So You Want To/Write an RPG: Difference between revisions

{{tropeHow-To Guide}}

[[Role Playing Game|Put players on an epic adventure]]. With your Trusty Bag Of Tropes, you could have the player solve [[Endofthe World As We Know It|world problems]], fight evil and maybe train [[Mons]].

[[Rule of Fun|The game needs to be fun]], first and foremost. It doesn't matter how awesome your story or how unique your setting, if the gameplay isn't at least adequate, the players won't follow.

Themes and plots that are used frequently are preachy environmentalism (especially with a [[Science Is Bad]] [[Broken Aesop]]), racism (usually of the [[Fantastic Racism|fantastic]] kind), [[Be Yourself]], and anti-authoritarianism. [[The Empire|Evil Empires]] have been done to death, as have [[Corrupt Church|religions that are not what they seem]] and [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|greedy corporations]].

Another thing you could try is getting infected by [[The Corruption]] while fighting the enemy, going from a noble [[Paladin]] to a slavering Daemonspawn, [[And Then John Was a Zombie|the very thing you're fighting do destroy, something the character has been raised from birth to abhor]]. Abilities granted by [[The Corruption]] could be [[Cast From Hit Points]], and tied to a [[Karma Meter]]. Not using it makes the game harder (and the abilities are wicked cool, like [[Animate Dead]] or [[Spawn Broodling]] or some other sub-set of [[Lovecraftian Superpower]], just to make it extra-difficult to resist using), but using it untill you accidentally kill yourself or hit zero Karma leads to a [[Downer Ending]] or [[Nonstandard Game Over]] because the [[Big Bad]] considers [[The Corruption]] to be "A gift, given to my children," and he/ she/ it therefore owns the character, body and soul. Getting a low Karma score brings into play "I-created-you-so-you-can't-touch-me", (which, as far as One knows, has no trope) making the [[Final Boss]] fight very hard. Low Karma score could [[And Your Reward Is Clothes|make a character gain]] [[Evil Is Sexy|a really slikny, revealing version of the Daemonhunter's uniform]], weather with [[Absolute Cleavage]] or [[Walking Shirtless Scene]] (manky, pockmarked grey skin optional), and they could get [[Uh-Oh Eyes]] and [[Spikes of Villainy]] and /or [[Shoulders of Doom]]. You could also have some weapons infected by [[The Corruption]], and make them steal HP whenever you make a successful [[Critical Hit]], and hurt the character when they miss. One could even go so far as to [[Transhuman Treachery|let the player keep going as a Daemonspawn if they bottom out their]] [[Karma Meter]], or a Zombie if their health hits zero.

Weapons, obviously.

See if you can think of a more interesting plot than [[Gotta Catch Them All|collecting]] [[Plot Coupon|Plot Coupons]] or a [[MacGuffin]]. It's a good way to [[Fetch Quest|build up a lot of gameplay hours]], but it doesn't make for a thrilling gameplay experience. If you decide to ignore that (to subvert it or try a different twist, for example), than at least try to avoid the whole thing where you gather them all [[MacGuffin Delivery Service|only for the villains to steal them at the last minute]].

''[[Persona 3]]'' and ''[[Persona 4]]'' are unique in the genre in that they take place in a modern-day setting that's [[Like Reality Unless Noted]], as well as for incorporating a way to improve your stats and abilities ''outside'' of battle. The [[Level Up At Intimacy 5|Social Links]] are a pretty innovative way of fleshing out the in-game world by adding a psuedo-[[Dating Sim]] mechanics to the game. It also helps that the characters for these links are usually incredibly well-written, and delving deeper into their stories rewards the player not only in terms of gameplay, but by making them more emotionally invested in the world that they're supposed to be saving.