I could be wrong, but I don't think the OP is saying that you should lay out the whole story in the first contact dialogue. I think what he's trying to say is that you need to at least have some type of hint of what's going on. If a contact just says, "I need you to go here and see what's going on", there's nothing there to hook the player into wanting to do the mission. There's no clear goal that you're looking to accomplish. If they said, "I need you to go to this place because there's a rumor that so-and-so might have done such-and-such", at least you have a purpose that would give you more incentive to do it. The rest of the story unfolds as you get more involved. One clue leads to another. But, there has to be something that gives you a clear reason for wanting to 'go investigate' in the first place.
No AV/EBs Deal with The Devil's Pawn-207266 Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons-100045 Meet the Demon Spawn-151099 Feedback
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I could be wrong, but I don't think the OP is saying that you should lay out the whole story in the first contact dialogue. I think what he's trying to say is that you need to at least have some type of hint of what's going on. If a contact just says, "I need you to go here and see what's going on", there's nothing there to hook the player into wanting to do the mission. There's no clear goal that you're looking to accomplish. If they said, "I need you to go to this place because there's a rumor that so-and-so might have done such-and-such", at least you have a purpose that would give you more incentive to do it. The rest of the story unfolds as you get more involved. One clue leads to another. But, there has to be something that gives you a clear reason for wanting to 'go investigate' in the first place.
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exactly - thank you for saying it better than I have.
It doesn't matter what actually happens in the arc. What matters is that the player believes that there is a story which they are going to see. Of course the author knows there is a story - the player does not.
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xactly - thank you for saying it better than I have.
It doesn't matter what actually happens in the arc. What matters is that the player believes that there is a story which they are going to see. Of course the author knows there is a story - the player does not.
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A lot of my gut reaction on that point is that I'm not a fan of giving away too many hints in the first act. I like stories that evolve over time and only at the end do you see all the pieces line up. I find those stories interesting myself. So my read on the guide itself is that it overplays the 'tell the player there's a story' and downplays the power of a good well placed plot twist.
But that is also ~my~ preference. I do agree that you have to have a story and that it's important to communicate to the player that there is a story here, that this isn't just some glop he should slog through to do so. I generally use the missin description to communicate that and let the contact seem as surprised as the player at the twists.
But that's me.
I am not a fan of plot twists in MA. I am a fan of plot development.
The problem with a plot twist is that you have to make the player:
1. realize it is a plot twist
2. care
3. think it makes sense but didn't figure it out too early.
realizing it is a plot twist is the hardest - if I am sent after "Bonesnap" in the briefing and find "Blood of Zuul" in the mission - I assume one of them is a typo. I don't assume that this was an intentional change. So you have to really emphasize that this is a deliberate twist.
caring - I expect that every contact will end up betraying me - it is just so common. Everyone seems to think it is clever and unique. I expect that every hostage will be killed before I get there, it is just so common. Everyone seems to think it is clever and unique.
3. not have players realize it too soon. This is painful when it happens. Because the plot is linear, a player who figures out the twist may have to do stupid things to continue the arc.
"Look for clues" is perfectly clear. It's pretty much accepted that it means a blinky. After all, if you knew what you were looking for, half the time you wouldn't need to look for it.
And as for hostages being killed, not every map allows rescues, and no, sometimes you can't switch to one that does. Also, bad guys are bad. Sometimes they kill people.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
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"Look for clues" is perfectly clear. It's pretty much accepted that it means a blinky. After all, if you knew what you were looking for, half the time you wouldn't need to look for it.
And as for hostages being killed, not every map allows rescues, and no, sometimes you can't switch to one that does. Also, bad guys are bad. Sometimes they kill people.
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Fine, "look for clues" is perfectly clear. It hasn't mean click on blinkies in every mission I've seen it in. But it's perfectly clear. I will try not to let reality color my view.
I am fine with hostages being killed. It happens. I just don't consider it a plot twist. It is just done. That's my point. Many things authors consider to be plot twists just come across as commonplace occurances in MA. They are not surprising or shocking.
It's a superhero game. Having someone turn out to be secretly possessed by a demon and is actually evil and trying to steal your heart - in real life that's shocking. In MA that's just a normal story.
I think this is a good guide, and a lot of the complaints have been mostly nitpicks. Good storytelling basically follows these rules, and for someone who doesn't really consider themselves a writer, following them will not necessarily make their arc great - but it will make their arc better.
Their are exceptions to each and every one of these rules - but they are exceptions. If you put the phrase "in-general" in front of every one of them, then you'll have a good idea of where to go for a more advanced approach; but being wishy-washy with your points in a simple, non-technical guide would be bad writing.
The biggest point of contention seems to be leaving ambiguous clues. I think, in general... don't! You should be straightforward with what you want the hero (or villain) to do in a mission, and only when it serves the purpose of the story, should you be changing to an ambiguous labeling scheme.
You do want to lay out the general plot right at the beginning. If I'm writing a storyline about investigating where the Trolls are getting their drugs from, I can generally expect that by the end of the story, I will know where the Trolls are getting their drugs from. What I'll be finding out through the story, is that it's not from the Family, but from space-faring humanoid rabbits (betcha didn't see that one coming, M.) - and who knows, maybe I'll have also stopped their major supplier. But, in-general, I will have presented the main theme and purpose of the story and by the end of it will have resolved it. You can introduce secondary themes and plots during the course of the story, but make sure (in general) that you resolve them.
This is a great guide, if you remember that these rules can lead to a great story. Just remember that great writers break the rules - when it's necessary to the story.
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Just remember that great writers break the rules - when it's necessary to the story.
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Hmm... no...
"Good writers follow the rules. Great writers know when to break them."
I agree that if someone comes into an arc and has no idea what to do, it's a problem. But I don't know if I'd call it 'great' to lay it all out in such plain language that there's nothing interesting to it, ya know?
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Just remember that great writers break the rules - when it's necessary to the story.
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Hmm... no...
"Good writers follow the rules. Great writers know when to break them."
I agree that if someone comes into an arc and has no idea what to do, it's a problem. But I don't know if I'd call it 'great' to lay it all out in such plain language that there's nothing interesting to it, ya know?
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I absolutely agree with you.
And I beg you (I'm serious) quote the sentence or section of the guide that says otherwise. I am happy to repost my guide with more clarity. But I can't unless I am shown where it is unclear.
I'll humor you.
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- Tell the Player the Plot Upfront
Do not string the player along with just enough info for each mission. That makes it seem random and made up on the spot. Tell the player what the plot is but feel free to change it. First you must find out Big Bads plot from his minions, than you must stop his plot, then you must defeat Big Bad. This tells the player there is a story, it gives the early missions a purpose in the overall arc instead of just being filler.
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Okay now let's get down to the brass tacks of it:
Yes, you say "feel free to change it", but that's a single clause in a massive push towards saying in effect to stick to the story and tell them the story at the onset. Or rather let's look at that opening sentence:
"Do not string the player along with just enough info for each mission."
RIght there I disagree. Why? Because why would a contact need me, the hero, to do anything other than go directly after the big bad if he already knows everything there is to find out? He'll just send me after big bad from the beginning.
While you do acknoweldge that these are general guidelines to your preference in Arcs, I disagree that a good arc has to lay out a story from start to finish, as you say "First you must find out Big Bads plot from his minions, than you must stop his plot, then you must defeat Big Bad. " This is the recipe for a boring arc because it looks at first blush like just another "go defeat this guy we all know you're to defeat.
The only suspense we can create in a linear story line like a mission arc is where the plot is going to go. We can't create suspense about success or failure. NO matter what we're going to succeed, or at the worst, fail a mission, and then go on to the next one anyway. The only 'fail' in CoH is to simply give up going back into the mission after rezing at the hospital.
So I disagree with the opening premise of that entire section. If this were my guide to writers I'd say "tell the players exactly what the contact knows at that point in time." THen I would follow up with "make sure you, the writer, know the entire plot so that you can see the early missions with hints as to what is to come later. Ensure that any surprises can be looked back upon and the clues are more obvious."
But that's me and that's about as clear as I can get quoting you directly.
The rules I'm more concerned with are gameplay ones when designing MA arcs. After all, it doesn't matter how wonderful and creative your story is if nobody wants to finish the arc because the gameplay and mission design is simply frustrating.
I cover in mission more with my other guide - making enemy bases. Lots of detail on what to put in a mission.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...umber=13425457
I plan on making another about enemy raids (enemies not in their bases) but haven't yet.
["Do not string the player along with just enough info for each mission."]
Okay, you misunderstand what I mean there.
"tell the players exactly what the contact knows at that point in time." is a good thing to put. But I don't mean tell the player everything about what is going to happen - or tell more than what the contact knows.
You make up what the contact knows. And the contact will guess and make plans - more than just what they know.
I don't want to debate it more in general - I will work on a re-write and post it. Hopefully it will be more clear.
okay revised version here. Needs to be re-revised but I need to let it sit and see it with fresh eyes.
Guide To Making A Story Mission Arc
These are rules to making a story arc. These rules provide the framework not the story, not the text, not the details.
They are hard to follow I do not follow all of them in my arc, and I have the complaints to show for it. You can see these as rules, guidelines, or a challenge to violate while making a great arc. The choice is yours, the arc is yours.
Rule #1
The end result that comes out on a players screen is what matters, not the effort you put in, not the ideas you had. You have to do what is possible in MA. A great idea that does not work in practice makes a bad arc. If you have great ideas that the technology does not support, note it for later when the tech improves.
Rule #2
A great arc is great in every way. Arcs have many elements plot, intro text, mobs, maps, objectives. Being a great arc means being great in every way, not just doing one element well and having the rest be average. What makes player arcs potentially better than dev arcs is the time you can spend to attend to every detail. If your arc is at 100% size and you have to cut details cut something big (like a custom critter) so you can fill in the other details better. 14 amazing custom critters standing silently on a map is not as good an arc as 13 amazing critters brought to life with objectives, animations, descriptions, clues, etc.
Rule #3
Make your arc what it is supposed to be. It is tempting to always have 5 missions, or to have large maps. It is tempting to make everything as big and complicated as it can be which is fine if thats what your arc is supposed to be. But the best arcs are edited down to the essentials missions are not longer than needed to tell the story, important elements are not hidden by clutter, exotic maps are not used where they do not make sense.
Title: The Most Important Element
- There are thousands of arcs. Your arc will most likely be selected based on its title. If no one chooses to play your arc nothing else matters. Your title needs to make your arc seem interesting and special. A specific name makes your arc seem less generic Save Kings Row or Dr. Deaths Plot is better than Save Innocents or An Evil Plot. An active verb makes the arc sound more exciting, Aliens Invade vs Aliens. Be shameless with the title, if Bloody Zombies Eating Catgirls gets more plays then Zombies Invade go with what works.
Plot: Beginning, Middle, End
- The Beginning (and whole thing) Must Be Worthy
If you are sending a superhero on a mission the intro better explain why it is a mission worthy of a superhero. Starting small with investigate a warehouse is lame. Players want to feel important, not like they have to prove their worth to every contact or that they are the night watchman. Instead say A police officer was sent to investigate a warehouse and has not returned, please go investigate at least it seems a bit threatening.
- The Hero Must Have A Real Motive
Heroes should not be expected to do missions because they have nothing better to do. Writing an arc where they deliver flowers or do other menial tasks is dumb unless it is a spoof and thats the point. Some players will go along with an arc just to see what happens but a good arc will find a real reason to motivate them. A Skull wants help romancing a Hellion boss make the Skull promise information, or to reform, or some reward if the hero helps out. Find a motive and make it clear to the player.
- Do Not Repeat a Mission
If the purpose of mission 1 is to destroy a mind control device, do not have mission 2 be to destroy another mind control device (same with finding out information, preventing a kidnapping, etc). Repeating the same purpose in another mission feels like filler, even with a cool map. Maybe another hero or the police took out the other devices. Or maybe there was only one (you are writing the arc, you make it fit your needs). The plot needs to develop thats how a story works.
- Resolution
You want a climax to your arc, but you really need a resolution as well. That means tying up the main storyline and any sub-plots. It also means having an ending that leaves the player feeling good. Making the player hate your villain is great if they get to beat them up at the end. Making the player hate your contact is fine if they get to beat them up at the end (or somehow turn the tables on them). The player needs to end your arc feeling satisfied.
Contact and Mission Intro
- Your contact sets the tone of the arc, being the first thing the player sees and as they frame the arc. Your contact needs to have a personality and they need to impart information based on that personality. Mission intros should not be a wall of text written that just presents the mission.
- Your contract should make the hero feel heroic. This means the contact should be appropriate. An 8 year old telling the hero what to do does not go over well. An 8 year old begging for help might. Players might except an 80 year old telling the hero what to do if they do it well stand straight youngster, look me in the eye, you will go get my catgirl out of the tree if you want any cookies. It also means the contact should treat the hero with respect. Contacts should not be testing the hero, or letting them help out with unimportant missions. Players want to be the star, they want their hero to be admired.
- If the contact is a person speaking, it should be written like a person speaking including pauses, side comments, etc. Intro text need not just be speaking though it can describe what the contact does (he checks notes on his laptop), it can be ambient sounds (you hear police sirens in the distance), it can be someone other than the contact (a secretary reminds him of his meeting with the ambassador), it can be narration (as the Vanguard officer talks, you can see the drop ships flying overhead and see the bombs falling onto Steel Canyon), it can be text (an email on the computer says youll never catch me).
- The goals of the contact and mission intro are: to tell the player what to expect in the mission, to set the tone for the mission and arc, to make the player want to play the mission and continue the arc. If a player wants to complete the mission just to see what the contact has to say than you have a great contact.
- Tell the player a plot (not the details, the plot) in the first mission intro and in each mission intro (and maybe in the conclusion). The purpose of this is to make the player feel important and like there is a story they are going to see. You may know there is a story but the player does not unless you tell him. You are not telling the player what is actually going to happen, you are just giving them a plot so they believe there is a point to what they are doing.
Example: Bad mission 1: find this book for me, mission 2: take this book to Azuria, mission 3: now fight bad guy Azuria found with book. Good mission 1: find this book for me, then you will need to take it to Azuria and she will use it to find the bad guy for you to defeat. Now you can have mission 1 end with the book not being found. The plot is not progressing as expected. So in mission 2 tell a new plot find Informant, beat him up so he tells you where the book is, then get the book, take it to Azuria, etc. Even worse then a plan of Step 1: Steal Underwear, Step 3: Profit is a plan of Step 1: steal underwear.
Maps
- Rotate Tilesets
Do not use the same tileset two missions in a row if you can help it, and never three missions in a row. If you need several offices use CoH and CoV offices, make one abandoned or use a tech tileset do something so that they are different. If you really have to use the same tilesets several raids on Arachnos bases, then find an excuse to throw in a different small map (meet a contact at Mercy Dock, raid the small flyer map) to provide a break. You are creative you can find an excuse to break up the monotony.
- Use CoV Tilesets
Remember that many players only play one side, mostly heroes so using CoV tilesets may make your maps not just different in the arc, but something the player has never seen. Dont just use CoV tilesets, but explore your options, do not just use maps you are familiar with.
- Vary the Map Size
Not all missions should be huge maps, nor all small maps. In a story based arc the maps should generally be smaller given the choice. But a large map makes that mission feel a bit more epic. Unlike other details you should not stagger map sizes (small, large, small, large). Typically they should be smaller at the start and longer at the end. Do not feel that a large map is required at the end the maps serve the needs of the story.
- Use Appropriate Maps
It is tempting to use the cool looking maps because they look cool. But use the map
- Use Outdoor Maps Sparingly
Outdoor maps do not have front, middle, and back so any spawn can be anywhere. They do not channel the player, so it is hard to make sure you have been everywhere it feels more repetitive to go back and forth on an outdoor map than to run through the halls on a normal map. And outdoor maps are usually large. So finding an objective on an outdoor map is usually harder, takes longer, and is more annoying than the same objective indoors. Do not avoid using them if it is called for but consider alternatives. Tiny outdoor maps do not have these problems.
Mission Objectives
- Rotate Objectives
Rotate mission objectives. Ideally no two missions in a row have the same objective, and three missions in a row should not have the same objective. Even if the map, enemies, plot, etc are different 3 defeat boss, or 3 rescue NPCs in a row feel repetitive. Mission 1, 3, and 5 can have the same objective, just have 2 and 4 be different.
- Do Not Make All Required
It is great to add flavor objectives, do not make them all required. If you are raiding an enemy base is the goal to defeat the boss or to get information from the computer? Choose one and make that the required objective. Rarely should both be required. It is common to tack on a defeat boss when it is not really needed. The named boss can be there the player can choose whether or not to go after them. Do not try to force the player to examine and explore every detail you created. Think of them as easter eggs more fun for players who do find them.
- Do Not Use Defeat All
Players who are not farming hate defeat alls. No matter how well intentioned, you end up having to find one last minion hiding behind a crate. Whats worse is it makes the ending anti-climactic. If a player spends 15 minutes loving your mission and 5 minutes hating it while they hunt for one last minion they end the mission hating it. You are a brilliant person who can find a reason why you need to have a defeat all objective use that brilliance instead to figure out reasons why you do not need a defeat all objective. Note that tiny maps (casinos, one room caves, etc) ignore this rule. If there are only 1-5 spawns, a defeat all plays fine many players may still skip your arc when they see a defeat all though.
Mission Spawns
A minimum of 5 spawns in a mission should be custom spawns, and if there are more than 10 total spawns, half should be custom spawns. Now a custom spawn just means that it is not a standard spawn of the base enemy group standing doing their default emote. Custom spawns can have dialog, have movement, do appropriate animation, add appropriate items, or add required objectives.
- Dialog Spawns
A dialog spawn is intended to add flavor to a mission by saying dialog. This can be done through a boss spawn, a patrol, or other types. Dialog can be used to reinforce the villain plot Once we finish robbing this bank we can buy bigger guns, promote the main villain If any heroes show up, Big Bad will take care of them, or make the mission seem more real I cant find one of the secretaries, I think she is hiding.
With dialog a lot is good, but in small doses. Do not fill every dialog box a spawn can have. Keep it to the essential dialog you want them to read.
- Animation Spawns
You can usually set special spawns to do animations of your choosing. This can reinforce the feeling of a mission. If you are raiding a villain base maybe they are sitting around, listening to music, training, etc. If you are stopping a villain assault maybe they are carrying explosives or doing an aggressive animation. Animations are very effective at adding flavor to a mission without adding dialog that might clutter the screen.
- Object Spawns
Object spawns can be defendable objects, destructible objects, or clickies. Defendable and destructible objects let you have mobs around the object which can talk about it. Object spawns let you customize your maps a little with flavor items. Altars give a mystic feel to a warehouse, weapon racks give it a military feel. Put a set of medical equipment in a sewer and it looks Vahzilok are working on building more minions in their base, instead of just another sewer you walk through.
- Movement Spawns
Standard spawns stand still or move around a little. If you want enemies to show some effort, movement spawns make the mission more dynamic: patrols, ambushes, and defendable objects.
I like the work done on the plot and the contact info.
Thanks for a thought-provoking guide. Also thanks to the participants in the conversation. Reading this has given me inspiration to go back and finish my first arc, which I quit working on after deciding it wasn't very good. It seems that I was instinctively doing mostly the right type of thing after all, and I now have hope that I can finish it and make it good after all.
Thanks! 
Defendable Objects are somewhat bugged. Specifically, the AI will--at best--attack the object once and then focus all attention on the player. I've been trying to gather up non-existant support to get this fixed for I15.
Yeah I don't use defendable objects as a real objective - just as a way of triggering ambushes. If they actually started attacking it, one of my arcs would be strange.
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You shouldn't tell about Plan B. I say that you should feel free to change the plot.
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If you're open to suggestions I would go back to the guide and rework this paragraph/ point. You say that you should feel free to change it but you also emphasis for most of the section have a clear plot for the player to follow.
You also put a lot in clear objectives when sometimes a little ambiquity is just what the story needs. Rather than say "Defeat Muck Face" as an objective, "find and arrest the criminal mastermind" puts a different focus on the mission and doesn't tip too much of the story.
Likewise, if the plot hinges on a surprise, such as finding out that the contact is the big bad, then having "Defeat Contact" appear in your nav bar all but ruins the story from start to finish.
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The get there and the planet is blown up and the plot changes - perfectly fine. Luke knew that there was a plan and what the big picture was. It changed, and he found out it changed.
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I disagree heavily. He had no idea what he was in for. He didn't have a clue that delievering Obi Wan and this droid would lead to him joining the rebellion.
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Note that in Star Wars Luke doesn't start out knowing about the secret plans, the rebellion, etc. But the audience does. The movie starts off with text about the Death Star, and Leia being captured.
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Yes but in that context, the Arc in CoX is both the protagonist and the audience in one. There is no means to have 'audience' knowledge seperate from character knowledge. So if you want a twist to be a surprise to the character then they have to be a twist to the audience as well.
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Detective stories do not start out "look around the office and see if something happened". They start off with someone being killed and the detective knowing from the start the crime committed, its importance - then they try to figure it out.
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Not all of them do. Some of them, and I'm think of Film Noir here, start off with a gumshoe just getting hired to follow the cheating husband of some skirt. Not all start off with the dective knowing the scope and depth of the crime they're investigating.
Look even at modern mysteries, like CSI, and how often something starts out as the investigating one murder and in the process they find something much much bigger.
I think my issue with the 'guide' as such is that it establishes what seem to be hard and fast rules that are not quite universal. Even the Star Wars example shows how powerful twists are to a story. Luke at first thinks he's just cleaning up some droids. Then he finds out he has to track down Ben. Then he finds out he has to help Ben go to Aldaraan. Then he finds out he has to join the rebellion.
But what doesn't happen is that when he gets the hidden message, Princess Leia says "you there boy, you're going to join the rebellion and save the universe." All she does is give him the first hint: Go Find Obi Wan. That's it. No more. In fact, they even truncate the message so that ALL he gets is that first hook.
Don't get me wrong, there's a lot good in this guide but personaly I prefer missions that bring suspense with them.