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Post by Doan the Nado on Mar 4, 2005 0:57:19 GMT -5
Submit your ideas here for the religious, political, and historical background of the world that the story will take place in. Some mentions of cities and groups of people are fine, but please try to stay away from creating characters or minor cities just yet. This area is really wide open, so get to posting and discussing ideas, and we'll see what we all come up with. The game's background (as of now) can be found in this post by King Spoom. He has done a good job of putting a few ideas together into one, so let's see what we can do with this.
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Post by vespuleth on Mar 4, 2005 2:31:42 GMT -5
so i guess ill tee this off:
world background:
history:
religion:
politics:
(im adding another catagory) general sociology:
world background:
while new worlds dont appeal to me in any way, i want to say that, in doing an old world approach, two ideas need to be marked and avoided:
the end in sight approach:
the world has been in chaos/war/fear for all its history, and now, some hero has arrisen, and the problem is finally at the end all be all.
the catastrophe approach:
the once peaceful world has suddenly come upon a world catastrophe
so, i offer a few ideas for world history:
first, that the world has been at war since the beginning, and we see a small part of it (possibly even a background part) through the game. the 'hero' of the game is the common soldier, who fights for what he believes in, and sees no end in sight. (something like the modern soldier).
second: that we micromanage. rather than presenting a scale 'world' epic, we narrow our 'world' down to a small country, and tell its history. this is what im doing with 'fawleh: pheonix pinion'. and i think it works well. that is of course, if the world is the generic 'playing field' rather than the quite literal globe.
so here is my history:
a small country has been carved out of a shaky alliance of city states, that collapsed under the conquest of some larger scale invasion. (something like the germanic collapse under the roman invasion). the subdued countries now pose a threat as a branch of the invading force, while there is lots of infighting among the remaining 'countries', as they try to secure assets to protect them against the impending invasion.
so, the world history, formally:
001 (figuratively) a new world power forms 002 world power begins conquest/assimilation 003 a group of city states bands together to fight off the invasion 004 invasion prevails, leaving a shattered social structure, a broken army 005 some city states are conquered 006 city states that are left begin infighting, and political dealing to secure assets and try to protect their land
implications/premises:
with this premise, our 'hero' could be a person in the conquering army, w/ the job to subdue the people, our a soldier of the forces defending their land. alternatively, he could be a ruddy leader who is both the political figurehead and warlord (thid would be most interesting to me) or a diplomat whose job is to somehow sort out the problem, and maybe gets mixed up in the fighting (??)
religion:
im going to write this assuming that the previous history is adopted. so, if it isnt, this will need some adjusting.
i think that an underlying struggle could be presented right here. while the overlying struggle is protection of land, the underlying could be security of identity. let me expand.
the city states are able to band together because they have similar social structures (possibly different groups of the same nomadic tribe, something like abraham and lot). they would then, share a religious set.
however, the invading force would be a different religion, in some way.
so actually identifying the two different religions:
i really think that polytheism is to easy to make to be interesting, and also very widely done at this point. i also think that monotheism is a good choice, because, well, its usually represented very vaguely and is usually fairly bland in video games. more to follow.
it really depends, however, where you decide to place the events in the history of the world(globe). historically, there were very few monotheistic religions in the early ages of the world, as monotheism is a very advanced intellectual concept (what a paradox).
anyways, itd be to easy to do monotheism vs polytheism, and polytheism vs polytheism seems a bit... too hard to structure (my zues can beat up your jupiter) esspecially if a language barrier exists (how do you know that your god of war and his god of war are not the same, if you both call him what your language identifies as the word for war??)
but monotheism vs monotheism is hard. or so it seems. until of course, we look at the crusades. but then, we want to make religion an undertone, not a motivation, so we encounter problems again.
so we want to monotheistic religions, neither as zealous as history demonstrates (monotheistic religions seem to be more zealous than polytheistic religions, which wer emore laxadazical (sp??)). hmmm...
so religions...
im sitting here, trying to think of the primary difference between islam and catholocism, so bare with me if this all seems like a giant brain wondering (for thats what it is).
maybe ill come back to this yet again...
third was politics:
well, this one is easy. and yet another channel of identity theft representation. so we need two different governments. (this will be shorter than religion, i promise).
of course, depending on who you want to paint as the bad guy, this could be done differently.
i would suggest, just by the look of it, that the city states either have a monarchy, where it stays in the blood, or a rule by right (you keep what you kill?) where as the invading country would be that of a democracy/republic (does this seem too much like rome vs germania yet???) although that does give the figurative democracy is more powerful than monarchy (i always had a qualm w/ this representation in civilization) monarchy does have its uses. but maybe just for a twist, it could be the exact opposite. the city states have been ruled by town councels, with figurehead 'kings' for ages, and now, a king from some divine empire far away is coming to rule them.
so then our religious state would be city states: council, empire: monarchy (seem like the revolutionary war?) i can tell its late, because im drawing alot of this straight form history. oh well, onward i go.
so, i dont know how detailed you want us to get with this politics, but i would suggest a council something like this:
1 person for each trade 1 person for commerce 1 person for defenses 1 person for sanitation 1 person for development 1 person for supplies 1 person for religion 1 figurehead
so, liberally, that would give us about at the most, 15 people per council. seems reasonable to me. (this is, assuming that the city state isnt a wealthy one with lots of trades taking place. of course, the less trades that the cities have, and the less they have in common, the more they need to depend on each other, and an interesting diplomatic side shoot to the game. just a thought).
of course, the larger the city, the larger the council will need to be.
thats all i have for politics. if you want me to expand an idea, please ask.
... whats next? oh, right my catagory: sociology:
im thinking that the city states would be tightly nit. the soldiers fight because they love their land, their family, and their freedom. they are not the most well off, but they are free, and that abstraction is worth more than the most tangible gold.
anyways, i think this is a pretty good assembly of thoughts to get things rollin. hope you enjoy.
sorry if this is a bit narrow. i tend to think better in instances (when i can group things instead of having to generalize) thats why i built off of my world history idea.
oh, i dont guess i ever finished my religion idea, did i? at this point, i dont know where else to expand it, so ill have to come back to it later.
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Post by Doan the Nado on Mar 4, 2005 2:47:25 GMT -5
Thanks for the long post, vespuleth. This seems like a good starting place for an RPG, but that doesn't mean that no one else should submit a brand new idea. I like the idea of a powerful monarchal empire invading a loose collection of city-states. I also like the angle of the game not being about a decisive event in the world, or the prevention of the end of the world. His idea does a good job of avoiding cliches both in video games and in history, and I like that. The main problem I have here is that the game I'm working on now involves a soldier and a city at war, and I was kind of hoping to do something different.
I'd really like to see some other comments, some added and brand new ideas, and see what all we can combine together from these. I do think the medeival setting is the way to go, because it allows realistically for things like swords and so on. I don't think religion should have a huge influence on the story (as ves expressed), but perhaps politics shouldn't be the key driving factor either.
If you decide to present a new idea, please try to keep yours a bit more general, so that it is easier for others to add to it if they decide they like it. Other than that, good job ves, and thanks for your contribution.
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Post by The Final Rune on Mar 4, 2005 10:18:57 GMT -5
Guess its time for my two cents. All of this is just off the top of my head, so I can't promise much. Here goes! History - The world of (insert name here) has only one main continent. The land mass is devided into four smaller land masses by way of natural formations (rivers, cliffs, mountain ranges, etc.) creating three large city-states and one provicial-state. The relations between these states has not been a peaceful one. Endless warring and fueds between the three city-states has gone on for generations. Most towns and villages are desolate ghost towns with exception of the heavily fortified fortresses of the main three warlord factions. These factions (to be named later) have maintained the majority of power over the last (number) centuries.
[/li][li][/color] Religion & Politics - Always a precedent in any world, the religion of (world name) is as divided as its landscape. - Group #1 - This state believes in a 'One God' fashion and their crusade against the 'evil' of the other states is the driving force towards their warlike manner. This group fetures all the major short comings and contradictions that plague today's christianity. Several among this group have begun to lose faith in their sacred and ancient traditions, and they are questioning the purpose of the land's constant war. The religious leaders of (group name) are almost at constant quarrel with the political leaders over how the crusades should be run. The 'holy' men belive all won lands and objects from the war should be burned in a cleansing fire to 'purify' the land and destroy the evil of the objects that inhabited it. The government however sees things with a more financial directed mind and knows the value of keeping and using all you find.
- Group #2 - This state follows a multi-god religion (I can't remember the term) where their various gods demand sarifices and tributes in order to grant them victory on the battle field and in life. Mostly an illiterate and uneducated group, the priests or temple shamans (whatever) maintain the control over the group. Highly supersticious and paranoid this group rarely welcomes outsiders. A warlord like community, the principle leader other than the shamans is the 'alpha male' of the moment. Any elligible male may challenge for this title, but few would do so without the shamans backing. Power without the religious leaders backing you up is useless.
- Group #3 - This state is a feudal kingdom built on the principle of conquest. No major religion is followed, instead the people of this group believe ascendance to higher plane of existance is the ultimate goal of their lives. Achievement of this is only possible by obtaining the power (think soul) of your enemies by killing them, eating their heart, etc. The nation is split between two practices of warfare. The knight-dom and the practice of sorcery. A potiential for a civil war over their different war styles is a possibility. The ruling head is the Queen, since they belive women are the mother of all things they follow a woman as their leader, and the role of King belongs to the Queen's chosen mate. Most usually the highest ranking knight due to the belief that strong will breed strong, but currently the Queen has taken a powerful sorcerer as her mate of choice. This to say little, has upset the knight-dom.
- Group #4 - The small provincial state is the most isolated of the four. A sadly peaceful state, whenever invaded by a neighboring state they quickly surrender, hoping to avoid as much blood shed as possible. Often forgotten and ignored for their lack of involvement, this group believes their 'faith' in the ideals of peace may one day bring salvation to the land. No major policical faction exists, but the people of (group name) usually follow the elders of their group out of respect that knowledge that age brings wisdom.
[/li][li][/color] Current Events - The Kingdom is at odds with the Warlord group for their invading and pillaging of the Kingdom's lands. The Holy Crusaders are against the Kingdom for its allowment of women to hold power and their willingness to follow a woman's orders. They are also at against the Warlord state for what they call their 'uncleanliness' and the Warlord's lack of proper religious belief. The Warlords simply want to kill everyone else to appease their gods. The Peace loving group is thankfully not situated next to the Warlord group, but their land is constantly invaded and fought over by the the Kingdom and the Holy Crusaders.
[/li][/ul][/li][/ul] Now typically in an RPG I would expect the Hero to come from the peace loving nation. Its cliche, I know. However, I'd like to see the hero (or anti-hero for that matter) come from one of the warring states, preferably the Warlord state, maybe just for the irony of it. I won't go into story here, but surely this setting leaves much opportunity for many types of stories. [/color]
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Post by Bigfoot on Mar 4, 2005 13:21:44 GMT -5
you can do a regular cliche with the world religion, like
Three thousand years ago a battle between the God ("good") and the Evil God ("evil"), raged on for days, thus ("good") banned ("evil") from the existince of the universe but he had to sacrifice the ocean to do so, thus the tale of a lost ocean.
which could fit totally for continents with no oceans that float in the sky.
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Post by Doan the Nado on Mar 4, 2005 15:29:12 GMT -5
I'd really like to avoid cliches here, but I'm also trying to come up with a project that is not overly deep and complicated. I'm hoping to turn out a quick game that will help motivate me to get to work on my own project. The areas I struggle most in are completely creating a story and map creation, so I thought if I could get some help with those, I would probably be able to create a game rather quickly.
So far, I'm in a strange predicament in that the submitted ideas are almost too good: they seem to lend themselves to very involved stories that could take a long time to create, and they also make typical battling a bit awkward. Maybe there's no way to avoid cliches without creating a game that's rather deep...
Update: The Final Rune said: "Just because a game has a well developed background doesn't mean that the game itself will be long and drawn out. A 15 hour game can be made out of any story line, I mean how else do they pack a 30hr+ novel into a 2hr movie? Don't get discouraged before we begin. Lots of backstory leave it open to the player how far and how long the game goes."
and my reply was: "You're right, I see what you mean. Yes, I suppose a well-developed backstory could be very long and serve merely to lay a consistent foundation for the events in the game. We'll have to wait and see what we all put together, I guess."
Sorry if I seemed like I was being overly negative. Let's just keep going with these ideas (or any new ones you'd like to submit) and see where the game goes.
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Post by The Final Rune on Mar 4, 2005 15:31:40 GMT -5
Fast is in essence a cliche itself. What kind of game production is ever finished in just a couple months?
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Post by Doan the Nado on Mar 4, 2005 15:33:17 GMT -5
You're right... I edited my post above.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 4, 2005 17:55:27 GMT -5
And now for something completely different: world background: The area the game takes place is a country of peace. There have been no wars in decades and the country has begun an extensive trading empire. The place is well protected by mountains, a huge river, and the ocean. A small military force is in place to keep the peace and protect the borders but few have actually seen real battle. This is a land of prosperity and wealth with few worries or dangers. history: Many centuries ago, a great war covered the land. The leaders on both sides were warlocks of great power and caused the land to be decimated by fire, earth quakes and floods. In the end, their magicks gave out and both fell to their deaths - on into the ocean and the other into a crack in the earth. Eventually the earth recovered and the broken earth became the fertile land the new country was built upon. Occasionally, the earth will tremble and some think this is the land warlock trying to escape his earthly tomb. When the seas rumble and great waves crash against the shore, it is believed the water warlock is trying to escape his watery grave. The young people laugh at such stories, but the old men fear the warlocks may someday return and continue their battle. religion: Polytheism is the official religion - believing in a god for the earth, water, plants, fertility, commerce, wealth, and love. Because of the peace and wealth the inhabitants have know for many years, worship has declined and many young people don't believe in the gods at all. politics: All council members are voted for in a free election but the emperor has his title by heritage. The council controls the day to day activities of the country, but the emperor has the final say an any matters of state. This arrangement came about during a very unstable time is the country history when the empire was close to falling apart. general sociology: Although the country is wealthy, there are still poor living in the cities and rural communities. Thievery is not uncommon, nor are other crimes, so every city has a police force. Merchants and traders make up the largest group of the society, while religious leaders are the smallest. Many people from different societies travel through the area bring their culture with them. A trade language was developed to make interaction easier but many languages are still spoken in the market place. You can find many unusual things if you know where to look. This should be a good setting for a short, but interesting game.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2005 18:59:11 GMT -5
I think the ideas so far are good and can work well, and I've nothing to add really, but I do have an idea for a main character and some key story events around him/her, so I'll jump ahead and post it now.
(see if you can tell where it comes from, Ves, I don't like how the idea's stolen so I've held back from using it in my own game)
So take one of the world backgrounds so far where there's a war being fought and the main character is fighting for some reason.
One ally of the main character's is a whatever-doer in battle (mage-fighter-etc., probably healer/mage makes more sense). He/she has been fighting for this (group) for a while and recently has joined up with the main character. The main character doesn't know, but he/she's been pretty ill for a little while but is still fighting because he/she wants to do what he/she can to help their (group) in this time of need. The player sees a scene with another character (perhaps at an inn or something) where the other character sees him/her cough up blood and asks him/her why, and he/she tells the other character about her illness and desire to still help nonetheless. Later he/she dies from the illness (and out of nowhere for the main character). If the main character is in the invading country he'd probably want to create an era of peace and be vengeful to his own country for invading after this, and if he's in the defending country he'd probably be real pissed off at the invading country.
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Post by KingSpoom on Mar 5, 2005 2:46:40 GMT -5
*steps in* All right, let's see what we can do. I'd like to start off by saying there are a lot of great ideas here. Each of you takes (what I assume to be) a small amount of time to come up with the premise for a game. However, I also realize that this is a single game and should abide to a tight path. I will attempt to piece together parts of all of your stories. I'm not trying to pick favorites here, just to point out what may work quickly, smoothly, and come out with a polished look. Here we go: Before mankind even existed, a war had been going on. This was not an ordinary war; it was a war between gods. A world had been forged, and a system of life setup, but all was not right. You see, neither (insert name here), god of order, nor (insert other name here), god of chaos were happy with the outcome. Each proclaimed that the other had smudged the balance in their way. A simple argument escalated into a fierce battle on the very planet they had created. However, there would be no kind ending to this battle. As the each new day came and gone, neither (god #1) nor (god #2) foresaw their victory. Each, in a desperate attempt to win, resorted to the only thing that could end the fight... the permanent death of the other god. Each god temporarily sacrificed their immortality for a shot to destroy the other. Both of them landed their hits, and both of them were destroyed in a massive burst of energy. In the explosion, they were mixed together and spread across the lands. New life-forms were born (i.e.: humans). Now... the mix wasn't exactly even, and over the centuries 4 distinct regions were created. This is where the creation history stops and the human history begins. To save a bit of time, I will quote directly from the posts, and mention what should be changed (if anything). The world of (insert name here) has only one main continent. The land mass is divided into four smaller landmasses by way of natural formations (rivers, cliffs, mountain ranges, etc.) creating three large city-states and one provincial-state. The relations between these states have not been a peaceful one. Endless warring and feuds between the three city-states has gone on for generations. Most towns and villages are desolate ghost towns with exception of the heavily fortified fortresses of the main three warlord factions. These factions (to be named later) have maintained the majority of power over the last (number) centuries. I think that on and off warring should have occurred ever since history has been recorded, and (under Vespuleth's instructions) that the current "war" has been the longest running at say 70 years. This introduces the player to a broken history between regions where war happens all the time, but solutions (even if temporary) have been found before. I'd also like to say that many of the "frontline" towns SHOULD either be somewhat ghost-towny or fortified fortresses, but towns deep within the territory of each region should be bustling with life and (as much as possible) normal. I would expect each region to have heavy troop recruitment programs, albeit each taking a different approach (i.e.: draft, volunteer, ruled-draft) [/li][li] Group #1 - This state believes in a 'One God' fashion and their crusade against the 'evil' of the other states is the driving force towards their warlike manner. This group features all the major shortcomings and contradictions that plague today's Christianity. Several among this group have begun to lose faith in their sacred and ancient traditions, and they are questioning the purpose of the land's constant war. The religious leaders of (group name) are almost at constant quarrel with the political leaders over how the crusades should be run. The 'holy' men believe all won lands and objects from the war should be burned in a cleansing fire to 'purify' the land and destroy the evil of the objects that inhabited it. The government however sees things with a more financial directed mind and knows the value of keeping and using all you find. [/color][/quote] Group #1 is fairly clear-cut. They seem to the point because of the simplicity in their believes. However, inner turmoil is present because of the lack of a strong faith. The fact that the government has the lighter side of villainry than some 'holy' men just proves the point of inner turmoil. This leaves a fairly large area to exploit later on with the story. [/li][li] Group #2 - This state follows a multi-god religion (I can't remember the term) where their various gods demand sacrifices and tributes in order to grant them victory on the battlefield and in life. Mostly an illiterate and uneducated group, the priests or temple shamans (whatever) maintain the control over the group. Highly superstitious and paranoid this group rarely welcomes outsiders. A warlord like community, the principle leader other than the shamans is the 'alpha male' of the moment. Any eligible male may challenge for this title, but few would do so without the shamans backing. Power without the religious leaders backing you up is useless. [/color][/quote] As Dungeon Warden posted, the belief of multiple gods is polytheism. As such, there should be gods for earth, water, fertility, commerce, and love. I rearranged them a bit, but a second look could do some good. I thought that fertility and plants might overlap as well as commerce and wealth (in addition to a god of wealth being a bit selfish). As such, there should be a council member that is more or less working for each of these principles (which... probably means we need more gods). The council would act as an advisor to a ruler. Their relationship is important as the ruler might look selfish or foolish without the wise council backing him, and a council alone would become corrupt and/or non-working without the powerful decision making (forcing) abilities of the ruler. Regardless, there are bound to be moments when individual council members feel undervalued and it would directly relate to the ruler not siding with them. This leaves another area to exploit later on. [/li][li] Group #3 - This state is a feudal kingdom built on the principle of conquest. No major religion is followed, instead the people of this group believe ascendance to higher plane of existence is the ultimate goal of their lives. Achievement of this is only possible by obtaining the power (think soul) of your enemies by killing them, eating their heart, etc. The nation is split between two practices of warfare. The knight-dom and the practice of sorcery. A potential for a civil war over their different war styles is a possibility. The ruling head is the Queen, since they believe women are the mothers of all things they follow a woman as their leader, and the role of King belongs to the Queen's chosen mate. Most usually the highest-ranking knight due to the belief that strong will breed strong, but currently the Queen has taken a powerful sorcerer as her mate of choice. This to say little, has upset the knight-dom. [/color][/quote] In order to explain my thoughts on this group, I will probably have to visually show something. Ignore the poorly drawn features of this map; even ignore what separates them (I just made something simple). Now group #1 will be in the lower left and group #2 will be in the upper right. Group #3 will be in the upper left and group #4 will be in the lower right. Group #3's extreme dividedness is going to lend a hand to (or be lent a hand by) the natural terrain of the world and the social interactions already present. I haven't explained #4 yet, but they will be the most peaceful of the 4 regions. This isn't to say they aren't well defended. However, this causes Group #1 (lower left) and Group #2 (upper right) to focus more on Group #3 (upper left) due to how the land is setup. To further separate Group #3 from itself, you could say that the knight-dom is handling one group and the sorcerers were handling the other. That isn't to say that the recognition is split evenly (the queen IS beside a sorcerer). Once again, there is plenty of material to work with when needed. [/li][li] Group #4 - The small provincial state is the most isolated of the four. A sadly peaceful state, whenever invaded by a neighboring state they quickly surrender, hoping to avoid as much blood shed as possible. Often forgotten and ignored for their lack of involvement, this group believes their 'faith' in the ideals of peace may one day bring salvation to the land. No major political faction exists, but the people of (group name) usually follow the elders of their group out of respect that knowledge that age brings wisdom. [/color][/quote] Ok, as I mentioned before, Group #4 is the most peaceful of them all. The peace should, however, come from having the best strategical land structures and a lack of a driving force (will?) to conquer the other lands. I don't think a weak nation that is constantly taken over would work particularly well with the rest of the setup. So if they guard themselves well and don't provoke anyone, they can probably stay in relative peace. However, they might have to have a strong stance in an area in order to become targeted... if anyone has any ideas. ...continued in next post...
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Post by KingSpoom on Mar 5, 2005 2:49:52 GMT -5
As for current events... The current 'war' has been ongoing for 70 years. Skirmishes happen every once in a while between the four regions, but due to the landscape and strategy group #4 has seen the least (group #1 has seen the most, by comparison). Towns on the outskirts of each region have each been occupied at one point or another, but the towns closer to the in-land (whatever you want to call it) are safer. If that's what you want to call it anyhow, as they are overpopulated and have crime, poverty, etc...
Even though progress is made, progress ends up being unmade as the groups remain essentially even. Perhaps under pressure from citizens, perhaps from their own prides, new levels of 'war' are being ventured to. Although the war has lasted 70 years, the tools of war are only now being advanced (although group #1 is probably the most advanced from their specialization). Cruel weapons are being invented, new torture methods are being developed, and new strategies are being designed.
Ok... that pretty much covers the content part of my post, but I still want to say a couple things. First off, I'd like to see the hero be very smart/sharp. He may have just been a common soldier, but perhaps survived a battle because of a combination of dumb luck and a genius plan he came up with on the fly. With all of the differences between the regions, it is hard to imagine an 'ending' for the game that results in anything but disaster. What would probably end up happening is:
1: Hero wins battle with plan and is promoted to a position that grants him some power. 2: Under trade laws that allow transportation between regions, or secretly, he investigates the different regions of the world. 3: He undertakes several missions to undermine and destroy the government of other regions, crippling their power to react to invasions. 4: Whatever region he is from begins to successfully take over areas, perhaps easier than any other time in history.
My vote (or suggestion) would be for the hero to come from the peaceful place. A suprise attack is routed by his great plan. Since the peaceful region would seem the most stable upon world conquest (being no major religious or political standings), I think it would be the msot believable. It would stop the eventual invasion on #4 by the party, which wouldn't be the nicest nor easiest thing to accomplish.
A large part of the party would come from the main country, but there are possibilities for people to join from elsewhere. It is just important for them to have the right position to be considered to join the party. The party would actually be doing more of the work than the original country.
So there is (or could be) the basis for the world. Each specific detail is probably best left to later analysis among everyone once the characters start to appear and the story starts to require things. So, if we can come to some sort of a agreement here, it'd move the project along. Now would be the time to bring up flaws and ask questions about information posted. I do wager, though, that we might have to work closer and closer together as the process continues. Each new part will require more to work with the old, and (sadly) more and more good ideas will probably have to be tossed to the curb.
Edit: The most interesting thing to me is that, if you explain the story of the creation of the world to the player, it shines an odd light on everything for each region to have a different view on religion considering the player knows exactly what happened and everyone is likely to be wrong. You might even be able to fool the player by having one region have the right idea of how the world was created, but having them lose the battle.
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Post by WarDragon on Mar 5, 2005 11:07:17 GMT -5
like you said the king forbade magic. Let's say the king didn't want anyone to use magic except his royal knights and himself. They wanted to control the people in somewhat way. They would execute anyone who tries magic, Although there are a couple of people who use magic that they cannot touch.
Religion
The goverment tell's the public which god to believe in and worship. They use churches for them to learn and pray, but this church is some kind of kult. They tell the faithful followers to come and meet the god, don't bring anything only were your underwear. When the followers enter the Sacred Monastary they never come out. Rumor has it that there is no god there, but a monster who feeds on people that the goverment use to gain technological weapons & tools. Every 3 months they say that the god is not pleased and a sacrifice must be made. They sacrifice one or 5 people. Then tell them a new god arrives.
i just came up with that one.
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Post by Neo Samurai on Mar 6, 2005 0:12:18 GMT -5
That's really twisted, Taizon . Good job! Here's my idea: A peaceful prosperous kingdom is torn apart thanks to the rivalry of two brothers (twin brothers who are both eligible for the crown. However, their father never chose an heir and died before he could). And so, the kingdom is divided. The two divided kingdoms fight the other so that they may claim the entire kingdom as a whole. They select among the best men and women to fight in their army. A pendant bequeathed to the next ruler of the once united kingdom has been split just as the kingdoms. Both rulers hold onto it. They have made a sacred vow to their gods (or God, whichever type of religion we end up using) that unless the pieces of this pendant are reunited, the kingdoms will always stay divided and they will always be at war. After thousands and thousands of years, the two kings had passed on and new rulers had taken the thrones. They have been at war just as their anscestors. No peace treaties have been signed to end this endless war. Only if the pendant of the royal family were to reunite would the war have to terminate due to the sacred vow the ancient kings made. ---------------------------------------------------------- So, if you like this, go ahead and use it. I just thought of it all right now, like Taizon, so it could have its flaws, though I think Taizon made a pretty good background story. EDIT: I edited the story to make it sound a bit more sense.
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Post by Doan the Nado on Mar 6, 2005 21:10:49 GMT -5
I really like KingSpoom's combination of the first few ideas into one big one. It made for a nicely fleshed out world that seems to have a pretty believeable history. I think Taizon's idea started out good, but once underwear was mentioned, it started going downhill a bit . I just mean that the first part was pretty believable (unfortunately, I don't want to use my current game's background for this game because I still plan on completing that first game), but after that it got a little too weird. Hitou's idea makes for an intriguing background, and I think that a modified version of it could work well for the background of the "upper left" region. As for Taizon's idea, maybe the religious cult idea could be worked into the crusading, monotheistic country. In short, I really like what KingSpoom has done with his idea combination, and I think if it's okay with everyone, we should proceed from there. That is, please offer critiques on the idea he presented as well as throwing in some elements that are your own. If you don't think we should use this background, please post why.
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Post by The Final Rune on Mar 8, 2005 10:25:34 GMT -5
Sounds good to me, lets get to work.
So, if this is waht were gonna use then it'll have the four contries on one continent? Give me a few more details about how you want a map to look and I can maybe get it to you by this weekend. God, knows making a map by step by step reproduction sucks and it'll be easier for you if I can get a map to you before you start on anything else.
Here is a quick pic a made in paint:
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Post by vespuleth on Mar 8, 2005 16:40:08 GMT -5
the two northern countries need more beaches. and i have some other thoughts to share, but again, no time now.
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Post by Doan the Nado on Mar 8, 2005 20:32:19 GMT -5
Keep in mind also that, as KingSpoom noted, perhaps the lower right country should be highly defensible so that they would not be much involved in the invasions. Also, the upper right country needs to be bigger. I don't think the map should really be worked on yet, though, at least not until we finalize some of the major cities and things. The better we know the world (and even to some extent, the story), the better suited we will be to make a map that will work well for the game.
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Post by The Final Rune on Mar 8, 2005 21:07:23 GMT -5
This was just an example. I'm just playing with the idea of four different countries. I didn't make it to reflect the current idea, just to illustrate the idea.
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Post by Jugem on Mar 9, 2005 4:52:27 GMT -5
I'm going to have to sit and read through this at some point...
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Post by vespuleth on Mar 9, 2005 18:28:10 GMT -5
im leaning towards a lower focus on religion. since the onset, ive been unable to come up with a way to do so, and still have the identity idea come through. since we have branched away from the original idea that i proposed enough that the identity theme is no longer present, im going to go ahead and say we do away with the multitude of religions. it would be much simpler to say that our world supports only one religion, and it would be easier to detail. since, as much as i despise the clicheness of it, polytheism seems to be more popular, id say go with that. and i agree w/ doan. i suggest we start focusing on a grounds for conflict rather than generic world details.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2005 18:54:49 GMT -5
The one religion for the whole world thing is a nice way to go about things, he he he...
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Post by KingSpoom on Mar 9, 2005 21:55:07 GMT -5
What exactly was your identity idea vespuleth... I sort of had a hard time following what you meant in your initial post.
As far as conflict, religion is a great basis for it. Religious people are generally devout and stubborn to change. When two religions conflict on a way of behaviors, you will find that both will claim the right and point out the wrong of the others (generally). So, to say that (as an example) alcohol was banned in the lower left region, because it was the 'drink of satan', it would seem only natural that they would want to rid the world of people who continue to use it. The same thing can be applied to marriage, sex, and legal systems.
Often times you will find that polytheistic religions will hold certain things highly sacred. Perhaps they think the only way the soul can be released from the body is by burning the corpse. To bury the body and keep the soul trapped inside would be inhumane to them.
Aside from relgion, there a handful of things that can start conflicts. Maintenance of the conflics does become a factor as well though. The ownership of land, the rights to natural resources, and the cause of politics are three easy ways to start wars. Land ownership might be difficult in our current situation. In rpgs, there tends to be way more landmass than cities need to survive. Also, terrain gets in the way. Resource rights would be fine, however, as each nation would want to show their influence... and that requires resources. Politics comes back to religion and makes a stop by corruption. Leaders can skew information and blame opposing countries to start wars, and be believed. Usually this happens to cover their own hides from mistakes they have made or for their greed. It could very well be from a plot by a third party to start a war. In 'The princess bride' the small guy who kept saying inconceivable was trying to start a war between two nations by kidnapping and killing a princess.
If everyone had the same religion or same beliefs, it would be harder to start and continue wars. I'm not saying it can't be done, because not many games HAVE made relgion the sole/major factor in realizing war... but I do think it would be easier in the long run. So... if we make a little chart that has stuff like: Group 1 (offense) x Group 2 ; believes bodies should be cremated Group 2 (defense) x Group 1 ; buries it's dead
Something to show the relationship between regions, why the are at war, and how that war is being played. I don't really think religion is an underlying theme in the story, because the point of the story isn't to show who is right and wrong... the point is to show why history is, and build a solution that isn't particularly involved with religion. Of course, I could be wrong...
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Post by vespuleth on Mar 9, 2005 22:13:04 GMT -5
my original identity idea was that religion would play an undertone to provide a motivation for the groups. while empire 1 is trying to conquer country 2, country 2 is not only loosing its freedom, but its identity, because it is being assimilated into empire 1 's religion. now, that religion has seemingly taken a front seat where it supposed to be, say, the ... alternator, im saying its probably best to just go with a one world religion.
and really, it all depends on where we are as to what is a good cause of conflict. historically, religous crusades are far more an advanced idea than property rites. while isreal occupying the promised land seems at first like a religious struggle, it is really about the collection of land.
it wasnt until the civil era did people begin to fight on policy, freedom, and belief, and we didnt see this shift until the civil war in our country.
however, religion as a voice for war has been around a little longer, starting in the late middle ages.
before these two reason/justifications, the reasons for war were simple. land. resources. granduer. reputation. or more nobally, in china, unity. but it all came down to one idea: bringing the whole land under one ruler.
so i suggest we work with something like that.
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Post by KingSpoom on Mar 10, 2005 0:15:59 GMT -5
Religion could take a backseat as a source of conflict, but your identity idea could still work. As the lower right region slowly expands into other territories it could start to show it's influence in religion. Maybe by fire, maybe by threats and blackmail, maybe by propaganda. As long as the main character doesn't catch wind of it until late in the game, it could surely work. You'd get to create all sorts of ways to discredit and discourage the people who are being occupied. That was what you had in mind right?
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