MA cliches: What to avoid in your new Arc.

Black_Falcon · 04-22-2009 06:15 AM

Demons and clowns. Overdone. try to do something different.
Please list overdone cliches...Maybe we can steer creative minds away from the same old story time and again.

Heraclea · 04-22-2009 06:17 AM

I've seen a lot more robots and ninjas than demons and clowns.

<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison

Kong_Fuu · 04-22-2009 06:25 AM

Missions where you have to rescue Evil McEvil from something, and it turns out that shock they are evil and turn on you once you get to the mission door.

OzzieArcane · 04-22-2009 06:55 AM

According to a SG member. Far too many arcs take place in the cargo ship map.

Leese_US · 04-22-2009 07:07 AM

Clone armies.

Especially when they use the Crey Cloning Lab map as their final mission.

Ullikummis · 04-22-2009 07:13 AM

Hmmmmm, so maybe I should hold off on my demonic clone clown army that has taken over a cargo ship and will turn on you the moment you enter? I thought their robot pets made a nice change of pace.

That blue thing running around saying "Cookies are sometimes food" is Praetorian Cookie Monster!
Shoot on sight, please.

DanZero · 04-22-2009 07:14 AM

This is what I keep seeing repeatedly:

Humor Arcs - We get it. Super powers versus fruit.

Vanity Arcs - We know you have a Villain or a Hero. That's nice. So do we.

Inside Jokes - I don't mind an off hand remark here and there that doesn't hack the story, but I've seen too many arcs that have digs at people I don't know or tributes to characters I don't care about.

Weird Contact - WOW! A TALKING WHITEBOARD! Or Nemesis asking me for a favor in the middle of an arc.

NPC Savior - If I wanted NPCs to save the day, I'd watch movies.

galadiman · 04-22-2009 07:19 AM

These are my pet peeves (YMMV):

Arcs that KILL YOU DED because I wanna! HAH!

Arcs with incredibly convoluted stories that require reading every single line of walls of text to make sure you understand what is actually happening. (riddle stories excepted)
(there's a balance between story and TMI)

Arc #6015 - Coming Unglued

"A good n00b-sauce is based on a good n00b-roux." - The Masque

DeviousMe · 04-22-2009 07:35 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Humor Arcs - We get it. Super powers versus fruit.

[/ QUOTE ]
Humor is very subjective. Personally, I thought that arc's concept was pretty funny - especially the play on the celery stalk...er.

"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi

Characters

Rapulis · 04-22-2009 08:34 AM

I have to say, celery stalker sounds funny.

Madcat_88_NA · 04-22-2009 09:36 AM

I've used an obejct as a contact to represent the character's own planning rather than something telling them what to do.

#2409 - The Mystery of the MAGI vaults. Azuria has contacted you to help her stop the thefts from the MAGI vaults.
#68054 - Out of the gutters. Left for dead, you swore that you were through with being a victim (alt villain beginning story)

Silver Gale · 04-22-2009 10:07 AM

Missions where you have to defeat a boss.

Missions where you have to defeat everyone.

Missions where you have to find a particular object and click it/destroy it/protect it.

Missions where you have to find a guy, beat up some bad guys around him, and lead him back to the missions entrance.

Character index

Trickshooter · 04-22-2009 10:16 AM

So avoid demons, clowns, robots and ninjas...

That leaves us with... aliens, dudes with guns, and cat girls.

Trickshooter's Characters | @Trickshooter @Brightside

Tanglefoe · 04-22-2009 10:26 AM

I made an arc where you kill cows. At first I thought it was a great, original idea but there are actually tons of them out there. I'm still pretty proud of my Moo Mystic and Holy Cow though.

DKellis · 04-22-2009 10:32 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Missions where you have to defeat a boss.

Missions where you have to defeat everyone.

Missions where you have to find a particular object and click it/destroy it/protect it.

Missions where you have to find a guy, beat up some bad guys around him, and lead him back to the missions entrance.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do not try to be over-the-top on the Internet.

There is no top to be over.

Current main:
Schrodinger's Gun, Dual Pistols/Mental Blaster, Virtue

Avatar: Becky Miyamoto from Pani Poni Dash. Roulette roulette~

Scootertwo · 04-22-2009 10:35 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Missions where you have to defeat a boss.

Missions where you have to defeat everyone.

Missions where you have to find a particular object and click it/destroy it/protect it.

Missions where you have to find a guy, beat up some bad guys around him, and lead him back to the missions entrance.

[/ QUOTE ]

so basically every arc ever written up to and including canon.

CaptainBaffo · 04-22-2009 10:57 AM

humor has it's place in arcs... if it's done right. but it can go down hill pretty quickly.

"When Eric Estrada looked me in the eyes, I thought I would feel different..." Michael Perry

The Frat and the Furious - MA ID 27145
Town of Super People - MA ID 59106

BackFire · 04-22-2009 11:18 AM

The one I keep running into is "Your contact is actually the bad guy."

Other than that, I've seen a great variety!

Craft your inventions in AE!!

Play "Crafter's Cafe" - Arc #487283. A 1 mission, NON-COMBAT AE arc with workable invention tables!

Rogue_MD · 04-22-2009 11:52 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Missions where you have to defeat a boss.

Missions where you have to defeat everyone.

Missions where you have to find a particular object and click it/destroy it/protect it.

Missions where you have to find a guy, beat up some bad guys around him, and lead him back to the missions entrance.

[/ QUOTE ]

so basically every arc ever written up to and including canon.

[/ QUOTE ]

I lol'd.

Servo · 04-22-2009 12:30 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Missions where you have to defeat a boss.

Missions where you have to defeat everyone.

Missions where you have to find a particular object and click it/destroy it/protect it.

Missions where you have to find a guy, beat up some bad guys around him, and lead him back to the missions entrance.

[/ QUOTE ]

so basically every arc ever written up to and including canon.

[/ QUOTE ]

OK - so I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this as well.

How about Clockwork arcs? The one I'm working on takes off from Clockwork stories...or does that fall into too many robots?

On side note, although I have loved every mission so far, as anyone noticed a lot of "office worker" enemies? I think I've run three different arcs where there's some variation of the theme.

Just wondering.

Nobody "gets" me, Baby! I'm the wind...
Chicks dig Giant Robots!

Silver Gale · 04-23-2009 02:21 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Missions where you have to defeat a boss.

Missions where you have to defeat everyone.

Missions where you have to find a particular object and click it/destroy it/protect it.

Missions where you have to find a guy, beat up some bad guys around him, and lead him back to the missions entrance.

[/ QUOTE ]

so basically every arc ever written up to and including canon.

[/ QUOTE ]

See? They *are* overused!

Character index

CaptainAmazing · 04-23-2009 03:02 AM

You know I kinda brought up that point in a thread I made, it seems that the only thing ok to make is a flippin radio mission! ><

-C.A.

Clave_Dark_5 · 04-23-2009 03:55 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Humor Arcs - We get it. Super powers versus fruit.

[/ QUOTE ]
Humor is very subjective. Personally, I thought that arc's concept was pretty funny - especially the play on the celery stalk...er.

[/ QUOTE ]

You just don't understand. We've all seen funny in our lives before - it's been done. Funny is as dead as the superhero ideal of the 50s is. It's done, get over it. No one need attempt humor ever again.

Oh wait, I forgot my sarcasm tags. Sorry bout that. Not aimed at you at all DM, just the previous type of posters.

Listen guys, this thread will do no one any good amd certainly won't change anything. Everything's been done already, get over setting yourself up as the judge to decide what's worth doing and what's not.

No matter what you come up with, anyone with half a brain can find a good reason to include it in their next arc if they so desire, unless you somehow think there's no point in trying to be funny anymore anyways or something equally silly... I may just have to do a catgirls-on-a-cargo-ship-fighting zombies mission next, just to annoy everyone.

grimmie · 04-23-2009 05:28 AM

There hasn't been an original idea since the Greek poets. So skip that cliche.

What is over done are missions that can only be tanked (bruted???) by 50s max'd out on their purple IO sets. Really, play test your missions with more than one type of toon before you publish them and preferably one that isn't 'uber'.

HighTreason · 04-23-2009 05:29 AM

One note on the humor bit is that so many people think they are funny but are so not. Humor is THE HARDEST genre to write by far, and people treat it as if it's as easy is making some silly-looking characters and writing some silly text with little or no thought toward plot, continuity, plausibility, or anything else that makes a good story a good story (humor or not).

It's much easier for a passable drama or action story to be written by a mediocre writer or at least one who puts in minimal effort. Humor takes much more finesse.