First, the style of the game must be established,
meaning that the atmosphere must be created for the game effectively. If the
game is energetic and fast, then the action and style of writing must reflect
the speed and urgency of the situation. Alternatively, if the game is to be
slow, mysterious and dark, then attempts must be made to keep the atmosphere
smooth and detailed, so that the players can absorb the story and characters.
To maintain the atmosphere
during writing, and to keep the style consistent, it is best to keep your
surroundings similar every time you sit down to write. Keep an ambient music
tape playing softly in the background with a tune that will reflect the game.
Play this every time you sit to write your material. If your writing a
fast-paced game, play the action-orientated parts of the soundtrack, keep up
the adrenalin with the thought that the film you are trying to emulate will be
what the players are expecting to play. If your writing a low-intensity game,
keep the tone dark with a sombre brooding part of the soundtrack, and try to
draw the atmosphere into the scenario by trying to imagine how players would
react to the designs you are creating.
Secondly, figure out what kind of game the players are
used to playing, and also think about each of the Player Character’s aims and
styles of character. Try and give a little of something for each player to do
to spread out the involvement of each player, try not to create a scenario that
only one player can really get stuck into. If all the players are used to
high-energy games, then create an original story but with the same amount of
guns and action. The flipside to this is to turn the entire story on it’s head;
the players are big action characters, so turn down the fire and get serious,
switching the explosions for dark corridors and torches, or something a lot
more investigative. Many players will respond quite eagerly to a complete
change of style of play, and then be more willing to explore different aspects
of the game.
The plot is the biggest thing of all. It is the flow
and content of the story the players will remember. Don’t just concentrate on
what you’ll be pitting the players against. Think of the personalities they
will come across and how they fit into the plot; how they fit into the
surroundings you have designed. If all the players remember is how they took
down the enemy, blew up armies or defeated the bad guys, then they should be
playing a wargame and not a roleplaying game. If they kill enough nasties and
uncover enough plots they will soon get bored by the whole thing and look for
something else to play. If you make games memorable with the situation you put
the players in and the problems and characters they come across, the players
will be a lot more interested to ‘see what happens next’. This is what makes
soap operas successful.
Most important of all - remember this is a game where everyone comes together to have fun, so be sure that adventures abound.
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