult war or something