Arcs that have done stuff like this


BadJuJu

 

Posted

I'm trying to do some cool story writing and need to see some examples. Can you point me to any arcs in which:

- An NPC who appears in one mission is abducted between that and the next mission.
- An NPC is defeated by the enemies on-screen, regardless of what the players do.
- An enemy NPC escapes, regardless of what the players do.
- The text in the Nav window changes, for instance from "Locate the Boss" to "Defeat the Boss" in the midst of a mission
- A good example of mission text that is appropriate whether you failed or completed the previous mission.

Thanks!


 

Posted

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- The text in the Nav window changes, for instance from "Locate the Boss" to "Defeat the Boss" in the midst of a mission

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Arc 1567, MacGuffin Delivery Service, does this a few times.


 

Posted

That'd be as easily as creating a glowie and listing it's singular as "Locate The Boss" and causing the goal of defeating said boss only spawning after the first was completed.


 

Posted

There will be no toys this year for Christmas!

Accept this Mission?

Yes! or No!

Be a Hero.
The Choice is Yours!


 

Posted

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...cool story writing...regardless of what the players do...regardless of what the players do...appropriate whether you failed or completed the previous mission.

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I've seen things like this.

They were called "movies". Generally, I like games to at least pretend to let me have an impact on the outcome.


 

Posted

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...cool story writing...regardless of what the players do...regardless of what the players do...appropriate whether you failed or completed the previous mission.

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I've seen things like this.

They were called "movies". Generally, I like games to at least pretend to let me have an impact on the outcome.

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Aw, come on. You've never played a game that had cutscenes?

This story is about rescuing your ally. Wouldn't it be more interesting to see the abduction than to just have it happen "offscreen" and read about it in the text windows?

Okay, maybe you disagree. Then tell me: if I set up the mission so the ally may or may not be defeated ("kidnapped"), how do I write the next mission? If you had saved the ally she should be there by your side fighting the boss. But if you hadn't saved her, she should be a captive needing to be rescued. And of course the dialogue will be different.

Your thoughts?


 

Posted

Grim Riddles has the main villain appear in the first mission and escape - you encounter him again in the last mission.

The middle 3 missions are riddles - so it is a very unusual arc.

But it does a great job of making you see, then hate the main villain and itch for a shot at him in the final mission.


 

Posted

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- The text in the Nav window changes, for instance from "Locate the Boss" to "Defeat the Boss" in the midst of a mission.

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I should have been more specific. I want the change to occur when the first fight begins, or at least when the first fight ends. The idea is that you think this is going to be a non-combat mission (yeah, right) until the shooting starts. Can that be done?


 

Posted

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Grim Riddles has the main villain appear in the first mission and escape - you encounter him again in the last mission.


[/ QUOTE ] I see that the villain must be set to Run Away when he takes only a little damage. And the map has such close quarters that the players probably can't catch him in time.

But what happens if by some miracle they do defeat him? Is the plot messed up? If it were me, I'd set his "dying words" to be "...Teleporting...to...base...bwah ha ha!" to show that even if you defeated him, he got away.


 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Grim Riddles has the main villain appear in the first mission and escape - you encounter him again in the last mission.


[/ QUOTE ] I see that the villain must be set to Run Away when he takes only a little damage. And the map has such close quarters that the players probably can't catch him in time.

But what happens if by some miracle they do defeat him? Is the plot messed up? If it were me, I'd set his "dying words" to be "...Teleporting...to...base...bwah ha ha!" to show that even if you defeated him, he got away.

[/ QUOTE ]

It actually isn't the main villain, just one of his lackeys playing the role. If you defeat him he just laughs and explains he's just a fake.

Originally it was the main villain, an EB, but in such a small map you had the tendency to bump into him and be torn to pieces before he ran... so he was changed to something less dangerous (a boss level critter), which, of course, made it pretty easy for some to defeat him before he ran.

So anyhow, no, the plot isn't messed up if you defeat him.


 

Posted

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It actually isn't the main villain, just one of his lackeys playing the role. If you defeat him he just laughs and explains he's just a fake.


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Very clever. My hat's off to you, Mantid.

It's a challenge we have to address because we can't choose the next mission based on whether the Boss is defeated. My villains are robots, so maybe I'll pull the Cylon-resurrection bit when the boss goes down.

Ooh, that may solve some other problems I had with the plot too. Cool!