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GAMES ROOM - Even though it is still in it's infancy, the Neopian Adventure Generator
has already a huge following. Players and creators alike are flocking to this
newest feature. But what is it you do with this new feature that has made its
way into the Game Room as well as the Chat Boards?
Well, you have two options. Depending one what you pick, you can either have
a really hard time with it (which can be worthwhile in the end) or a really
easy-yet-driving-on-your-patience time. The later of the two is probably the
most straight forward and needs no explanation. All you do is just select a
story, read it, and then follow what's on the screen.
The other is what I'm going to attempt to tell you about in this article.
Before I tell you some tips however, a history lesson is in order! I know, most
of you out there are going to hate me for this, but you'll thank me later.
Before there were video games and even Neopets, there were games in books
called Adventure Books. Some of these are still around if you look hard enough
at your local book store or even at a thrift store! They were pretty much like
the RPGs (Role Playing Games) of today. You read the book as a character, either
yourself or as someone in the story. You read to a certain point. Then you were
faced with a decision. Depending on what you wanted to do, the story changed
or you got information that was needed to get the "good ending." There were
several "bad endings" or dead ends in these stories similar to how you get game
overs in video games. It is because of these Adventure Books we have video games,
namely RPGs.
Okay, so what does this information have to do with how to write one? Everything!
I've played some adventures, and I must say, I can tell when someone has put
a lot of time and effort into it or when someone just hatched something together
and hopes for a high rating. Here are my tips as a former Five-star Number-one-slot
Adventure Master (that's what they call the person that wrote the adventures
way back in the day).
Tip 1: Set up a main character.
The easiest way to set up a main character is to make the reader the hero
or villain of your adventure. Doing this, the rest will be easy to do. If you
want to add a little more spice to the mix, make your main character have some
kind of sidekick or a small party that hangs around either guiding or misleading
your reader. Without a main character, your story will fail. It is one of the
two key parts to any story.
Tip 2: Have a plot already in mind when you start.
This is the second key part to any story. Without it, you don't even have
a story! The best suggestion I have here when creating an adventure is this.
START FROM THE END AND WORK YOUR WAY TO THE BEGINNING! Set up your good ending
first. You don't have to write it right away, but make sure you have one already
set up. Let's use our main-character-with-a-sidekick example from the last tip.
So what is it you want these two to find? How about a treasure? That always
works. What kind of treasure? Enough Neopoint to last them a lifetime! Yeah,
that sounds good, but they need to get to it somehow. How about they have to
fight a dragon to get it? Okay, but how will they find the dragon? And so on.
Working the plot this way from a writers standpoint will help you out greatly
in the end. It will also make the flow of the plot a little bit better and a
lot less thrown-together.
Tip 3: Choices, choices, choices.
Make sure you have choices in your adventure. This is suppose to be an Adventure,
not a story. You are suppose to be actively doing something like invading a
castle or hunting down Jellyworld. Do NOT make the reader have to read page
after page of text and not let him or her do anything in the end. This isn't
a "Make your own story" game. This is a "Make your own ADVENTURE" game. Besides,
it's no fun when you can't choose how you want to invade Skarl's Castle because
the person writing it already tells you that your party attacked from behind
instead of from the front. With choices to make, it makes the story more interactive.
If your invasion fails, that's because it's the fault of the reader. It shouldn't
be that the reader automatically fails without choice. Another way of thinking
about it is like life itself. You know, I didn't have to write this article,
but I chose to do so. In your story, the reader doesn't have to invade the castle
if they don't want to, so make sure that you have the option open.
Tip 4: Don't be afraid to put Dead Ends!
A lot of adventures I've seen don't really have many Dead Ends. One adventure
I came across had a page that acted like a Dead End, but in reality, it wasn't.
People, there's a reason why we have those check boxes on the New Page page
that say Finish Line or Dead End. Whenever your reader does something that you,
the Adventure Master, doesn't want him or her to do, you put in a Dead End.
Let's go back to the Dragon's Treasure example again. Do you want to slay the
dragon that's protecting the treasure yourself, or have your sidekick do it?
Well, you being the creator and Adventure Master of this story don't want the
reader to send out the sidekick alone into battle so you may put a dead end
saying something like "Your sidekick, being weak without your help, ends up
losing to the dragon. You are unable to defeat the dragon by yourself and are
unable to get the treasure." The bottom line is that it's your story and you
can conduct how the reader gets through it. Hey, for all I know maybe killing
the dragon for the treasure could be a bad thing! You decide the outcome.
Tip 5: Make the reader think (a little).
I've come across several adventures that don't make me think that much. Some
of the choices are so obvious, it's just sad. "What do you want to do? Take
the treasure or leave it?" Duh, I want the treasure. "Congratulations, you leave
with a million NP and live happily ever after." While rewarding, the reader
may feel like it's not rewarding enough. One adventure I came across involved
the traditional Riddles of the Tomb gimmick found with most desert and Egyptian
tales. One wrong move and you ended up in an alligator pit! With about three
questions to answer in that adventure, I was happy when I actually got to the
treasure instead of feeling like the adventure was too easy. However, do not
do what I did and make your adventure involve so much thinking that you end
up killing the brains of your reader! That is... if you don't want to. A good
example of this is the murder-mystery adventure where things you come across
(or don't if you end up not choosing to look at a certain item) may or may not
lead to who is the killer. This example is probably the hardest one for both
you as the Adventure Master and the reader. Believe me, I know.
Tip 6: Take your time.
As a general rule with most things, the more time you spend on something,
the better it is. The more effort you spend on something, the better it will
be. Do not just hatch something together and then lock it up hoping that it
will get top place on the Top 40 Adventures page. Without a lot of time and
commitment, you won't get that 5 star rating everyone wants. I spent three whole
days typing, plotting, editing, planing, reediting, retyping, etc. on my adventure
alone! And you know what? If you play it, it shows just how much time I put
into it! I'm not saying that my adventure is the best, but some people think
it is. Why? Because I put a lot of time into it.
So let's recap. In order to type a good Adventure, you must...
1. Have a main character.
2. Have a plot already set up.
3. Have dead ends.
4. Have some kind of choices that must be made.
5. Cause your reader to think if even only a little.
6. Take your time in writing it.
The idea is yours; the adventure is ours. You are in control; we make the
choices. We are either rewarded, or we are defeated. When writing a Neopian
Adventure, you direct our paths. It is up to us to find the right ones.
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