Story Restructuring Suggestions

[TheEldritchGod]

I've been giving your narrative structure some thought. I think you might have more IC notes lying around with the new test build. I approve of this. It got me thinking. So I have some suggestions for the narrative:

1) The story mode should double down on the linear storyline. No. I'm serious. I know everyone wants NPCs in the sandbox, but it won't fit. Sorry. I'm already into episode 2 and I can already tell that unless you are going to ditch the whole story, it just won't work. Don't do it. Seriously. I don't care how much the players complain or whine. DON'T. I have a fix, but it won't be by butchering your story arc.

Instead, double down. Make the "story mode" the main story. The place where you address the BIG QUESTIONS and you develop your main plot lines an stories. The Story Mode needs to be compact and more importantly, it needs to be a solid foundation that focuses on getting us hooked on these characters. Now, that's not important to all players, but it will be a big draw for certain types of players.

Story mode does not need re-playability. It needs to be the introduction and it needs to help set the mood.

2) Create the StoryBox. The  StoryBox, or combination of Story Mode and Sand Box, is set AFTER the events in story mode. Story mode needs to be compact taking us from the day of THE EVENT to the first day of StoryBox Mode. You can have both going on, as long as nothing you do with Story Mode contradicts StoryBox as it moves forward. Think of it as two different plot lines being explored concurrently.

You can keep Mackenzie as a character, but add new ones. Astrid for example. And maybe add a Drunk guy who used to work at the dam, or one of those environmental radicals. Maybe the prepper who keeps making those shelters. Stuff like that.

In StoryBox, it's maybe 3 months after THE EVENT and you can have the Grey Mother needing more food. The Trapper gets attacked by another bear. You can have a paranoid prepper in a Shelter who trades bullets for food. You can have The one environmentalist who got trapped down in the gorge on the broken railroad map. He needs help getting out and getting to the hunting lodge. Once there, he can be willing to give you wood for food. Stuff like that.

You don't need a TON of NPCs. And they don't have to do much. Just a few sprinkled in for story purposes.

3) Keep Sandbox, the sandbox. It's basically AFTER the other two modes. Nobody is left. You are the last human alive. You were trying to reach some radio signals and you crashed your plane. Now, survive. That's it.

Now here's the important part.

You know those notes you leave around everywhere? You need a different set for each mode. Basically, you need multiple different storylines that are only possible to read in each mode. The letters in Story Mode are different from StoryBox which is different from Sandbox.

Why? Because it's cheap.

Look. Lets be honest, players want re-playability, however, free content is usually expensive to make. So take the cheap route. Story Story Story. If you need examples on how to have an interesting game where you throw story lines into the back ground that are only visible if you examine the environment, then I direct you to the YouTube Channel Oxhorn.

Just watch ANY of his fallout lore videos.

Steal his ideas without mercy. I mean it. Seriously. Oxhorn doesn't have the definitive story of Fallout lore and you can just take his ideas, mangle them a little so they aren't so obviously stolen, and use them in your game.

Every corpse should have a story. Every cairn should have a meaning.

This is cheap and easy to do. The NPCs are going to be a pain in the ass to code. But once done, it will, by far, appeal to the broadest base of players. But if you want to keep people hooked, you need to keep pumping out content. That content needs to be cheap. The cheapest method is background plot lines and stories. Then you just have a new set of reactions from every NPC to every character you choose to play through the game.

Now, how to raise money from this.

Frankly, people don't like micro transactions unless the game is VERY addictive. But there are some things you can do that people will tolerate.

A) Make sure the base game is playable without any DLCs. And by playable, you can do the main plot, screw around on survival, and have fun in StoryBox without spending extra money. I would point to Unturned as a good example of this.

B) One, and ONLY one expansion pack. Look. It's an easy way to make money, but if you do it too much and you will lose credibility. Your fan base will tolerate it every few years. Once a year is the limit. Absolute LIMIT. And I recommend against it unless you are absolutely strapped for cash. But it has been a long time since the game started. You have build up a lot of "credit" with your fans. You can have one expansion pack.

Basically it's recolors of the items everyone already has.

Make it 2.99. Give us all sorts of new hats, coats, jackets, stuff like that. DO NOT include any new game mechanics. A new jacket is fine. Cookware is not fine. If you are introducing a new game mechanic in a DLC, you are basically REQUIRING people to get the DLC and that will piss people off. Don't. Just don't.

However, there is something else that went well with Borderlands 2 that you could use, that would work well with StoryBox.

New Playable characters.

Krieg from BL2 is a perfect example. You can play the game just fine without him, but if you do buy him, you gain a list of new abilities to play with, but more importantly, it opens up new lore. Playing BL2 with Krieg is a new game. It really is.

You can have new characters available for download for DLC expansion. They aren't needed to play the game, but if you want the additional story, you pay your 1.99. By making it clear it's 100% fluff, so if you are a hard core gamer you don't need it, then people won't buy it unless they like the story lines.

Or if they want to support the game.

I do that. I buy stuff just because I like the game. I don't even play the game anymore. I just go, "Huh. New expansion? I don't play it anymore, but I liked the game so much, they deserve their 2 bucks."

Although for some games I wait until a steam sale and they only get 0.89. I might have liked some games, but I might not have liked said game 1.99 worth.

Of course this means that each new character that you add as a DLC has to have something to offer, and that means additional storylines and fluff content. However, the wonderful part of fluff content is, it's FLUFF. It's CHEAP. Hell. Give me my usual fee and I'll ghost write you an entire novel!

Or promise me I get a free copy of all DLCs and full editorial approval (you do not get to publish anything without my approval) and I'll do it for free. Your game appeals to me that much that I'd be willing to help out. but only if I have final say in any use of my material in your product. Sorry. I sold the rights to use my name exactly ONCE. The result was a nightmare. I refuse to accept that the resulting (in the absolutely LOOSEST sense of the term) "book" was mine. It may have my name on it, but I didn't write that. The editor mangled my vision so bad, I refuse to allow anyone to use my name without absolute over sight before publication ever again.

My point is, once you get the proper structure set up, you can then expand on the lore of your world and charge people for it without pissing them off or looking like you are just trying to cash cow a franchise.

The StoryBox will satisfy the players' need for more content and a better integrated Story mode and Sandbox, and yet it won't require you to mangle the Story Mode to fix your player's need for expanded playability. Once you set up a separate storybook mode, you can take your time with the Story Mode. Hell. Honestly, you give us StoryBox, I don't think many players will care if you ever finish the story.

And then YOU can take that structure and set up expanded lore/Character/DLCs. Sure, some people will take your expanded lore, do a "LET'S PLAY" video and people won't NEED to buy your DLC to get the new fluff, but I promise you, fans, if you treat them well and with respect, will buy the DLC anyways, because they know that by doing that, they are funding you and giving you the chance to spend more time developing the game PROPERLY and without the need for gimmicks.

Oh. Side note, NEVER go after anyone who makes a "Let's Play" of your game. Yes, you might be losing some "money" in future revenue, but in reality the money you are "losing" is advertising in the most organic way possible. And infinitely more productive vs actually paying for advertising. I ran the numbers. Attacking people who are revealing "spoilers" actually hurts more then it helps. Nothing is a better form or advertising then fan created art/material based on your product.

See WTNV as an example of what happens when you attack your fan base.

 

Just my thoughts. Hope it's helpful.

-Bob The Eldritch God.