discussion Game story idea! Thougths?

[Naugus]

I think I played a game with a similar premise... I suspect it's abandoned by now. Games with too many characters and options tend to scare off their own creators.

 

[ingenkata]

Seems good to me besides the hard work. Through the story maybe things get complicated and turn to a s*itshow. Looks promising

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[itisjj]

You play as an MC with a generic backstory who happens upon a universal remote that allows him to enter fictional worlds by changing channels. A fun way to incorporate parodied licenses like brady bunch or potter in order to add spice to typically generic stories. Will you use the power of the remote to corrupt the characters around you? Yes.... yes you most definately will. Quantum Leap meets Click meets every adult fanfic ever created. Would probably require a lot of effort as many character models and environments would be required, but does this plot sound intriguing? Some worlds would allow for a slow burn type of story while others would allow for a quick interaction to "nut off". Different stories can keep it fresh for a long time while a deeper arc can make it all feel connected. It's an idea very early in thought. For those with experience in VN's does this seem plausible?

Reminds me of Funny Games, specifically THAT scene.

It sounds like an idea, but it needs more solid foundation in my opinion.

I think this could actually work very well, so long as you are aware of the specific difficulties and solve them:

- The events in the various universes will have to be independent from each other. That's no problem so long as you are aware of it and don't try to fight against it. Just make it a series of essentially independent episodes. In the same way that Star Trek - The Original Series had stand-alone episodes, each dealing with a monster of the week, you will need to create one stand-alone "love interest of the week" story per universe/franchise. I would start with some of these, and try to make each of them recognizably in the style of the respective franchise.
- Once you have a few episodes, you can think of the details of the framework story connecting them. You will then know what you are working with, and you will have some useful experience before you start on the framework universe that people will see at the beginning and end of every episode. Sure, there should probably be some cases in which the framework story and the episode are connecting in non-trivial ways. But it's probably best if that's not always the case, and if you start with the regular cases. (In terms of creation order. Even if you first release a series of disconnected episodes, you can later reorder them as you develop the framework story and embed them into it.)
- Regarding the problem with the models: I would solve this by using the same 'cast' of models (like actors/actresses) for all episodes, just varying the costumes. If you know the European Disney comics, you may already be familiar with the concept. There is a large number of comic strips that are parodies of classical novels with Donald Duck and his nephews, Uncle Scrooge, Daisy, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, etc. all playing the roles of the original protagonists. The tension between the 'natural' behaviors of the 'actors' and those of the roles they are playing are a good driving force for making the parodies distinct from the originals. But even if you don't make much use of this, you can at least reuse the models. Don't bother creating an in-universe explanation why people in different universes look eerily similar. I can't remember what it's called, but I am sure there is an article on tvtropes.org that explains how to deal with such plotholes through the simple expedient of making a character comment on how strange it is. That turns it into a mystery in-universe, and there is no need to save this mystery.

I do agree with the "Each world has their own unique girl" way to go, unlike having to keep track of what you do in every world, having it so you can only interact with a world through one character would solve that, you don't visit JJBA Part 6, you visit Jolyne, you interact with the world through her, and the influence is locked to that world through her.

I do disagree with creating the connections after though, that is the foundation of your world and story, something that will need to be there, sure, you don't have to write every detail for how the world works, but I don't wanna even think of how hard it would be to connect something like Animal Crossing to damned Doom Eternal (lemme hit the Khan Maykr) but with TV series. You need the foundation at the start, then you build on it, what series connect? Why do these series connect? How do they connect? It is crucial to set guidelines at the start for how the world works so players can set proper expectations, if I come in wanting to see, say, Michonne, but you aren't gonna adapt suspense and horror series, I'd be sad, but if you explained at the start that maybe, some alternative Sci-Fi world tore the universal cloth between dimensions trying to find another universe that had similar technology as them, which the remote can exploit through manipulation of time and space to perforate into another world, it'd make sense why most of the series parodied would be Sci-Fi or so, the original universe that set off this Rube Goldberg machine off specifically tried entering other Sci-Fi worlds after all.

 

[xatfx]

your story makes me want to play...

 

[PervyGod]

Haven't created VN's myself, but could see potential with the idea. Though i would say that this idea would work better if it's made with hand drawn art rather than 3d, since that way you could try to model the characters involved with their original style that has attracted people to them.